How to Get Into Caltech: Admission, Costs and the Real Bar for 2027 Entry

For autumn 2027 entry you apply to Caltech through the Common App or the QuestBridge application, by 1 November 2026 for Restrictive Early Action or 4 January 2027 for Regular Decision, with the SAT or the ACT required and an English test unless English is your native language or English is the primary language of instruction in your secondary school. Caltech admits under 5% of applicants in both rounds to a first-year class of 245, bills $93,225 in direct costs for 2026-27, and is need-aware for international students while meeting 100% of the demonstrated need of the students it admits.

Caltech reads every SAT or ACT section on its own through a bucket system: 780-800 on an SAT section or 35-36 on an ACT section shows as Bucket A, 750-770 or 33-34 as Bucket B, and only a score below 750 or below 33 reaches the committee as a number. Caltech has no cut-off score; it says successful applicants have traditionally had 700 or higher on each SAT section or 30 or higher on each ACT section, and that it typically admits a handful of students with scores below 750 each year. Those figures describe past successful applicants, not a minimum.

Caltech's cost page covers 2026-27, the year before you would start: $93,225 of direct costs billed by Caltech, tuition of $68,574 included, plus $5,397 of indirect costs for books and personal expenses. For international applicants Caltech is need-aware because its aid funds for international students are limited, so your need may count in the decision. Caltech aid covers tuition, housing, dining, books, fees and personal expenses; admitted without aid, you must be able to pay the full cost before you commit. Compare it with the cost of studying in the United States.

Beckman auditorium, Caltech

Three Caltech rules that catch applicants from abroad

On 9 October 2026 the next Caltech date is the Restrictive Early Action deadline of 1 November 2026; three Caltech rules catch applicants from abroad around it.

• Ask for aid on the application, or never. An international applicant who wants aid must disclose that plan on the Caltech admissions application. Without aid in the first year, an international citizen is not eligible for aid in any later year, and Caltech states that this policy cannot be appealed; the stated exception is for citizens of Canada and Mexico.
• Calculus, physics and chemistry are required. Caltech asks for four years of math, including one year of calculus, one year of physics and one year of chemistry: in the IB, Higher Level Math; in A levels, A-Level Maths. Exam proof, such as a 6 or 7 on IB Mathematics HL, replaces a course only when the course is not available to you or clashes with one you cannot move.
• Test dates are hard limits. Your English test must be taken before the application deadline, so before 1 November 2026 for Restrictive Early Action. SAT or ACT scores, re-submissions included, must reach Caltech before 30 November 2026 for Restrictive Early Action or before 31 December 2026 for Regular Decision.

Who counts as an international applicant at Caltech

Caltech defines international applicants as non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents attending secondary school outside of the United States. If you are in the United States as an asylee, refugee or undocumented student, you are a domestic applicant for admission. Caltech's financial aid office draws the line differently: refugees and asylees count as domestic students for aid, but undocumented immigrants are considered international students when applying for financial aid. If you are undocumented, plan on the international aid rules above and confirm your status with both Caltech offices.

Caltech in one table

Caltech's own pages disagree on size. The About page counts 971 undergraduates and 1,398 graduate students, the Admissions and Aid page 901 and 1,330, and neither carries a date. The Caltech first-year class is 245 on the deadlines page and about 235 on the Admissions and Aid page.

Caltech's position in the QS World University Rankings 2027 and in the latest THE, ARWU and U.S. News tables is not printed in this report, because no Caltech page checked on 9 Oct 2026 cites a rank and the publishers' own Caltech profiles were not among the pages verified. What Caltech does publish about itself is its size and record: 971 undergraduate students, a 3:1 student-faculty ratio and 49 Nobel Prizes.

If you need a Caltech rank, take it from the publisher's own Caltech page and write the edition next to the number. QS, Times Higher Education (THE), ShanghaiRanking's ARWU and U.S. News each use their own method, so a Caltech position in one table says nothing about Caltech's position in another.

