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I mean, this is also a huge exaggeration. The legitimate point that TooRichForAid was alluding too was the general argument of a LAC vs. a research institution, in that you get more professor interaction (generally) in the former and more independent students (generally) in the later. </p>
<p>Specifically for Caltech, it makes no qualms about not having professors hand-hold students through an education; the professors provide the resources and are there to answer questions for students who seek them out. I think you’d find that the professors’ actual lectures are for more theoretical and abstract than other schools (in general) and often have very little direct application to the assigned homework. Hence, it’s generally the student’s responsibility to build on that abstract/theoretical framework and be able to apply it to (quite difficult) problems which build or extend on the presented material. </p>
<p>Of course, none of this is done in isolation, and there are many ways to get outside help and inspiration. I think Caltech, especially, fosters a community of collaboration and cooperation between students, and so that the best resource for solving these problems is usually yourself and your peers; that is exactly how science actually functions, where there is no higher authority to guide you to the solution. Combining this with Caltech’s emphasis on significant and real scientific research, not only do Caltech undergrads come away prepared for graduate school, but moreover, they’ve experienced something far closer to it than the majority of students at other institutions, including Harvey Mudd (someone’s going to yell at me for saying this…). I, personally, think that’s incredibly relevant, as I’d rather not commit myself to 4-7 years in a PhD program without knowing what that will actually look like.</p>
<p>Hence, in general, it’s not so much that Caltech “teaches” its students such as Caltech provides the ample resources for students to teach themselves (as well as more than adequate feedback and support, obviously). If any student doesn’t subscribe to some form of that, I definitely would urge him or her to look elsewhere.</p>