<p>One thing I don't like about small schools is that typically, due to a lack of huge donations, labs (esp. computer labs) aren't as high-tech as labs one would find in larger schools. Is this a problem at Caltech? I've never seen the labs.</p>
<p>Idk how the computer labs are at Caltech but it is definitely not lacking any money or donations. Its endowment as of 2006 according to Wikipedia was at about $950,000 per student which was in the top 10 in the country back then and that was 3 years ago so by now I’m sure it’s passed the million mark.</p>
<p>Our libraries have really nice, fast computers.</p>
<p>with really big screens</p>
<p>First, let me start off by noting that to many people here, “lab” refers to a teaching/research lab, not a computer lab. The libraries have nice computers, and the CS computer lab cluster has ok machines. There are also computer labs in each of the houses, which are funded by Caltech but are run and maintained by the students. They tend to be lightly used since all students have access to the software (Matlab, Mathematica, etc) through site licenses and don’t have to go to lab to use the software.</p>
<p>Our other labs are in various different states. The ME shop just got renovated, and has some nice new equipment. However, my roommate (a phys major) says the phys teaching labs have a lot of old equipment, so the state of labs probably varies a lot. For the research labs, it depends how new the building is and how much money the group has- most groups here are probably fairly well-funded through grants.</p>
<p>I’m convinced that, no matter what the shiny website or brochures say, no school is filled with all high-tech labs. No matter where you go you’ll find some nice labs and some labs full of 20-30 year old equipment.</p>
<p>For example, Stanford’s current nanofabrication facilities are pretty old compared to Caltech’s brand new Kavli Nanoscience Institute cleanroom. (Although Stanford is in the process of building new facilities, hehe).</p>
<p>I just toured the Stanford nanofab labs two days ago (I’ll be working there over the summer).</p>
<p>Well I’m planning to major in CS, and as such, computer labs are a big deal for me. I recently visited a very large school nearby which happens to have received a huge donation, which it used to create some very nice, high-tech computer labs. I don’t exactly trust brochures…</p>
<p>What is known about the CS building that’s supposed to finish construction this summer?</p>
<p>Other than it has huge glass windows, I don’t think any of the undergrads know very much about what is going inside the new IST building (Annenberg). And most CS majors here don’t use computer labs- they use their own computers.</p>