Subject tables follow the same rule. No QS, THE or ARWU subject page for Caltech was among the pages checked, so this report makes no claim about where Caltech places in physics, chemistry, earth and planetary sciences, engineering or computer science. Caltech's physics page says you study and do research alongside more than 50 faculty members and that you'll be learning from Nobel Prize-winning physicists. Caltech's chemistry page counts 30+ chemistry professors. To compare Caltech with other technology schools, see our guide to the best technology universities in the United States.

What Caltech's reputation rests on

Caltech's About page describes Caltech as an independent, privately supported institution with a 124-acre campus in Pasadena, California. The same page names the large research facilities that Caltech runs.

For Caltech undergraduates, these facilities are also places to do research. Caltech's Admissions and Aid page says that on campus, abroad, at JPL or at an off-site observatory, 90% of undergraduates participate in research during their time at Caltech. Caltech's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) program invites its fellows to weekly seminars by Caltech faculty and JPL scientists and engineers.

Kerckhoff Laboratory of the Biological Sciences

Nobel Prizes, as Caltech counts them

Caltech's About page counts 49 Nobel Prizes. That figure counts prizes, not people, and the About page does not say how many went to faculty, alumni or researchers. No Caltech page checked for this report gives a laureate count or says that Caltech has the most Nobel laureates per capita, so this report repeats neither claim.

Size and student-faculty ratio

Caltech's About page lists 971 undergraduate students, 1,398 graduate students and a 3:1 student-faculty ratio. Caltech's Admissions and Aid page gives 901 undergraduate and 1,330 graduate students, and neither page says which year its figures describe, so name the page whenever you quote a Caltech student count.

No publisher page checked for this report compares student-faculty ratios or citations, so this report does not call Caltech's 3:1 ratio the best in the United States, does not set it against the ratio at MIT and does not claim that Caltech leads the world in citations per faculty.

Caltech's history page quotes Thomas F. Rosenbaum on how small Caltech is: it "does not seem possible that a university with only 300 faculty members and 2,250 undergraduates and graduate students combined" could set intellectual agendas and run major facilities across so many scientific and engineering fields, "yet we are". The quotation carries no date, so read its counts as Rosenbaum's description, not as current figures.

Caltech's admit rate is under 5% for both Restrictive Early Action and Regular Decision, the figure Caltech gives to applicants for autumn 2027 entry, and its first-year class has only 245 places. Caltech's admissions pages give no separate figure for international applicants, so under 5% is the official number to plan with whether you apply from the US or from abroad.

Caltech explains its low admit rate itself. Applications have grown fast, more than doubling the total applicant pool since Fall 2020, while Caltech's first-year class has only 245 places, so the pool is far outpacing the space on campus. Caltech also says that lowering its admit rate is not a goal; it wants applications from students who are keen to work deeply in science, technology and engineering in Southern California.

Caltech's admissions pages do not give the number of applications, admits or enrolled first-year students for fall 2025, so this report computes no exact admit rate. Caltech's Common Data Set, the standard US report of those counts, was not among the pages verified here, and a more precise Caltech rate quoted elsewhere could not be checked against Caltech's own pages.

Caltech odds for international applicants

Caltech publishes no admissions figures for international applicants: no count of international applicants or admits, no admits per country and no international share of undergraduates. No official figure shows whether your odds from abroad differ from the overall under 5%.

Caltech counts you as international if you are a non-U.S. citizen or permanent resident attending secondary school outside of the United States. Other than financial need, the application and review processes are the same for all applicants, and Caltech reviews your application in the context of your school, whatever country it is in.

Money is the one difference that can change an international applicant's chances at Caltech. Caltech is need-aware for international students because its aid funds for them are limited, and this may result in financial need being a factor in admissions decisions for international applicants. If you are admitted, Caltech's need-based aid meets 100% of your demonstrated need. The financial aid chapter explains when and how to apply.

Restrictive Early Action or Regular Decision: the same odds

Applying early does not raise your chances at Caltech: the difference in admit rates is negligible. Caltech reserves most of its admission offers for Regular Decision, defers only a select few early applicants and publishes no separate admit counts for the two rounds.

Choose the Caltech round by readiness, not by odds. Caltech recommends Restrictive Early Action for students who have taken the calculus, chemistry and physics it requires and have a competitive application, letters of recommendation included, by 1 November 2026. The Restrictive Early Action chapter covers the rules.

