Essay 1 - Tell us about a time or experience in which you encountered failure. (250 words maximum)
When considering failure it’s important to consider context: specifically, ask what’s the cost of failure and what’s the probability of failure. How I react to failure depends on these two parameters.
I encountered type-I failure in my research on COVID-modeling that had been stagnant for 3 months. I researched various epidemiology models to predict the spread of COVID throughout various countries: SIR, statistical models,…but none satisfactorily predicted the trend. These were “intelligent failures”, with low cost and high probability. My strategy was staying calm, motivated, and analytically sharp, communicating with other scientists, because each new attempt had more experience and ideas. By continuing to make failures. I learned gradually and gained concrete every attempt until I finally developed a successful fractional calculus model to predict the trend.
Fatal failures are costly and unrecoverable, sometimes even inevitable. I encountered such a failure after graduating from an art middle-school: I was rejected by all three high-schools I had applied to. I had no school to attend. In response to this fatal unrecoverable failure, I re-applied to my public feeder immediately to control further damages. I took 8 APs and won many national competitions(USAMO/USACO) during freshman and sophomore. In junior I was invited to transfer back into the best school which rejected me at my first application. My junior grade GPA at this best school in my state was 4.923 out of 5.0 which set a new historical school record. I didn’t seek this failure, but I worked hard to circumvent its effects.
上次说了UIUC Waitlist 的事。当时我儿也申了Caltech EA，给了Waitlist。要表红心，RD时可以再被考虑。墨男，各方面成绩不如他，录了还给全奖资助。上哪儿说理去?! 那一周恰是12月期末考试，儿子默默承受打击（我不知道Caltech EA 放榜），接着就是UIUC Waitlist的再次打击。老天有眼啊！第二天，M EA 录了。真心祝福你儿拿到M的录取！
FALURE essay显然是关于如何对待挫折 How to pick self up and keep going 以及 How did you learn from mistakes. 第一二段很好，也显现他的 scholarly 的性格。第三段给我感觉 他在说： 居然据了我，哼，这是他们的损失。看看我的 stat 最后不还是反过来要我，the wonderful me 不要我要谁？要是我，我会讨论学到了什么，除了stat，还有什么是同样重要的。
上次请教申请大学之道，大家告诉我申请州大，于是我们申请了UIUC，结果被拒了。
大家说，我娃适合Caltech，而且Caltech认USAMO，USACO，，，于是我们赶紧报了Caltech
报上AMC12, AIME, USAMO，USAxO 成绩，还有AP，SAT等等上去，被Caltech斥责：为公平起见，所有这些成绩都被扔纸篓里了，不要再寄了！
打电话问，哪你们怎么选招啊？ 答：holistic！
问：成绩都不看，怎么holistic？答：看GPA，看Essay
Caltech虽然很小，招的很少，但是近三年在本校招了6个，每年2个。娃的GPA奇高，于是信心满满。
刚刚开箱验货一看，又是铁面冷拒。难道Essay太差了？
打开common app，我看了一下娃的Essay，觉得比我写的好多了。怎么当年连我都收的学校，偏偏不收我娃呢？既然Caltech不喜欢，就给大家看看吧
Essay 1 - Tell us about a time or experience in which you encountered failure. (250 words maximum)
When considering failure it’s important to consider context: specifically, ask what’s the cost of failure and what’s the probability of failure. How I react to failure depends on these two parameters.
I encountered type-I failure in my research on COVID-modeling that had been stagnant for 3 months. I researched various epidemiology models to predict the spread of COVID throughout various countries: SIR, statistical models,…but none satisfactorily predicted the trend. These were “intelligent failures”, with low cost and high probability. My strategy was staying calm, motivated, and analytically sharp, communicating with other scientists, because each new attempt had more experience and ideas. By continuing to make failures. I learned gradually and gained concrete every attempt until I finally developed a successful fractional calculus model to predict the trend.
Fatal failures are costly and unrecoverable, sometimes even inevitable. I encountered such a failure after graduating from an art middle-school: I was rejected by all three high-schools I had applied to. I had no school to attend. In response to this fatal unrecoverable failure, I re-applied to my public feeder immediately to control further damages. I took 8 APs and won many national competitions(USAMO/USACO) during freshman and sophomore. In junior I was invited to transfer back into the best school which rejected me at my first application. My junior grade GPA at this best school in my state was 4.923 out of 5.0 which set a new historical school record. I didn’t seek this failure, but I worked hard to circumvent its effects.
🔥 最新回帖
因为英语不是来自 普通母语高中生，而是来老留写的.
