Caltech’s scientific reputation ranks it among the world’s preeminent research universities,
but with only 300 professorial faculty and 913 undergraduates, Caltech’s small size sets
it apart from its peers. Caltech is the place where Linus Pauling determined the nature of the
chemical bond, where Theodore Von Kármán developed the principles that made jet flight possible,
where Charles Richter created a logarithmic scale for the magnitude of earthquakes, where Nobel Laureate in physics Richard Feynman—
one of the most original thinkers of the twentieth
century—spent the better part of his preeminent
career, and where physicists and engineers are currently
working toward the first detection of gravitational
waves. However, Caltech is also a place where
more than half of students participate in on-campus
research before they graduate, where eighty-five percent
of students participate in intramural or intercollegiate
athletics, and where students have lived under
a student-run honor system since the 1920s. The Caltech undergraduate experience is a fusion
of two seemingly incompatible institutions: a multibillion-dollar research university and an
intimate small-school community.
As a high-powered research institution, Caltech has produced some of the greatest
scientific achievements of the past century. Caltech’s undergraduate program trains scientists
and engineers for the great discoveries of the next. In class, you don’t just learn the
answers to questions in your textbook; you learn to ask your own questions and are challenged
to find the answers. Professors often treat students as intellectual peers, and while
this creates a very demanding curriculum, it also gives students the opportunity to actively
participate in cutting-edge research. Many undergraduates work as research assistants on
campus, and more than 300 participate in the Summer Undergraduate Research
Fellowships program each summer. Many of these students will be named as authors or
coauthors of articles in major scientific journals, a rare honor for undergraduates. This
unadulterated exposure to the real world of science means that Caltech graduates are well
prepared for a career in research. A higher percentage of Caltech graduates go on to
receive Ph.D.s than do graduates of any other university.
Although the science at Caltech is very serious, student life at Caltech is wellrounded
and even a little quirky. Almost all students at Caltech are members of one of the
seven houses on campus. The house, the modern-day remnants of long-lost fraternities, perpetuate
a long list of offbeat traditions and are the center of year-round intramural sports
competitions. The beautifully landscaped campus of lush, open lawns, cool ponds, and
winding pathways fosters a relaxed Southern California lifestyle. On an average day, you
might find professors and students sharing coffee at an outdoor table or students teaching
More Ph.D.s than undergraduates— each other to juggle. At night, you might find a game of Ultimate Frisbee on the athletic
fields or students grabbing a midnight snack at the student-run coffeehouse. There are
more than eighty student clubs on campus, eighteen varsity sports, two jazz bands, a symphony
orchestra, a concert band, numerous choral groups, and an active theater arts program.
Caltech students work very hard on academics, but they’re also very good at finding
diversions and, fortunately, there’s no shortage of activities from which to choose.
Most things at Caltech are not truly unique; there are many small schools where
undergraduates live in an intimate environment, and there are many world-class research
institutions where undergraduates have the opportunity to learn science and do research.
However, Caltech is the only place where these two ideas coexist on a single campus. They
come to gether with great success, as Caltech consistently ranks among the top schools in the
world. This makes the California Institute of Technology truly special and very difficult to
describe on paper.
One big thing that nobody realizes until they step onto campus is how beautiful the
landscape is. The student houses are flanked by brick pathways lined with orange trees on one
side and olive trees on the other. Palm trees dot the campus and quiet ponds are home to lily
pads, turtles, and bullfrogs. Every few weeks, a couple takes advantage of this scenery and
gets married on campus; many more use Caltech as a backdrop for their wedding photos. This
may have inspired the producers of The Wedding Planner to bring Jennifer Lopez on campus.
Caltech students also recognize their campus in Legally Blonde, Orange County, and many
other movies, as well as a host of TV shows including Numbers. Located a few miles from
Hollywood, Caltech is a prime site for filming on location. The northern and western sides of
campus are decorated with roses, which reveal another often forgotten aspect of Caltech: It
is located in Pasadena, California, home of the Tournament of Roses. Each year, the Rose
Parade marches within a few blocks of campus and all Caltech women are eligible to enter
tryouts for Rose Queen.