What Caltech publishes about its admitted class

Caltech's Class Profile page, dated 29 July 2026, shows the profile only as an image with no figure this report could check, and Caltech's admissions pages give no SAT or ACT percentile ranges, average GPA or class rank for admitted students. Caltech gives a benchmark instead: successful applicants have traditionally had 700 or higher on each SAT section or 30 or higher on each ACT section.

For autumn 2027 entry, Caltech shows SAT section scores of 780 to 800 as Bucket A and 750 to 770 as Bucket B, with the exact score hidden, and Caltech has typically admitted a handful of students with scores below 750 each year. Some recent Caltech classes applied with no test requirement: Caltech paused its SAT and ACT requirement in 2020 and reinstated it in April 2024. For autumn 2027, first-year applicants must submit either the SAT or the ACT; the SAT and ACT chapter explains the buckets.

Do not rely on Caltech alone

With an admit rate under 5% and 245 first-year places, Caltech turns down the large majority of its applicants, and Caltech calls admission highly selective in both Early Action and Regular Decision. Treat Caltech as one application on a balanced list.

• Apply to several STEM-focused US universities alongside Caltech, such as MIT, Georgia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley, Princeton and Stanford.
• Add strong options outside the US, such as ETH Zürich, EPFL, Imperial College London and TU Delft; the summary chapter compares alternatives.
• If you apply Restrictive Early Action, you may not apply Early Action or Early Decision to any other institution, but an institution outside of the United States is exempt, so early applications in Europe or elsewhere abroad stay open to you.
• Read our complete US application process guide.

For autumn 2027 entry, Caltech reviews each first-year application as a whole person against three central qualities, and faculty at Caltech review files of the most competitive applicants. Once you have shown the Capacity for Caltech Rigor, admission is not decided simply by small differences in grades, test scores, coursework, or awards.

Caltech's definition is short: holistic review means whole person review. The qualities are not a checklist, and Caltech considers your entire application and the opportunities available to you. The admit rate is under 5% in both the early and the regular round.

What Caltech looks for

Depth counts more than volume at Caltech: what matters is not the number of STEM activities listed on an application. Caltech names research, but also students who build machines, write code, repair devices or rebuild a tractor on their farm, and states that limited access to opportunities does not equate to limited capacity.

What counts in a Caltech application

Caltech wants letters from core subjects because faculty read applications. Test scores are one data point, with no minimum test score requirement.

Optional means optional at Caltech. Only about 42% of admitted students from the recent class submitted research, and many applicants are admitted without submitting supplemental materials.

What Caltech does not weigh

Caltech holds no admissions interview. Its essay advice says, "We don't have an interview process at Caltech," so the essays are where you speak to the committee. InitialView is recommended but not required for international students.

Caltech hides exact top scores: individual scores in buckets A or B will be hidden from the admissions committee. SAT subscores below 750 and ACT subscores below 33 are shown as numbers.

Caltech invites you to connect with your regional admissions counselor or schedule a campus visit, but none of the Caltech admissions pages we checked says whether demonstrated interest counts.

After the decision: deferral, waitlist and verification

A Caltech deny is final and cannot be appealed, but you are welcome to apply for admissions again the following fall. A Caltech offer also depends on your file being true. Caltech expects applicants to also abide by the Honor Code, verifies what you send ("If you submit it, we will verify it") and rescinds admission for any discrepancies or falsifications.

College Council advice: depth and a real reason to apply

Our advice, not a Caltech rule: one problem you have pursued for years and can explain to a professor beats a long list of clubs. An olympiad helps when it shows that depth. Caltech lists the IMO, IChO, USAPhO and EuPhO among competitions that show preparedness, next to research, summer programs, and internships.

Apply to Caltech for the environment, not the name. Caltech calls itself an unapologetic STEM institution, though the core is about much more than STEM. Caltech reserves most of its admissions offers for Regular Decision, so use REA only if Caltech is your clear first choice and your file is ready by November 1, 2026.

