Physics at MIT or Caltech?

Hi all,

I’m trying to decide between Caltech and MIT for physics. I was wondering what the differences are. Some things I was wondering were

1.) How hard is the grading? What’s the average GPA and the distribution in the major? Are a lot of points taken off for silly errors, like sign errors, or are more points dedicated to understanding the concepts?
2.) How much do problem sets count for compared to tests?
3.) How approachable/friendly are the teachers?
4.) What are the research opportunities like?
5.) How are the TAs generally?

(I’m posting this on the Caltech and MIT forums)

I would guess that for items 1, 2, 3, and 5, the variation within a campus is larger than the variation between the campus averages.

Did you attend both CPW and PFW? Did either campus feel like a better fit for you personally?

I can’t address the physics departments specifically, but will tell you that unless you have an extremely high IQ and are prepared to put in a lot of hours, Caltech isn’t the right place. It’ll crush students who succeeded in high school by relying on diligence. Most or all the exams are take-home. This means consulting the Internet and books won’t help. You just have to be naturally brilliant. I know several Caltech dropouts who were plenty smart and hard working, but couldn’t deal with the curriculum.

I was told finding research positions is relatively easy at Caltech. You should verify that this is true. I do know there are more research positions at MIT than students. Good luck.

I don’t think the workload is all that different. . My Caltech son left physics after 5 courses, but that was never his intended major. He did a SURF the first summer. I know he liked the take home tests, and students respect the Honor system. I don’t know that you can’t use books, but this is a question for current students.

I really think it comes down to fit. these 2 schools share more similarities than to most other places.

OP! Congrats on your acceptances.

For 1,2,3 and 5, the variation between professors and courses is huge. There’s no way to answer this by university without knowing exactly what you will be taking for four years and who will be teaching it.

For 4, they are excellent at both. There’s no way to rank them, because that involves the convolution of your interests and their availability, again over four years.

As for taking “a lot of points taken off for silly errors, like sign errors”, if that’s your attitude, and you want to major in physics, I seriously seriously suggest you reconsider. Attention to detail is necessary for a successful career as a scientist. When you publish, your result is expected to be right. Not close. Not “right except for some silly mistake”. Right.

@SpheryCube:
The only one of your five questions that made sense was #4, inquiring about research opportunities.

Ask yourself why you’re so concerned with the other four. They’ll have nothing to do with success or enjoyment at either school, and any answer you get will be randomly subjective.

If you’re seriously going to make a school decision based on those four (1,2,3,5), please step back and reevaluate - for your benefit.

I am guessing OP has not gotten into MIT and Caltech yet. And is a younger high school student. In case that is the case:

Do not worry at all about TAs at any good college, just like professors you will get some fabulous TAs and some that are meh. When you have a class with a meh TA you simply turn to your fellow students for help. Most of what we learn in college is learned from other bright students, but TAs can be very very valuable to learn from. At any good engineering college, you will find very bright classmates, be sure to learn from them !

Caltech, MIT, Georgia Tech, basically professors vary as to how much time they spend with undergrads. Mostly you will spend time with them if you work for them in a lab, maybe but you will be spending way more time with PhD students. They are going to be helping you assess , do you want to be a scientist, engineer in this field?

As a general rule , younger untenured professors at MIT spent a tiny bit more time with undergrads, then very famous scientists and engineers do. I think that will be the same at Caltech but I have no direct experience. When I was a PhD student at MIT, I mentored many undergrads. They helped me and I helped them assess , did they really want a PhD in materials science?

On grading, its on a curve everywhere. So, if a professor gives a test where its just over the heads of the top two kiddos on the class, the average , a B may be 40%. You get used to it. Its really not a big deal but test averages were very low at MIT , when I was an undergrad there. Very low. I mean like occasionally 20% was a C. Yeah, I should have had some Fs.