Caltech students prank MIT

Ben Golub · 04-10-2005, 03:53 PM

http://www.caltechvsmit.com

A fun way to see what the spirit of both schools is about

Let it be known that I have the highest admiration for MIT and its long history of quality pranks.

soliloquy · 04-10-2005, 04:03 PM

An interesting website and above all, an interesting rivalry!

CWatson42 · 04-10-2005, 05:18 PM

As a Prefrosh, I'm quite excited about joining the Caltech community on the brink of war...

webhappy · 04-10-2005, 07:33 PM

Hohoho...

This could be a strange prefrosh weekend.

OTOH, It's a bit hard for them as airplane fares are not cheap on such short notice.

I wonder where the funding for this trip came from. They gave out 800 shirts, which I imagine would cost at least $4000. After room and airfare, this would appear to be a $5000 pranking expedition.

alleya · 04-10-2005, 10:22 PM

They don't really expect MIT to be able to prank us back on our prefrosh weekend. This thing took a couple months to plan (e.g. the t-shirts had to be ordered from a company somewhere in the midwest). As for money, they got it from several different locations, but everyone (~15 people) had to pay for their own plane ticket and there wasn't cost for room, since they stayed with Tech alums at MIT. There were a ton of other costs involved, so I'd bet it was a lot more expensive than 5000.

jwlee8 · 04-11-2005, 12:45 PM

My hats are off to anyone with the guts (and time) to travel over 2000 miles in the spirit of school pride. "THAT OTHER" INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY was a nice touch.

I wonder how MIT will put a "2" on the scoreboard.

sabertoothtiger · 04-11-2005, 02:24 PM

We should watch out for double agents...you know, pre-froshes attending both MIT CPW and Caltech PFW. MIT students might have assigned a few of these kids to carry out pranks after brainwashing them at CPW last weekend. That way they wouldn't even need to risk getting caught or spend the extra time and money to travel all the way to Pasadena on their own.

jwlee8 · 04-12-2005, 12:49 AM

"Tech alums at MIT"

Do a lot of Techers go to MIT for grad school?

Also, I heard that it was relatively easy for Techers to go to the grad school of their choice because Caltech is known for preparing its students well and also because there are so few Caltech students. Any thoughts on this?

Ben Golub · 04-12-2005, 02:08 AM

It is pretty true that Caltech undergrads, especially in engineering and chemistry and biology, are very much sought after by top schools because the preparation here is so rigorous (with all the required math and physics) that they are able to begin with quite high-end, analytical work, and certainly there is no question about their ability. It's harder to guage the depth of the talent of a student from a less demanding program. Additionally, The copious experience that many techers acquire in undergraduate research is another plus that isn't as common elsewhere.

For math and physics majors, it's a bit of a double-edged sword. Certainly, it is hard to think of an undergraduate 4.0 GPA more compelling than one achieved in physics or math at Caltech. But doing this is hard. You'd certainly be better off getting a 3.5-3.7 at Berkeley (I won't use other names here to avoid controversy) in math or physics than a 3.0- at Caltech, which would reflect similar levels of ability.

But the short story is, for those who can hack it and come through with good achievement, Caltech provides an almost peerless endorsement of intelligence and ability to work hard. People who don't succeed, usually due to slacking off, essentially subsidize the payoff for those at the top. (Economists call this sort of system a signaling device.)

P.S. It seems even people whose major life activity consists of comparing "general prestige" acknowledge that essentially no U.S. schools are viewed as harder than Caltech.

dLo · 04-12-2005, 03:07 PM

To whom it may concern:

How about reversing the order of the things on the front page so that the newest things are on the top?

jwlee8 · 04-12-2005, 11:42 PM

dLo:
Yeah, I wish someone would do that.

Ben:
Thx! That was exactly what I wanted to know.

pseudointellectual · 04-13-2005, 01:12 AM

OMG!!! LMAO. So, I got one of those t-shirts that said "MIT...because not everybody can go to Caltech!" and gave it to my dad (it was too big for me). My dad and I both thought it was hilarious, but we didn't realize it was a Caltech prank!! We thought it was MIT's attempt to be witty...

jwlee8 · 04-13-2005, 02:51 AM

MIT wouldn't be so humble. LOL. Are you a cross accept?

pseudointellectual · 04-13-2005, 07:27 AM

jwlee, yes I am. So...watch out! Lol.

chaoticcranium · 04-13-2005, 09:47 PM

Heh, I love it, especially the t-shirt hack. Gotta get me one of those t-shirts myself so I can make fun of my friend who is most likely going to MIT (let it be known that I still love MIT even though they rejected me, I just love annoying my friends). I'll be on the lookout for MIT's return this weekend, hopefully they'll come up with something good.