<p>I am applying (regular decision) as prospective freshman for entrance this fall. I will be visiting Caltech in the next month on a Saturday. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should see or look into before I go? (I had hoped to attend a class but I won't be able to get there on Friday.)</p>
<p>Maybe ask for a tunnel tour?</p>
<p>Contact the admissions office. They can't set up a schedule for you, but they might be willing to put you in contact with a student to have lunch with or a student to give you a tour around campus.<br>
Either way, eefinitely explore the houses. If you go in the afternoon/evening and hang out in the lounge areas, you should be able to find people to talk to and possibly even show you around a bit. Don't be afraid to ask random questions. We can already spot a prefrosh a mile away, so there's no reason to even try to blend in.</p>
<p>Hi QueenOfFiji,</p>
<p>If I had to advise you to do one thing visiting Caltech, it wouldn't be attending a class (at least two thirds of students don't even go to class!). It wouldn't even be taking a tour or meeting a professor (you can do all that on the Web and over e-mail!).</p>
<p>Instead, I would mingle. Meander through the dorms, meet people and say hi. I'm sure people will be happy to converse. Try to get a feel for how well you fit into the community. Go to lunch and to dorm lounges. Does the community make you feel comfortable? Are there people you can envision as friends? Those are all questions you should think about.</p>
<p>I've graduated and moved on by now, but I was in a similar situation as you around this time in 2001. I had received my acceptance, but my school was rigid and wouldn't give me time off for Prefrosh Weekend. Unfortunately, when I did visit Caltech, I did precious little mingling and as such discovered many surprises, pleasant and unpleasant, when I arrrived. Although I ended up really fond of the Caltech community, it is peculiar in many ways -- the heavy studying, the concentration on math and science -- and it's worth knowing a little about its dynamics before you come in.</p>
<p>Good luck on your visit and ultimate college decision.</p>
<p>Caltech definitely seems very quiet on the weekends, especially morning/afternoon -- for instance, the campus dining is closed (though it probably won't be next year). So you should definitely find the houses and hang out there, as others have suggested.</p>
<p>I do suggest contacting admissions -- they'd put you in touch with someone who can be an informal guide for you.</p>
<p>: )
Ben</p>
<p>One thing we did on our tour was to sit down and watch the students at lunch. In contrast to most schools we visited, there were an extraodinary numbers of students who were reading, studying, or eating with a professor and discussing academics. My kids were really excited by this aspect of culture at Cal Tech. If you see the chance to observe the students, take it.</p>
<p>Oh, and all the above advice was great!</p>
<p>On the note of visiting caltech during prefrosh weekend, ive seen some airline websites (i.e.travelocity) offering airfares as low as around 220 to 300 bucks (From DC to LA, also Boston to LA to my surprise)...if u just book early. Can the ppl who went in previous years remember if they paid this cheaply? :] (or are there even cheaper deals out there?) </p>
<p>I expect that we'll have many new threads about the whole process of prefrosh after RD decisions are out, but I thought I should start to plan early. ;] Also, showing that the airfare is much cheaper than what ppl normally believe would help many early action admits change their minds (or their parents) to visit. :]</p>
<p>I fly back and forth (LA/New York, LA/Boston) a lot, and the best prices hover around $200 for both routes. So, yes, look for those fares. They're worth it! :)</p>
<p>Ben</p>
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One thing we did on our tour was to sit down and watch the students at lunch. In contrast to most schools we visited, there were an extraodinary numbers of students who were reading, studying, or eating with a professor and discussing academics.
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<p>You certainly weren't observing me. The two most intellectual conversations I've had recently were the uncanny resemblance of a certain chemistry professor to a pirate and the best tactical methods for stealing free clothes from the Caltech job fair. </p>
<p>It goes down from there. </p>
<p>
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My kids were really excited by this aspect of culture at Cal Tech.
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<p>The only people I normally see speaking with professors are the grad students. While professors here are far more approachable by undergrads than probably any other major US institution, keep in mind that undergrads don't casually eat with professors in the manner you might believe.</p>
<p>On the other hand, there are a lot of undergrads eating and studying in Chandler. That's the workload though, not their industrious natures.</p>
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If you see the chance to observe the students, take it.
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<p>Although it might cause blindness and/or scary dreams. </p>
<p>On a more helpful note, walk through each and every one of the Houses, preferably more than once. Speak with as many random people as you can. Take into account their lifestyles and whether you can see yourself living similarly.</p>
<p>Just avoid the grad students. They generally give a lot of misleading information. (Or so I discovered back when I was a pre-frosh...)</p>
<p>
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In contrast to most schools we visited, there were an extraodinary numbers of students who were reading, studying, or eating with a professor and discussing academics.
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I'm not a Caltech student, but when I visited my host student changed for dinner because she risked floating first by bringing me and second by vaguely mentioning academic stuff :) But of course dinner is a different story.</p>
<p>what? i didnt follow the above post...</p>
<p>how did she risk 'floating'?</p>
<p>Apparently her house has rules against discussing classes during dinner. At all. This is enforced by 'floating' (pouring ice water on) offenders. Somehow bringing prefrosh (er, I guess I was more like pre-prefrosh) was also risky.</p>
<p>So, some houses are stricter than others with dinner rules. There's at least one house where any mention of anything academic (including academic related t-shirts, e.g. a Mathcounts shirt) will get you floated. If your guest does anything wrong, you get floated, and often others will encourage your guest to do something wrong for this reason. Some houses won't let you get up without permission, or won't let you throw rolls without permission, or have rules about where frosh sit (e.g. you can't have 6 frosh at a table). Breaking any of these rules gets you floated. Notice, all of these rules are designed to encourage socialization, especially between frosh and upperclassmen. Of course, it's all in fun and you can always tell the waiters you don't want to get floated.</p>