California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

The school’s full-time, four-year undergraduate program emphasizes instruction in both the arts and sciences. Students take a core curriculum consisting of three terms of mathematics and physics, two of chemistry, one of biology, two of lab courses, one of scientific communication, three of physical education, and 12 terms of humanities and social science. 

Caltech offers 24 majors and six minors across each of its six academic divisions. The most popular subjects to major in are chemical engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and physics, though students could alternatively opt for a humanities or social science subject as their major, such as English, history, or economics. 

Caltech is a highly selective school: of its undergraduate corpus, which numbers roughly 1,000, it welcomes only about 230 new freshmen and 10 to 15 new transfer students each fall. The admissions rate is eight percent, with 9 percent of the intake consisting of international students. There’s a ratio of female to male students of 46:54. 

To apply to Caltech is relatively straightforward. Applicants need to complete either the Common or Coalition Application (the QuestBridge National College Match is also acceptable) with specially tailored Caltech questions, and submit a $75 application fee, standardized test results (SAT and ACT), teacher evaluations, a secondary school report, and academic transcripts. 

International students apply in the same way but must also submit TOEFL scores if their native language isn’t English, or they haven’t studied at an English-speaking school. 

The total estimated cost of attending Caltech is US$68,901 per academic year, which includes tuition, fees, board, housing, and personal expenses (although not health insurance). Financial aid is available to all students to help cover these considerable costs, in the form of grants and scholarships based on financial need. There’s also a ‘work-study’ arrangement, where an amount of money is allotted which students then have to earn by working on campus. 

In addition, loans are available, allowing students to borrow money that will need to be repaid with interest after leaving school. There is a finite amount of financial aid available to all international students, which is allocated on the basis of need. 

Upon graduation, Caltech alumni have one of the highest median starting salaries among graduates of other colleges or universities. According to one study, by PayScale, the median starting salary for graduates in 2012–2013 was US$67,400, with mid-career median pay rising to US$120,700. Caltech was also found to offer the second highest return of investment of college education, at $1,991,000 over a 30-year period.