<p>I know there's a couple of these threads floating around but I wanted to see if I could get some advice a little more personal to my case:
-So as of now I don't have a preference to which but my parents have more or less decided on MIT. I think if I really wanted to go to Caltech, my dad would be okay with it but my mom might take some time to convince.
-I plan on being pre-med and majoring in bioengineering or something like that.
-My main extracurricular was dance and I'd like to continue that in college, whether as a club in the university or just taking classes from a local studio.
-I don't know whether I prefer a big or small school?
-I live in Washington (the state), so Pasadena is a lot closer in terms of flying costs than Boston.
-I've never visited Caltech and don't think I'll be able to, but I like California weather. I visited MIT during the summer and liked the campus and the area but fear Bostonian winter.</p>
<p>It would be great if you could visit Caltech, especially during accepted students’ weekend. The money you spend on the trip now will be saved if you end up at MIT and have to fly across country several times a year.</p>
<p>If you’re going to be spending four years here and most likely spend a significant amount of money on your school, it’s a worthwhile investment in visiting Caltech before attending. It’s a very unique school with a very unique culture. If you like it, you’ll love it. If you don’t fit in the culture the terms can feel very very long (especially since you likely turned down another school you’d have found a better niche).</p>
<p>If med school is really truly the thing you want more than anything, Caltech probably isn’t the best place for you. (you have to take all sorts of unrealated classes, and there isn’t much actually related, except in a general sense, you won’t have a 4.0, and you won’t probably won’t have as much support for your ambitions here as you might find somewhere else) (disclaimer- i have premed friends, but am not personally interested in biology or medicine or anything)
The annual caltech dance show is this weekend, so there is some dance on campus but not all that much. (But I don’t know much about it, maybe someone else can tell you more)
Caltech isn’t just small, the social scene here is pretty special (hovses, collaboration etc). If you can’t visit, maybe you can talk to some students on the phone or something- I’d say some people love it and some people hate it, so you probably want to know which one you are before you decide.</p>
<p>How many times a year are you planning on going home- 2 maybe 3? I doubt the difference in cost (money and time) will be all that significant.</p>
<p>It’s true that the winters are warmer here than in boston, but remember you’re going to spend most of your time indoors- taking classes, doing problem sets, etc (I suppose there are some people for whom this is not true, but generally…) so I consider the coursework, social scene and opportunities more important than the weather.</p>
<p>The caveat I add to JNTs comment, is that
IF your purpose is to get training to pursue an MD/PhD and then do research;
AND if you love learning, studying, and doing research (they are like hobbies to you),
AND if you have an affinity for physics and math as well as biology (youll have to take a lot of physics and math),
THEN you could not make a better choice . <em>Caltech is first and foremost for people who want to do research</em>. </p>
<p>If on the other hand, you just want to practice medicine, do yourself a favor and go somewhere else.</p>
<p>I’ve heard on CC that the grading policies at Caltech have recently changed in order to eliminate the grade deflation, so right now you might have an easier time getting a higher GPA at Caltech than MIT. This is dependent on whether you can do theory or not, of course.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input everybody! I really appreciate it
I like math but of all the sciences, I’m weakest at physics…but I am interested in doing research!</p>
