<ol>
<li>In some majors (not necessarily the "easier" ones) A+'s are given out quite liberally(despite the difficulty of the homework sets)- so a 4.0 GPA isn't necessarily as difficult to get as the difficulty of the workload would suggest (in fact the Prof in the math department in charge of graduate admissions said that when applying to top math grad programs too many A-'s even from caltech raise a strong red flag). Not only are most people who get 4.0+ are not IMO/IPh.O gold medalists, but such medalists often do poorly at Caltech and even flame due to lack of focus.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>Ooh, yeah, that's a good one. Being arrogant doesn't go over well at all. Also, bragging about your high school doesn't go over well at all. (Of course these things are "annoying" in the real world too, but arrogance seems much less common at Caltech.)</p></li>
<li><p>I'll second that GPA and grades in general aren't talked about much, but because of the 4.3 for an A+ there are a number of people who get 4.0s. I didn't realize one of my very closest friends had a 4.1 until he asked me to proofread his resume senior year... (of course I knew he was really, really smart so it didn't surprise me). A+'s seem to be more common in upper-level math/science classes than in core classes or engineering classes. Oh, and putting extra effort into a hum class can lead to one too. I had a 4.0 history GPA. :-P Not engineering though...!</p></li>
<li><p>I'll second the "leave your room, don't be an a*****e, and you'll be popular" comment, but Caltech isn't quite social utopia. To refine what ddy said, the pecking order as such is probably something like: Attractive females > Upperclassmen with cars > Upperclassmen without cars > Everyone else.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>16) This is unbelievably easy. All you have to do is go to class and be somewhat personable. Maybe ask a question or two, volunteer to be an ombuds or on a committee, do some research or show up to office hours to say "hi". I felt like I knew at least 4 profs in Aero or MechE really well by the end of college, not to mention my history advisor and some that I'd never actually had a class with but just got to know through ASCIT or committee work. It's very rewarding too: professors, even (or especially!) outside of your field, are generally really interesting people.</p>
<ol>
<li>Just ask and it should be pretty easy. Will ~300 profs, ~500+ postdocs and only 900 undergrads (not all of whom want to research at the same time) there are always, always opportunities available. I got my coolest research job just by asking a prof who I'd not really talked to before after class one day. I was running a straight B in that class too, so it's not like I was one of the top students or anything. I just said "Hey, when you mention your research in class it sounds interesting. Will you have any jobs in your lab this summer?" and ended up getting a nice SURF.</li>
</ol>
<p>MIT has an IAP during january. Does Caltech have something similar, or something to make up for not having it?</p>
<p>Thanks for the info.
The student exchange can be for one term, or for one year. (usually 3rd yr)
In the UK, undergrad degrees are only 3 yrs since at A level (~r 12) they specialize and only take 3 subjects. In uni it's the same, you only take 3 subjects and you are in a specialty right from yr 1, which is why I didn't have to take first yr calculus, physics etc as in North American universities.
In high school I took HL IB subjects, maths, physics, chem , biol, these are like AP courses - do you think the administration at caltech would accept these as the pre-requisite courses? Or, is there summer school, could I take one or two courses there then??
Also, the exchange form says that I should take 36-39 units worth of courses just trying to work out how many this would be...</p>
<p>Caltech doesn't automatically give credit for AP/IB courses - you'll probably have to take the standard placement exams that incoming freshmen have to take. There are no summer classes at Caltech, so you'll probably just have to take core with everyone else. If you've had a good general-level chemistry course including quite a bit of physical chemistry and an organic chemistry course, you could probably pass out of Ch 1. Presumably, you could get credit for most of the biology courses you've taken and be able to take advanced biology courses while doing the core math and physics classes.</p>
<p>arod1,</p>
<p>I don't really think that exchange students need to take core - that seems a little over the top. As long as you don't get a Caltech degree, the core requirements don't apply.</p>
<p>To answer your original question, very few biology courses (i.e. none) require quantum mechanics or most of the rest of physics core. Maybe some use math from core, but probably at a basic level if that.</p>
<p>36-39 units is 4-5 classes (closer to 4). Ideally, Caltech units mean how much work is spent for classes each week so you'd have ~39 of class/homework/lab if your classes are properly united.</p>
<p>Ah, I'm sorry. I assumed "exchange" implied getting a Caltech degree. All of the stuff I said only applies to transfer students then.</p>
<ol>
<li>When does the school year, winter break, and spring break start and end? (And are finals after or before the breaks?)</li>
</ol>
<p>cghen
thanks for the clarification...
Does anyone know of any exchange students from the UK currently studying at cal tech on the exchange program?? Just wondering how different the level of teching is. In the UK, you have lectures, but also are divided into smaller gps and matched with a tutor (who is a Prof) for tutorials. This is where all of your "work" is assigned and you have to present your results/report/essay whatever. So you get to know your profs (well tutor) very well and each subject is pretty indepth. The focus/emphasis at cal tech may be very different - I worry that I may have insufficient bkgd in some areas and perhaps too much in others...<br>
Would love to find someone who is there now to ask some questions. Last yr one student from my uni went to cal tech, but in engineering - not biochem.
