Is Caltech Even Worth Applying to?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

My dad wants me to apply to Caltech next year because of the $0 net price for my family and I’m just not sure about it. I am a current junior who wants to become CEO/founder of a multi hundred industrial company or potentially go into private equity if my entrepreneurial endeavors don’t work out. I may also try to pursue an MBA at an M7 school such as Harvard in the future.

Here are the current schools I plan on applying to:
Stanford SCEA
MIT
Carnegie Mellon
NC State (in state)
Michigan EA
UPenn
Princeton
Cornell
Rice
Northwestern

I am also considering:
Vanderbilt
Duke
Columbia
Caltech ?
Olin College of Engineering ?
Harvey Mudd ?

Stats:
3.8 ish uw cumulative gpa (really messed up freshman and sophomore year)
33 ACT composite
1420 out of 1520 PSAT (perfect math)

I have a sort of tough household financial situation that makes me eligible for most common app fee waivers. Net price is really important and I already screened out schools that were too expensive (ex. UC Berkeley, USC, Georgia Tech, Lehigh, etc.).

My main question is, does where I go to undergrad matter and if I should apply to Caltech, or schools that don’t have much flexibility to switch out of engineering if I want to (ex. Olin or Harvey Mudd).

I love scientific research and have numerous issued patents, pursuing FDA approval on medical device I invented, etc. I would love to go to a school with good engineering, but still allows me to switch into other well ranked programs if I develop new interests such as economics, chemistry, philosophy, etc. I also took research done by faculty into consideration and am not sure if I prefer a small or large school.

Am I applying to too many schools since there would be a lot of essays to write, or should I apply to as many colleges as possible? Should my limit be 10? Should I just go to NC State (presumably with a Park scholarship) and excel there, hoping to get into a top tier business school? Would Caltech core be too difficult even if I switched into the Business, Economics, and Management major since I only have an A minus in my AP Calculus BC and AP physics classes? I don’t consider myself a super genius and I’m not sure if the campus is filled with those kind of people.

I have a lot of questions and I really don’t know a lot about applying to college. Any feedback and answers to my questions would be helpful!

2

LOl your aspirations are like saying “I’m a student who wants to be rich” lol.

3

You pretty much hit the nail on the head @lostaccount. Of course I have other goals besides that, but yeah, I wanna make hella bank.

4

Messing up Sophomore year is not going to help you at all. And yeah, the Caltech campus is full of really smart kids, many of whom are nothing less than brilliant.
The classes are intense , and are problem set driven, and the pace is not forgiving- there IS a reason that taking classes at Caltech has been described as “trying to drink H2O from a firehose”. And they are NOT known for the strength of their economics or philosophy depts. If you want that kind of flexibility you should apply to bigger U’s, not ones that specialize in STEM, like CT.
Students who cant score 800’s on the Math subject test will not even get a second look there.
I suggest you carefully review the Common Data sets for any college you are considering- look for the GPA’s, SAT scores, class ranks etc, etc of enrolled students. They will give you a good idea of how you measure up.

5

I think you need more matches and safeties. All the schools except NCSU you have listed are highly competitive even for the top students. Your GPA and test scores are not the highest, though your patents would be very interesting and in your favor. But if you mostly apply to the most competitive schools, you may find yourself with NCSU as your only choice when the admission decisions are made. Your PSAT scores are not high enough to be a NMF to qualify for some of the very generous full-tuition scholarship at schools like Oklahoma University, University of Alabama or Temple. Although you will probably quailfy for one of the other scholarships at Bama. I would highly recommend you apply to some more schools which are matches or safeties to give you more options when you decide where to go.

6

I agree…more matches.
Do you want to go to Caltech? If no, don’t apply there.

7

You don’t seem like Caltech is a good fit at all. MIT is a closer fit. Maybe CMU.

8

Caltech is very score heavy and most other things don’t matter. Your scores are below what they want in their common data set so I don’t think you would get in.