This relatively small school is filled with surprises, and four years isn’t nearly enough
time to uncover them all. Caltech is a small school where there is big science. Its students are
high achievers, but forego competition for an Honor System. Its beautifully landscaped campus
shares space with cutting-edge scientific facilities. It is a place where Nobel Prize winners are
spotted wearing shorts and T-shirts. It has innumerable extracurricular activities. It employs
more Ph.D.s than there are undergraduates. It requires its literature and economics majors to
learn quantum physics. It provides a top-notch education and charges less tuition than most
peers. Can all of that exist at one place? At Caltech, it has existed for more than 100 years.
Coming to Caltech is certainly not for everyone, but for those who truly love science,
there is no better place. The Caltech undergraduate experience is a wild and amazing ride, and
there is never a shortage of things to do. Four years at Caltech forever changes the way every
student looks at himself or herself, and most graduates agree that it is one of the most exciting
periods of their lives. The shared journey bonds students together, and many make friends that
last a lifetime. For all graduates, it is an experience they will never forget—once a Techer,
always a Techer.
California Institute of Technology
Academics
The academic experience at Caltech is unlike that of any other university in the world.
Every student has to learn the fundamentals of each major aspect of science while staying well
rounded with a required number of humanities courses. Homework is done in collaborative
groups and tests are almost all take-home. Participation in scientific research is easily accessible
to every undergraduate and world-renowned faculty members interact with students on a
daily basis. With big-time scientific research happening in an intimate small-school environment,
the academic environment at Caltech is like no other.
When freshmen arrive at Caltech, they are all
enrolled in math, physics, and chemistry courses. This
is the beginning of the core curriculum, which is the
heart of a Caltech education. Every undergraduate,
whether majoring in biology, economics, literature, or
chemical engineering, has to take five terms of
physics, two terms of chemistry, one term of biology,
two terms of introductory laboratory, two terms of science
writing, twelve terms of humanities and social
sciences, three terms of physical education, and one
term of freshman “menu” course.
Options
At the end of the freshman year, students must
declare an option, Caltech’s version of the major.
There are options in every aspect of science and engineering,
with the most popular being physics, engineering and applied science (which
includes computer science), biology, chemistry, mechanical engineering, mathematics, and
electrical engineering. A few students each year graduate with degrees in history, economics,
or literature, but they are very different from their peers at other universities—through
the core curriculum, all humanities and social science majors will have taken differential
equations and quantum mechanics. Changing options is generally very easy, and double
options are pursued by a few students each year. Every few years, a student designs his or
her own curriculum and graduates under the Independent Studies Program.
Awards and Honors for Caltech Faculty and Alumni
Nobel Prize: 31 recipients, 32 prizes
Crafoord Prize: 5 recipients
National Medal of Science:
49 recipients
National Medal of Technology:
12 recipients
California Scientist of the Year:
15 recipients
Fellow, American Academy of Arts
and Sciences: 85 faculty
Member, National Academy of
Sciences: 75 faculty
Member, National Academy of
Sciences, Institute of Medicine:
4 faculty
Member, National Academy of
Engineering: 30 faculty
Classes
The major distinguishing characteristic of academics at Caltech is that it’s very hard.
Often unnoticed is the fact that Caltech students tend to take more classes than their
peers at other universities. Caltech operates on a trimester system, with three terms a year
that are each eleven weeks long. In addition, Caltech students take an average of five
classes each term, while students at other universities generally take only four classes.
After four years at Caltech, students almost always find themselves well ahead of their
peers in the first year of graduate school.
The Honor System
The fast pace of Caltech is more than almost any student can handle on his or her own,
but fortunately, nobody is expected to study without help. Collaboration with peers is
strongly encouraged under Caltech’s more than eighty-year-old Honor Code. Instead of
strict rules handed down from the administration, Caltech students are held responsible
for their own actions and are on their honor not to cheat, plagiarize, or steal.
The greatest benefit of the Honor System is the fact that no tests are proctored. In fact,
almost all quizzes, tests, and exams are take-home. The professor will set some ground rules for
each test, and each student is responsible for respecting the given time limit and whether the test
is open- or closed-book. Students are allowed to take tests wherever and whenever they want;
some students sit in the privacy of their own rooms with their favorite CD or album playing, some
prefer the quiet desks in the library, and some even take their tests out on the lawn or at the
beach. Rather than having to wake up at 9:00 A.M., students can take their tests after dinner or
even late at night; the professor won’t care as long as it is turned in by the stated deadline.