It seems that most of the Oxford/Cambridge types tend to go to the east coast, Princeton, Harvard, etc for exchanges - not to the west coast...</p>
<p>I'm a Caltech grad currently doing a degree at Oxford.</p>
<p>If you've had Oxford- or Cambridge-style preparation and are taking classes <em>in the same field</em> at Caltech, you will likely be fine. The Oxbridge tutorial model sort of teaches you everything you need to know in a way that's not necessarily as neatly parcelled into classes as at a US university, but as far as I've seen the 4th year Oxford engineering undergrads (who are the undergrads I mainly interact with in an academic sense because some of them do 4th year research projects in my lab) are very well prepared. Extrapolating back I imagine they are also well prepared (for 3rd years) after 2nd year.</p>
<p>Because of the focus of Oxbridge preparation, though (e.g. an engineer at Oxford won't take the advanced general physics that one does at Caltech, but only learn the physics necessary for their field of engineering), you might have problems taking advanced courses in technical fields outside of your own--but you probably aren't planning to do that anyway.</p>
<p>Pwnz
here's a calendar for dates <a href="http://today.caltech.edu/calendar/index?type=terms%5B/url%5D">http://today.caltech.edu/calendar/index?type=terms</a><br>
finals are before breaks.</p>
<p>Joe,
Thanks for the reassurance on the courses and differences in the style of teaching. Hope you are enjoying life at Oxford. Which college were you allocated to? I assume that your graduate degree is in Engineering.
Oxford is a great uni town, and with London within easy access it's a great place to be a student. Can you comment on your undergrad experience at Cal tech? When I mention to people who are familiar with US unis that I'm thinking of cal tech for 3rd yr, their comment is why?? Yes, it has a good reputation, but as it's only an exchange, why don't you go somewhere more interesting and actually enjoy your experience? They describe Pasadena as tiny and dead boring, side walks roll up at 8pm etc. Plus mention that the class has been together and are pretty tight with each other and it's hard to integrate in 3rd yr. To be honest I've been told by US students on exchange at Oxford that the UK students pretty much ignore the US students mainly because a) they know that they're only there temporarily, b)they all believe that the only reason that they are there is to put down "Oxford" on their resume. c) they're allocated to the "poorer" less prestigious colleges since they need the $$. Then again it's only 8 months.... But I keep wondering would it be more interesting at Princeton or somewhere else?? Hard to compare when you know next to nothing about them.
Any insight appreciated.</p>
<p>I know that at least some of the exchange students will go through Rotation and be put in one of the houses which is a great way for them to interact with undergrads. There are two guys from Edinborough (I think?/sp?) who became members of Lloyd and I see them around all the time.</p>
<p>Arod1,</p>
<p>I should clarify that I'm actually a matriculated degree student in my second year, not a visiting student, so I definitely have not felt ignored. I'm in Keble College and loving it (but wasn't allocated--grad students are allowed to choose their college and I chose this one on the advice of the warden of my scholarship program, who used to be the VC at Oxford). Yes, the degree I'm doing is in engineering.</p>
<p>I liked Pasadena very well for undergrad but I agree that it's not a "big city"--but then again, neither is Oxford, and Los Angeles is closer to Pasadena than Oxford is to London. I only knew a couple of exchange students (from Cambridge, if I recall correctly) while at Caltech and I know they had a good time, but it is not your "typical" American university experience, because Caltech is not a "typical" American university.</p>
<p>In talking with an (English) undergrad friend at Keble (the captain of the women's boat club) who did an exchange with Dartmouth over the summer, she seemed to have a very party-oriented and rather boozy good time and thought the academics were really easy. That is sort of my vision of what the usual exchange program would be like, but I don't think it is at Caltech.</p>
<p>dLo,
if you bump into the Edinburgh exchg students, could you ask them to post something here (or on the Brit version called TSR) about their experience at cal tech? Does cal tech have houses or colleges? Llyod = ?
Coming from cold, grey, dark,+ damp Edinburgh I'm sure they love being in california! They might be in engineering, but I guess learning about their experience would be helpful.</p>
<p>Joe, thanks for your comments. I'm not exactly a party animal, but I do like to see something besides the inside of a library or a lab from time to time, especially if I'm going to travel all that way.<br>
Good to know that not everyone paints a dire picture of Pasadena! From a cost of living perspective do you find it more/less expensive as a student in the UK? You mention a scholarship (way to go), the only one that I'm aware of for Oxford is the Rhodes scholarship - are you a Rhodie?<br>
Well, I think I will go ahead and apply - I just hope the Cal tech committee understands the marking system over here... i.e. 70% is an "A" and UK universities don't exactly hand them out freely!</p>
<p>This might be the silliest question ever, but: will it be possible to walk pretty much everywhere I need to go, or am I going to have to figure out how to ride a bike? (A skill that I missed out on somewhere between all the math classes, apparently.)</p>
<p>I'm a junior and have not ridden a bike here. When I lived off-campus (a block and a half north of campus), having a bike would have been a big convenience in terms of time saved and reduced effort to go places. Since it'd have been easier to get around, I probably would have socialized a bit more.</p>
<p>You can walk from one side of campus to the other in ~10-11 minutes, so unless you're in a huge hurry, it shouldn't be too much of a problem!</p>
<p>Hi arod,</p>
<p>Particularly with the current exchange rate, I would say that Pasadena is less expensive than the UK in general. I personally find the UK significantly more expensive than the US but that is also partly because grad students in the UK don't get paid as well as most science/engineering grad students in the US do.</p>
<p>Yes, Rhodes for me, but there are a number of others for US students (Marshall, Fulbright, Rotary, etc.) that you can use at Oxford too.</p>
<p>Ah, then no doubt you're aware of the controversy that 2 Rhodes scholars from Harvard have generated...
Belated congrats - what an honour! You must have worked really hard plus somehow find time to do all of the other things that the scholarship requires. I'm originally from Canada, taking my undergrad in the UK. In Canada they only offer 11 Rhodes scholarships for the entire country - so pretty competitive.<br>
Does Oxford have a better reputation for engineering than say Cambridge?
I've just heard about the Gates scholarships to Cambridge that don't seem to be quite as competitive...or maybe I'm kidding myself!</p>