<p>Caltech has plenty of prestige. It is always ranked in the top ten U.S. Universities and was recently ranked by Times Higher Education as the number 2 university in the world, behind only Harvard. And it was ranked at number 1 in the world for engineering. While such rankings are not the end all/be all, it does show an international respect for Caltech. Not sure why you feel Caltech is inferior to MIT, Cal, Stanford, etc. All are fine schools. While it may not be the easiest road for pre-med, it may appeal to certain students who look forward to the challenge. I would not pick a college based on what a “normal Joe” knows about it.</p>