<p>I'm tired of posting multiple threads, so I've decided to keep all of my questions in this thread in order to provide constant bumpage. So if anyone has questions about Caltech that don't merit a separate thread please post them hear!</p>
<p>1.When do I get my .edu email address if I enroll?
2.Does Caltech have a facebook community?
3.How are the off campus food options for places within walking/short drive distance?
4.How is the food on campus?
*Perhaps it would be easier if we numbered our questions so current students could easily reply to a specific question without having to quote the person (plus it makes things neater) . So the next question should be # 5.
Thanks in advance.</p>
<ol>
<li>When you get here in the Fall, not earlier</li>
<li>Yepyep</li>
<li>I heard someone say that Pasadena has the highest density of restaurants of any town in California. I'm not sure that's true, but there's probably around 20-30 places you could get to within a few blocks' distance, and there's bound to be something for everyone that'll work.</li>
<li>Lunch is really good. There tends to be a lot of variety at affordable prices both at Chandler and in the South House kitchens. Dinner in the houses has a bad reputation, but it's still occasionally good.</li>
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<p>PS The grammar nazi in me squealed at "please post them hear!"</p>
<ol>
<li>Yep, it's probably doable. I'm personally a CS/Econ major and I only need to take 36 units (the average here is ~45) to graduate in time. And that's without being focused at all i.e. taking a number of classes that weren't required in earlier terms. I believe Ay is a bit less lenient in terms of requirements as Ec, but it should be possible if you really want to pursue both majors.</li>
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<p>Think very hard about why you want both majors though before deciding to double major, wherever you end up.</p>
<p>Hah sorry about that PM and the grammatical error, wasn't quite thinking properly. (2 am>me) Also I'd like this thread to be focused more on life and academics at caltech rather than admission chances and questions.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Old town is pretty packed with restaurants but that's kind of far. They did just open up a Chipotle on Lake which is awesome (free student drinks!).</p></li>
<li><p>I would say most likely no. silver-yms, most of the Ec classes will double count to fulfill the general humanities requirements whereas the required Ay classes would not overlap with any other requirements. You'd probably be taking 2 more classes a term which could be a pretty heavy load. I'm sure it's doable, but for most people, I would say it's not feasible to retain your sanity at the same time. If you're interested in Ay, just take a couple classes in it. It's not worth it to take the 15 or whatever terms for the major.</p></li>
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<p>OK, I did a rough estimation of how possible it would be to combine CS and Ay. If you took 45-48 every term, you would still be 72 units short of finishing both majors. The problem is the two majors don't overlap at all. So in order to do it, You'd need to take 54-57 for 8 out of your 12 terms here. And trust me, none of these are easy units. Many Ay majors I know advise juniors to take no more than about 39-42 units because of how difficult their classes are.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I'm lazy enough that I never go past Colorado (about four blocks north of campus) or Lake (about three blocks west of campus) for my food, and I still have a wide variety of very yummy foods to eat every weekend. Cheaper food tends to be on Colorado, more expensive/waited places tend to be on Lake. There is particularly a very wide variety of Asian food around campus, if you like that as much as I do. Many places have special deals just for Techers, particularly for deliveries. Burger Continental has the $2 Caltech Special (the rest of the food there is quite pricey) which includes a good sized burger, fries, and unlimited chips and soda. If you want some recommendations on good places to eat just ask me.</p></li>
<li><p>I love most of the food at Chandler. The breakfasts are especially good (pancakes, sausages, bacon, French toast, etc.) For lunch, I usually get a pizza, something at the grill, pasta, or Mongolian BBQ, which is big enough to make two full meals for me.</p></li>
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<p>mathwiz, you'll be able to figure out for yourself after a couple terms whether you can do it but for most people, it just wouldn't be worth it.</p>
<ol>
<li>Pad Thai. Every weekend. ^__^ Both days. </li>
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<p>If you have driving or flying capabilities, the possibilities are endless O_O </p>
<ol>
