Transfer to Caltech from MIT?

Transfer Students
1

<p>Silly me, I posted this in the wrong forum. I didn't even know there was a transfer students forum. I'm new.</p>

<p>I'm an MIT student looking to transfer to Caltech, and I was hoping for some advice. Obviously as I've heard from this forum, the official website, and pretty much anything having to do with caltech transfer applications, admission is super competitive.</p>

<p>Anyway, some background about me: I've been at MIT for one year, completed 2 semesters (one pass/no rec., one with a 4.8 on a 5.0 scale), done sports all year. Went to a top boarding school, missed top 5% by a hair with honors classes, was heavily involved in several extracurriculars there, AP scores are 5's on Calc AB and BC, physics C (both E&M and kinetics), and chem. I'm working in one of the research labs at MIT this summer, hoping to continue doing so in the fall (with less hours). </p>

<p>My reason for wanting to transfer: When I applied to MIT, it was sort of the "dream school", the one I'd heard about since I was a kid, I knew that I wanted to be and engineer and I wanted to go to MIT since middle school. What with all this hubub I didn't think how I would fit at the school, I only thought about how I would feel about going to the school I'd dreamed about forever. Mistake, I know. Now I feel lost here. There's no community and I know it's not a big school by any means, but it makes me feel lost. I wish I had gotten further away from home, and I just don't feel like I fit here. I'm going to give it another year (during the transfer app process) but unless things drastically change, I can't imagine spending 3 more years here. The workload is fine, the environment is killing me. </p>

<p>My question: I know caltech does not really hold sports in the highest regard. I've no real extra-curriculars other than that. Will this hurt me? Any other advice on transfering, or caltech, would be appreciated. Thanks so much. I'm so stressed out about this, which is awful - May '10 is 10 months away!</p>

<p>Also, if anyone has anything to say about Harvey Mudd, I'd like to hear it. In comparison to MIT, in comparison to Caltech, whatever.</p>

2

<p>Caltech is hard to get into…
But you might have advantage because you are from MIT. They have a weird admission examination in math and physics, I heard if you do it well then most likely in, because it is weighed much heavier than SAT for other schools.</p>

3

<p>i think you have a pretty good shot :slight_smile:
i mean, sure its competitive, but youre also coming from MIT, and a top boarding school, you already know how to handle this :)</p>

<p>if you keep your grades up, good essays and reasons for transfer(which i think you have, but you could also try to say exactly what aspect of caltech you like that are not found at mit), and stay involved in sports…</p>

<p>i dont really know about caltechs take on sports, and like you said, they may not hold it in the highest regard, but if you have a good GPA and are doing sports, thats just extremely impressive, spec from MIT :slight_smile: keep working in the labs, get some nice recommendations and work hard :)</p>

<p>i think youll have a great shot to be honest :)</p>

4

<p>Are you sure you want a school that is as small as Caltech is? My son’s friend just finished his freshman year there and his mom reports that he is not happy. Although he is intellectually gifted, he found the work very difficult. He made no friends there and ate his meals in his room when his mom visited. He has a research job there this summer and she is hoping he will perk up.</p>

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<p>i kinda agree with rmgsmom, im sure itll be kinda boring as it is so small…
i have 2 friends over at MIT who absolutely love it there, maybe its just more important to try to find different types of friends in different ‘circles’ and then get the feel for who you wanna hang out with :slight_smile: ? like join some different activities and stuff…</p>

<p>personally, id much much rather go to MIT than Caltech, but that is probably a lot because of the same thing that made you wanna go there, because prestige and its like a ‘dream’ school… :slight_smile: most of all though, i wouldnt wanna go to either ;D haha</p>

6

<p>OP, </p>

<p>You need to flesh out why specifically you want to transfer, your rationale is vague. The problem I see is that you seem to be conflating “environment” and “community” with size. Do you honestly think Caltech or Mudd would provide you with the comraderie or friendship or whatever that you perceive is lacking at MIT? I view both those schools as ascetic and bare-bones, probably two of the least social schools in the nation. Far bleaker than MIT. It might make you happier to attend a non tech-focused school that nonetheless has excellent engineering. Instead of Caltech and Harvey Mudd, think about applying to Stanford, Cornell, Columbia, and Berkeley. Each of these 4 schools has the academic and intellectual diversity lacking in a technical institute plus their offerings in terms of social outlets might make you happier.</p>

7

<p>I basically agree with Caillebotte. I’m not sure Caltech is the most logical transfer destination if the thing you don’t like about MIT is its community (or lack thereof).</p>

<p>You may also consider Rice. It’s not quite MIT-level, but it has a residential college system, which might help you fit in better. You can transfer to Rice in the spring as well (this is also true of Cornell), so if you really want to get out of MIT that could be another benefit.</p>