<p>I think Ben did get into MIT when he was applying but that's irrelevant. Caltech is good for certain people-- a very VERY select few people-- bright, of course, that's a given, but also people who place the importance of intellect and knowledge above all else. Those people really soak it up at Caltech- like Ben. And come out all the better for it and think that because they had such a great experience (and of course they did! It was made for them) then there's a great injustice for its lack of popularity. When there isn't. Caltech is unpopular for precisely that reason-- because it is so good for so few people.</p>
<p>Ben:</p>
<p>Also, in regards to Caltech's biology department, I am sure it is an excellent department but it is largely a "boutique" operation with very limited options compared to MIT, Harvard or Yale which all offer much greater breadth and depth. This is a major gripe of the Caltech biology students themselves as the enclosed 2006 report clearly underscores.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Currently it appears that Caltech’s biology classes focus on a rather small number of facets within the biology fields, and students would appreciate more class diversity.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yup, you couldn't be more right. Tell that to the med school admissions comitte, when they reject you.</p>
<p>haha, just kidding.
Just that I am bored at work</p>
<p>
If I had chosen to attend MIT, I'd be embarrassed to have you as an alumnus of my school.</p>
<p>cellardweller--</p>
<p>first, the parallel with the Jew story is obvious. Harvard (=MIT) instituted a racially discriminatory policy to improve yield and succeeded. Columbia (=Caltech) did the more noble thing, at least for a while, by refusing to discriminate and suffered by having a lower yield because most students or their parents preferred the discrimination that Harvard was engaging in. But that did not make Harvard's antisemitism right, just like MIT's increased popularity doesn't justify its practice of racial discrimination. Your failure to understand this simple analogy seems consistent with your inability to engage any of these issues in even a modestly intelligent way.</p>
<p>you also said...</p>
<p>
[quote]
Since over 70% of Caltech admits decided to enroll at HYPSM...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>this is just a blatant lie. made up, completely false. since you insist on making up numbers and hurling insults in lieu of having anything substantive to say, i think most of the people here agree that there is not much to be gained from talking to you. or at least i think this :-D. but thanks for your time.</p>
<p>p.s. pebbles in #41 gets it mostly right about Caltech, alas : )</p>
<p>
What could possibly make you think that Caltech undergrads are 'disabled' from grad schools?</p>
<p>Ben:</p>
<p>So MIT (and Harvard's) AA admission policies make them racially discriminatory? That's a new twist! Against whom? Whites? Asians? You must be kidding! If you walk around MIT pretty much everybody is either white or Asian. They are hardly being kept out of the place, so I really don't see the analogy with the Jew story. Even the current Supreme Court with a conservative majority fully agrees that the current admission policies by the likes of Harvard and MIT are perfectly legitimate so what makes you competent to judge them discriminatory? What pomposity!</p>
<p>Is there any evidence that the average URM admit at MIT is more wealthy than the average non-URM admit?</p>
<p>To be honest, I don't see any point in being inflammatory about this discussion by calling people racist, insulting various programs at various schools, or flamebaiting in general. Perhaps we can all act like civilized people for a moment?</p>
<p>Hitler!</p>
<p>there i did it</p>
<p>Thread over, gg no re.</p>
<p>One thing I've noticed is that whenever this topic comes up, the same posters turn up to fuel the flame war. And I think this topic gets debated to death, every year.</p>
<p>It's like a festival!</p>
<p>you don't say</p>
<p>btw River Phoenix, I believe the correct form is "gg no re kthxbye"</p>
<p>"California Institute of Technology is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and encourages the applications of qualified women, minorities, veterans and disabled persons."</p>
<p>But I've heard they admit 1 or 2 African Americans each year...</p>
<p>"Caltech is harder than MIT, and most students would prefer easier grading and fewer hard required courses. Yield isn't everything, and Caltech decided a long time ago to provide a serious education instead of selling out (like MIT) and trying to be a Harvard clone."</p>
<p>Hahaha. You're really shooting from the hip!</p>
<p>"Caltech is harder than MIT, and most students would prefer easier grading and fewer hard required courses. Yield isn't everything, and Caltech decided a long time ago to provide a serious education instead of selling out (like MIT) and trying to be a Harvard clone."</p>
<p>Other than having a management major and not requiring all undergrads to take quantum mechanics, I wonder what the basis for this statement is. I strongly disagree with it. In the classes I took in engineering, the mean was the cut-off between a B and a C. In the science classes, there was slightly more leeway (maybe 65% of the class got above a C.) As for having easier content, I just don't buy it.</p>
<p>-White kid " Mom, SAT's are coming up in three weeks"
-White mom "Well that's a relief, after studying for the last two years you should do quite well. I can't belief my little Patrick is going to college already. It seems like it was yesterday when I was still breast feeding you."</p>
<p>What makes you think some white kid growing up in a single parent home with a mom who works seven to eleven has many advantages over a minority in a similar position? Data shows that while a greater proportion of Blacks and Mexicans live beneath the poverty line, there is a larger number of poor Whites than poor Blacks or Mexicans.</p>
<p>Also, what makes you think Jews and Asians are more motivated than their URM counterparts? I go to a Bay Area(near San Francisco) public school and most of the 2nd and 3rd generation Asians are no more motivated than the White kids. Only a few 1st generation guys fit the stereotype, so you just can't generalize like that. That is why any Affirmative Action should be based on economic status, not race.</p>
<p>btw River Phoenix, I believe the correct form is "gg no re kthxbye"</p>
<p>kthxbye.</p>