The Honor System also applies to homework, where students are generally free to share
their answers with each other. As long as each student understands everything written on his or
her own paper, the professor will give full credit. This atmosphere of collaboration virtually eliminates
competition between students for grades. Every Caltech student is happy to help a friend
with a lab or homework assignment because some day, he or she may need the favor returned.
Scientific Research
This training in the Honor System is part of Caltech’s strong focus toward scientific
research. In the scientific community, researchers share their results openly and are
held on their honor to conduct experiments with integrity. Undergraduates can experience
this firsthand in numerous research opportunities on campus. The most popular way to do
research at Caltech is through the SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships)
program. SURF provides grants of over $5,000 to students who want to do research with a
fac ulty member over the summer. Each “SURFer” must write his or her own proposal, submit
progress reports through the summer, write a final paper, and present his or her
research on SURF Seminar Day. Over the years, SURF has become an integral part of the
Caltech experience. Last summer, more than thirty percent of the student body stayed on
campus as part of the ten-week SURF program. In the most recent graduating class, more
than seventy-four percent of students had spent at least one summer in the SURF program.
Staying on campus over the summer is not the only way Caltech students can do
research. The SURF program also pays for students to go to other universities over the
summer—every year a few take this opportunity to travel to Europe. Caltech has insti tuted
exchange programs with Cambridge University and the University of Copenhagen, which
allow students to spend a term studying abroad. Students can stay on campus and receive
hourly pay as research assistants during the school year or over the summer, and many labs are
happy to hire undergraduates. Students can also earn academic credit by doing research as a
senior thesis or to displace another requirement in their major. With so many laboratories at
Caltech doing high-level research every day, the opportunities for undergraduates are seemingly
limitless.
Laboratories
Some of the most advanced laboratories in the world are run by Caltech. The Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is the largest of these facilities. Located about fifteen
minutes northwest of campus, JPL is NASA’s center for robotic exploration of the solar system.
It has been run by Caltech since the 1930s and is the place where Voyager I and II,
now heading toward the edge of our solar system, were designed and built. JPL also produced
Galileo, which orbited Jupiter and its moons, and the highly successful Cassini,
which is now orbiting Saturn, its rings and moons. JPL was also in the news for the multiple
probes it has sent to Mars: Global Surveyor, the Pathfinder, Odyssey, and rovers Spirit
and Opportunity. A van runs daily between Caltech campus and JPL, and many undergraduates
make the trip throughout the summer.
Telescope Facilities
Caltech also operates several telescope facilities, including the Palomar Observatory north
of San Diego housing the 200-inch Hale Telescope, and the Keck observatory on the summit
of Hawaii’s dormant Mauna Kea volcano, home of the world’s largest optical and infrared
telescopes. Caltech also operates the Owens Valley Radio Observatory, a collection of radio
telescopes 250 miles north of campus. On the Caltech campus, there are 0.35-meter and 0.25-
meter telescopes atop the Caltech astrophysics buildings that are used for undergraduate
classes. Also, plans are underway at Caltech, in collaboration with the University of California,
to design and build the Thirty-Meter Telescope, the worl’s most powerful telescope.
LIGO
In conjunction with MIT, Caltech operates the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave
Observatory (LIGO), a facility dedicated to the detection of cosmic gravitational waves.
LIGO is the largest project ever funded by the National Science Foundation, and consists
of two widely separated installations within the United States—one in Hanford,
Washington, and the other in Livingston, Louisiana. They are each massive L-shaped structures
with four-kilometer-long arms held in a vacuum, the largest high vacuum ever constructed.
A one percent-scale prototype sits on Caltech campus, and a few undergraduates
work there every summer, experiencing the cutting edge of experimental physics.
Other Facilities
Caltech is also home to Nobel Laureate Ahmed Zewail’s Laboratory for Molecular Sciences,
the headquarters of the Southern California Seismic Network, and a new initiative to
improve voting technology. A new nanotechnology center and a state-of-the-art MRI facility are
two more projects that are keeping Caltech at the forefront of scientific research.
