Why Caltech is different--an open letter

<p>I've provided this letter in PDF form here: <a href="http://www.its.caltech.edu/%7Etgwinn/Caltech.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.its.caltech.edu/~tgwinn/Caltech.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>If for some reason you don't want to read the PDF, I've pasted the entirety of its text below. Of course, it's not nearly as pretty as the PDF original. </p>

<p>Please feel free to use this thread as a place to discuss the letter or ask questions about what I wrote. I unfortunately had to be pretty brief on each topic simply to keep the letter from turning into a book :P</p>

<p>Caltech Open Letter: v1.0
10/9/08
Dear Prospective Caltech Students:</p>

<p>This letter will mainly address what makes Caltech different from institutions of similar academic caliber. I won’t spend a lot of time discussing our top-notch academics, famous alumni, exciting research at the professorial/grad level, etc. because these things do not differentiate Caltech from other schools you might be considering.<br>
With that in mind, what is different about Caltech?</p>

<p>Academics
• Research
o Caltech is known for its status as a research institution, but you may not know that getting involved in undergraduate research at Caltech is easier than at virtually any other university in the world. The 3:1 student-to-faculty ratio at Tech allows students to casually approach professors and discuss the possibility of working in a lab. Additionally, the SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship) program makes it almost trivial to do research over the summer; the majority of Techers participate in at least one SURF during their time here. In any case, I certainly feel that students at Caltech are in general given more opportunities to pursue significant research as undergraduates—anecdotally, I work in a lab where I am allowed full access to equipment that at some other big research universities not even most graduate students are allowed to touch.<br>
• The Honor Code
o Many schools have honor codes, but Caltech is one of the few schools where the honor code is an absolutely integral part of student life. The honor code is really simple: “No member of the Caltech community shall take unfair advantage of any other member of the Caltech community.” It allows students to be given access to labs and equipment 24/7, it allows our exams to be almost all take-home, and it allows students to trust each other. A recent survey stated that 93% of Caltech undergraduates felt that the honor code was effective (i.e. it prevents students of taking unfair advantage of one another through means including but not limited to academic dishonesty). The honor code also lends to my next “difference”: the noncompetitive nature of Caltech.
• Collaboration
o Caltech is special in that its curriculum encourages collaboration. The combination of mutual trust among students and the lenient collaboration policies of most homework assignments at Tech lead to students working together with high frequency. In my opinion, this really helps students get a better understanding of the material—you get a chance to discuss the problems you’re facing with other students. Even if you already know the material you are working on, sharing this knowledge with someone else really helps cement it in your mind. Additionally, the low-competition environment makes work a lot less stressful—for the most part, you’re just concerned about understanding the material, not necessarily scoring higher than your peers.</p>

<p>Non-Academic Life
• The House System
o The House System is the primary social hub of students’ lives at Caltech. I really like the house system because it allows students to live in small (houses usually contain somewhere between 100-150 members) tight-knit environments that are comfortable and supportive. The houses are like co-ed fraternities in many ways: students join houses through a rush-like process called rotation, once you join a house you stay a member for your time here, many social events are organized through the house, etc. Of course, there are also a few noticeable differences worth mentioning: no hazing and all students who want to live in a house have the option to. It’s hard to summarize the house system here—I could write another entire letter on the subject—but it is one of my favorite things about Caltech. I think many Techers feel the same way—and this is evidenced by interactions between alumni. The first question they always ask each other is, “What class?” and the second is, “What house?”
• General Student Environment
o The student environment at Caltech is incredibly unique. There are many semi-related concepts that create this uniqueness, but only a few will be addressed here.<br>
 Students are incredibly well represented at Caltech. We have undergraduate teaching assistants, undergraduate representatives on undergraduate admissions, a strong student government, and an administration that is content to let Techers for the most part police themselves. Our primary methods for dealing with bad conduct (whether academic or not) are run by students. It’s something we’ve grown to take for granted.
 Because the school’s curriculum is so focused, and the admissions process is based almost entirely on a student’s ability to do well here academically, students here are surrounded by their intellectual peers. It’s quite nice to be able to converse easily with any of your friends about your research/classes and have them not only be able to understand the subject of interest to a reasonable extent but also appreciate the knowledge they gain from the conversation.<br>
 Pranks!</p>

<p>If you’ve read this far, you should have a pretty good idea of how Caltech is different from its peer institutions. Even armed with this knowledge, you might wonder if Caltech is the right fit for you. The best way to discover this is to visit the school; something I would strongly recommend. Below I have provided some [highly subjective] supplemental tips that can help you decide if Caltech is a good fit. </p>