9

If you’re low income and Cal Tech would cost you little/nothing to go there, then why would USC be too expensive?

10

“Am I applying to too many schools since there would be a lot of essays to write, or should I apply to as many colleges as possible?”

Almost all of your selections are reaches for anyone, but especially because your scores aren’t tops. You do have a chance those especially having your own patents. But just pick 3-4 of them that you really want, and then choose matches and safeties for the rest. Otherwise you might not get in anywhere.

“Should my limit be 10?”

Since you have the fee waiver you can apply to more, but bear in mind that it takes time to do the personal essays. Don’t apply to too many reach schools as your’e wasting your time.

“Should I just go to NC State (presumably with a Park scholarship) and excel there, hoping to get into a top tier business school?”

If you can go for $0, it’s not a bad choice at all.

“I don’t consider myself a super genius and I’m not sure if the [Caltech] campus is filled with those kind of people.”

It is. Very high pressure. Don’t go unless that’s what you want.

“Net price is really important and I already screened out schools that were too expensive (ex. UC Berkeley, USC, Georgia Tech, Lehigh, etc.)”

UCB I agree is out, but there’s no reason you couldn’t get a substantial scholarship from USC or Lehigh.

Also consider RPI - tops in engineering, they also have a business school, and they’re focused on entrepreneurship. Not as prestigious as the others, but you might get more aid. My daughter got a scholarship covering full tuition + half room/board. CMU also offered her a scholarship but it was less, so she choose RPI. (She applied to many of the same schools as your list.) Rice is very generous with aid - I’d recommend you apply there, though it’s also a reach.

11

Doesn’t UNC-CH have Biomedical Engineering? It did when I was there in the 80s. If it still has it then I’d consider going there in BME and if that doesn’t work out you can switch to Business/Economics, etc.

12

The first set of questions should be - Does University X seem like a place where I will be academically challenged, happy, have a chance to grow (and mature) and be affordable for me?

This is this just a list of places with the best engineering schools in the country - what is the purpose of the list?

Have you visited any colleges? and what did you like?

If the NPC is $0 at Caltech- it is likely $0 or near $0 at other places.

Find out more information/visit a few/talk with a local rep - then post some comments and people here are very good at answering the
I liked this place please suggest to me 2 higher academically but similar - 2 same - and 2 lower but similar

good luck on your journey - research it like you would a very important project

13

How did you get several issued patents? You must’ve started when you were in
Middle school?

How are you going about getting FDA approval by yourself?

14

@sgopal2 Yes I did start in middle school. Further I should have articulated that I have one issued and two pending patents filed. As for FDA approval, medical equipment such as Class II devices aren’t the same as getting drugs approved. It’s onerous but not nearly as much so. I’ll probably have to do this in college

15

I think it would be a better idea to include more “matches” - most of the schools you have listed are very selective which means it’s hard to predict whether or not you’ll get in regardless of your stats. Also, what do you look for in a college? Maybe you can find specific aspects (location, specific departments, etc) that you are looking for and create a college list based on that.

Also, do not assume you will be able to get the Park at NCSU. This year, over 2000 kids applied and only 35 will receive the scholarship, which is less than 2% of applicants. All of the kids who make it to just the finals are very impressive and most of them get accepted or are very capable of getting accepted to top-tier schools, so the competition is tough. Good luck!

16

You sound like a smart person. I agree with your dad. Sounds like you would do well at Caltech.

17

My son is at Caltech and he, as well as his classmates, do struggle with the intense coursework and expectations. Your scores and GPA, although good, are not top-level “Caltech” and would cause you to struggle just to keep up. Even the non-STEM majors are working non-stop.

If your EFC is 0, you may still have some added costs. Caltech meets need according to their calculations.

If you get in, do not expect to get more than 2 hours sleep per night, if that.

18

auntbea- I always wondered where your DS was in college!
He ust be very smart!
My DS is at Caltech now doing his PhD- he was a top HS student but did not even apply there for UG- the 'drinking water…" reputation scared him too much.