California Institute of Technology

California Institute of Technology Summary

The California Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Caltech) is a private, coeducational university located in Pasadena, California, in the United States. Caltech is a small school, with only about 2100 students, but is ranked in the top 10 universities worldwide by metrics such as citation index, Nobel Prizes, and general university rankings (see below). Caltech grew from a vocational school founded in Pasadena in 1891 by local businessman and politician Amos G. Caltech and the Polytechnic School, a private, college-preparatory school across the street, were part of the same institution until 1907. He then convinced two of the leading American scientists of the time, physical chemist Arthur Amos Noyes and experimental physicist Robert Andrews Millikan, to join Caltech’s faculty and contribute to the project of establishing it as a center for science and technology. In 1925 the school established a department of geology and hired William Bennett Munro, then chairman of the division of History, Government, and Economics at Harvard University, to create a division of humanities and social sciences at Caltech. In 1926 a graduate school of aeronautics was created, which eventually attracted Theodore von Kármán, who later contributed to the creation of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and who established Caltech as one of the foremost centers for rocket science. Millikan served as “chairman of the executive council” (effectively Caltech’s president) from 1921 to 1945, and his influence was such that the Institute was occasionally referred to as “Millikan’s School.” Caltech remains, to this day, a small and highly focused university, with approximately 900 undergraduates, 1300 graduate students, and over 1000 faculty members (including 293 professors, 104 emeritus professors, 66 permanent research faculty, 87 visiting faculty, and over 500 postdoctoral scholars). Caltech is ranked seventh in the world in the 2006 The Times Higher Education Supplement, and sixth in the world in the 2006 Academic Ranking of World Universities. The Spitzer Science Center (SSC), located on the Caltech campus, is the data analysis and community support center for NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. Caltech is also known for interdisciplinary programs facilitated by the small physical size of the Caltech campus. Conversely, as a small school, Caltech cannot and does not offer the breadth of academic programs possible at larger universities. Caltech is on the quarter system, meaning that students have one quarter before winter break and two quarters after winter break; Because of its schedule, Caltech’s school year starts relatively late, in late September, and ends in early June rather than May like most colleges. Also, Caltech is unusual in that students normally take five classes every term rather than four, as at most colleges. The program is open to both Caltech and non-Caltech undergraduate students. It serves as preparation for graduate school and helps to explain why Caltech has one of the highest percentages of alumni who go on to receive a PhD of all the major universities. See main article: House System at Caltech During the early 20th century, a Caltech committee visited several universities and decided to transform the undergraduate housing system from regular fraternities to a House System, similar to the residential college system at Oxford and Cambridge. Four south houses (or hovses, so named for the inscription on the gates thereof) were built: Blacker House, Dabney House, Fleming House, and Ricketts House. Instead, he just became confused.) Caltech students have been known for the many pranks (also known as RF’s) they have pulled off. The two most famous are the changing of the Hollywood Sign to read Caltech, by judiciously covering up certain parts of the letters, and the changing of the Rose Bowl scoreboard to an imaginary game where Caltech soundly trounced MIT. During the 1961 Rose Bowl Game, Caltech students altered the flip-cards that were raised by the stadium attendees to display “Caltech.” Recently, a group of Caltech students, during the admitted students program at MIT in 2005, pulled a string of pranks, including covering up the word Massachusetts in the “Massachusetts Institute of Technology” engraving on the main building façade with a banner so that it read “That Other Institute of Technology”. Life in the Caltech community is governed by the Honor Code, which states simply: “No member of the Caltech community shall take unfair advantage of any other member of the Caltech community.” The Honor Code aims at promoting an atmosphere of respect and trust that allows Caltech students to enjoy privileges that make for a more relaxed atmosphere. Though both policies are presented in the Honor Code Handbook given to new members of the Caltech Community, large portions of the undergraduate population regards them as a slight against the Honor Code and the implicit trust and respect it represents within the community. The Caltech Alumni Association is a volunteer-based group of graduates of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. A 501(c)3 non-profit corporation governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, the group’s mission is “to promote the interests of Caltech as a world standard of academic excellence by strengthening the ties of good will and communication between the Institute, its alumni, and its students, and by maintaining programs to serve their needs.” Members of the Caltech Alumni Association include: Annually, on Seminar Day (the Caltech equivalent of Homecoming) in May, notable graduates are honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award. Since Throop College of Technology became Caltech in 1920, it has been led by the following individuals:

Summary content courtesy of Wikipedia.

California Institute of Technology Academics

California Institute of Technology is unique in its study options. An instance of this, the university has a Cross-Registration, Double Major, ESL, Independent Study, Liberal Arts/Career Combination, ROTC, Air Force, ROTC, Army, Student-Designed Major, Study Abroad and Visiting/Exchange Student Program. Again, when any student is looking for some counseling or other types of support, Alcohol/Substance Abuse Counseling, Campus Ministries/Chaplain, Career Counseling, Employment Service, Financial Aid Counseling, Freshman Orientation Program, Health Services, Minority Student Services, On-Campus Daycare, Personal Counseling, Placement Service and Women’s Services can help. The university has disability services as well, so be sure to inquire about them if needed. There’s never a reason to feel alone in your studies either, since there are academic support services like Pre-Admission Summer Program, Reduced Course Load and Tutoring.

