I’m looking for honest thoughts on social life at Cal Tech - and if can compare to UChicago that would be a bonus. My kid is pretty social. Doesn’t love big parties but likes to party a bit (don’t know how else to say that). Any thoughts most appreciated!!! Also a bonus if anyone has thoughts on workload. He’s a self starter/workhorse but I’ve heard work load at Cal Tech is brutal.
For a committed STEM student, there’re few, if any, better places than Caltech. Caltech’s social life is around its Houses, similar to residential college systems but obviously at a smaller scale (about 100 students per House). Because there’re so few Caltech students (and ones there are probably too busy), there aren’t a lot of discussions on CC. @Ynotgo is one of the best sources for Caltech on CC because her son is a current student there. Both Caltech and UChicago are known for their intense workloads, but Caltech is probably at a different level.
No direct experience at Cal Tech, but my son is a first year at UChicago so can speak to that experience. I have never seen him so happy, excited and engaged. Guess he’s found his peeps. His group of close friends is wonderful and seem the sort of kids every parent wishes their kid would have - smart, funny, kind. Interestingly, one of his close friends at UChicago is from Pasadena and one of her parents is a professor at CalTech. Although there are parties around, his friend group is more the type to go to events in Chicago rather than stay on campus to party. Greek life isn’t big, which is fine with DS. There are always more activities happening than he has time for.
He describes the workload as tough but manageable. He’s a math major and already taking some of the upper level math courses and honors physics, though, so it’s reasonable that those take a fair bit of work. He seems to enjoy it, even the core classes he was dreading. Probably partly because he’s been fortunate to have great professors and TAs.
To try to summarize an answer, it appears there is plenty of social life available at UChicago and students pick and choose what to participate in with little pressure; they also seem to enjoy all the Chicago events. The workload is difficult but interesting.
Thank you sooo much!!
Thank you so much!! My son will major in math as well. Are there a decent number of math majors? It seemed like Econ was the majority when he visited. (So happy your son loves it! )
There are more Econ majors than math majors but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There are enough math majors that DS has found some study partners. Maybe because it’s not huge, the math department is incredibly personalized, with the professors and department chairs always willing to talk with students, guide them. It appears to be a nice mix of a department that’s large enough to offer variety and a good array of options, yet small enough that he can get whatever individualized help he needs.
Every kid is different, but part of why I greatly encouraged, nudged him towards UChicago instead of a more specialized tech environment is the rounding and broad experience that UChicago not just offers but plunges students into. He is drawn to taking a deep dive into things of interest to the exclusion of other things, but the entire UChicago experience is well structured to give him the deep dive he wants in math yet still get him into interesting sociology, humanities, writing and other courses and experiences. Left on his own, he wouldn’t have taken any of the non-math or physics courses he’s enjoying or had that common ground to have those late night discussions with friends who aren’t techies. It’s been good for him to have a friend group that isn’t primarily tech oriented; that is already broadening his world view. And the way that the college not only encourages but virtually forces the students to get out and enjoy all sorts of Chicago amenities and culture is brilliant. Without all that, I could see that if he’d gone to a tech specialty college, he’d have mostly friends who were also math/physics majors who spent their nights and weekends talking about math and physics. He’d love it and become even more deeply immersed in it. But at UChicago, he’s getting his deep dive in math but also the rounding in having friends that are of all types of majors, doing mini dives into intellectual conversations about a broad range of topics, studying hard but also doing a range of cultural and social activities. I’m impressed with the combination of depth and breadth.
Nothing is ever 100% perfect, though. So let me be fair and describe the imperfect he’s experienced so far:
- He grew up in SW Florida. Before being admitted to UChicago he didn't even own a heavy winter coat, gloves, boots, etc. So that's been a bit of an adjustment. It's been cold this year, with one day (record cold, it's not like this every year) where the high was something silly like -12. If you haven't lived in it, there is some adjusting there. He's fine so far and was very impressed with how well the UChicago staff at his dorm was prepared for and handled the unusual cold. Appears they have good plans and caring people.
- He grew up in an area where he could leave his bicycle unlocked in the driveway and where muggings are rare enough they make the news. The college is not located in such an area (understatement). While I don't believe it's a near death experience to walk from dorm to campus - it's not or nobody would let their kids go there - it's definitely an environment that requires constant awareness. This is new to him and he isn't as comfy with that as I would like.
- He's still not in love with having to take all the Core courses. Although he's enjoyed the ones he's taken, he'd still rather just dive right in to all math or things he's interested in. My guess is that his perspective will mature and as he continues along the path he will look back and be glad for the rounding but he's not 100% there yet.
