California Institute of Technology

About

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena is a world-renowned STEM powerhouse best known for its elite programs in physics, computer science, chemistry, and aerospace engineering. With a remarkably small undergraduate population of around 1,000 students, the campus culture is fiercely academic yet collaborative, centered around a student-run Honor Code and a distinctive residential House system that builds tight-knit community bonds. What sets Caltech apart is its unmatched emphasis on undergraduate research, highlighted by the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) program and its unique role in managing NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Wikipedia:The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes of technology in the United States that are devoted to the instruction of pure and applied sciences.

Location

Cost & aid

Outcomes

Admissions

Essay prompts

• Why did you choose your proposed area of interest? If you selected 'other', what topics are you interested in pursuing?

  150–200 words
• Choose one of two

  • Option 1 -- COLLABORATION : STEM as shared learning Tell us about a time your learning in STEM was shaped by another person or group — either because you needed help, offered help, changed your thinking through collaboration, or contributed to someone else's understanding. What did that experience teach you about learning and working with others?

    200 words max

  • Option 2 -- PROCESS : The thought behind the outcome Tell us about a time your approach to a STEM problem, concept, or project mattered as much as the outcome. How did you work through uncertainty or persist creatively in tackling the problem? What would you still defend about your process, regardless of the outcome?

    200 words max
• Choose two of three

  • Option 1 -- LEARNING: STEM as a never-ending rabbit hole Regardless of your STEM interest listed above, take this opportunity to nerd out and talk to us about whatever STEM rabbit hole you have found yourself falling into. Be as specific or broad as you would like.

    200 words max

  • Option 2 -- PURSUING: STEM as sustained intellectual engagement Tell us about a STEM question, problem, idea, or project that has held your attention over time. What drew you to it, how have you pursued it, and what do you still want to understand?

    200 words max

  • Option 3 -- MAKING: STEM as creation Tell us about something you created, tested, repaired, modeled, coded, built, or redesigned. What problem were you trying to solve and what did the process reveal to you?

    200 words max

• Caltech students bring more than academic ability to the communities they join. What is something you would be excited to do, share, teach, make, start, or contribute as part of the Caltech community?

  100–150 words

• Caltech cares about context. Is there anything about your academic preparation, coursework, school context, or learning experiences that would help us better understand your readiness for Caltech?

  Optional

Quoted from California Institute of Technology's own page; answered in the Common App or QuestBridge Application. The application itself is the final word.

The personal essay is separate: see the Common App essay prompts.

Student Body

Varsity sports

• Baseball
  Men's
• Basketball
  Men's · Women's
• Cross Country
  Men's · Women's
• Soccer
  Men's · Women's
• Swimming and Diving (combined)
  Men's · Women's
• Tennis
  Men's · Women's
• Track and Field (Outdoor)
  Men's · Women's
• Volleyball
  Women's
• Water Polo
  Men's · Women's

Institutional