The following are the types of degrees and majors offered at California Institute of Technology.

Physical Sciences:

Astronomy, Chemistry, Geochemistry, Geology, GeophysicsSeismology, Physics, Planetary Sciences

Computer Science:

Computer Science

English Language and Literature:

English

Business, Management, & Marketing:

Business/Managerial Economics

Biological and Biomedical Sciences:

Biology

Social Sciences:

Economics, Social Sciences – General

Multiple or Interdisciplinary:

technology & society

Mathematics:

Applied Mathematics, Mathematics – General

History:

History – General

Popular majors:

thirty-five percent engineering, thirty-five percent physical sciences, thirteen percent biology, six percent computer and information sciences, six percent social sciences, five percent mathematics

Are you an international student? The Fall application deadline for international students is the 1st of January. The cost per credit hour (overall) was $792 Cost & Savings Calculator Financial Aid International students eligible for need-based aid last fall. Additionally, for international students, the application fee is 50.

California Institute of Technology Admissions

Admission policy is currently Percent applicants admitted: 20%. Remember that this can change at any time. This school requires an application fee consisting of sixty dollars regular application fee, sixty dollars out-of-state application fee, sixty dollars online application fee and point zero . Transfer student are not ignored. For one thing, there were one hundred and thirty-four total number of transfer students who applied and three total number of transfer students who were admitted.

Will you make it in time? Make sure to know when all the due dates and deadlines take place. SAT and ACT score reports are due the 31st of December and If you are a transfer student, you will be notified of your acceptance by the 29th of April. Regardless of which application you submit, this school will notify you by the 1st of April. It is also very important to submit financial aid applications as quickly as possible, and make sure they are in by the 15th of January. For all student applicants, the Fall application deadline is the 1st of January. the SAT subject section score is due the 31st of December. The regular application is due the 1st of January.

California Institute of Technology Athletics

The following sports can be found here:

• Men’s NCAA Division III, Men’s Intercollegiate and Men’s Intramural Baseball
• Men’s NCAA Division III, Women’s NCAA Division III, Men’s Intercollegiate, Women’s Intercollegiate, Men’s Intramural and Women’s Intramural Basketball
• Men’s NCAA Division III, Women’s NCAA Division III, Men’s Intercollegiate, Women’s Intercollegiate, Men’s Intramural and Women’s Intramural Cross_country
• Men’s Intramural Football
• Men’s NCAA Division III and Men’s Intercollegiate Golf
• Men’s Club and Women’s Club Racquetball
• Men’s NCAA Division III, Men’s Intercollegiate, Men’s Intramural and Women’s Intramural Soccer
• Men’s Intramural and Women’s Intramural Softball
• Men’s Intramural and Women’s Intramural Table_tennis
• Men’s Intercollegiate, Women’s Intercollegiate, Men’s Intramural and Women’s Intramural Track_and_field
• Men’s NCAA Division III and Women’s NCAA Division III Track_outdoor
• Women’s NCAA Division III, Women’s Intercollegiate, Men’s Intramural and Women’s Intramural Volleyball

California Institute of Technology Financial Aid

Financial aid distribution is at ninety-four percent scholarships per grants and six percent loans per jobs. Similarly, need based financial aid distribution is determined through Academics. Financial aid forms are Business/farm supplement, CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE, FAFSA, Noncustodial (divorced/separated) Parents Statement, Noncustodial PROFILE and State aid form. Financial aid for students is readily accessible at this school. If you are not a need based student, non-need distribution for financial aid is determined by Academics.

California Institute of Technology Students

The school’s size is approximately nine hundred and thirteen degree-seeking undergrads, two hundred and thirty-four first-time degree-seeking freshmen and one thousand, two hundred and fifty-six graduate enrollment. Furthermore, the student body consists of thirty-eight percent in-state students, sixty-two percent out-of-state students, twenty-nine percent women, seventy-one percent men, thirty-six percent asian per pacific islander, less than one percent black per non-hispanic, six percent hispanic, forty-two percent white per non-hispanic, nine percent non-resident alien, six percent race per ethnicity unreported, ninety-four percent in top 10th of graduating class, ninety-eight percent in top quarter of graduating class and one hundred percent in top half of graduating class. The university is a Private, University, Four-year, Coed, where 20 percent of the applicants were admitted, Regionally accredited and College Board member. Again, it is part of an Suburban setting, Small city (50,000 – 249,999) and Residential campus. California Institute of Technology offers Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees.

This school features the Suburban setting, Small city (50,000 – 249,999) and Residential campus. Further, the university has many unique facilites such as jet propulsion laboratories, Palomar Observatory, wind and water tunnels, radio observatory, seismological laboratory, marine biological laboratory. For all that, the school is located 10 miles from downtown Los Angeles.