Is it difficult to get into the 3/2 program at Caltech?

<p>If I eventually attend Reed, I may want to do this program and I was wondering how difficult it is to be accepted to take part in it...</p>

<p>Maybe you've seen this from <a href="http://academic.reed.edu/physics/courses/CIT.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://academic.reed.edu/physics/courses/CIT.html&lt;/a> (which is from a CalTech page):</p>

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Admission to the 3/2 program is not guaranteed and will be determined by the Caltech Faculty Upperclass Admissions Committee. The number of 3/2 transfer students that Caltech can accommodate may vary from year to year, but it is expected that the total size of the 3/2 transfer class will number about twenty each year. Students applying should have a record of superior academic achievement at their home institutions, and strong letters of recommendation from their 3/2 liaison and an additional Science, Mathematics, or Engineering faculty member. They must have completed, at their home college, a minimum of one year of Physics and Mathematics including multivariable calculus and differential equations, and one year of Chemistry (two years of math and physics are recommended).

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<p>And from <a href="http://web.reed.edu/ir/cds/cds0607/cdssece200607.html:%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://web.reed.edu/ir/cds/cds0607/cdssece200607.html:&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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Admission to Caltech is not automatic upon recommendation, but is subject to review by Caltech and may depend upon factors that cannot be anticipated. Caltech does not guarantee financial aid to otherwise eligible students.</p>

<p>While admission to the other programs [Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, or Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute] is also subject to review by the participating school, admission can usually be expected upon recommendation.

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