<p>I do think that the last few of Ben's points were more his view on life than his view on Caltech, seeing how he's far more intrigued by discussions and arguments than the average Techer. But I'm sure they're still useful for some.</p>
<p>Here's a piece of advice from me: be careful when people offer advice to you. I've found it common for upperclassmen to give advice to (pre)frosh in a manner that implies that the advice is universal. Most of the time, advice is not universally agreed upon. One example: most frosh will hear upperclassmen tell them to "take advantage of pass/fail." But what does it mean to take advantage of pass/fail? I've heard a few very different responses from upperclassmen, including...</p>
<p>-Taking advantage of pass/fail means taking core, as well as the easiest electives offered, and then blowing all of them off to do more fun things like spend time with friends, shower housemates, build interhouse (if applicable), etc. You'll get a P anyway.
-Taking advantage of pass/fail means working for your classes at a rate that is comfortable to you, and giving up on problem sets that take too long. Those few problem sets you don't finish won't make you fail.
-Taking advantage of pass/fail means taking the hardest courses for your option that you're prepared to take (e.g., Ch41ab, ACM95ab, Ma5ab; usually sophomore courses) so that your grade will appear as a P instead of a possible C or D.</p>
<p>As you can see, the first and third interpretations are polar opposites. The third option is how I would have liked to take advantage of pass/fail... for instance, I as an aeronautics major wish that I could have taken ME18 (no prerequisites) as a frosh so that I won't have to feel the pressure of grades when I take it next year. But many, many people (particularly the ones who aren't as academically motivated) will say that the first option is the "right" way to take advantage of pass/fail.</p>
<p>Bottom line: take advice with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>Also, I would like to add--as a continuation of my previous point--that the third interpretation of pass/fail is definitely <em>not</em> advice I would give to everyone. I'm sure there are plenty of people like Ben who could have taken an insane load of sophomore courses and come out with P's, but that doesn't always work. Each year there are plenty of frosh who struggle immensely with frosh core courses, and for whom taking harder courses presents a real threat of getting an F.</p>
<p>It's also interesting to note that on CLUE (Caltech's online listing of courses, with grade statistics), you will occasionally find one or two frosh taking sophomore or higher courses and getting an F for the term. Just in the 2005 fall term alone, this happened in Ch41a, Ph2a (which only one frosh passed; three failed), ME35a, ....</p>
<p>I guess spinning off of this pass/fail stuff, I have something to say. Talk to upperclassmen about classes and majors. They've been through it already and can often let you know what classes are difficult, which ones you don't need to worry about, which professors are good, etc. If you're not sure about your major, they can help you learn about what's out there and what different majors entail. If you do have an idea about a major, an upperclassman in that major can give you advice on how to plan out your courseload. For example, for EE, EE 51 is a very time intensive course that can be much more relaxed if you take it on pass/fail as a frosh. I did this and was very glad that I did. Of course, as G2sus... said, you shouldn't try to force yourself to use pass/fail to take sophmore classes. However, if you do have the time, it can be nice to start taking classes in your major.</p>
<p>oh, I know i'm being too much of a mom, but thanks for the link even if "CLUE" isn't accessible..I found the "how to's" and I am still laughing after reading the answer to: "How do I graduate in four years with a perfect G.P.A. and go on to a good grad school and a distinguished career?"</p>
<p>Haha, good call, Oren. I got in now. (I'm so dumb. TOTALLY an admissions office mistake.)</p>
<p>EDIT: in response to G2sus' post: indeed, three of the four frosh who took Ph2 failed. However, all three frosh who took Ph12 passed. So clearly it's easier to pass Ph12 than Ph2.</p>
<ol>
<li>Don't be narrow in what you hope to get out of your social life. Caltech is a place with a lot to offer. Don't focus on too small a small number of people, places, or things.</li>
</ol>
<p>Some people come to Caltech, find a house they love, and spend lots of time there from the very start. This can be good to an extent, but is decidedly bad when taken to extremes. Caltech is full of some of the most promising, exciting, and interesting people in the world. Not all of them will be found in the same particular insular little social group. Branch out.</p>
<p>Like at any other place, there are contemptible little squabbles, feuds, and social idiocies. Avoid them. Don't be beholden to any particular agenda. Don't write off people from an "evil" or from a "boring" house without getting to know them a bit. </p>
<p>Don't design your social life primarily to maximize your contact with some particular person. First, paying too much attention to someone often makes you obnoxious to him or her. Second, it restricts and ties down your social life in an unhealthy way. Chances are low that the person you "pick" is the best one in all possible respects, and even if he or she is, chances are low that being dependent (as opposed to independent) will get you anywhere with him or her.</p>
<p>Don't focus your social life around some particular goal, like "dating" or "making important connections" or "becoming cool" or "getting into a particular house." All of these things can be good in moderation, but focusing on any one of them will make you unlikely to get the most out of life. Seek balance. This has the positive side effect of helping you avoid crushing disappointment when you fail at something or other.</p>
<ol>
<li>Be proud of Caltech. It is not uncommon for alumni of Harvard or Princeton (schools that I like a lot, by the way) to make their Ivy League pedigrees known early in a conversation. The point of this piece of advice is to remind you go to a school that is just as awe-inspiring at what it does as those schools are at what they do. Don't forget it and be proud of it.</li>
</ol>
<p>I'm not encouraging you to develop a caricatured Ivy League arrogance about the quality of your education, but nor should you act or feel like you came from just any engineering school in the West. Caltech has the world's largest ratio of Nobel Prize winners to alumni and produces more scientific research, pound for pound, than any other place. There are very few places in the world that aspire to the same greatness as Caltech does and achieve it.</p>
<p>In some sense, Caltech can be a victim of its quality. Because it pushes students as hard as it does and makes sure that we all see at least a shadow of our limits, Caltech feels more like a stern schoolmaster at times than like a motherly alma mater. Some students become downright bitter. Don't do this.</p>
<p>Realize that your disappointments are the price you will occasionally pay for getting the best training in the world to become an excellent scientist or engineer. Let your qualms go eventually, but treasure what you will get in return. In the future, you will point to these years as the time you learned how to really think, invent, and succeed.</p>
<p>When you graduate, look back on your time here with pride and give credit where credit is due. Other schools get this in spades from their alumni, and there is no reason that Caltech deserves anything less.</p>