<p>I have been admitted to Caltech, and I'm struggling with making the decision... and the deadline is coming up. I recently visited several campuses, including Caltech and UCLA. I was set to go to Caltech until I actually visited both campuses and found UCLA a much better "fit" for me (first impression...?). I talked to a current Caltech student, and I got to learn a lot more about Caltech.</p>
<p>I absolutely love science. However, I feel that Caltech's social life is not suitable to me... but still, I don't know it too well and that's why I'm here seeking an answer.</p>
<p>I'm an extremely... social person. I'm actively involved in music and I play guitar all the time. But according to the current student, most of the students don't really have time for extra musical things. I like to go out, and again, the student told me that they haven't really had the time to go out. </p>
<p>Also, I'm thinking about doing pre-med in the future, and Caltech doesn't really have the high GPA for medical schools (or is it possible? Please tell me if you know). Can someone give me some advices? Which school will suit me better? (I know I'm the one making the final decision... but still I want to learn more about the social life perspective of Tech.) Did/Do you have fun at Caltech? Would you still go to Caltech if you could make the choice again?</p>
<p>it really depends on what YOU want. i think reading through a number of threads will give you a pretty accurate idea of what the schools are about.</p>
<p>The only thing that might be outdated is that I’ve heard Caltech decided to eliminate its grade deflation. So med school is more realistic for more Caltechers.</p>
<p>@collegealum314
I just read the letter… Yes, the research opportunities are definitely a huge attraction, and I would love to participate in the SURF program. But right now i’m considering about the social life perspective (not much is said in the letter…).</p>
<p>If you want to be a premed, spend some weekdays playing music and weekends going out and sort of felt that you wouldn’t be happy at tech, trust that feeling. While you could probably do one of those things here, you’re probably going to have trouble making time for all of them. The social life here tends to revolve around the houses- people have dinner together every weeknight, do things like hang out in the lounge or play board/card/video games etc.</p>
<p>Honestly, I don’t think Caltech is a great fit for the OP. </p>
<p>The sort of person who does well at Caltech has to enjoy regular and long bouts of intense immersion in science. People do hang out and have fun in the in-between times. It helps to be introverted I think. I encourage you to find out more about Caltech, though. This is just my impression from what you wrote.</p>
<p>Also, how do you feel about theory and physics in particular? You probably would be doing more theory at Caltech just taking the core than you would as a physics major at UCLA.</p>
<p>I wish my son had enjoyed his visit more! Caltech is the most affordable school around by far but my son is a rather extreme extrovert and he didn’t really connect with kids at Caltech and didn’t really enjoy him time there. I guess I’m not totally surprised but it’s hard to walk away from an amazing education for less than 2K a year…</p>
<p>Go to where you will be HAPPY. Your mentality determines how you will perform at a school. If you are unsatisfied with the social aspect, chances are, you won’t do very well academically. Both are superb colleges but drastically different. UCLA has a HUGE undergrad size (27,000) while Caltech only has around 240 in each class. If you want to be meeting new people everyday, go to UCLA. If you want to stick around a few likable people, go to Caltech. </p>
<p>One Caltecher on CC said that the average GPA had gone up to 3.5 or so and that this change was very recent. I assume that there was a conscious, university-wide effort to do this.</p>
<p>I’ve only heard this from one source, so a prospective student should verify this if it is important for their decision.</p>
<p>^ the median gpa is 3.5 according to a caltech flyer. still the amount of work will keep the students just as busy.</p>
<p>For op, being premed, no mater which school you attend, you will need to do the necessary many EC activities such as leadership, community service, medical volunteers, research, etc while maintaining a top GPA in the 3.6-4 range. At any school this will keep students too busy to “play guitar all the time”</p>
<p>‘I guess I’m not totally surprised but it’s hard to walk away from an amazing education for less than 2K a year… ’
Less than 2k a year? Thought tuition alone is over 30k. But still compare to other private colleges’ ticket price, it is more worth. It is ranked 2nd for most valuable list recently by THE.</p>
<p>She is referring to the phenomenal financial aid. No doubt about it. </p>
<p>As much as I adore Caltech, I agree that it sounds like the OP’s priorities might not be best served by going to Caltech. But, I would caution that my own dear son insisted for years that he would never go to Caltech because of what he considered a lack of balance between science and humanities. Yet, when he visited, he realized that the students were like him. Since the OP had the opposite impression and it sounds like her friend was warning her off since she knew her, she might be best matched to UCLA. </p>
<p>There is no shortage of admitted Caltech students this year, and the waitlist was closed since there was no room to add students from it. So, do what feels best to you. Don’t let rationalizing things overwhelm the way you feel. Since it is so intense academically, it’s not the place to go by mistake.</p>