For fall 2027 applicants, Caltech requires the SAT or the ACT, sets no cut-off score, and sorts every section score into buckets: 780 to 800 on an SAT section is Bucket A, 750 to 770 is Bucket B, and only a score below 750 reaches the admissions committee as an exact number. On the ACT the same lines fall at 35 to 36, 33 to 34 and below 33 on each subscore.

Caltech accepts the SAT, paper or digital, and the ACT, and neither is preferred over the other. On the ACT, Caltech does not consider your composite score; it considers each subscore, and for fall 2027 applicants the ACT writing and science subscores are not required. International applicants face the same rule: "We require either the SAT or ACT test scores."

Caltech reinstated the SAT or ACT requirement in April 2024, after pausing it in 2020, on the recommendation of a faculty committee that found "Test scores are predictive of success, even into students' sophomore and junior years". The score remains one data point in a holistic review.

How the Caltech bucket system works

The Caltech bucket system is new: the 2026-27 academic year is its first year. In Bucket A or B the committee sees only the bucket, not the exact score.

Caltech's faculty research found the sizable gap below 750 on SAT Math or 33 on ACT Math, and below 700 on SAT Reading and Writing or 33 on ACT English. The buckets still draw one line for both SAT sections: any section below 750 is Bucket C.

Caltech says Bucket A or Bucket B gives students the best chance, yet it has typically admitted a handful of students with scores below 750 each year. A Bucket C applicant needs, in the words of admissions committee chair Omer Tamuz, "very clear, additional evidence" of being ready for Caltech.

What SAT score you need for Caltech

Caltech has no minimum test score requirement and does not expect a perfect score. No minimum is not a low bar: traditionally, successful applicants have had 700 or higher on each SAT section or 30 or higher on each ACT section, and the best chance starts at 750 per SAT section or 33 per ACT subscore. Retaking to chase a perfect score is, in Caltech's words, "not a good use of your time": inside Bucket A the committee cannot tell 780 from 800.

Caltech testing deadlines for fall 2027 entry

Caltech sets a last day for SAT or ACT scores in each round, and these deadlines include any test re-submissions. Check that a test centre near you runs the sitting you pick.

The ACT's US site sends visitors from outside the United States to its non-US version; confirm your ACT date and centre there. The US site's 17 October ACT closed late registration on 29 September; if you are already registered, its initial scores on 27 October still fit QuestBridge and Restrictive Early Action. Check the December SAT score release date on College Board before you rely on that sitting for Regular Decision.

Superscoring and how you report scores to Caltech

• Caltech superscores: it takes the highest score in each section across all reported test dates.
• You submit all of your test scores when you apply and list any future sittings, but never report a superscore as a single sitting; Caltech builds the superscore.
• Only students who matriculate to Caltech send official exam scores.
• AP and IB: Caltech requires you to report every AP and IB exam you have taken, regardless of the score, self-reported through the Beaver Breakroom.

If you cannot take the SAT or ACT in your country

If the SAT or ACT was not available or easily accessible in your country, or technical challenges stopped you, Caltech gives you an opportunity in the Caltech-specific application to explain what happened; technical challenges include no exam within a reasonable distance and testing site cancellations. You then show Caltech your preparation another way, such as STEM courses taken at a college or university, AP scores, Higher Level IB scores or Schoolhouse.world certifications.

On the page that lists its autumn 2027 deadlines, Caltech sets minimum English scores of IELTS 7 overall and 7 in each area, Duolingo English Test 130 overall and 130 in each area, or TOEFL 5 overall and 5 per section for tests taken on or after 21 January 2026 (100 total and 25 per section before that date). Take the test before your application deadline: 1 November 2026 for Restrictive Early Action or 4 January 2027 for Regular Decision.

Caltech requires English Proficiency Exam scores of all international applicants, meaning students who are neither US citizens nor permanent residents and attended secondary school outside the United States. You are exempt if your native language is English or if English is the primary language of instruction in your secondary school. If English is not your native language but your school teaches in English, Caltech still strongly recommends a score, so plan to send one.

Caltech accepts the Duolingo English Test (DET), IELTS, or the TOEFL and names no other English test. Each score must clear both the total and every area: IELTS 7 overall with one area below 7 falls short. If you sit the TOEFL now, the row for tests on or after 21 January 2026 applies. The two TOEFL rows use different score scales, so 100 and 5 are not comparable.

