<p>While I won’t quite characterize the difference of the 2 schools in the way that Ben Golub has, I think he is largely on the mark. I would say that if you really want to become an academic (i.e. get a PhD) in a technical discipline, then Caltech is better.</p>
<p>On the other hand, a lot of people don’t want that. A lot of people would rather just become, say, an investment banker or a management consultant. Other people are aiming for the professional schools such as medical school or law school. So if this is you, then I would say that Stanford is better. It’s hard to get the high grades at Caltech that the med and law school adcoms want to see. </p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with belonging to that second category.</p>