<p>im just wondering if the students of Caltech really enjoy the school, or are they always constantly overwhellmed w/ work that they do not enjoy the pasadena area?
like how intense is the course work? do u guys have fun?</p>
<p>I have problem sets due on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays (each of which might take about six hours to do).
This means I'm usually goofing off on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays :)
I should stop putting off my problem sets until the last day.
But yeah, I definitely like the school. We have a lot of fun when we're not doing problem sets (and when we are doing problem sets). My friend's about to get abducted by a bunch of upperclassmen dressed as the KKK for (part of) her house initiation ceremony. :D</p>
<p>Ditto what fizix2 said. I am pretty sure the majority of freshmen have the following order of preferences: fun,.....academics, sleep. I just got into my room covered in soda, tomato sauce, mustard, and grass with dirt :) Don't even know how I ended up like that, but I definitely had loooooots of fun :D</p>
<p>I just got back from the beach. There's time for fun stuff if you make time for it.</p>
<p>The work load isn't bad... yet. I'd argue that 75% of being able to do what you want when you want to do it is simply time management skills. I've done every set on time and been ready for every quiz/exam thus far: Those things never held me back from going and wandering into Pasadena.</p>
<p>For instance, I just got back from Blade Runner: The Final Cut. It's not impossible.</p>
<p>I think you are mistaken, fizix. Those were not upperclassmen. They were the Master and His Minions, summoned from their lair by the stench of unworthy frosh.</p>
<p>oh my. If frosh smell so bad, maybe we should shower them? We've done our part!</p>
<p>Just one more frosh chiming in to say that yes we definitely do have fun. I have not found the general campus vibe to be depressing at all, and I've done cool stuff every weekend, either on or off campus.</p>
<p>I'm still a frosh, but I've found this place to be awesome. Before I got here I wasn't sure I'd like it, but once I got here I realized this place is incredible. People here are extremely cool, and awesome to hang with. Problem sets are interesting at the very least (though they are hard), and you'll meet some incredibly genius people, both students and faculty. </p>
<p>fizix, is that happening in Page? Your location says "into the page," but I haven't heard of any girl getting abducted yet.</p>
<p>Sooo I'm a sophomore. I loved everything about this school last year. The people are awesome, the campus is gorgeous, and beginning life in college was just fun in general. Even when work got tough and I felt overwhelmed, I was glad to be here. Ben Golub called me a poster child for the admissions office. I knew bitter upperclassmen, but I was sure I'd never be one of them... my expectations for myself weren't too high, I understood that I would have to work hard, and I was just so HAPPY. </p>
<p>But my first wave of... not exactly bitterness, but at least unhappiness hit last week. I won't go into the details, because: one, it depresses me; and two, parts of me still feel like it's my individual circumstances, and maybe if I were just better able to handle things, I'd still be perfectly happy. And, knowing me, next week I'll probably be posting about how much I love it here. </p>
<p>But even without going into my personal experience, I think it's important that prospective students know that NOT EVERYONE is happy here. When people tell you that this school isn't for everyone, take it seriously. I've seen friends transition from confident, friendly, enthusiastic leaders to caustic loners that have panic attacks over every minor challenge. Wow, I only had one person in mind when I wrote that sentence, but after two minutes, I've thought of at least three other people that that describes. I don't mean to scare you, but I think in our efforts to assure you that we can and do have fun here, we often gloss over the fact that Caltech is NOT right for everyone. Many people do really enjoy it here. But many are also overwhelmed. And, I think, for a lot of people, it's a mix of both. Sometimes (hopefully most of the time) we're happy here. And sometimes we're really really not.</p>
<p>
[quote]
fizix, is that happening in Page?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Nope! Just a misleading location entry.</p>
<p>Although I think I could make an educated guess as to what house that would be...</p>
<p>It seems you all depend on your social groups quite alot. Does this create a segregated environment? I do not mean segregated as in a chunk of others left out. How easily do the Caltech students gather to the social problem sets. I mean if one is left out (academically or socially) does anyone seek to assist them? Does the empathy (not to be confused with pity) level on campus make a productive presence?</p>
<p>No one is left out by the choice of the "social group." It's a matter of taking your set, possibly your book, and walking into a lounge to work on it with someone else (at least for core classes). I'm not sure how much easier collaboration could possibly get (for classes and problems which allow it, of course).</p>