- The food is fine, but can get boring. He raves about how nice the people who make and serve the food are, they're caring and kind to the students, but is getting tired of what he considers fairly bland food. Although theoretically students can eat at any of the campus dining halls, they're all pretty similar and in practice, students tend to just eat at the hall closest to their dorm with their house table. He says the food isn't bad, he's just bored.
My D is a sophomore at UChicago and her experiences match that described by @milee30. She loves the place. She is also naturally social, but academics comes first, followed by some high intensity clubs she has joined. This means she doesn’t have as much time to socialize as she might like, but this is largely due to choice rather than lack of opportunity.
@milee30. I feel like you’re my alter ego!! That’s exactly why I want him to go to Chic vs Cal Tech. Thank you for taking the time for your detailed responses.
Of course! Happy to help. If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me or to post on the UChicago forum. The forum has a group of parents and students who LOVE to discuss, debate, dissect things in great detail. Much like I suspect is the atmosphere at the college.
Regarding your son’s intended major, both Caltech and Chicago appear among the 26 colleges listed in a Princeton Review sampling, “Great Schools for Mathematics Majors.”
Hi, @Chestnutmom1 My thoughts, randomly, on UChicago:
My son is a freshman at UChicago and he is loving his experience so far. Re: the social life, my son enjoys parties, big and small, so there are definitely those around, and he also goes to the frat parties. Besides those, there is much to do: House activities (his House parents are also very loving), student clubs, campus offerings, and the city of Chicago; there is a plethora to choose from. He also said he does get into deep discussions with his housemates/friends. He said that if last year, you’d told him that he’d be enjoying discussing some great works in his dorm instead of going to a party, he wouldn’t have believed it
If your son is a self-starter and workhorse, I’m sure he’ll be able to handle the course load with no problem. I can’t speak to the course load at Caltech though.
My son also got tired of eating the food. I mean, I guess it’s dining hall food.
And also beware of the environment in certain areas if venturing out of campus.
Also, not sure if weather is a factor for him, and maybe sunny California might be more mood-lifting, but 4 years really breezes by quickly.
It’s only the 2nd quarter, and my son has already learned so much. He says he feels ‘woke’ lol. I’m just so happy that he is able to take the classes and read the works he otherwise wouldn’t have chosen to do on his own. UChicago does assert that they teach students how to think, not what to think.
My son will be majoring in Econ and not interested in stem, so I can’t speak to that, but the CalTech board could probably lead you in the right direction there. No doubt Caltech is unparalleled in their offerings for stem (what with the word ‘tech’ in their moniker lol.) However, if your son changes his mind and doesn’t want to major in math, UChicago does have many majors to choose from.
I also hear anecdotally that there is a ‘hardest math class in the world’ at UChicago, so if your son is interested, he would need to get A’s in honors math for a year to be able to register for that class.
Broadly speaking, I’m so happy that my son is having such a positive experience in every facet of what constitutes a ‘college experience.’
If you have a chance at a visit to both schools, maybe it would become apparent which one fits the best.
Either way, he has 2 great schools to choose from. Good luck to your son!
Is the forum on college confidential? How do I find it?
Thanks!!!
The male/female ratio is pretty skewed at Caltech. That will affect his social life.
My son was a math major at Chicago also. He chose it over another big name STEM school precisely because of the Core. The Core kicked his tail, but he was not sorry he did it. He was more focused on CS and theory than pure math, and looked at the math major as a way to improve his toolkit of CS skills. Definitely didn’t spend his entire life studying! He loved his house (the late, great quirky Breck) and that was his major source of socializing.
He visited Caltech and felt it would be all too easy there for him (an introvert who works hard to put himself out into the world) to stay in his comfort zone and never be challenged socially. OTOH, he definitely found his peeps on East Campus in Boston and at Harvey Mudd, ten miles down the road from Caltech, so it wasn’t the STEM school concept that bothered him.
My 2 kids went to Big 10 schools and both visited friends at U of Chicago. Both were impressed with the amount of fun the students were having, and the attractiveness of the U of C students. So, from their experiences, Chicago is a place where a full social life is possible.
Off hand, I would say that, CS/engineering and physics at Caltech, except possible theoretical CS, while UChicago for Mathematics and Biology. Chemistry depends on what type. Pasadena is a decently active place (I worked there for a while), and the weather allows you to be have outside activities most of the year. You’re also close to LA, and have direct light rail to downtown LA.
Once upon a time UChicago was known among its students as “the place that fun went to die”. However, as others have written, and from both students and faculty, it’s really a very vibrant and active place, with a lot to do, a lot of social activity, great places for eating, coffee, not to mention honest to goodness bookstores, real ones, not Barnes and Noble. Hyde Park is also very pretty, in my opinion. Of course, you’re going to freeze your butt off from December to March, but hey, you can’t have everything.
He probably doesn’t have all acceptances in hand, does he have other schools he is waiting on?