Cal Tech is fantastically hard to get into and only for the serious math and science braniacs among us. The campus is one of the most beautiful I have seen and the dorm we saw one of the most unappealing. Highlights and trivia include….
• Cal Tech’s mascot is the beaver – nature’s engineer, of course.
• The most popular course is “Cooking Basics”, heavy on chemistry and physics I presume.
• There are 75 research centers on campus. Virtually all students do research at one time or another. About a third of the student body does funded research each summer.
• There are no teaching assistants. Students are taught directly by those Nobel Prize winners.
• NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is owned and staffed by Cal Tech.
• Students are required to take 3 semesters of PE. Offerings include ping-pong, DDR and bowling.
• Do nerds party? Yes they do and they take it very seriously. They trap on tool belts and build elaborate venues for themed parties.
• My favorite T-shirt - “MIT – because not everyone can go to Cal Tech”
• Students live in one of eight Harry Potter like “houses” for their four years – very few live off campus.
Susan