<p>You should probably not come to Caltech if:
• You’re obsessed with your GPA
o Yes, you might be able to make a 4.0 at Caltech, but the odds are against you. By far the happiest people I know at Caltech are those who came in with the expectation that they would do their best and then take the GPA they received.
• You care more about being a doctor/lawyer than you do about learning math/science for learning’s sake
o Anecdotally, medical school admission is more GPA-based than graduate school admission. As mentioned before, getting a high GPA at Caltech is harder than at many other institutions, so as you might imagine it might take more effort to get into med school from Caltech than from other schools. That being said, there is a sizable number of students who attend med school from Caltech each year—it’s just that if your main goal is to attend med school, you can get in a lot easier from other institutions. Of course, if you’re just as passionate about learning a lot and doing research as you are about going to med school, Caltech could work out great for you.
o As for law school, given that Caltech has no prelaw major and limited courses in law coming here for prelaw doesn’t make much sense unless you have a particular specialty of law in mind (for instance, possibly patent law).<br>
• One of your primary reasons for attending Caltech is the prestige
o Yes, we’re in the top ten on US News. No, we’re not like any other school on the rankings. Not even MIT. Unless you like the idea of five terms of required physics (mechanics, e&m, waves, quantum, thermo), five terms of required math (proof-based calc, linear algebra, multivariable, ode/pde, stats), two terms of chemistry, etc. If your idea of a dream school is Harvard, you should think very hard about whether Caltech is the school for you. There are people at Harvard who would do well here, but definitely not the majority.<br>
As you might have heard, Caltech is very hard. You can take difficult classes at many schools you might apply to, but only at Caltech are you required to take many difficult classes no matter your major. Let me address two misconceptions related to this:</p>

<p>• I got into Caltech, but I don’t think I can handle it.
o If you got into Caltech, you can handle it, period. Admissions does not admit anyone incapable of doing the work. The question you need to ask yourself is, “Do I want to do all of this work?” If the idea of learning all you can learn (and then a little bit more) excites you, then Caltech might be right for you. If you view college as just means to an end (even if the ‘end’ is grad school) or a four-year party, Caltech is probably not right for you.
• Caltech won’t be too much harder than high school
o As I mentioned above in the paragraph about GPA obsession, a big part of being happy at Caltech involves adjusting to life here. The work is very difficult, and it sometimes seems endless. If you are a prospective student reading this, you were probably at the top of your class in high school. At Caltech, you probably will not be. We were all at the top of our class in high school. These things aren’t bad (and in fact can be pretty good) but you must adjust to them. You must be capable and willing to manage your expectations of yourself. </p>

<p>I hope that this letter has provided some insight to you that you might not be able to find in a pamphlet or in a campus tour. </p>

<p>Sincerely,
[lizzardfire]
Lloyd Class of 2010</p>

1 Like

<p>Thank you, Lizzardfire. I just wanted to let you know that it is great that you've laid out clearly how Caltech is different. But for anybody who has been looking at College Confidential for a while, it was already clear that Caltech is different, because this corner of College Confidential has a strong and distinctive Caltech flavor. Definitely not plain vanilla Ivy League.</p>

<p>And I wanted to say here: thanks for being what you are. As a parent I have felt so supported by the kinds of discussions that have occurred on the Caltech forum since I've been watching (about a year and a half).</p>

<p>The things you've summed up about Caltech, I wish we could remember as adults.
- Research: do something real and significant
- The Honor Code: honor matters; in the end integrity might be all you have
- Collaboration: share
- The House System: create community
- General Student Environment: be involved, don't be afraid to be smart, have fun</p>

<p>I would be proud, honored, if my kid gets into Caltech and decides to be a part of the institution you've described.</p>

<p>But my thanks go way beyond that. Probably most of you are aware that a serious interest in science is not an easy fit with most high schools in this country. So when I've read things like "A How To Guide for the College Admissions Process" posted by a Caltech student:</p>

<p><a href="http://epfarms.org/%7Ehmartin/CollegeAdmissionsHowtoGuide.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://epfarms.org/~hmartin/CollegeAdmissionsHowtoGuide.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>and in it they've said, "The unfortunate side effect [of AP and IB programs] is that those people who are capable of so much more eventually come to believe that they are pushing themselves and that they've already achieved something special by getting straight "A's". This is not the case." My heart cries out yes, yes, they understand! It's given me the courage to say to my kid, "Go ahead, I'm sure you can learn that on your own, for whole courses that his school doesn't even offer. And his friends ask about it, and he says, "You could do this," and some of them do… See how far reaching just stating your ideals can go?</p>

<p>So again, simply, thanks.</p>

<p>woah...you got this stickied.</p>

<p>i see you're an important man these days :p</p>

<p>This is a very helpful summary of what makes Caltech unique.</p>

<p>To Tokenadult:
Your link refers to something else, I think. It is about self-identification of ethnicity in college applications....Do you mean to include some other link pertaining to the uniqueness of caltech? Please respond if you can....Thanks!</p>

<p>Yes, my link is a reference to something else. My post above should be read to mean "The thread posted here with the opening post by lizzardfire is a very helpful summary . . . "</p>

