Caltech

It may be tempting, but the author of the College Prowler Caltech guidebook advises freshmen that in order to succeed...

Don’t date first term of frosh year. Students who hook up early tend to not make friends. Adjusting to the work at Caltech is difficult and takes up a lot of time, and if a student spends all of his or her free time with his or her boyfriend or girlfriend, he or she doesn’t have time to make friends. Friends are necessary here because you need someone to do homework with and hang out.

Every school has its pros and cons, but sometimes it feels like Caltech has more cons than pros. Even so, students who have been at Caltech for a while agree that the positives outweigh the negatives. Although students here are always complaining about the workload, the lack of girls, boys who don’t shower, non-English proficient TAs, scheduling difficulties, the lack of sleep, and much more, the students here are generally happy. Students who come here know that they are getting a top-notch education for the price of a few years of insanity.

Is the Caltech education worth the trials and tribulations? The Caltech guidebook gives you the good and bad on everything from academics . . .

“Caltech’s academics have much to do with the brilliant teaching faculty. Many professors are research scientists first and teachers second, creating a conflict of interest. The feeling from some profs is that they shouldn’t have to teach, and they feel forced into it by the administration. This is not to say that all professors hate teaching. On the contrary, most Caltech professors are very animated about their respective fields and are bursting with information they want to convey to a new generation.”

to Guys and Girls . . .

“Okay, so the attractiveness of both sexes is below the social norm. There are exceptions, both male and female, and it is clear who they are. Many people here don’t care to be in a relationship and are completely focused on work, but on the whole, I’d say the people at Tech are just like those in the outside world, except much smarter and a tad uglier.”

. . . and how it all comes together in the end.

“Caltech is hell only because the work is ridiculously difficult, and it’s made me hate a lot of subjects that I formerly loved. Don’t ever think it’ll be any different for you because everyone here was exactly like you in high school—valedictorian, perfect student who loved learning, never met a person smarter than them. Don’t get me wrong, though. I’d rather be here than any other place in the world.”

Do you have what it takes to withstand the rigors of Caltech’s academic challenge? Get all the facts to make your decision, straight from the students’ mouths.

Visiting campus isn't enough.

Read our Caltech insider’s guide and discover what it feels like to be on campus for 4 years.

Discover if Caltech is Right For You.