<li>My opinion of campus food is that it's okay. Generally speaking, dinners are weak compared to lunches (even at Avery :P...Citrus Bistro Lunch > Avery dinner) Lunches can be great sometimes, depending on what you get. Cooking 101 at Chandler has really good stuff :D So does Chandler pizza.</li>
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<ol>
<li>What are the most post popular videogames at Caltech? Do you guys have any Caltech alliances/guilds/clans and for which games ?</li>
<li>What would you say are the 3 hardest majors? (In terms of difficulty of courses, and the amount of work required)</li>
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<p>Addendum to the double-major thing -- is CS/Physics (or Mathematics/Physics, or maybe CS/Mathematics -- watch me permutate!) possible without going thoroughly insane? (That is, disregarding the sort of insane you do have to be to want to major in that sort of thing. ;))</p>
<p>I see no point to double majoring in two technical subjects, really. Just be a Physics or Math major and take CS classes on the side. I'm sure you'd be qualified to get a job at Google or Microsoft or whatever at that point, if that's your goal.</p>
<p>Likewise, pretty much no one ever actually does a Math/Phys double major although every admitted student comes in claiming that's what they want to do. :-) Just do one and take the classes you like in the other.</p>
<p>Since CS and Math have the lowest requirements of any major, doubling in CS/Math is very doable; people do it every year, there is a current senior who managed to do it and graduate a term early. These two majors are made more compatible by the fact that you can count required math major math classes as CS electives.
Most people who come in planning to double major in math/phys typically change their mind (most often because math majors don't like labs and physics majors don't like theoretical math rather than the intrinsic dificulty of the majors)-but in each of the past 2 years there has been a math/phys double and this year there is a senior getting a masters in physics along with a BS in math in 4 years (an arrangement which allows him to get out of much of the lab requirement)- but these people are VERY exceptionally smart and studious even by Caltech standards.</p>
<p>"Just be a Physics or Math major and take CS classes on the side. I'm sure you'd be qualified to get a job at Google or Microsoft or whatever at that point, if that's your goal."
There was an article in the Tech recently about a student who was ignored at the Career fair when he was an EAS/CNS concentrator (since no one was quite sure what CNS meant) but once he changed his major to CS instantly got a lot more offers- even though CNS and CS have essentially the same course requirements. So the name of your major may make a difference in job opportunities.</p>
<p>8) Do you ever wish you had gone to MIT?
9) Name three reasons a person shouldn't go to Caltech.
10) Do people actually use ratemyprofessors at Caltech? (Is it a good source of information on the professors there?)
11) What percent of Caltech students, roughly, are first-generation immigrants?
12) Is there anything that's commonly done in society, but gets on most Caltech people's nerves?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>In no particular order (and IMHO) Phys, ChemE, and EE. I'm curious what other people's opinion on this ar.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes, but I didn't get in.</p></li>
<li><p>Too small, too theoretical, too much work.</p></li>
<li><p>Not that I know of. It's a small school, so it's much easier just to ask other people about classes and professors.</p></li>
<li><p>being ignorant and stupid</p></li>
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<p>BTW, Pwnz..whatever, if you could edit your original post to include the subsequent questions and numbers, that might make it easier to follow the thread.</p>
<p>8) Nope, never. Turned 'em down again 4 years later in fact.</p>
<p>9) i. If you're not sure you want to study math/science/engineering/econ. Seriously. A few people come and aren't sure. It's unbelievable to me, but it happens.
ii. The Ratio if you're a guy, although it may by comparison make wherever you go next seem wonderful in this respect. ;-)
iii. If you want to go to med school and aren't super-smart. Grad schools take Caltech GPAs in context, but many med schools are more numbers-oriented. However, that said, Caltech students with research experience do very well at getting into the top MD/PhD program.</p>
<p>10) I never have. When I was at Caltech a lot more people used the ASCIT course rating system on Donut, so I would trust that more.</p>
<p>11) Absolutely no idea, but I'm sure it's a significant number.</p>
<p>12) Loud, rowdy, alcohol-fuelled parties? Although there's certainly a segment of the Caltech population that enjoys this too. I'm having trouble thinking of one here--Caltech students are generally pretty easygoing.</p>