Caltech Question Thread

<p>Ben's definitely got the right idea. I really try to convey to prefrosh that Caltech is not for everyone. </p>

<p>For engineers, there are better places to go from a practical standpoint. I know I've mentioned this in other posts-- you can make the same kind of money coming out of Caltech / get into the same grad schools at any other top university. It's just that Caltech offers a really unique experience, and if it's what you're looking for than another university just won't quite satisfy it.</p>

<p>My host didn't do laundry, he just stole it from other people...</p>

<p>It was pretty funny actually.</p>

<p>I got what Ben is saying...
I just misconstrued what he said earlier as "Engineering here isn't good" as opposed to "Engineering here isn't for everyone"</p>

<p>I appreciate everone's honest opinions here though..I really wonder if anyone at Stanford or MIT says "From a theoretical standpoint, Caltech is a better place to go .." :-)</p>

<p>63) Why is Astrophysics good at Caltech? And what makes it hard? (besides the amount of required classes?)</p>

<p>I tried to read Caltech Catalog to see what I 'd have to take, but still... is a BS in Astrophysics literally the same as BS in Physics + Ay classes?</p>

<p>Do transfer students have to stay in the dorm during their first year at Caltech just like freshmen?</p>

<p>No. In fact, you might not even may be able to.</p>

<p>Thanks. Such a fast response. But I think we can stay in the dorm if we want, because I know 2 transfer students stay in the dorm, which made me think that staying in the dorm is mandatory.</p>

<p>63) Ay majors take Ph 125 (quantum mechanics) and Ph 106 (classical physics) which are basically the core classes of the physics option. Both are extremely difficult classes, for nearly everybody. More generally, physics at Caltech is often extremely conceptually hard to grasp - as in, spending days trying to figure out a problem that you eventually realize has a one-line solution. ;)</p>

<p>I'm confused, why wouldn't transfer students live in the hovses? I thought almost everyone lived in the hovses all 4 years? No?</p>

<p>Most people don't spend all four years in their House. Generally, sophomore year is spent "off campus" in House-affiliated or Caltech-owned housing. A lot of this Housing is basically as on-campus as the Houses themselves (Marks, Braun, and Avery, for example.) Some people prefer to live in the off-campus housing since it tends to be quieter and House activities aren't around to be distracting 24/7. In those ways, it's good that sophomores are usually the ones living off campus, since sophomore year is the hardest year for most majors.</p>

<p>I know at least one transfer student who came in this year and lives in Avery. I'm not sure if he participated in Rotation or not - I thought transfer students did? Hum, could be wrong.</p>

<p>The two transfer students that are "frosh" in my Hovse both participated in Rotation and are both living off campus.</p>

<p>How was the Ditch Day? =)</p>

<p>Unduly - when do sophmores decide where they're going to live? Are they assigned housing in the fall or do they have to make their own arrangements?</p>

<p>All people living off campus next year participate in a lottery and room pick meeting during third term, which we already did for this year a few weeks ago.</p>

<p>Ditch day was friggin awesome!</p>

<p>"Some people prefer to live in the off-campus housing since it tends to be quieter and House activities aren't around to be distracting 24/7. In those ways, it's good that sophomores are usually the ones living off campus, since sophomore year is the hardest year for most majors."</p>

<p>Why are the sophomore year the hardest year?</p>

<p>You're still doing core for most of your sophomore year, but it's the "advanced" part of core, so you're taking very difficult classes in subjects that you're not majoring in and starting to take the heavy requirements within your major. Junior year may often be more difficult depending on whether you're a physics major (Ph 125 and Ph 106 are typically taken junior year) or an engineering major didn't take ACM 95 sophomore year. For many majors, the most difficult required classes within that option are taken sophomore year (Ch 41 for chemistry-related majors, CS 21 for CS majors, etc.) </p>

<p>While the classes people take may be much more "advanced" in future years, the derivative of difficulty with respect to time between frosh year and sophomore year is the biggest for many that they will experience in their lives. Some will also argue that the first derivative is always increasing during time at Tech and that it's the second derivative that is much larger during this immediately post-frosh period. It can be hard to feel the difference. :D</p>

<p>I'll just be excited to be done with 5x.</p>

<p>64) Pretty much everyone has received an email regarding a maths diagnostic test..I haven't recd. it yet..Is there any reason to worry?
I was admitted off the waitlist and although it was confirmed by a phone call that my deposit was received, I did not get any official confirmation..Is the diagnostic test sent to everyone at once or is it sent in batches?</p>