<p>I have read the letter about Caltech but I would really like to hear from Techers out there what you really like most and least about Caltech and are you happy with your decision to attend. Any of you turn down MIT for Caltech and are you glad you did?</p>
<p>I know the weather is great, the campus is beautiful, the core is rigourous. I am really wondering how happy are you at Caltech.</p>
<p>I actually didn't get in to MIT but I did seriously consider attending Stanford, another private school big on engineering and science. While there were times when the work was tough that I wished I had gone to Stanford, I'm fairly sure I made the right choice. On the other hand, I think I had gone at a lucky time to Caltech since one of the professors I enjoyed learning from at Caltech recently moved to Stanford. I think my situation is very particular because I found myself enjoying an area of research that Caltech is very strong in and Stanford was very weak in until a few months ago. I don't think there's any way I could have known as a senior in HS that I would take to this field of research and which schools were the strongest.</p>
<p>I actually chose Caltech because I wanted an intense experience. If you just compare the core requirements of Caltech to any other school (including MIT), you'll see that Caltech requires an unmatched workload. Nowhere else is everyone forced to learn statistical thermodynamics and QM. When I saw the quotes regarding these classes in the viewbook, I knew I wanted to go to Caltech. What's the point of living if you haven't spent a few weeks working late into the night on some hard physics problems with your friends down the hallway? Caltech definitely delivered on the intense experience!</p>
<p>At the risk of unfairly channeling my brother, who turned down MIT for Caltech (mostly for the full-ride scholarship), he would say:</p>
<p>Pro - Caltech was a great school for him because it is small and he strongly prefers small, cozy social environments. MIT isn't that large, but it was too large for him. </p>
<p>Con - The one thing he hated the most about Caltech is that the teaching quality was often times poor, so much so that he would often times not even bother to go to lecture at all but would rather just sequester himself in his room and read the textbook, finding that to be a more efficient use of his time.</p>
<p>I'm planning on responding to this thread eventually, I just need to sit down and type out a response. I'll try to provide something relatively detailed.</p>
<p>Positives: Great, plentiful research opportunities, collaborative academic atmosphere (rather than a competitive one where everyone thinks that pulling down someone else is equivalent to pulling themselves higher), laid-back academic atmosphere (attendance at lectures is typically completely optional, fairly flexible homework extension policies i.e. you ask for one you'll probably get one even if your excuse is "I have too much work this week", exams are typically take home and many times open book)</p>
<p>Negatives: Workload can be fairly tough and is known to overwhelm people. I know most people disagree with me but I found the social structure to be a big negative; I thought the House system really brought out the worst in people. I felt much more comfortable once I moved off campus and could interact with people individually, rather than within the framework of the House system.</p>
<p>For some perspective, I'm still a first term frosh.</p>
<p>Pros: My friends can coroberate that I am overjoyed to be here. I work as much here on a slow work week as I did on a heavy week in HS, but don't mind. What this really comes down to is that while I might not enjoy doing all my work, on the whole I might go as far as to say I enjoy it. For example I would say that my CS work was what I enjoyed least. That said, while it was sometime frustrating, many of the problems were interesting which made it rewarding. In addition, collaberation makes the work more enjoyable. I like math and science, but a problem set is more enjoyable if you're doing it with friends (and taking and occasional break with them if the set is particularly long). Persoanally, I like the House system. I didn't get into my first choice of House, but I am happy there, and I think the system while flawed, provides a great framework for undergrad culture. Every House has traditions, and while they are completely optional, they are fun to partake in if that is what you like. The research opportunities are also great. If you are even thinking about doing research, I would suggest you try it. On a side note if you decide to come here, try taking some pizza courses (the course numbers are 10), while not research, these are good a good start. Finally, I would say that the Honor Code is what makes this all work. Many schools have an Honor Code, but to my knowledge few if any take it as seriously as Caltech. Students take it into consideration at all times, and I have been in several conversations over how it pertains to given situations. </p>
