I am an Indian international student living in Washington for 8 years now, I am a freshman with a 4.0 and took AP Comp Sci and currently taking pre-calculus. I am taking AP Bio, AP Calc BC, and CIHS world history next year. I also joined a volunteer organization that provides food to homeless shelters. On my current track, can I get into Caltech?
Schools like Caltech are a toss up at best no matter what. But you are on a good track to be successful when your college admissions process comes around in Senior year. Don’t worry to much about this yet, just do the absolute best you can. Good luck!
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Caltech is a very small college with a very low acceptance rate. In a little more than a couple years from now, once you have your grades through your junior year, you can assess whether it is worth applying to Caltech–if you are even still interested by that point (many people have no interest in Caltech).
But even if you are competitive at that point, you will very likely have to apply to a lot of other colleges, because your chances of being admitted to Caltech specifically will likely be low.
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It sounds as if you’re on track for a fine education! As for Caltech, it’s much too soon to know that. You won’t know until you apply and get results. There are MANY excellent schools that can take you where you want to go. Please enjoy high school, work well, develop a genuine sense of curiosity, engage in activities that truly interest you, and try not to have just one dream school .
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Fell free to substitute Caltech for MIT.
Also Caltech accepted something like 230 people (allegedly) vs MIT who accepted over 1200 this current cycle.
Can you - if you apply. Not if you don’t.
But after one year of high school, no one can say. Truth is no one can predict no matter when but someone is going to get in. Why not you?
But you have a long way to go.
Keep up the great work and get involved.
And also: Caltech is a heavily research oriented school. It’s a great school - for a particular type of student. Is that you? I think it’s too early to know.
Learn all you can about Caltech. Speak to current students and alumni if you can. If you’re picking Caltech based solely on its name and reputation, you might be headed to 4 unhappy years if you get in. There are plenty of other big-name, prestigious schools that might be a better fit. And as others have mentioned, you need to apply broadly to a balanced list of schools.
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Most students who are qualified don’t get in. So, your more accurate question shouldn’t whether you’ll get in but whether you can be qualified. And for that, it means doing very well in all your math&science courses while not doing poorly in your 3 other core subjects (English, World Language, History&Social science) and participating in science or math competitions.
The REAL question is: will you want to?
It’s impossible to know now whether you’ll be the type of person who matches Caltech (or Mudd or Olin) - Caltech, like HarveyMudd or Olin, is a niche college that is good for very specific types of students and totally wrong for others who may have the academic chops to get into Stanford or MIT or Williams.
Finally, it’s easy to have dream schools and reaches - it’s like making a Christmas wish list of colleges everyone’s heard of. It’s MUCH harder to find colleges you know you can get into and like and your parents can afford.
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You are a high school freshman. My opinion…it’s fine to start researching colleges a little. BUT please don’t base your entire high school experience on the hope of getting into one college.
Caltech is highly selective. I’ll tag @aunt_bea who can tell more about the school. It’s not the place for everyone.
First and foremost, you need at least one, preferably two, colleges where you are very likely to be accepted, that you like, and that you can afford. Find those now…they are the most important colleges on your list.
And lastly…discuss finances with your parents. See how much they can and will pay annually for you to attend college. That metric is very important when choosing places to send applications.
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You don’t have this yet…
Caltech has reinstated its requirement for prospective students to submit SAT or ACT test scores as part of their application for admission to undergraduate study. The test requirement takes effect immediately, which means that all students who apply to Caltech beginning in fall 2024 and would enroll in fall 2025 are required to report test scores as part of their application.
Based on this information, and the fact that you are a high school freshman, the answer is - who knows?
A better answer is - you should be focussed in doing your best in high school, not on your chances at one tiny colleges with a tiny acceptance rate.
I will repeat my standard advice:
College admission is not a target, college admission is not a goal, college admission is not a prize. College is the one of the possible ways to continue your education once you have finished high school. The college you choose and those which choose you will be based on what you did in high school.
