People at Caltech

I am kind of afraid of the social atmosphere/how I will fit in at Caltech and this makes me reluctant to apply. While I do enjoy academics and can be dorky, I am afraid that I won’t be as intense as the others there or that we won’t have the same interests. (Will I have friends, basically?) I am also a girl and that staggering gender ratio is a little concerning. Can anyone speak to that?

Do you have any friends or know anyone that has gone to Caltech?

Where does your knowledge of the “social atmosphere” at Caltech come from?

Have you thought about Harvey Mudd? Gender ratio is better. Academics are super intense, but it is also a very cooperative atmosphere.

@JustOneDad I have read some personal testaments and commentaries on the social scene (Common comments include: guys can be very dorky, people are focused on research over social aspects, just very intense academics). I don’t know anyone who has so that’s why I was asking. I want to know how true it is.

Research is important at Caltech, but students still have social lives.

The Houses help with the social life. There are weekend barbecues and parties. The school has taken everyone to a movie opening. There are many clubs. The gender ratio is getting less extreme. My son had close female friends, and spent more than one vacation with one female.

Over the years, my son’s social life grew beyond Pasadena.

I’m sorry just parents are responding to your question. Perhaps look for older threads where students commented.

The gender ratio for the undergrad class of 2019 is actually 53/47 (M/F). There are a wider variety of people here than you might initially suspect. I’m a current student, so I can happily answer more specific questions too.

Don’t forget that some areas have a higher proportion of men than others. What are your interests?

A leading college guide quotes a female student regarding the sex ratio and her male classmates at Caltech: “the odds are good, but the goods are odd.” Perhaps unfair and maybe even apocryphal, but certainly memorable.

@InfinityFlat I’m glad to hear that the M/F ratio for the undergrad class is now 53/47. However, I can’t find any stats on-line to corroborate that info. WSNWR has it at 63/37 and Caltech’s own “At a Glance” puts it at 69/31 (but this figure may include grad students. it’s unclear). Can you provide a reference or link for the ratio that you quoted?

Another aphorism: Caltech students can “sleep, study, socialize: pick two.” The comments here seem to indicate that this is urban myth. True?

I’m sorry. I realize now that I’ve quoted stats for the entire undergraduate student body. @InfinityFlat was referring only to the class of 2019. I should have read more carefully. Anyway, glad to see that the gender balance is improving.