<p>There are BIG differences between the schools. Columbia is very urban, school in a high crime city, large student population that is not all concentrated on sciences. Caltech is in a beautiful suburban area of southern CA, T-shirt weather all year round, small campus where everyone knows everyone else and they are all STEM majors. Everyone lives on campus or in Caltech housing all four years (not required, but most everyone chooses to). You can get all your required classes when you want them and don’t have to worry abt taking 5 or more years to finish due to classes filling (happens a LOT in the UC schools). There is such a vast differences in the campus cultures, so it greatly depends on what you want.</p>