Pasadena, CA · Private · 987 undergraduates · urban
California Institute of Technology
Extremely selective
Caltech is a science and engineering institute with fewer undergraduates than many large high schools. Everyone confronts a demanding common core before specializing, and research begins early because laboratories cannot treat undergraduates as spectators at this scale. Pasadena offers sun and access to Los Angeles, but the academic culture remains small, technical, and consuming.
Institutional profile
Top tier Exceptional in career outcomes, and exceptional in academic standing.- Admission
- 3.1% admitted
- Price by income
- Varies across five income ranges
- Completion
- 95.1%
13,107 applicants in the reported year
Compare recent average annual costs by household income
$128,566 median earnings 10 years after enrollment
What sets Caltech apart
The common core is substantial
Every student completes a shared foundation in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, laboratory work, and the humanities.
Research begins early
A small undergraduate body and a major research mission make faculty laboratories accessible during the degree.
Houses organize student life
Eight Houses provide residence, dining, traditions, and long-running social identities.
The Caltech sequence
A common core leads quickly into research
Caltech gives every student the same rigorous scientific base, then expects them to use it.
Share the scientific foundation
The common curriculum establishes the mathematical and experimental language used across campus.
Choose a field of depth
Students move into an academic option after testing several disciplines.
Work on an unanswered problem
Laboratories and summer projects turn coursework into original investigation.
Can I get in?
3.1% admitted
Caltech needs exceptional preparation in mathematics and science, including the strongest work available at the student’s school. It also looks for the persistence, collaboration, and creative problem-solving required when easy answers disappear.
Recent applicant pool
13,107About 3 in every 100 applicants were admitted.
Record over scores
No score range is published for the entering class, so the transcript, the course rigor, and the required materials carry the file.
In the season card
Where your GPA sits in the entering class
The full entering-class GPA distribution for Caltech, in nine bands from 4.0 down, with your own record marked on it.
See where I landIn the season card
What Caltech weighs when it reads a file
See how this college describes the role of grades, testing, essays, recommendations, activities, and demonstrated interest.
- Course rigor
- GPA
- Test scores
- Essay
- Recommendations
- Extracurriculars
- Demonstrated interest
What moves the application
The evidence that separates a strong file
Advanced quantitative preparation
The record should show mastery of the hardest mathematics and science the student could reasonably take.
Problem-solving under uncertainty
Use a concrete example where the first method failed and the student changed the approach.
Collaboration without dilution
Show both individual technical strength and the ability to improve a group’s work.
Life beyond achievement
A tiny residential community also needs humor, generosity, interests, and perspective.
How to apply
Rounds, route, and required materials
Caltech offers Restrictive Early Action and Regular Decision. The writing should reveal how the student attacks unfamiliar problems and participates in a technical community, not merely how many advanced courses they completed.
Fee waiver: accepted
Can I afford it?
Compare annual cost by household income.
Caltech provides need-based aid and does not rely on merit scholarships. The relevant comparison is the institutional estimate, especially against other private research universities.
College funding
Scholarships and financial aid
Review available aid, application requirements, and renewal terms.
In the season card
Average annual cost by household income at Caltech
Compare recent average net prices across five federal income ranges and estimate a 4-year cost for yours.
- $0–30k
- $30–48k
- $48–75k
- $75–110k
- $110k+
Is it worth it?
Completion, debt, and earnings
Science, engineering, computing, graduate study, and research dominate the paths after Caltech. The small cohort and direct laboratory access matter as much as the headline salary.
Degree completion across the reported entering cohort
First-year students who return for year two
And what that comes to against what they earn.
Reported 10 years after enrollment
Academic portfolio
Largest bachelor’s fields
How many students finish in each field, and median earnings four years after completing the program.
Computer Science
Mechanical Engineering
Physics
Biomedical/Medical Engineering
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering
What is campus life like?
Caltech beyond the classroom
Eight undergraduate Houses carry much of the residential and social identity. Traditions, pranks, research groups, and a compact Pasadena campus create a culture that is more intimate than Caltech’s global reputation suggests.
Eight Houses define undergraduate identity
House membership connects residence, meals, traditions, and friendship across class years.
House dinners create recurring contact
Meals reinforce the House system and give a very small student body regular points of connection.
Technical projects share space with eccentric traditions
Research, robotics, music, theater, service, publications, and pranks reflect a campus that builds for work and amusement.
Houses replace a Greek system
Caltech has no conventional fraternity or sorority structure; Houses and small-group traditions organize much of the social world.
Pasadena is pleasant; Los Angeles takes planning
Local restaurants and institutions are close, while broader Los Angeles opportunities usually require more deliberate travel.