Caltech students have the unique privilege of learning in the midst of advanced
scientific research. Many other universities perform high-level research, but nowhere else can
students so easily walk into the laboratories. On a campus where the Ph.D.s outnumber the
undergraduates, anyone who wants to participate in research needs only to ask. Research experience
is the best possible training for those going to graduate school, and Caltech students
have an easy time gaining that edge.
Tech is not full of people who lock themselves in their rooms and study.
There is something for everyone here. Plenty of people go out clubbing on the
weekends, and yet these are the same people who do interesting summer research
in cutting-edge fields like quantum computing.” —Kutta Srinivasan, ’04—Computer Science and Economics
Most Popular Fields of Study
The top 5 fields of study completed at California Institute of Technology.
Caltech is not for everyone, and getting in is not easy. By campus tradition, the target
size of the freshman class is always 215—the number of seats in the physics lecture hall.
Compare that to the fact that 3,956 applications were received and the 686 letters of admission
that were sent in 2008; do the math and you’ll see that it is a highly selective process. Although
there are no strict requirements for test scores, the academic achievements of the freshman
class are always very high. The middle SAT scores range from 700–770 Verbal, 770–780 Math,
700–800 Critical Reading, and 680–770 Writing; ninety-nine percent graduated in the top tenth
of their high school class.
As a Caltech alum, I often speak to high school students about admission
to Caltech, and they always ask, “How can I be sure that I will get in?” My
answer, of course, is that there is no sure way, but there are definitely things that
you can do to increase your chances. Take the most challenging courses offered
at your high school. Look for ways that you can express your love of science outside
of school. Ask for recommendations from teachers who really know you and
what makes you tick, and who are willing to write about you in depth. And
finally, spend time on your application essays! Your essays speak for you to the
admissions committee, and they want to hear what you have to say, not what
you think they want to hear.” —Debra Tuttle, B.S. ’93—Literature
The key to admission to Caltech is passion. An applicant must demonstrate
a passion for learning, for life, and for science through activities outside
the classroom. We focus more on how you spend your free time than on your test
scores and class rank, because being successful at Caltech takes more than
brains and more than diligence; it takes a love for what you are doing.” —Jialan Wang, ’04—Mathematics and Economics
Although those numbers look daunting, there is no blueprint for getting in to Caltech.
The admissions process at Caltech is not formulaic. The Undergraduate Admissions Office has
only six admissions of ficers, but they get help from faculty and students in reading applications.
The Freshman Admissions Committee includes sixteen faculty and sixteen undergraduate
students. Each member of the Admissions Committee brings his or her own personal experiences
of Caltech, and they work together to find and admit those students who fit best with
Caltech. There are a few qualities that Caltech always looks for in its applicants: a strong interest
in mathematics, science, or engineering, high academic ability, and demonstrated initiative
in their approach to learning.
The goal of the Admissions Committee is to admit students who will become the “crea -
tive type of scientist” that Caltech seeks to produce. Members of the committee find these students
by carefully reviewing the more subjective parts of the application—essays, choice of
high school curriculum, extracurricular activities, and teacher evaluations. Caltech also
encourages prospective students to attach a research paper to their application, which is one
of the best ways to evaluate how well an applicant will do in a research-oriented environment.
Caltech loves to find students who take an active role in their own education, and who pursue
opportunities to learn both in and out of the classroom.
The only absolute requirement for coming to Caltech is a passion for science. Through
Caltech’s core curriculum, students who enroll don’t get to choose whether or not they take science
classes. This does not mean that applicants need to be one-dimensional; Caltech students
are actually required to take more humanities courses than science majors at most other schools.
A strong love of science is a must, though; those with just a casual interest need not apply.
Financial Aid
Caltech financial aid has long held to a simple policy: “If you are an admitted student
whose family has insufficient financial resources to pay for all or part of your educational
expenses, Caltech will provide you a financial aid award that will meet Caltech’s calculation of
your financial need and so make it possible for you to attend.” This has created a tradition of
Caltech providing unparalleled opportunities to excellent students, regardless of their families’
economic circumstances.
Applying for first-time financial aid is a simple process that mirrors that of other universities.
