That’s definitely true – I’ll read about a little more about Caltech. I’ve heard all sorts of things from Caltech alumni–some love it, some say that it’s irrevocably damaged their social lives. One big draw for me is the location + the high chance of getting research opportunities in the summer, which, I’ve heard is challening at many of the larger universities I’ve listed here.
The main reason that Rice is on the list is that, for whatever reason, they’ve consistently admitted students from my school over the past few years, more so than most other US universities people here apply to. I will probably have to do a little more research, to see if it’s worth applying there, since you are right in saying that it’s not the most reputed institution for CS.