| A Caltech mom here, so I'll throw in some tidbits.
I think it isimportant to visit. My S went a week after Prefrosh, so he missed some of the silliness. He did spend a lot of time in classes and in the dining hall. He liked the House system. Like in Harry Potter, each prefrosh has a week to spend time in each house before selection process. The girls tend to choose a few Houses, sometimes because one of them has lots of private rooms. There is a sister/brother feel to the bond they develop over the years, especially doing problem sets.
Being such a small school, everyone can get involved in ECs. No one is cut from sports. My S has held various leadership positions that I doubt he could have obtained in a larger school. Research oportunities are plentiful. My S has earned all his living expenses, with jobs paying $35/hour. Even though he could have done internships away during summers, he chose to remain in Pasadena.
Pasadena, especially Old Town, is easy to walk to, and shuttle buses from campus run every 20 minutes. The area is full of restaurants. S has enjoyed movie premiers. He ventures out to the beach and students also go skiing nearby.
I'd never chose Caltech if wanted to major in Humanities. Still, kids usually take 1 soc science/humanities class each term. Other than philosophy, he's really enjoyed the classes.
PLEASE pm me for more info. |