<p>If an earthquake was going to hit Southern California, I would guess Caltech would be the first to know about it -
The Richter scale was developed at CalTech and they have one of the strongest Geo Physics programs in the country and the Southern California Seismic Network is essentially staffed by and run out of CalTech. I would not worry about earthquakes.</p>
<p>If your daughter has been admitted to Caltech, she can handle the load. And it is a very challenging load. Has your daughter visited both the campuses? If she is really into math and science, I would suggest Caltech. If she is a little uncertain and may want to go into something else, then Columbia is much better choice. Yes you can get a degree in English Literature from CalTech, but you first need to do 5 really tough classes in Math and Physics, so no one does.</p>
<p>Obviously if finances are consideration, I would not borrow $40,000 more over 4 years for CalTech and go with Columbia.</p>