<p>dmd77 wrote: "CalTech is in Pasadena and there aren't many other colleges there. There are 63 colleges in the Boston area."</p>
<p>There are at least two other colleges in Pasadena, one just a block northeast of Caltech. Furthermore, Cambridge is to Boston as Pasadena is to LA,* so if you want to compare numbers of colleges, you'd have to compare all those in the LA area with all those in the Boston area. I'm no expert on the matter, so can't tell you exactly how many colleges are in the LA area, but I'd guess there are several dozen.</p>
<p>*I'm old so had to learn analogies for the SAT.</p>
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I notice an MITer posted that while visiting Caltech the students there seemed to smile more than the MIT students
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Interesting... that was exactly the opposite of what we observed when we visited both campuses. Students at Caltech, to an individual, looked at their feet or the ground or the books in their arms as they raced past us, no one was smiling at all, no one responded to our polite queries in the cafeteria, and it just seemed a very cold and uninviting community to us. Now, we may have visited on an off day, or it may have been a stressful academic week, or any number of things. But compared to the pure energy and activity and even openness we found in the MIT community (even 'though the external atmosphere was more grey, frigid, and oppressive), there was no doubt which environment my son found more appealing.</p>
<p>To use an old Usenet newsgroup terminology, YMMV. (Your Mileage May Vary.)</p>
<p>I don't know if Cambridge is to Boston as Pasadena is to LA. If I wanted to I could get to Boston on foot is less than 10 minutes (this is from laying in my bed at MIT, to actually standing in Boston), from there I can get to Fenway, the Fleet Center, and at least 4 different colleges on foot fairly easily, and without leaving Cambridge I can manage to get to Harvard easily as well. In most cases I would take a short bus or T ride, but in all cases I have walked at least twice to all of these locations.</p>
<p>Seriously, when the Charles River froze over I skated to Boston in less than a minute. I can't imagine Pasadena is really that close to LA is it?</p>
<p>I would also point out that Boston/Cambridge are very very close. When I lived in Boston (next to Fenway Park) and worked at MIT it took me a very pleasant 15 minutes to walk to work (which I did, even if raining or snowing, for five years). The last time I visited MIT, we walked from MIT to Harvard, through the Lesley College campus. Even with my aching knees, it was a pleasant walk. </p>
<p>When I lived in LA and worked at USC, no one walked anywhere if they could avoid it. Of course, that was in the early 70s, and it was a lot more polluted then. Breathing wasn't that easy.</p>
<p>obviously this is a case of 6 in 1 hand, half a dozen in another. you can't really make a wrong choice here. I guess the only advantage of having a caltech degree over a mit degree is rarity. There are about 1/4 as many caltech grads as MIT grads. I think its just a little "cooler" to have a caltech degree than an MIT degree. just one guys opinion hehe. but of course, go wherever you like best!</p>
<p>The biggest question is, "why would you want to go into LA?" SoCal is not like Boston or Chicago or New York or even Seattle, where you live in the burbs and then go downtown for interesting stuff. Things in SoCal are a lot more spread out, and do not cluster in a downtown area. I lived in SoCal for 40 years and went entire years without going into LA more than a couple of times. It's just not the same as older cities where there is a core and then the 'burbs.</p>
<p>EDIT: Actually, of course, Los Angeles is exactly as close to Pasadena as Boston is to Cambridge. That is, zero distance.</p>
<p>"My impression is that the differences in the educational opportunities at the two schools are microscopic compared to the vast differences in size, location, environment, etc."</p>
<p>ITA.</p>
<p>I do think MIT offers one objective academic advantage, in that it has more and better non-science offerings than Caltech, and relatively simple cross-enrollement with Harvard. Some kids have known since they were 10 that they are exclusively interested in XYZ subject and that's that. But if there's any possibility of getting seriously interested in something new -- and I really hope most college kids are open to that possibility -- then I'd choose MIT. IMHO, there's nothing cooler in college than the freedom to decide, all of a sudden, that you want to learn Sanskrit.</p>
<p>MIT also has cross-registration with Wellesley and shuttle buses to get there. There is also the option for music lessons at 3 different schools on the Number 1 bus line along Massachusetts Ave: Berklee, NEC, and Longy, but I don't think MIT generally pays for this or has standard cross-registration procedures. MIT also has some arrangements with the Harvard medical schools at PhD level (HST program) for research and a shuttle bus to the med school area, so medical research can probably also be arranged, over and above the biology offerings at MIT campus.</p>
<p>Caltech has JPL, as well as some sister schools in the area where one can cross-register.</p>
<p>Hmm, no reason if you never go outside, do not like beautiful flowers year around, beaches, mountains, low humidity,a high energy diverse but laid back culture or being near the entertainment industry.....and JPL</p>
<p>I love both places. Locations are very different, but plenty to do and appreciate for all types.</p>
<p>If I were choosing I'd probably give MIT the edge for size and diversity, but I'm feeling a bit crabbed with them right now because they rejected my son, who would provide zilch in diversity. :)</p>
<p>"there's nothing cooler in college than the freedom to decide, all of a sudden, that you want to learn Sanskrit." (sorry I can never remember how to do the quote thingy)</p>
<p>Caltech students like my son, when they decide to learn something that's not offered..they just pick up a book or do some internet research. Right now my son's teaching himself Japanese in his spare time at Caltech. (Caltech does offer Japanese but it didn't fit in his schedule which could happen at MIT as well). </p>
<p>I must say, Caltech's campus is stunningly beautiful. A fact I missed when we first toured the campus(I was too busy worrying if my son should even apply). I actually really wanted him to pick MIT. I loved the hands on approach and was so excited to see how students were really working to change the world. He picked Caltech. He's happy there and I can see it really was the right place for him and he seemed to know that from the beginning of his college search.</p>
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"why would you want to go into LA?"</p>
<p>Hmm, no reason if you never go outside, do not like beautiful flowers year around, beaches, mountains, low humidity,a high energy diverse but laid back culture or being near the entertainment industry.....and JPL
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</p>
<p>I'm thinking you entirely missed my point, which was (more explicitly) why would you need to go into the city of Los Angeles? You can experience everything on your list (except maybe the entertainment industry) outside the city of LA. </p>
<p>I'm a huge fan of Southern California. I'm a third-generation Californian who went to Huntington Beach High School, just like my parents and my great-uncle (my grandparents didn't go to high school). There is nothing wrong with California that the sudden disappearance of 25 million people wouldn't fix.</p>
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Exactly! And east coast beaches just don't compare to So Cal.
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Really I much prefer East Coast beaches, though not so much the ones around Boston. They are pretty but the water tends to be cold and at least the parts of the Cape we go to (armpit) no real waves or good sand. But from NJ down to FL it's just one great beach after another. IMO. :)</p>
<p>WashDad, my list is LA. Or are you just talking about downtown? I left off the LA symphony where we had a subscription. LA proper has a fair amount, but I think you have to include the whole conglomeration anyway. My point (but perhaps not yours) is that if you venture out of Pasadena and San Marino there are a bajillion interesting things to see and do.</p>
<p>As a boy who grew up in Florida and now goes to school at Caltech, I can tell you that SoCal beaches (at least the ones I've seen) don't hold a candle to Florida beaches. Much warmer water, sandier/less rocky, prettier stuff in the water, clearer water, etc. </p>
<p>But SoCal beaches are much better than Massachusetts beaches.</p>
<p>In any case, I agree with the posters who have stated that the main difference between the two schools is in personality. The best way, by far, is to visit both and decide based on that. I found MIT to be much more bland personality-wise when I visited, but of course YMMV. I guess I just love the small school vibe.</p>