Every applicant must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA)
and the College Scholarship Service (CSS) Financial Aid PROFILE Application. These documents
enable the Financial Aid Office to determine the amount that the student and his or
her family can reasonably be expected to contribute toward a Caltech education. Any difference
between that amount and the cost of attending Caltech is considered the student’s
financial need, and the Financial Aid Office will prepare a student aid package consisting of
a combination of scholarships, grants, loans, and work study that will fully meet that need.
The sum of a student’s contribution along with the financial aid award covers the entire cost
of attending Caltech: tuition, room and board, student fees, health insurance, money for
books, extra meals, and personal expenses, even travel money if you live far away. There aren’t
any hidden costs.
Caltech tuition is already well below the cost for its peers, but the Financial Aid Office
makes the additional effort to make it affordable for everyone. Most students are very satisfied
with their financial aid package.
I knew that Caltech would be expensive, but the good thing is that
Caltech’s price tag includes everything: tuition, room and board, student fees,
health insurance, money for books, extra meals, and personal expenses, even
travel money if you live far away. There aren’t any hidden costs.” —Debra Tuttle, B.S. ’93—Literature
Caltech strives to be fair and generous with its financial aid. A student’s financial
standing never factors into the admissions decision. The admissions process is completely
“need blind” for domestic students and applications are evaluated separately from financial
aid applications. Caltech also never uses financial aid as a bartering tool to attract students.
All awards are based on need alone, and no award will ever be increased to match
an offer from another school. If a student receives an outside scholarship, it will go toward
reducing a student’s loan or work study, rather than reducing scholarship or grant awards.
If a student’s financial circumstances change, Caltech is very willing to reevaluate the
family’s current, revised financial status.
Work-Study
Many students receive federal work-study as part of their financial award, and it is very
easy to find opportunities to work on campus. The number of job opportunities far
outnumbers the number of students on campus. The Financial Aid Office is very flexible
with switching between loans and work-study, and many student work off a significant portion
of their costs before they graduate. Some of the best-paying jobs are research assistant
and teaching assistant. Students can also earn work-study by performing community service
such as tutoring, reading to kids, or feeding the homeless. Other students work as
office assistants, tour guides, ushers, or waiters. Many of these jobs have very flexible hours
and pay reasonably well.
Scholarships
Caltech gives many scholarships that are need-based, but in recent years, several
donations have allowed Caltech to give a limited number of merit-based scholarships
to incoming freshmen. These merit awards come in a range of values. There is no separate
application for the merit awards; all admitted students are automatically considered. There
are also a number of upperclass merit awards given to sophomores, juniors, and seniors on
the basis of academic excellence. These awards cover up to the full cost of tuition, and the
Scholarships and Financial Aid Committee awards them to many outstanding continuing
students each year.
Student Financial Aid Details
How many students use Financial Aid, and how much do they use?
California Institute of Technology 4161st for the average student loan amount.
Secrets to getting the best California scholarships and financial aid
Social life is generally not one of the reasons a high school student chooses Caltech, but
every year, freshmen are surprised to find an active social scene centered around the
seven undergraduate houses. Blacker, Fleming, Lloyd, Page, Ricketts, Dabney, and Ruddock
House are descendants of fraternities that dominated the campus in the 1920s. This fraternity
lineage is most obvious at family-style house dinners each night. Student waiters set
the tables, serve food, and refill drinks; everyone must ask permission to get up from the
table, and dinner ends with announcements from the house officers. Dinner is certainly not
a formal affair though; each house adds its own quirky rules; for example: no “nerd talk,”
and no freshmen sitting at corners. Breaking the rules results in a variety of interesting
punishments and the nightly ritual serves as an entertaining diversion that makes each
house seem more like a family.
The houses are microcosms within Caltech. There are enough different
personalities within the houses that almost everyone can find someplace to fit in.
I have found that the house system is a wonderful way to establish a family-like
support network. Even from the beginning, I have felt like I was a part of what
was going on and that people cared about what was going on in my life.” —Aimee Eddins, ’04—Biology
During the first week of classes each year, freshmen are assigned to houses in a process
known as rotation. A toned-down version of a fraternity rush, each freshman visits each of the
seven houses and submits a list of preferences at the end of the week. Upperclassmen from
each of the houses then get together and assign each freshman to a house in an all-night
meeting. The end of rotation marks the beginning of a week of initiations, when freshmen can
be found trading water balloons, and moving furniture across campus at the request of upperclassmen.
