Caltech

[Anonymous]

My brother went there. Math major. Got to work at the Jet Propulsion Lab while in college and was offered a job there upon graduation. He later worked for Raytheon and then for Google.
Loved his time there.
Never got anything beyond a bachelor's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe they have the highest percentage of grads going to work for hedge funds of any college.

Unfortunate, if true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Caltech’s reputation bends more towards scientific theory/inquiry rather than commercial application. So it’s more known for producing the thinkers rather than the industry titans. A remarkable 40% of its graduates go on to get PhD's.

Because they are otherwise unemployable ?

NP. Admit rates don’t mean as much to me, but regarding comments on industry success and employment:

CollegeScorecard data includes only those recent alumni not attending grad school. It has Caltech alumni out-earning Harvard’s by nearly 30%. Normalizing Crunchbase’s most recent data by enrollment, Caltech has more funded start-up founders than any Ivy besides Harvard. This despite being more academically inclined (more likely to pursue future PhDs) than anywhere else by a vast margin (more than double anywhere except HMC, which it leads by *only* 40%).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An incredibly awful place to go to college.

My cousin went there. Valedectorian of large public high school, perfect sat scores, varsity soccer captain, yada yada, and she wanted to drop out after the first year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An incredibly awful place to go to college.

Maybe not still true but in SoCal I used to run into people who had flunked out of CalTech and had to reorient their lives. Very smart people, but a very tough school.

There are only 200 students per Caltech class. Unless you worked at JPL, this is a very unlikely probability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An incredibly awful place to go to college.

Did you attend? My kid loves it.

People can like incredibly awful places, but the Caltech culture is miserable and doesn’t sound very conducive to an undergrad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An incredibly awful place to go to college.

Did you attend? My kid loves it.

People can like incredibly awful places, but the Caltech culture is miserable and doesn’t sound very conducive to an undergrad

It’s certainly not for everyone, even within STEM, but I did notice College Transitions ranked it 3rd for happiest students recently. The intensity and rigor are about as high as they come, but Pasadena is nice, and my sense is the students have a lot of comraderie from living in houses with distinct personalities and many team-based assignments.

https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/colleges-with-the-happiest-students/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Caltech’s reputation bends more towards scientific theory/inquiry rather than commercial application. So it’s more known for producing the thinkers rather than the industry titans. A remarkable 40% of its graduates go on to get PhD's.

Because they are otherwise unemployable ?

don't tell amazon
https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/caltech-and-amazon-partner-to-create-new-hub-of-quantum-computing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Caltech’s reputation bends more towards scientific theory/inquiry rather than commercial application. So it’s more known for producing the thinkers rather than the industry titans. A remarkable 40% of its graduates go on to get PhD's.

Because they are otherwise unemployable ?

NP. Admit rates don’t mean as much to me, but regarding comments on industry success and employment:

CollegeScorecard data includes only those recent alumni not attending grad school. It has Caltech alumni out-earning Harvard’s by nearly 30%. Normalizing Crunchbase’s most recent data by enrollment, Caltech has more funded start-up founders than any Ivy besides Harvard. This despite being more academically inclined (more likely to pursue future PhDs) than anywhere else by a vast margin (more than double anywhere except HMC, which it leads by *only* 40%).

np.. that's probably because the majority of Caltech grads are in STEM -- CS, eng, etc.. while Harvard has a mix of undergrad majors. Eng/CS majors out earn other majors.

DC toured Caltech but didn't like the vibe. I like the campus location, though. But, then, I'm originally from CA, and I really really really miss it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An incredibly awful place to go to college.

Did you attend? My kid loves it.

People can like incredibly awful places, but the Caltech culture is miserable and doesn’t sound very conducive to an undergrad

Or maybe people have different tastes? And it’s a great fit for some and not for others?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We know?

Do you? If so, why the question mark? Is your supreme knowledge of Caltech let down by your ignorance of punctuation? Or is it just self-doubt?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An incredibly awful place to go to college.

Did you attend? My kid loves it.

People can like incredibly awful places, but the Caltech culture is miserable and doesn’t sound very conducive to an undergrad

Or maybe people have different tastes? And it’s a great fit for some and not for others?

It's a great fit for...200 students per year. Seems pretty awful.

[Anonymous]

Its in Pasadena, which is beautiful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Caltech’s reputation bends more towards scientific theory/inquiry rather than commercial application. So it’s more known for producing the thinkers rather than the industry titans. A remarkable 40% of its graduates go on to get PhD's.

Because they are otherwise unemployable ?

NP. Admit rates don’t mean as much to me, but regarding comments on industry success and employment:

CollegeScorecard data includes only those recent alumni not attending grad school. It has Caltech alumni out-earning Harvard’s by nearly 30%. Normalizing Crunchbase’s most recent data by enrollment, Caltech has more funded start-up founders than any Ivy besides Harvard. This despite being more academically inclined (more likely to pursue future PhDs) than anywhere else by a vast margin (more than double anywhere except HMC, which it leads by *only* 40%).

np.. that's probably because the majority of Caltech grads are in STEM -- CS, eng, etc.. while Harvard has a mix of undergrad majors. Eng/CS majors out earn other majors.

DC toured Caltech but didn't like the vibe. I like the campus location, though. But, then, I'm originally from CA, and I really really really miss it.

Of course that’s a factor in their impressive success, but maybe you missed the earlier post claiming they had to go get PhDs cause “…they are otherwise unemployable.” Even the ones not getting PhDs are doing great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An incredibly awful place to go to college.

Did you attend? My kid loves it.

It's perfect for you if you're perfect for it.