Devin Hicks

Mrs. Gadomski
College Research Project
3 October, 2014
P.5
AVID College Research Project Questions; Caltech
1. What is the FULL name AND abbreviated name of the college/university you have chosen?
California Institute of Technology; Caltech
2. Where is this school located? (City & State)
Pasadena, California
3. What is the population of the city in which this school is located?
138,547 (2012)
4. What are the attractions of the surrounding city?
The Rose Bowl, Old Pasadena, the Norton Simon Museum, the Gamble House, the
Pasadena Museum of California Art, the USC Pacific Asia Museum, the Pasadena
Conference Center, the Colorado Street Bridge, the Pasadena Playhouse, the All
Saints Episcopal Church, Strawberry Peak, and the Scottish Rite Cathedral.
5. How far is this school from home? (Distance in miles and how long to drive?)
65.6 mi, 1 h and 5 min drive.
6. How do people describe the environment/location of this school? (city, rural, urban)
Suburban environment in small city
7. What is the school mascot and colors?
Beaver, White and Orange
8. When was this school founded? (Built)
1891
9. Does this school have any rankings? (Academic, Athletic)
#10 in National Universities
10. What are the admissions requirements? (High School Classes, SAT, Entrance Essay)
3 years of English, 1 year of Social Studies, 4 years of Math, and 2 years of Science
(1 year of lab science). No stated GPA requirements. SAT: Reading; 720-800,
Writing; 720-790, Math; 770-800. ACT; 24-36. Application essay is seen as a
requirement for entrance.
11. When is the application due?
Jan. 3
12. What is your major? Does this school offer it? If not, what would be your 2nd choice that
they DO offer?
Physics/Engineering. This school specializes in my major(s).
13. Would your major be a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science?
Bachelor of Science
14. What classes would you have to take for your major? *LONG ANSWER!!!!
Classical and Quantum mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism, Computational,
Modern, Nuclear, and Particle physics, Thermodynamics, Calculus BC (and many
other levels of math beyond Calculus), Chemistry, Computer science, Differential
equations, Electronics, Materials science and nanotech., and Topics in applied
physics.
15. How long are classes? What days of the week & How many hours? *Check Course
Schedule!!!
Mon.-Fri.: 55 min. at least, 1 hr. and 25 min. at most
16. What are the average class sizes? (Student:Teacher ratio)
3:1
17. How many seats does the schools largest lecture hall have?
296 seats
18. Does this school offer any study aids? Tutoring? List & Describe
There are studying documents online, and tutors that are in a program that you can
find.
19. Is this school on a Semester or Quarter System? How many weeks is 1 Semester/Quarter?
Quarter; 10 weeks/quarter
20. What is the school calendar like? (When does school start/end? When is Winter/Spring
Break?)
Starts 9/29/14, ends 9/5/15
Winter break; 12/13/14- 1/4/14
Spring break; 3/22/14- 3/29/14
21. What is the undergraduate enrollment? (Number of students attending)
977 students
22. What is the graduation rate?
93% graduate within 6 years.
23. Describe the on-campus housing. (Dorms how many students to a room? Coed?
Apartments?)
Theres Coed housing, the Avery House (has 136 available spaces for undergrads),
the Marks/Braun house (has up to 28 units for undergrads), Apartments for married
and students (which can hold 2-3 students), special housing for disabled students
(which can hold 65-136 students).
24. Describe the on-campus dining options. *Dining Commons/Meal Plans/Room & Board
Theres the Chandler Caf (main cafeteria with a wide variety of foods), the Red
Door Caf (basically Caltechs Starbucks), the Caf at Broad (basically another
Starbucks, but one that sells salads and has no patio), and the C-store (an on campus
store that sells retail food items, medicine, bottled water, soda, and energy drinks.)
Meal Plans are not required, but they are offered and cost $5,472. Also, Caltech
Dining Services (CDS) provides house dinners (on-campus housing) and there is
"open kitchen" in the mornings and afternoons for breakfast and snacks, which is
very convenient for students.
