<p>GPA:3.98
Weighted GPA:4.7
Class Rank: Approx 6-7% (Not released)</p>
<p>AP’s:
Chem:5
Calc BC:5
Psych:4</p>
<p>EC’s:
Trombone (8 years)
Competition Marching Band (Approx 200 hours over 8 weeks)
District Band 2 years in a row
Science Olympiad (Consistently top 10 for 2 years at states and regionals, no medals)
Quiz bowl Style Academic Event (Selection by audition)</p>
<p>Other Notable Facts:
Worked in a research lab over the summer
Took a biology class with UPenn Undergrads and got a B+
Currently writing a paper while doing after school research</p>
<p>Hook: I’m from Pennsylvania/First person from high school to apply to Caltech in over a decade (?) Idk, I feel like that’s the best I can do, considering most people from where I’m from that are good at science only apply to MIT.</p>
<p>Just to note, my GPA isn’t as good as it may look. An A+ at my school is actually counted as a 4.3 (unweighted) and a 5.375 (weighted), so recalculated, I’m at like a 3.85 and a 4.5</p>
<p>Idk about caltech but Stanford is basically a crapshoot. You have the numbers for sure but so does everybody else that applies so you can never really be certain about Stanford.</p>
<p>What’s your SAT/ACT score? Any subject tests? (Caltech requires Math II and a Science)</p>
<p>Your AP scores are good, and hopefully you only have 3 AP classes prior to senior year since that was all that you were offered? Many other qualified applicants tend to have taken somewhere around 6 to 8 AP classes, but it’s fine if you took the maximum difficulty courseload for your school.</p>
<p>Your GPA seems decent, and do you mean “Not released” as in they don’t tell you your rank/percentile but they still report it to the schools? Top 6-7% is fine, but keep in mind that tons of people applying are in the top 1% or atleast top 5%. </p>
<p>Honestly, I feel like you lack in ECs. From what I could gather, your ECs consist of band and the Olympiad/Quiz Bowl Events. Saying “Trombone, Competition Marching Band, and District Band” all sort of seem to fit into one major focus of yours. It’s good that you have a passion for music/band, but this really seems to be your only actual EC. This is a very generic activity and won’t help you to stand out in any significant way, but it’s fine nonetheless. The olympiad stuff for a couple years is ok, but with no awards/medals it doesn’t make much a difference. Neither does the ‘Quiz Bowl’ event really stand out.</p>
<p>Your work in a research lab sounds promising, however you’d need to make it a little more clear as to what your role was exactly. Also, they won’t really care too much about you currently writing a paper and doing after school research since nothing has been published or verified etc.</p>
<p>I honestly don’t feel like your chances are too good for Stanford or Caltech, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a chance. Good luck!</p>
<p>ECs seem weak, although the research could possibly show your dedication towards science, were you to write an compelling essay (or maybe you have even better topic ideas).</p>
<p>Don’t see either happening unless your research takes you somewhere like Intel STS or Siemens. Caltech is pretty similar in getting into MIT. In any case, your class rank is not competitive for Stanford at least.</p>
<p>ACT is a 34, SAT is bad for both of them (2100), but I’m hoping that they’ll ignore it in favor of my ACT (which I took later and only took once)</p>