JBntheArgonauts

Early Action Caltech
Vietnamese Male - California Resident (c/o 2010)
uw cumulative GPA - 4.0/4.0
w cumulative GPA - 4.4/5.0
Rank: (2/812)

SAT II:
Math II - 710 (will retake in oct.)
US History - 780
Chem - 800

ACT:
E: 28 M: 34 R: 32 S: 33 WR: 10 C: 32
E: 34 M: 35 R: 31 S: 33 WR: 8 C: 33

APs:
European History: 5
US History: 5
Calculus AB: 5
Chemistry: 5
Statistics: 5
Studio Art: Drawing: 5

Current schedule:
AP Gov.
AP Spanish Language
ASB Leadership
AP Lit/comp.
AP Calculus BC
AP Biology
AP Physics B

Extracurriculars (Grade level):
Varsity Men's Soccer (11,12)
Temecula United Soccer Club (9,10) and FC Murrieta Soccer Club (11,12)
California Scholarship Federation (10,11,12) - Community Service Chairman
Associated Student Body (12) - Commissioner of Clubs and Fundraising (horrible job...i hate it)
Benefit Association of Teens (11,12) - Vice President
Aesthetic Art Review Team (12) - President
Do Good Things Club (12) - President
Vista View (12 School Newspaper) - Cartoonist
Golden Boys State Delegate (11)
Explorer Program (12) - teaching art at local elementary school

Awards:
Albion Cup Soccer Tournament Champions (9)
Encinitas Rotary Cup Soccer Tournament Champions (10)
Presidio Soccer League Champions (10)
All-Scholastic Team Award (11)
2nd place @ 46th Annual Press Enterprise Riverside County High School Art Show (10)
2nd place @ 47th Annual Press Enterprise Riverside County High School Art Show (11)
Certificate of Recognition presented by CA State Assemblyman Jeffries (11)
Certificate of Recognition presented by CA State Senator Hollingsworth (11)
Certificate of Appreciation presented by the American Legion (12)
Noenga.com - Global Art Platform
Ranked 2nd in the US and 6th Internationally as of Oct. 1, 2009 out of 300+ prof. artists.

X-trah stuphz:
My 12-piece visual art portfolio:

Portfolio (12 piece) - a set on Flickr

Can get legit recs...same art teacher for 3+ yrs. and tizzite with my math teacher and counselor.

I know you guys hate chancing but like...I really not sure what is going to happen.

Hriundeli

So.....why exactly do you want to come to Caltech?..And what do you plan on studying?

JBntheArgonauts

So I can get an education that will get me further. As of now, I plan on majoring in chemical engineer...ya know...artistic talent isnt only good for painting and drawing...

Hriundeli

In that case (and this is the answer to pretty much ANY 'chance me' thread), if you are able to demonstrate and support your passion for math and science, you'll have as good of a chance of getting in as any other applicant with near-perfect SATs, 4.0 GPA and 5s on the APs.

Aside from that, you should really ask yourself whether you are REALLY-REALLY committed to being a scientist or engineer. Because once you are here, there is pretty much no way back. If you just want to go to a prestigious school, get a ChemE degree, and make a s**t-load of money, there are much easier alternatives.

narps

To be honest I don't think you really have a chance. I think Caltech needs to see dedication to math and science in your EC's.

JBntheArgonauts

well...my essays will tie art and engineering together. thanks for the "chances" anyways

lizzardfire

Look, let me first say that chances are worthless-none of the students on this board responding to you have ever sat on admissions and in fact, most of them are not even Caltech students.

Second, don't be rude--you asked for an opinion (somewhat stupidly from people unqualified to give such opinions) and you got it. Whether narps's overall analysis is correct or not is unclear, but he does raise a good point--Caltech admissions does not typically admit people with few Math/Science ECs.

It's nice that you intend to "tie art and engineering" together in your essays, and I wish you the best of luck in doing so, but by not participating in math/science ECs you beg the question of how exactly committed to math and science you are. I think your portfolio shows your commitment to art, but a commitment to art and an essay discussing the similarities between art and engineering do not equate to a commitment to engineering.

Kamikazewave

Your chances are exactly 32.333. Repeating of course.

JBntheArgonauts

no...nnnoooo....NNNNNNOOOO...NNNEEEEVVVVEEERRRR!!! ! I WANTED REPEATING 4'S!! NNNNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

estrat1

That was low. Very low. We both know that it's actually 32.31412... (irrational, of course); you're purposely miscalculating the number in an effort to promote your fallacious worldview that the number '3' is superior to the rest.

To all of you reading this, there is no doubt in my mind that Kamikazewave is a Pythagorean and everything (s)he says must be treated with caution. To Kamikazewave, I spurn you like I would spurn a rabid dog.

Mamooie312

Honestly, I don't think your chances are that bad.

ckohsa

I agree with lizzardfire that chancing is simply guesses, some more educated than others, so you are not going to get much more useful information then what you may already know (there are exceptions where people can point out things that you may have overlooked).

You have done a lot of things, but do you think you show the passion for math and science that Caltech wants? Caltech is not like other schools, they do not claim to be a liberal arts college (you can graduate with a degree in humanities from Caltech but you still have to do 5 quarters of physics and 4 quarters of math + a couple of quarters chemistry and biology, not something most humanities majors are interested in). So apply if you feel you can show that commitment they want, but understand you are going to go against some of the toughest competition that you will face. From what I understand they do like people who can stitch together different areas.

Also, if you are interested in math and science and have a good artistic flair, why don't you consider architecture where you have the opportunity to combine both?