Chance me?

ayushkhaitan · 04-02-2009, 03:28 AM

Hey guys. I am a high school senior in Singapore. Although people have told me I have more of a chance (if any) at MIT, Caltech is my numero uno choice any day. I can really identify with its philisophy.....My stats are given below:

Studying grades 11 and 12 in Singapore because I got a full 60,000 US dollars' scholarship to do so from India. I was the only student to be selected from my city after going through a very competitive screening.

Came 5th (unofficial ranking) in my whole city, among 30,009 applicants who took the Grade 10 exams. Topped in my school, and got the B.S. Chitlangia trophy for academic excellence. Got the highest score my school has ever registered in its history. Got 100/100 in Maths, and 98/100 in Science.

Founder and President of the French Cultural Club. Very time-consuming, as I have to prepare weekly activities, and then discuss them with my french teacher.

Activities in Singapore- debate, chess club, choir, jazz band (lead guitarist), Service (>100 hours), maths club, teach a mentally disabled child to play the guitar, etc.

Grades: IB with 6 subjects, expect nothing less than a 6, with 7s in Physics HL, Chemistry HL and Maths HL. Strong upward curve in grades, as there were huge adjustments to be made in junior year when I came to Singapore. Can explain this in my application.

Recommendations: Expect them to be good. Don't know yet.

Activities in Kolkata: Student's council in Grade 9, and Speaker of the Council in Grade 10. Won numerous state-level competitions in school fests, etc. Was captain of the quiz bowl team, and won some trophies. Have the unique distinction of being selected in almost all quiz bowl teams my school fields for competitions.
Won the Geeta Memorial Maths Cup, from among 40 add teams in a prestigious Maths competition.
Got 99.9 percentile in my Scholastic Aptitute test, and was given an "outstanding" grade, somthing given to about 1% of the total applicant pool.
Founder, guitarist, and lead singer of my school band. Was quite famous in my city.
Got the unique opportunity of teaching Grade 7s and 8s their regular Maths curriculum during school time, instead of the teacher. My Principal said it was a very rare honour.

I was a rare student in my school, as I took part in dance, rock band, English and Hindi poem recitation, Indian choir, Western choir, quiz, debate, creative writing, and table tennis inter- school and intra-school competitions back in my city over a span of 5 years. Most of my peers considered me as a decent all-rounder.

Please please tell me if I have a chance of getting into my dream school.

I will need financial aid.

ayushkhaitan · 04-02-2009, 04:46 AM

My school doesn't rank, but I am easily among the top 10 students. Most of my batch consists of scholars from various countries in Asia, so you can imagine it is very very competitive.

ayushkhaitan · 04-02-2009, 08:33 AM

Could someone please please answer?????????????

Batllo · 04-02-2009, 10:10 AM

PFW starts today

dLo · 04-02-2009, 10:13 AM

dude chill, it's only been 5 hours since you first posted

IMSAgeek · 04-02-2009, 11:43 PM

I think you are a good candidate, though be aware that international admissions is not need-blind. Even so, I think you have a shot, contingent upon your ability to convince the Adcomm that you'd be happy doing nothing but math and science for the next four years. Will you be happy doing nothing but math and science for the next four years?

ayushkhaitan · 04-03-2009, 12:26 AM

Thanks for the reply IMSAgeek. I'm absolutely a Maths and science geek. I have in fact developed my own proof for the Fermat's last theorem (a reputed maths conjecture), and my maths teacher is impressed by that. I plan to take part in the singapore maths, physics and chemistry olympiads this year, and by what my teachers tell me I should do reasonably well. I have constantly scored the highest marks in maths and science tests (like that counts). I want to do something big in aeronautical engineering. So you get the hang of it....

ayushkhaitan · 04-03-2009, 12:30 AM

Sorry that would be aerospace engineering. My Extended Essay in IB has to do with aeronautical engineering.

IMSAgeek · 04-03-2009, 01:32 PM

If you have any research papers on a math/science subject make sure you submit them with your application.

ayushkhaitan · 04-03-2009, 09:31 PM

Oh.OK. Thanks. But I'm no shoe-in, right?

Hriundeli · 04-03-2009, 10:32 PM

If you take a few seconds to glance over past decision threads, you'll see that there is not such thing as a shoe-in when it comes to Caltech, especially if you apply as an international

ayushkhaitan · 04-03-2009, 11:39 PM

Thanks for the reply Hriunedli. I do understand that. What I meant was do I stand even a slight chance, being an international and looking for financial aid, or should I just look upon myself as a hopeful for whom hoping to get in is a sin? Thanks. How can I convince the authorities that I really really want to go to Caltech?

Hriundeli · 04-04-2009, 05:04 AM

Of course you stand a slight chance, and of course hoping to get in is not a sin. It's just that not too many Internationals are accepted, especially on Financial Aid. But don't get discouraged and give it try. Use your essays to convince the Admissions Committee that you really really really want to go to Caltech and you never know - maybe you'll end up receiving a big envelope.

ayushkhaitan · 04-05-2009, 09:14 AM

Hey. Thanks for your opinion Hriundeli. Much obliged. I was wondering how my chances would be affected if I performed well in the Singapore Maths Olympiad this year. This year being my senior year, plus preparing for various competitions, does this show my time management skills or understanding skills, or more importantly, passion?

davezhan · 04-05-2009, 03:05 PM

You're definitely qualified. Just make sure you spend a lot of time on your application, and you may be accepted. Don't forget that good TOEFL or SAT scores are extremely important.