This gives freshmen their first taste of Caltech pranking, and after this shared
experi ence, each house is drawn together as a tight community.
Getting into a house gives each freshman an instant circle of friends and a constant
source of social activity. Each house hosts one large “interhouse” party during the year, as well
as many smaller parties. Every house elects a social team that plans other events such as ski
trips, concerts, and trips to various L.A. tourist locations, but most social activity isn’t incredibly organized. Nightly, students can be found relaxing and socializing in the common areas
of the house, getting to know the group of people who will be their neighbors for four years.
Activities
Many Caltech students happen to be talented musicians, so the school sponsors a variety
of music and arts programs. There is a concert band, two jazz bands, chamber
music, a symphony orchestra, men’s and women’s glee clubs, and a theater program that
performs three shows every year. A growing number of arts programs at Caltech are now
being organized by students. There are several a capella groups, multiple rock bands,
dance troupes, and a literary magazine, all run entirely by students.
These groups are just a sampling of the more than eighty student clubs on campus.
Caltech students run a cheerleading squad, chess team, entrepreneur club, student investment
fund, amateur radio club, science fiction club, ethnic organizations, religious groups, and many
more. The Caltech Undergraduate Research Journal is now distributed at numerous universities
across the country and has won top awards.
Extraordinary Activities for a Small Student Body
Intercollegiate Sports: 1 sport for
every 50 students
Clubs: 1 club for every 10 students
Student Government: 1 position for
every 5 students
Summer Research Fellowships: 2
fellowships for every 3 students
Professors: 1 professor for every 3
students
Course Offerings: 1 class for every
2 students
Student Government
All these clubs operate with little or no oversight from the faculty or administration and
are an example of Caltech’s long tradition of student self-governance. Many aspects of
this self-governance have been alluded to elsewhere in this essay, and it is an integral part
of student life at Caltech. Student government bodies
decide who lives in the dorms, discipline students in
cases of cheating, fund the majority of student activities,
and choose representatives that help read admissions
applications.
Student government is centered around a nonprofit
organization known as the Associated Students of
Caltech (ASCIT), Inc. Completely independent of the
Institute, ASCIT publishes the student newspaper, yearbook,
student handbook, and literary magazine. ASCIT
is also in charge of administering the Honor System: suspected cases of cheating are investigated
and adjudicated by the Board of Control, a committee of twelve students. Student representatives,
along with faculty members, also sit on the Conduct Review Committee, which
rules on disciplinary matters for undergraduates. Those students are just a few of the more
than sixty student representatives on various Caltech committees that review academic policies,
set the dinner menu, make admissions decisions, award merit scholarships, and determine
academic ineligibility, to name a few examples. Caltech students are allowed to
participate in almost every administrative decision that affects student life, which is a rare
privilege in the present-day big business of higher education.
Whatever you want to do, Caltech will always be very understanding
and supportive. If you’re interested in extracurricular activities, it’s simple to get
involved in clubs or student government. If you’re interested in sports, you can
participate on a team or just play recreationally in interhouse sports. If you have
a hobby that isn’t already at Caltech, you can easily start a new club. Since there
are so few students, one person can make a big difference. While I’ve been here, I’ve
seen students start an undergraduate research journal, a cheerleading squad,
and a community service group that didn’t even exist when I was applying.” —Janet Zhou, ’04—Electrical Engineering and
Business Economics and Management
Student Enrollment Demographics
How many students are enrolled at California Institute of Technology?
While academic competition is almost nonexistent, the seven houses engage in constant
competition through a year-round schedule of interhouse sports. The houses play softball,
soccer, swimming, track, basketball, tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, and football, earning
points for compiling the best record in each sport. The house with the most points at the end
of the year wins the interhouse trophy. The games are competitive, but everyone gets a chance
to play—eighty-five percent of students play in interhouse sports before they graduate.
Intercollegiate sports are open to almost any student who can commit to daily practices,
and almost thirty percent of the student body plays on Caltech’s eighteen NCAA, Division III
teams. There is cross-country, soccer, basketball, baseball, fencing, and more, but for over a
decade now, no football team. There are also a wide variety of physical education classes for
students to fulfill their PE requirement, ranging from traditional sports to yoga, scuba diving,
and rock climbing.