You, like many kids your age, have it backwards. You should not be planning your high school education in order to “qualify” for admission to some perceived “dream” college or colleges. You should should plan you high school education to get as much as you can out of high school, to get some idea what you want to do in your life, to see what you are capable of doing, and to figure out who you are (at least as much as is possible).
Your high school plans should be based on your interests as well. If science interests you and you want a science future, choose the most rigorous science courses that you high school has available. Same for social sciences, humanities, art, etc.
By the time you are a junior in high school, you will have a better idea what you want to do for your next step in you education, and then you should be looking which colleges will be the ones that best fit these steps.
You college choices (that is a plural choices) should, therefore, be based on what you have done in high school, what you have learned about your interests and preference, your strengths and weaknesses. You match your college selection to your high school education and achievements, you don’t try to match your high school education and achievements to your pre-selected colleges.
Caltech is an excellent school, but only for a limited set of fields/majors. These majors are also available at other colleges, and there are many colleges which have better programs for these majors than does Caltech.
So forget about Caltech, and forget about any specific college, and focus on high school. Learn a bit more about how college works, what colleges are like, what sort of colleges are out there and available, etc. There are, literally, hundreds of great colleges in the USA, and a dozen types that are relevant, and there is no hurry for you to start choosing. In fact, it is far too early to start choosing.
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Two types of candidates apply to Caltech, students who have no business applying and students who are real contenders. You seem like you are on track to be a real contender.
However, the overwhelming majority of real contenders for Caltech will still be rejected. Focusing just on Caltech is like saying I want to be an NFL Quarterback, but only for the Miami Dolphins. There are too many variables beyond your control to focus just on Caltech.
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Caltech is a research institution.
Caltech is a research institution.
It will not be a typical “university” experience. The professors conduct research. Grad students, with limited experience in teaching, will produce the exam questions and will provide their grades to the professors.
You will be independent in your studies and will be expected to perform well.
Your meals will be Uber-ed in because you will be spending a LARGE amount of time in your academics and on your projects. You can walk over to Lake Avenue and get your meals there but that will take away time from your studies.
Car? NO. Parking is EXTREMELY limited at the university as well as around the university. Pasadena City College is across the street (at S. Hill Avenue/kitty corner from the campus) and has a huge number of students who use up any street parking available.
Students usually Uber to the airport (Ontario).
It is a research institution. It is private and you will pay ~$90K per year. Tell your parents to start saving their money because it will probably be $100K per year by the time you apply.
They don’t give out too many scholarships because every student there would quality and has already received scholarship offers from the other top 10 schools.
There are some group projects, but you will be largely left alone in your studies. The entering classes are ~200 (+/- 40) students.
Please don’t assume that the prestige, in going to Caltech, will satisfy your academic goals. Do you need the prestige to go back to India? Then be prepared to pay their costs if you get in.
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As in… they don’t offer merit scholarships at all. Only need based awards.
As for prestige/name recognition in India, I doubt anyone outside the research institutes has heard the name.
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My son will be attending Caltech this fall. FWIW, he took a similar path freshman year, so I don’t think your current track hurts your chances. Having said that, as a rising sophomore, it’s time for you to explore your interests both as broadly and as deeply as possible. Explore more clubs, learn to work well with other students by joining a team, sit for an Olympiad, explore subjects that your school curriculum may not cover, pursue an opportunity to do research if you can and you find it interesting, found a club to share your enthusiasm for a subject. Just be fully engaged in your high school experience. Discover what you really like over the next couple years, and this will inform your college list when the time comes to make it.
As far as Caltech is concerned, here is the published data on the admissions cycle this year: https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/caltech-congratulates-315-admitted-students They admitted 97 fewer students this year, after over-enrolling the two prior years which led to a bit of a housing crisis.
Also FWIW, my son’s in-person experience of Caltech at DiscoTech, their admitted students 3-day event, was far different from the impressions of the school we all had from the various on-line forums. Granted that students who are unhappy there are unlikely to volunteer for DIscotech, my son still found it helpful to speak in person with the current students, especially the upperclassmen he met. Imho, if you have the opportunity, I recommend visiting a variety of schools in person, including Caltech if you are still interested by that point. This will be the best way to determine fit. Just my two cents.
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