At schools with acceptance rates below 10%, nearly every applicant has near-perfect grades and test scores. Admissions decisions are driven by essays, extracurriculars, recommendations, and institutional priorities — factors no stats-based model can predict. Our likelihood labels reflect academic competitiveness only.
The California Institute of Technology is a small but extraordinarily influential science and engineering university in Pasadena, California. With roughly 1,000 undergraduates and a 3:1 student-faculty ratio, Caltech produces the highest per-capita research output of any university and manages NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Mascot: Beaver
Notable Alumni
Frank Capra (legendary film director)•Gordon Moore (co-founder of Intel)•Frances Arnold (Nobel Prize-winning chemist)
At a Glance
Cost
Published sticker prices for 2025-2026. Actual cost after aid varies.
Top Programs & National Ranking
Approximate national ranking based on departmental rankings, research output, and program reputation.
Highlights
Athletics
Safety
Caltech's tiny 124-acre campus is patrolled 24/7 by campus security with electronically controlled building access and a close-knit community of ~900 undergrads. Crime is rare and mostly limited to occasional petty theft.
Pasadena is a generally safe suburban city. The area around Caltech is residential and well-maintained, with crime rates below the city average.
Based on Clery Act data, student surveys, and local crime statistics.
Location
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