<p>I understand the house system is a big part of campus life and culture at caltech. How many ppl live off campus though in apartments and the like? would they not be able to be apart of the caltech campus life?</p>
<p>Let me start by saying that you remain a member of your House or Houses even if you are not living there, unless you choose not to do so (so you are still welcome to participate in house activities, although you’ll have to walk 5 minutes instead of 5 seconds to get to them). I’m not entirely sure what your question of “how many people…” means, so I’m going to give you a couple of facts and hope I hit the right one. There is a perceived difference between living “off campus” (not in one’s House but in Caltech-owned housing) and “off off” (in non-Caltech-owned housing). I would say that about 1 in 5 people lives “off campus” but very few live “off off” (maybe 3-10 people out of 100). I should also point out that some of the “off campus” housing is physically located on campus (somewhere around half of it?). Some fraction of the off campus (maybe 1/3 or 1/2) and off off housing are apartments. Also, I’d like to point out that not all of campus life revolves around the houses. There are clubs and teams and other things to do that aren’t house related.</p>
<p>The vast majority of people choose to live in their houses, on campus. The ones who don’t usually live in the “off campus” housing that is still Caltech housing, associated with their own house. The very few who choose to live “off off campus”, do so because they have their own personal needs. In most colleges, the “cool” kids live off campus, while at Caltech it is generally considered cooler to live on campus, in the houses. The houses become your family, and the atmosphere in the houses is so supportive, and that is what most people choose.</p>