<p>I have a question..why so few people really go to Caltech each year(approximately 200 out of 600 or so)?</p>
<p>I've heard that out of maybe 1600 students admitted to MIT only 30 to 40 people didn't go there.....</p>
<p>People choose not to come to Caltech for various reasons. One is that there are few options outside math, science, and engineering, so for someone on the fence about whether they want to go into one of these fields, a different school is a better fit. Other reasons include the relatively weaker humanities program and smaller student body.</p>
<p>Also, your MIT numbers are incorrect. This article puts their yield at 65%: MIT</a> Admissions Cancels Waitlist For Third Year, Yield Reaches New High - The Tech.</p>
<p>Plus there's also the gender ratio and the relative lack of public transportation.</p>
<p>The MIT yield figure cited by the original poster is flat wrong: by one and a half orders of magnitude.</p>