<p>Cons: I imagine that once I am off pass/fail I will begin to complain about the work load, but I cannot forsee that ever affecting my desire to be here. The other things I dislike about Tech are overwhelmed by what I do like about it. I know some people that were victims of Rotation and ended up in Houses that they did not like at all. However, some of them grew to like the House they were put in, and as for the others it is possibel to change Houses (after some time). The latter group often end up spending a lot of time in the House they like more, and eventually find a way to get there. There are some friends that I lost touch with after rotation, but I still am friends with most. However, I would say that my best friends are in my House, and that many if not most of these, became ym friends after Rotation. Therefore, the way I see it, while I made good friends through my House, there are some friends that I could have gotten to know better if I was in the same house. My roommate and I have talked about how different life woudl be if we had ended up in a different house, whether this is good or bad, I am not sure. Last of all, I personally fidn some of the student life groups here a bit arcane in their customs and conduct. I haven't had problems with them personally, but the flow of information could be improved. As it is information sometimes seems to come down from Sinai as it were with little or no explaination or forwarning. I imagine this last point exist everywhere to some degree, but the facility in correcting it, makes it bothersome to me.</p>
<p>as a hs senior who got in ea, my knowledge is pretty limited to what admissions officers and friends have told me. but this seems like it will be a really helpful thread come april when i need to make my decision. </p>
<p>so far these are the factors that affect how much I want to go to Caltech:</p>
<p>PROs: the prestige, my parents won't stop obsessing over the fact that it's ranked in the top 10 of the US rankings, above all except HYPPSM, and some claim it's more prestigious than MIT though I doubt it</p>
<p>CONs: the intense workload, the one-sided emphasis on science/techy stuff (honestly I want to major in English before going to med school)</p>
<p>NEUTRAL (for now): the gender ratio...as a high school girl sick and tired of how mean and jealous other girls can be, I can't figure out whether I'd actually thrive in the male-dominated social atmosphere of caltech, or whether being constantly surrounded by ugly guys with poor hygiene would just be a major turnoff. haha then again that's just me being super-narrowminded and stereotyping everyone.</p>
<p>haha I don't usually have this kind of attitude, all the stress from finishing the rest of my apps is making me go a little crazy. i actually really love caltech. i'm just so scared/excited at the prospect of going to college=)</p>
<p>This is what I have been able to discern from my son:</p>
<p>PROS: First and foremost, the people. Both students and staff are very nice. Even though many of the students have incredible accomplishments, he says for the most part, they are quite humble and think the admissions office must have made a mistake. The students tend to have a lot of the same interests as my son. Next, the emphasis on math and science, which is what he loves. In addition, he enjoys the collaborative nature of the school. He learns from his classmates and is surprised when occasionally he has an idea that gets a problem set done too. He loves the house he is in, yet has been able to keep his friends he met as long ago at prefrosh weekend who are in other houses. The ability to continue his interests in sports and music at a small school such as Caltech is a plus. One of his favorite professors first term was in a social science class. He enjoys having access to much of the campus with his master key. While like any other school there are partiers, he does not feel peer pressure to join them. The weather and the ability to enjoy outdoor sports year round is a big plus. The pass-fail system has been a huge comfort for him. Although he was not close to failing anything, he felt it removed pressure and made him much more likely to socialize more than he would have otherwise.</p>
<p>CONS: He is anxious about when he is off of pass-fail. It is a long way from home and we do not have the resources to get him home very often. The financial aid office has not been very helpful in our case, although this seems to be a mixed experience for different students. To some extent, he feels like a number even though Caltech has a small student body because most of the frosh classes are large lectures and he came from a very small public high school. This is probably true of most schools however. While he is able to practice his religious beliefs, very few students are involved in religious activities and so this is an adjustment.</p>
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NEUTRAL (for now): the gender ratio...as a high school girl sick and tired of how mean and jealous other girls can be, I can't figure out whether I'd actually thrive in the male-dominated social atmosphere of caltech, or whether being constantly surrounded by ugly guys with poor hygiene would just be a major turnoff. haha then again that's just me being super-narrowminded and stereotyping everyone.
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<p>There is a lot less drama among girls at Caltech than there is among an average group of high school or college-aged girls. Of course, when each girl has her pick from among five or more handsome Caltech guys, there's no reason to fight!</p>
<p>There are no problems with hygiene here. In addition, guys at Caltech are kind, honorable, and friendly. Upperclass guys will look out for frosh, rather than maintaining an air that they're "too cool" to talk to freshmen. If you visit Caltech, you will find the nicest group of guys you could dream of attending college with.</p>
<p>I like: humble people (often surprised when learning some people's accomplishements), nice campus (the surroundings a lot less so IMO), techish atmosphere, small size (implies better recruitment/research opportunities)</p>
<p>I dislike: the housing system (I don't like the fact that we are divided socially into several entities), privacy (low privacy as you often share a room mate, though at least it feels less lonely), price/quality (incl. food: it's always the same, but at least they could try to make it healthy)</p>