2021 Caltech Discussion Thread

@BritAbroad I’ll be a freshman there this fall and highly doubt the number is that high. What’s your source? The major sources I could find said nothing about that kind of stat.

Hey guys,

Like several other people in this thread, I’ll be attending Caltech next year as a freshman and would be happy to answer any questions you guys might have! I probably can’t tell you if you’ll get in or not, or what your chances are to the exact percent, but I can do my best to answer any other questions you guys might have.

I also want to offer one bit of advice: don’t worry that much about your numbers. Your SAT scores and GPA are important, but it’s a lot more important to show the colleges you’re applying to that you would take advantage of the opportunities afforded you there if you’re admitted. They want to accept the most interesting, excited, determined, and passionate students–not the students who are just the best at applying to college, or at taking tests.

Finally, I really want to wish all of you good luck–I know how stressful the whole application process can be, but as long as you’re passionate and hard-working you’ll end up exactly where you need to be!

@Pequenino where else did you apply and consider? What are you planning on majoring in?

@aunt bee- I have to disagree with your opinion that Caltech’s financial aid is not great. My efc at UCLA (where I am attending) and Berkeley were both about $29,000/ yr. whereas my brother (junior at Caltech) has an efc of just over $13k. I’d say Caltech’s financial aid is up there with other “super aid” schools like Stanford and some Ivy League. In fact, Caltech is competing for the same students as Stanford and Ivy leagues, so they have to give good aid. I can tell you that Vanderbilt, known for its good aid, was double what Caltech’s offer was. I do, however, solidly agree with your comment regarding academic intensity. These students are the absolute top in intellectual ability. They are also intensely motivated and incredibly curious. They are expected to perform at a much higher level than just about anywhere. At UCLA we can take 3-4 classes per term and graduate on time. My brother and his roommates were shocked at this seemingly easy schedule, as they take at least 4-5 classes per term - and they are HARD!

@brazos21 Right now I’m planning on double majoring in physics and planetary science. I applied to MIT, Stanford, and several in-state and out-of-state public schools, and ended up coming down to a decision between Caltech, MIT, and Stanford after ruling out most of the other options for financial/academic reasons. I picked Caltech because I loved the size, collaborative environment, STEM focus, and opportunities in earth science; Stanford didn’t have the STEM focus I wanted, and MIT didn’t offer the degree I was looking for. Plus my EFC at Caltech was about $10,000-$15,000 less than my EFCs at Stanford and MIT, which sealed the deal.

@auntbee - I just wanted to add that he has no work study or loans. Our family pays just over $13,000 per year and my parents make just under $120,000/yr. Now that there are two in college in my family, this fall my parents will pay $8,000/yr. This is for the full cost of attendance. And again, no work study or loans. He thought he might have a considerable student portion to pay this year considering he’s been paid $12,000 for SURF (Caltech’s summer research), but nope, his student portion is still next to nothing.

To those of you incoming freshmen: don’t want to get you too excited. $12,000 is for two summers of SURF - $6,000 per summer.

Does anyone know if the Caltech essay questions are the same as last year? Thanks!

@firstsax, we pay full fees with two in school and we don’t make much more than your family does. UCLA was a full ride for him, but he wanted the research. So, disagree all you want. I’ve been paying two years of full fees.

@auntbee, my intention when I wrote about our family’s aid was to encourage students to apply, regardless of their financial situations. Caltech does give good aid, as we are proof of this. Also, as @brazos21 said in his post, his offer was better than Stanford’s and MIT’s. I don’t know about the particulars of your personal financial situation, but from where I and many stand, Caltech’s financial aid looks pretty good.

@NWSpinner yes on the common app the essay prompts are the same from last year about the three books etc. I’m assuming they will be the same if you are using the coalition app as well.

@googlypants99 Thank you!

Yo the best advice I can give is to not come here

@onions88 why is that?

Does anyone know when early action decisions will come out? In past years it looks like they came out on the 12-15th I believe. Correct me if I’m wrong

I don’t know about decisions. Does anyone have their portal open to upload papers? Thanks!

Thoughts on my son (Junior) at Caltech: 35 ACT single sitting as sophomore, 800’s on Math I and II, 4.0 unweighted GPA, all AP/Honors classes (5’s), summer astrophysics classes at Harvard and Stanford, research assistant during Junior year for post-grad PHD from Harvard astronomy department, no math olympiads or robotics, 3 varsity sport participant (football, baseball, soccer) since Freshman year (all conference honors in football), 1st chair cello in orchestra…is he too well rounded for Caltech? Dream is to be involved in astronautical engineering (space engineering) and working at JPL/SpaceX etc…loves MIT (can play football there), Stanford, Harvard and Princeton…

I’m a current high school senior, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my friends experience and my lurking on college confidential, it’s that numbers honestly don’t matter that much. Yes your son has great and amazing 99th percentile scores, but people will lower scores also get in.
Why?
Because everyone with a 99 percentile score applies, so it doesn’t individualize you. To get into a top college, you need to individualize yourself with extracurriculars (which your son definitely has) and (I can’t stress this enough) the essays!! For caltech especially, you want to make sure that you write about your passion for stem (and if he’s not passionate, I wouldn’t reccomend applying to somewhere like caltech).

So to answer your question, nobody can give thoughts on your son because we have not read his essays. If he can effectively communicate his passions for stem (and maybe some quirkiness too) then he definitely has a good CHANCE at getting in: the top colleges are somewhat random, and you cannot guarantee anything.

Just sent my Early app and already dying of waiting

We were under the impression that sometime in mid-October the early applicants would get an email saying their portal was open in order to send documents like research papers. Has anyone out there received a portal email?