<p>This morning, many of you will be heading back for home with perhaps a general sense of what Caltech is like. But whether you enjoyed your stay or not, two days isn't necessarily enough time to fully appreciate what Caltech's really all about. Here's several things you may want to consider before making your final decision.</p>
<p>1) Caltech is a small place. This can be either something positive or something negative, depending on your preference. With around 1,000 undergrads, you won't always find a group of like-minded individuals. However, the flip side of the coin is that every student matters at Tech. At least several professors will know you by name, you'll see familiar faces more often, and special adjustments can be made based on your indivual needs.</p>
<p>2) Caltech is pretty. Ok, this one should be blatantly obvious. It's just really nice walking around campus sometimes just for the sake of it. The gardens and the buildings all make Tech a bit more bearable during the hard times. And the weather's almost always nice, so we can work just that much harder and still be happy. =)</p>
<p>3) Caltech is work-intensive. You probably didn't see much work going on during Prefrosh Weekend, partly due to the faculty deciding to give an extension to all students for anything due this past Friday. But there is in fact a lot of work during the year. Expect to work anywhere between 6 to 12 hours on an average day if you're coming here, and perhaps more in some cases.</p>
<p>4) Caltech is, first and foremost, a research institution. Education is still important, but not critical for most professors. On the other hand, Tech is probably the best place on Earth for doing research at the undergraduate level because of a low student:faculty ratio, the high quality of these professors, and programs like SURF.</p>
<p>Oh, and one more thing: If you had a negative impression of the house system, don't let that scare you away. The houses try to put up a bit more of a show for prefrosh weekend, but it's all for fun. I can reassure you they're all normal people when you talk to them. And besides, pretty much everyone at Caltech is a nerd at heart, whether it seems like it or not.</p>