<p>Great post!! :)</p>

<p>Nice Job. :) </p>

<p>I like it as much as I did when you showed it to me in person.</p>

<p>Really interesting post.</p>

<p>and in it they've said, "The unfortunate side effect [of AP and IB programs] is that those people who are capable of so much more eventually come to believe that they are pushing themselves and that they've already achieved something special by getting straight "A's". This is not the case." My heart cries out yes, yes, they understand! It's given me the courage to say to my kid, "Go ahead, I'm sure you can learn that on your own, for whole courses that his school doesn't even offer. And his friends ask about it, and he says, "You could do this," and some of them do… See how far reaching just stating your ideals can go?</p>

<p>Everyone knows AP are jokes disguised in "college-level courses" :)</p>

<p>and in it they've said, "The unfortunate side effect [of AP and IB programs] is that those people who are capable of so much more eventually come to believe that they are pushing themselves and that they've already achieved something special by getting straight "A's". This is not the case." My heart cries out yes, yes, they understand! It's given me the courage to say to my kid, "Go ahead, I'm sure you can learn that on your own, for whole courses that his school doesn't even offer. And his friends ask about it, and he says, "You could do this," and some of them do… See how far reaching just stating your ideals can go?</p>

<p>Everyone knows AP's are jokes disguised as "college-level courses" :)</p>

<p>EDIT: oops, double posts.</p>

1 Like

<p>Actually, not everyone knows this about AP courses. Go to the parent forum and
you can see many a discussion about: "OMG, how do they do it? My kid has 4 AP's
and {fill-in-the-blank} extracurricular, and the time management skills they need
are super-human. Why don't kids get to be kids anymore?"</p>

<p>You don't even have to go that far. Just go over to that other tech school forum
and you'll find posters telling students not to strain themselves. ;)</p>

<p>Not to mention the buzz in the typical high school. Pretty soon one starts to feel
that their child might be a weirdo for actually wanting to (shhh, don't tell anyone)
learn stuff.</p>

<p>How wonderful to be in a place where</p>

<p>"Everyone knows AP's are jokes disguised as "college-level courses" "</p>

<p>Don't worry, I can assure you there are some people (at least in among the graduate students) that don't feel that way. I think most people actually feel that way, but for some reason like to put off a different air here. I was at a luncheon held by the school last week where I was talking with some other grad students about the differences between our undergrad schools and Caltech. An undergrad that was there commented on how classes really aren't that hard, and we shouldn't be complaining so much. Then, a little while later when the group was talking about roommate conflicts, she told us that her previous roommate had to move out because she couldn't stand sharing a room with someone that was stressed/freaking out 24/7.</p>

<p>Why didnt i read this BEFORE i came to caltech >.<</p>

<p>Aw I wish this was posted last year when I was applying. Oh well haha.</p>

<p>This is an excerpt from an email that went out today to all Caltech undergraduates about a report on campus life and academics that they've been working on for a year or so now. If Tom's open letter is the theory, here are the experimental results:</p>

<p>Last March, the Academics and Research Committee (ARC) hosted the Student
Experience Conference (SEC) to discuss four major undergraduate life issues:
"Residence Life", "Teaching and Advising", "Caltech Syndrome", and
"Student-Faculty Interactions". Over 200 students, faculty, and
administrators came in an honest and open discussion on the Caltech
undergraduate experience. It brought many current issues and existing
problems to faculty and administration attention, as well as suggesting
numerous ideas for improvements and solutions to make student life better.</p>

<p>The ARC has finally summarized and compiled all ideas and opinions from the
SEC into a report. There are three versions:</p>

<ul>
<li>Main Report: <a href="http://arc.caltech.edu/files/SEC_report.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://arc.caltech.edu/files/SEC_report.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li>
<li>Two Page Summary: <a href="http://arc.caltech.edu/files/sec_2page_summary.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://arc.caltech.edu/files/sec_2page_summary.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li>
<li>Full, 40-Page Report of Suggestions: <a href="http://arc.caltech.edu/files/SEC_full_suggestions.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://arc.caltech.edu/files/SEC_full_suggestions.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li>
</ul>

<p>Printed copies of the main report will be distributed to the eight houses and
to all top faculty and administrators.</p>

<p>One of the consequences of the SEC is the brand-new ad-hoc core committee, which I serve on. We are currently in the process of attempting to redesign core from the ground up.</p>

<p>Also, to call my letter theory is nice, but a bit too far. It's just my opinion.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Also, to call my letter theory is nice, but a bit too far.

[/quote]
I agree. SteelPangolin has a point but there's plenty of good at Caltech.</p>

<p>I'm not sure if I read this last year before I came to Tech, but the original post was an almost perfect copy of why I chose to come to Caltech and like it so much. As for the comments on AP and IB, I would say that while some students have courses beyond them, they are part of the prep for Caltech if they are available. That said, if you're going to Caltech, then you're probably passionate about something science, math, or engineering related and have gone beyond these courses. I realise that this years applications are already in (right), but if you have such a passion then you should think about how you feel about the Houses and the Honor Code and consider coming here.</p>

<p>The letter scared the crap out of me. Seems that Caltech is all about work, work, work. And some more work.</p>

<p>I care about learning but I also care about life.</p>