<p>I know this isn't the place to ask but I'm a little embarassed to ask the Admission Office so I'll just ask here.</p>
<p>I sent in my rejection letter to Caltech yesterday explaining that given that I hadn't settled really on a career, Stanford would give me a wider variety of options. But.</p>
<p>A couple of hours later I started panicking and feeling that I had made a big mistake. I know everyone (in the 'normal world') will think I am a fool for considering Tech over Stanford (and that sort of pressure from family and friends is what guided my decision) but I am thinking that there can be nothing better than Caltech for me intellectually.</p>
<p>So.</p>
<p>Is it possible to rescind my rejection before May 1 in the case that my mom does not disown me and i assure myself that i am absolutely doing the right thing? I'll talk to my teachers tomorrow and get the whole thing settled.</p>
<p>If you call the admissions office as soon as you've made your decision, they will disregard your previous mail, as long as you send them a letter informing Caltech that you will enroll (and noting that your previous letter was in error).</p>
<p>This is a good way of making a college decision (no kidding). Settle on one at random or whatever, and if you feel that you're making a huge mistake a day later, switch to the other one.</p>
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Nah. If you screw up at Stanford, then you just dropped the ball completely. If you screw up here, then you feel like a dumbass.
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<p>What do you mean by that? I'm not too good on expressions..</p>
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Iversion, did you come to PFW? That was what sold me to come here instead of Stanford.
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<p>Visited Stanford over PFW for 3 days. It really is a shame that Caltech was simultaneous. We really couldn't afford it..</p>
<p>Stanford's weekend was OK but we didn't do anything over the weekend related to physics/math, which is what would have put me head over heels for the school. I'm guessing that was probably the case over at Cal.</p>
<p>the big thing my mom has for pushing me to stanford is that cal kids are nerdy and that i will be 'well rounded' at stanford. i guess that's ballpark if i do choose to go on to become a neurosurgeon. but right now the only passions i have are math and physics (and philosophy).</p>
<p>but i also understand that i might not want to do that for 4 years</p>
<p>It really depends on what you make of a school. </p>
<p>There are people at Caltech who are some of the least nerdiest people I've ever met in my life, and possess extraordinary talent in dealing with and influencing others.</p>
<p>Of course, this is a minority, but it exists.</p>
<p>Nobody became a nerd or non-nerd simply by virtue of coming here. Similarly, you're not doomed to being a boxed in geek by choosing one school over another. Every university is incredibly diverse and stimulating in the students you'll meet there, and Caltech is no different.</p>
<p>Similarly, no one ever became well-rounded simply by attending Stanford. </p>
<p>You will, however, be forced to take some charming required courses in Queer Studies 101, Women Studies, etc. throughout your studies there.</p>
<p>I agree in some degree with what Sakky posted before. Caltech poses greater risks but also greater rewards. I definitely feel that I get more done in a week than I used to accomplish in maybe a month in high school (the learning/schoolwork itself is considerable but I've also tacked on some other EC's--some that I may not have been able to do at larger schools--that I enjoy). At the same time, there is a surprising % of people who don't even graduate from here.</p>
<p>Also, I don't think many people are obviously nerdy--or at least not nearly as much as I expected before coming for PFW.</p>
<p>DON"T PANIC! Both are great schools. You will get a world-class education no matter which one you choose. You can't screw up; you win either way.</p>
<p>In response to the chorus of people saying "both are great schools":
It seems like you have a strong gut feeling for Caltech.
I think you should definitely go with your gut feeling. I developed the same sort of feeling over the past few months. It's hard to completely rationalize, but I feel like I completely agree with the school's philosophy (on top of all of the nice features of Caltech that Ben likes to talk about.) When I visited Caltech during pre-frosh weekend (just about a week ago) I felt like I belonged there. Obviously the place wasn't perfect, but I felt much more at home than I did at the other colleges I visited.
I hope to see you next fall.</p>
<p>Your statement that Queer Studies 101 and and Women's Studies are required courses is wrong. Please don't mislead or misrepresent. Bad form and unbecoming a Techer.</p>
<p>They are among a choice of required freshman courses. Yes, if you absolutely hate both of those, you can probably find some godawful English class like "Crisis in Literature", (which is a lot worse from what I've heard) to take instead.</p>
<p>My point was that there's less freedom to take classes you want at Stanford. I don't have anything against these particular subjects, but judging by the first post, I'm not sure it's what iversion had in mind while mentioning "well-roundedness".</p>
<p>If you need to take five quarters math and physics anyway, then yes, there is slightly less freedom at Stanford, because you have to do either IHUM or SLE freshman year, and apparently IHUM is semi-worthless and SLE has lots of reading (but better profs). In return, Stanford offers a much larger course catalog in the humanities than Caltech, but maybe larger class sizes.</p>
<p>I had to make the same decision. I chose Caltech. A few things to think about...</p>
<p>First, yes, Stanford is a bigger household name. So what? Does it matter more to you what kind of education other people think you have than what education you actually get? Not to say that Stanford won't give you a good education, but I personally know that Caltech is much better suited to my interests (physics). Plus, Caltech is a huge name among those who know it.</p>
<p>Second... Stanford is BIG -- meaning fewer opportunities. Even outside of academic opportunities, there's other things to consider -- for example, I enjoy Ultimate Frisbee, and play on my high school team, but I'm not extraordinary at it. Nevertheless, it's my primary form of exercise. Stanford's A team is ranked 7th in the nation (<a href="http://www.upa.org);%5B/url%5D">http://www.upa.org);</a> there's no way I could make the cut. At Caltech, I'll be able to continue enjoying my favorite sport.</p>
<p>There's a host of other reasons I chose Caltech, which for the sake of time I won't go into. I don't think you can really go wrong with either school, though. Good luck!</p>