California Institute of Technology
Traditions
This level of influence allows students a high
degree of independence from Caltech administration.
Over the years, students have been able
to shape their own unique way of life without much
administrative interference. This has created
many quirky traditions, one of the wackiest being
senior Ditch Day, which was featured on the
Tonight Show with Jay Leno. One day every May,
all the seniors ditch their classes and leave campus.
Many years ago, underclassmen began to
prank seniors’ rooms while they were gone. The
seniors countered by “stacking” their rooms, creating
barriers to keep students from getting in on Ditch Day. Over the years, these stacks
have become more elabo rate, and now most take the form of an all-day scavenger hunt,
where students run around campus collecting clues that will unlock the seniors’ rooms. The
Institute has relented to the students, and now cancels classes every year for Ditch Day.
Every year, this creates some unexpected sights, which can really be understood only by
those going through it. Ditch Day is somewhat representative of the entire student experience
at Caltech; it is quirky and unpredictable, and is exactly what Caltech students enjoy.
History of Caltech Pranks
1961: The Rose Bowl crowd is
surprised when the cards under their
seats are raised to spell, “Caltech.”
1977: The Voyager I and II spacecraft
are launched with the letters “DEI/FEIF,”
mottos of two Caltech student houses,
inscribed on a package plate
1980: Residents of Fleming House
borrow a 1.3-ton cannon from
Southwestern Military Academy.
1984: The final score on the Rose Bowl
scoreboard reads “Caltech 38, MIT 9”
1987: In Hollywood’s centennial year,
the famous Hollywood sign is modified
to read “CALTECH.”
Alumni
Thirty-two Nobel Prizes have been awarded to Caltech alumni and faculty. A Caltech
education primes students for a career in scientific research, and a majority of graduates follow
that path. On average, about half of Caltech graduates go on to earn a Ph.D., which is a
signifi cantly higher percentage than any other university. These are the students that Caltech
is designed for—those who will dedicate their lives to the study and teaching of scientific
knowledge. Caltech graduates are very successful in competing for fellowships and more than
twenty each year win national and international awards.
Most freshmen enter Caltech dreaming of a professorship or a career in scientific
research, but by the time graduation comes around, many find their interests are elsewhere.
These students go into a variety of fields they never considered when they were in
high school.
About twenty-five percent of graduates each
year go straight into the workforce. Even when the
economy is down, Caltech students don’t have much
trouble finding excellent jobs. More than one hundred
companies recruit on campus each year; in a recent
year graduates received offers that averaged about
$71,000 and several graduates received offers in excess
of $80,000. Most job offers come from the engineering
and computer science industries, but an increasing
number of recruiters come from the financial sector,
insurance industry, and management consulting firms.
More and more companies have found that the problem-
solving skills, technical background, and mathematical ability of Caltech graduates apply
to a wide range of activities.
This still leaves a group of graduates that doesn’t fit into a particular mold. Although
Caltech does not have a premedical program, each year graduates get into the top medical
schools and go on to earn M.D.s. A growing number of graduates are applying to law school even
though there are no prelaw majors. A few students each year join the Peace Corps, travel
around the world, go into teaching, or start their own businesses. The rigorous education that
Caltech provides does more than train students for scientific research; it teaches skills that are
valuable in almost any field.
To graduate from Caltech is to be part of an elite club of a little more than 20,000 living
alumni. As an extension of the intimate culture of Caltech, the alumni network is very close-knit
and supportive. Many Caltech alumni look to hire other alumni, and all are happy to help in job
searches or provide business contacts. Many graduates find their way back into the Caltech community;
twenty-five current faculty members earned their undergraduate degrees at Caltech.
Prominent Grads
Frank Capra, Film Director
Linus Pauling, Chemist, Political
Activist, two Unshared Nobel Prizes:
Chemistry and Peace
Arnold Beckman, Chemist, founder
of Beckman Instruments, Inc.
Vernon Smith, Economist, Nobel
Prize for Economics
Ben Rosen, Cofounder of Compaq
Computer Corporation
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