上次说了UIUC Waitlist 的事。当时我儿也申了Caltech EA，给了Waitlist。要表红心，RD时可以再被考虑。墨男，各方面成绩不如他，录了还给全奖资助。上哪儿说理去?! 那一周恰是12月期末考试，儿子默默承受打击（我不知道Caltech EA 放榜），接着就是UIUC Waitlist的再次打击。老天有眼啊！第二天，M EA 录了。真心祝福你儿拿到M的录取！
但essay也不会有大毛病。
🛋️ 沙发板凳
这篇essay就是凡尔赛啊，哈哈。
绝大多数句子都是I or my开头
是很牵强的。别急，好学校都在后面呢。期待好消息
告诉人家三个高中都没收我。是不是有点在提醒大学也要三思一下？
事后诸葛亮一下。看得出娃是硬核强手。没录肯定不是学业的因素。
俺读过几个进Caltech 的娃的文章，写得可没你这个这么飘忽
Sounds arrogant
N年前，招生办主任从白人变成了一个大老黑，从那时候起，轰轰烈烈的AA如火如茶。
到了俺娃申请的那一年，录制550人，200男生，350女生，注意，就可是个理工专业为主的学校
孩子肯定在学业上很出色，成绩和比赛也很亮眼，但这个essay读起来有点象在抱怨很多学校有眼无珠不识金镶玉，还有缺少少年人的真情实感。每个孩子都是特别的，一定会有很好的学校录取你家孩子的。
这种问题明显的是要你显示孩子自己的emotional side和growth，是要从小事看大方面的那种，而不是讨论哪个具体technical failure的。这篇essay倒是显示出了孩子的性格特点，只是不是当代大学时髦要找的特点。
the essay is not that good - it is fine, but lacks spark. though essays are commonly believed not a critical factor for CalTech.
good luck with the rest of the schools.
严重怀疑此 essay 是儿子写的还是妈妈写的
很像，可能你们和孩子对自己的认知都是这样的？
百折不挠， 更换研究方向另辟蹊径等等， 一篇essay就是一个故事
虽然不是一篇优秀作文，他们认为学校应该接受他for his extraordinary talents.
整篇作文没有讲多少关于努力、失败、反思、教训、成长的心理历程，更像是在显摆自己超常的表现。
如果录取是1:1，最后只有8:2了，你娃愿意去8:2的学校上学吗？
代入感差，缺乏感情。我家老大以前写东西也是这个调。被我打击好几次。又碰上几个好英语老师，这才有提高。
FALURE essay显然是关于如何对待挫折 How to pick self up and keep going 以及 How did you learn from mistakes. 第一二段很好，也显现他的 scholarly 的性格。第三段给我感觉 他在说： 居然据了我，哼，这是他们的损失。看看我的 stat 最后不还是反过来要我，the wonderful me 不要我要谁？要是我，我会讨论学到了什么，除了stat，还有什么是同样重要的。
查查现在Caltrch URM的比例吧。不查不知道，一查吓一跳
六年前，俺娃申请大学，那一年caltrch 录取了550人，200男生，350女生。要知道Caltrch 是一个理工专业的学校。
藤校都没这么猛，要知道藤校多文科专业，有理由录取更多女生，
这是大概数字，因为没包括不男不女的，女变男，男变女，等等等等小众性別
就是要写出AO想要在essay看到的东西, 回答出interviewer想要听到的东西。听起来挺抽象的，背后做起来要花相当的功夫。
CMU SCS 肯定录，因为CMU是个看重学术水平的好学校。
UCB 肯定录，因为UCB录取不看性别，种族，UCB留给小中男的位置无形中变多了
我娃申请那一年，M女生录取率17%， 男生录取率5% overall 7%
那一年UCB EECS 在俺娃高中招了十人，其中两个女生，八个男生，看看，男生，尤其是stem男生，申请UCB的机会比藤校私校大多了。
总喜欢说别人都是“retard”，总要把别人的失误rub it in，等等。
建议大家看些网上的比较一下。
小中可以参考 road to yale
我一直感觉这么强的stats可能就是文书或者推荐信出了问题。
而且很多多才多艺的。可能现在的MIT跟您那个时代大不一样了？当然也可能有我们不知道的一面。
失败应该可以写得深入，比如说明人对自然认识的限制，和人的渺小，写出失败之后的认识。也可以写失败同时得到别人的帮助，和同学的友谊和经历。很多故事可以写
没有人给过一眼吗？
出的思想可能是被拒的理由
将来的职场，将来的家庭也如此