25. What extracurricular activities are offered? (Clubs, Intramurals, Campus Organizations)
Choral groups, Concert band, Dance activity, Drama/Theater, Film society,
Govt/Political Activity, International Student Organization, Jazz Band, Literary
Magazine, Music Ensemble , Music Theater, Pep Band, Student Newspaper,
Symphony Orchestra, yearbook, Active Minds at Caltech, the Aero Association of
the California Institute of Technology (AACIT), Caltech Aikido Club, the Caltech
Alpine Club, Caltech Amateur Radio Club, Amnesty International--Group 22,
Caltech Anime Society, ASCIT, Asian Pacific Student Union, Association of Caltech
Taiwanese (ACT), Avery House, Caltech Bowling Club, Caltech Badminton Club,
Caltech Ballet Club, Caltech Ballroom Dance Club, Caltech Bands, Caltech Bike
Lab, Biotechnology Club, Building Bridges, The California Tech, Caltech
Alternative PhD Careers Club, Caltech American Institute of Chemical Engineers,
Caltech Animal Taskforce (CAT), Caltech Campus Toastmasters Club, Caltech
Christian Fellowship, Caltech Classroom Connection, Caltech Contradance Club,
Caltech Cricket Club, Caltech Geobiology Journal Club, Caltech Hillel - Jewish
Student Center, Caltech Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Caltech
Live Music Society, Caltech Medieval and Renaissance Society (Voyagers), Caltech
Opera Club, Caltech Tinker, Caltech Ultimate Frisbee, Catalina Housing Community
Coordinator (CHCC), Caltech Chess Club, The Caltech C (Chinese Association),
Caltech Chinese Chess Club, Caltech Chinese Student Association, Christians on
Campus at Caltech, Caltech Consulting Club, Culinary Cats, Cultural Programming
Group, Caltech Cycle Commuters, Da Vinci Outdoors Club, Caltech Dance Troupe ,
Darkroom Users Group, Caltech Drawing Club, The Caltech Electric Vehicle Club,
Caltech Engineering Club, Engineers for a Sustainable World @ Caltech,
Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum, The California Institute of Technology
Entomological Society, Caltech's Entrepreneur Club, Caltech Environmental Task
Force, Ernie's Association Football Club at Caltech, Extracurricular Players at
Caltech, Caltech Falun Club, Caltech Filmmaking Club , Caltech Floorball Club,
Fluid Dynamics - A cappella singing group, Caltech Folk Music Society, French
Club, The Caltech Community Garden Project, German Club, Caltech Global Health
Association, Godong - Caltech Samulnori Group, Graduate Christian Fellowship,
Graduate Student Council, Caltech Horseback Riding Club, Hang/Para Gliding
Caltech Club, Hawaiian Club, Caltech Hiking Society, Hong Kong Student
Association (HKSA), Caltech InterAxon Club, Friends of the Iranian Culture at the
California Institute of Technology, Club Italiano al Caltech/ Italian Club at Caltech,
Jam Room, Juggling Club, Caltech Karate Club, Caltech Kiteboard Club, Caltech
Korean Graduate Student Association (CKGSA), Club Latino, Caltech Latino
Association for Students in Engineering and Science (CLASES), Caltech Magnetic
Resonance and Molecular Imaging Club, Mandarin Christian Fellowship, Caltech
Martial Arts Organization, Caltech Masters Swim Club, Caltech Men's Glee Club,
The Moore and Hufstedler Fund for Enhanced Quality of Student Life, Caltech
Muslim Students Association, Caltech National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE),
Net Impact, The Newman Center: Catholic Students at California Institute of
Technology, OASIS Organization of Associated Students from the Indian
Subcontinent, Optical Society of America Caltech Student Chapter, Caltech
Orienteering Club, Caltech PhotoClub, Physics Graduate Student Issues Committee,
Caltech Poker Club, Caltech Postdoc Association (CPA), Caltech PRISM (LBGT),
Caltech Progressive Coalition, Caltech Quantitative Finance Club, Caltech Quiz
Bowl, Caltech Recording Studio, Caltech Raquetball Association, Caltech
Roadrunners Club, Robogals, Association of Romanians at Caltech, The Caltech
Rugby Football Club, Caltech Sailing Club, Caltech Salsa Club, Caltech Shorinji
Kempo Club, Caltech Soccer Club, Social Activism Speaker Series, Society for
Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), Society Of Professional Students
(SOPS), Society of Women Engineers, Caltech Student Investment Fund, Caltech
Student Shop, Caltech Student Solar Initiative, Students for the Exploration and
Development of Space (SEDS), Swedish Club, Caltech Tai Chi Club, Caltech Tang
Soo Do, Caltech Taste Buds, Theatre Arts at Caltech (TACIT), Caltech Triathlon
Club, Caltech Turkish Students Association, Undergraduate Computer Science
Cluster (UGCS), Caltech Winetasting Club, Caltech Women's Club, Women's Glee
Club, and a few Sports (Badminton, Baseball, Basketball, Cross-Country, Diving,
Fencing, Football (tackle and non-tackle), Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track
and Field, Ultimate Frisbee, Volleyball, and Water Polo).
26. How is the Student Life described?
Caltech students are curious, passionate, and excel in one of the world's most
rigorous academic environments, 84% of the students live in college-owned, -
operated, or -affiliated housing and 16% live off campus, and many students
attending/living at Caltech find it a rewarding experience.
27. What is the cost of tuition? In-State? Out-of-State?
In/ Out-of-State cost: $60,990 for on-campus, $60,327 for off-campus, $53,550 for at
home.
28. What is the cost of room and board?
$12,918
29. What are some interesting facts you found about this school during your research?
That the school is much harder to get into than I thought, it focuses on science more
than almost anything, has many extra-curricular activities that involve intense use of
the mind, and, as difficult as the courses are, a really big percentage of the students
graduate or return.
30. Do you think this could be THE School for you? Why or Why not?
Yes. With its many scientific academic and non-academic activities, I feel like this
school can really help me pursue my career as a game designer, especially since my
major will be this schools specialty.