Dilemma between Caltech and Columbia

sac
Mon, 17 Apr 2006 18:24:19 +0000

cadad – I’m sure CalTech would not have admitted him if they didn’t think he could do the work. Surviving is different from excelling. At both places, students are tossed into a very high achieving pool, and the bar is raised. The students who were always the “best” have to come to terms with this.

The workload at CalTech is notorious. And, there is more grade inflation at Columbia than CalTech. But, from my observation in the science and math classes, that means that there are few C’s, not that A’s don’t require a lot of work to earn. And, someone who doesn’t especially like the humanities – or really want to be required to take Columbia’s heavy dose of them – might find it difficult to ace those, even if the science classes come naturally. So, it’s impossible to anticipate how he would do at one school versus the other.

Can he spend some time at both places before he decides? At least at CalTech, staying over in the dorm, going to classes, not necessarily during prefrosh events. It would be good for him to see what the stress level and expectation level really is there.

If the only reason he’s not choosing Columbia is because he has an idea it’s not good enough, you can certainly assure him that it is and that he can get into top med schools or grad schools from there. If he’s leaning towards CalTech because its unique atmosphere and opportunities really appeal to him, and you feel he’s making an informed decision, then more power to him. It takes a special student to be that motivated and directed, and CalTech is a great reward for his high school efforts. He’ll work like crazy, but if it interests him, I’d guess he will survive.