<p>I was at Caltech on Monday and read the student paper while I was there. There was an editorial (I think in the Feb 28th paper, but I'm not sure) about how there isn't enough grade inflation at Caltech and how students are Caltech are overworked and under-rewarded (in terms of GPA), which makes graduate/medical school admissions difficult. Did anyone read this letter and if so, what are your thoughts on this?</p>
<p>Also, after visiting Caltech, I visited some other schools in the state and met with professors there. The one thing I heard was that in comparison to places like MIT and Hopkins, where undergrads come out after four years loving the place, few people feel the same way about Caltech after getting their BS (Though they said quite the opposite is true of grad students). Any comments/thoughts on this?</p>
<p>(PS - Just FYI, I'm an admitted pre-frosh, trying to figure out if Caltech is the right place for me)</p>
<p>Oh, you read the editorial by Tammy Ma, the opinions editor. She's in the midst of receiving grad-school decisions, so that partially explains her feelings.</p>
<p>"few people feel the same way about Caltech after getting their BS"</p>
<p>I'm a member of the most recent Caltech graduating class, and I definitely feel all nostalgic and stuff about it. I'm looking forward to visiting in a couple weeks. Going to Caltech was exactly the right decision for me, and I say that despite a year and a half of being dragged through the mud by that same (crappy) newspaper you read, etc.</p>
<p>The Tech won't suck any more. We just broke a 16-year block of succession where the winners of the Tech Editor election would be the ones picked by the previous year's Tech Editors. This year, the winning candidate was a complete outsider to the Tech and can both write and edit.</p>
<p>"This year, the winning candidate was a complete outsider to the Tech and can both write and edit."</p>
<p>Was it actually a contested election and these people BEAT the hand-picked Kevin and Tammy clone, or could Kevin and Tammy just not find anyone and thus these are the people who won? The second situation doesn't "break" anything in my mind. If Techers actively REJECTED the Tech-picked slate, that would indeed constitute a change.</p>
<p>tanman: since nobody has even tried to answer your question, I suggest you scan through the MIT vs CalTech thread and read sakky's, ben's, itallgood's and my posts, jomama, for a fairly detailed discussion.</p>
<p>Choosing a college is a big decision. Do your homework.</p>
<p>The other guy was Adam Craig, who you may or may not know as Black Jacket And Bowler Hat Guy. The election process went on forever: there were three candidates running at first, Adam Craig, the clones (Matt Walker and some Rudd frosh), and some Lloydie. The election came down as a tie within the three-vote margin of error between Adam Craig and the clones, then the whole ASCIT election was invalidated on several technicalities. The rerun election was set for a week in the future, and the Lloydie dropped out of the race. Adam Craig won the second election. I don't know how close it was.</p>
<p>I was waiting to answer your post when I had time to write something long and detailed, but that's not going to happen until after spring break, so I'll go ahead and hit the high points now.</p>
<p>I actually remember the article you're talking about, because my roommate pointed it out to me and we laughed at Tammy for writing it. Because there is grade inflation here. I've been in a class where my final average was a 62 and I got a B+. If that isn't grade inflation I don't know what is. What Tammy is complaining about is that, unlike at some Ivy Leagues, students are not almost always given A's. At other schools if you put the effort into the class, you get an A. Here, if you put the effort into the class, you get at least a C or a B (usually the latter, depending on the class). Thus, graduating here with honors (>3.5 GPA) means something. There are all sorts of rumors out there about how grad schools treat a GPA from Caltech. If you look back through the forums, you can probably find most of them. If you'd rather not spend the time, ask the question again after spring break and I'll answer.</p>
<p>You also said that profs at other schools think that students come away from Caltech having hated their experience. This seems like really unreliable second-hand information. What you really need to do is come to prefrosh weekend and ask the seniors the same question. They'll all be weeks away from graduating, and that way you can make sure not to get a self-selected group (such as from the Alumni organization) or an overly vocal group (which bitter people tend to be). Also, remember that students here tend to complain, even when they wouldn't choose another college. I go home and complain all the time about how horrible the workload is and how much they crush our pride, and so on and so forth. But the truth is that most of my complaints are exaggerations and that if given the chance, I wouldn't go back and change my decision to come here. Being bitter and complaining is one of the ways we let off steam here -- so be careful about listening to second-hand rants.</p>
<p>That's fantastic news. Absolutely fantastic. When I served my two terms on the ASCIT BoD (2001-2003), Kevin absolutely dragged me through the mud. He was just obsessive, and didn't make the paper any better either. He and his ilk (Matt is DEFINITELY his ilk, even more than Tammy, by the way) needed to go.</p>
<p>I do remember Black Jacket And Bowler Hat Guy, but I don't think I ever talked to him. I'm sure he'll do a good job if he puts in the time.</p>
<p>Also, the WHOLE election was invalidated?? Man. What happened? I was Election Chair last year after getting off the BoD, and none of the ones I ran were ever invalidated! ;-)</p>
<p>The whole election was invalidated because of a whole series of problems -- the biggest were the fact that the election was held on Wednesday rather than Tuesday (as stated in the Tech) and there was no complete list of candidates anywhere. But, in the second election, there was no change in the outcome, except that the ties in the first were resolved. Interestingly, something like 500 people voted in the second election, I've heard.</p>
<p>A Tech that was otherwise Kevin Bartz complaining? Whining about the election? Nice!! I'd love to read that. Can you save a copy? I'm visiting March 31.</p>
<p>Joe, what's wrong? I really respect the two good years you spent in service on the ASCIT BoD. I know you, Ted and the others dealt with a host of unfair potshots and were not appreciated for all the work you did.</p>
<p>Sometimes that's how I felt about the Tech editorship, too. We boosted content, added color, trimmed salaries, but while letters flowed in from faculty congratulating us for improving the paper's look, students were relentless about pedantic traditions we had broken. It was as though all our hard work meant nothing because we had removed the big beaver above the masthead. Every issue of the ASCIT minutes, it seemed, criticized Tammy and me by name. But I know you went through the same tarring and feathering as FDAL and as secretary in particular, and on that level, I identify with you.</p>
<p>I wrote two articles the week after that election, individually thanking Matt and Tammy for their hard work when no one else would. If you had still been around, I would've written an article thanking you, too. You did a wonderful job over your two years in the BoD. I still remember the time you stopped a house from co-opting funds for an exclusive event... I really admired your integrity.</p>
<p>If you want, I'd be happy to forward you those articles. Tammy Ma was a wonderful writer, a fine editor, a brilliant, dedicated manager and the longest-serving Tech editor in history, 98 issues behind her belt. Matt Walker wrote 53 articles over his time with the Tech and held down the fort for a full year. You yourself served two years on the BoD and two as election chair. Don't we all deserve a little thanks?</p>
<p>Caltech relies heavily on contributions made by alumni. If so many students were unhappy there, they would not receive as much as they do in the present day. They depend on their own students being happy and successful in the future.</p>