Caltech's English scores are minimums, a gate rather than the level of admitted students, and no Caltech page we checked publishes the English scores of students it admits. Guides that quote TOEFL 100 as the bar are using the scale for tests taken before 21 January 2026.

When to take your English test

Caltech says English proficiency exams must be taken prior to the application deadline: before 1 November 2026 for Restrictive Early Action, before 4 January 2027 for Regular Decision. Caltech's dates for SAT or ACT scores are later, before 30 November 2026 for Restrictive Early Action and before 31 December 2026 for Regular Decision; do not plan your English test around them.

The Caltech admissions pages we checked do not mention at-home editions such as TOEFL Home Edition or IELTS Online, or how to send English scores. Confirm with Caltech admissions before you book an at-home sitting.

InitialView: recommended, not required

Caltech recommends InitialView for all international applicants, including students at English-medium schools, though InitialView is not required. InitialView records a conversation and a writing sample that give admissions officers insight into how you communicate and think. InitialView is not graded and it is not a test. InitialView does not replace the English proficiency exam requirement, so you still need IELTS, the TOEFL or Duolingo unless you are exempt. Record it by the application deadline; fee waivers are available if the cost is prohibitive.

For autumn 2027 entry Caltech asks every first-year applicant, whatever the diploma, for four years of math, including one year of calculus, one year of physics and one year of chemistry, plus Higher Level Math in the IB and A-Level Maths in A levels. Caltech's admissions pages give no IB points total and no A-level grades to reach.

The subjects Caltech requires before entry

Every Caltech first-year student starts the core curriculum, which is why Caltech requires calculus, chemistry and physics. Caltech has a separate rule if you take only STEM classes in the final two years of secondary school, A-level students for example: two English and two social studies classes during your first two years of secondary education.

How Caltech reads IB, A-level and Indian board results

Caltech reads your grades in your own system: its admissions officers are trained to understand your education system, and Caltech will review your application in the context of your school. Students in India must also complete both year X and XII state board or CBSE examinations.

Caltech says taking calculus, chemistry or physics for the first time in your final year is OK, but Caltech must be able to review semester or in-progress grades for first-time courses by the application deadline.

Caltech lets international applicants with no humanities or social science course in their final years of school, A-level students for example, replace the humanities letter of recommendation with one from a teacher in a different STEM subject.

If your school cannot offer calculus, physics or chemistry

Caltech accepts exam scores or a certificate instead of a course when the course is not available to you or you experienced unresolvable course conflicts, such as courses offered at the same time so that you could not complete all of Caltech's requirements, provided both you and your counselor document the issue. For Fall 2027 these are the only avenues:

• AP: a 5 in AP Calculus AB or BC, AP Chemistry, or AP Physics 1, 2 or C, taken by the application deadline.
• IB: a 6 or 7 in Mathematics HL, Chemistry SL or HL, or Physics SL or HL, taken by the application deadline.
• Schoolhouse.world: 90% on the course challenge in AP/College Calculus BC, AP/College Chemistry or AP/College Physics 1, with proof within one week of the application deadline and no exceptions to these deadlines.

Transcripts, translations and students already at university

Your school sends Caltech official transcripts with your class titles, grades and predicted grades or scores for grades 9-11, or the international curriculum equivalent. Where final grades are not yet available, Caltech will consider the most recent grades on your transcript.

• Translation: for documents in another language Caltech needs the original document and an English translation and suggests asking an English teacher or school official to translate; Caltech will not review your application if any part is not translated.
• Mid-Year Report: Caltech's Mid-Year Report is due when first term senior grades are available at your school, meaning your first-term grades of the final year.
• College courses: send the college transcript for college classes taken in high school.

If you have already enrolled at another university, you may only apply for transfer admission to Caltech, though Caltech may grant exceptions for students in the southern hemisphere who begin their college education while applying to U.S. universities.

Yes: for fall 2027 entry Caltech asks every first-year applicant for five required supplemental essays plus one optional academic short answer: 150 to 200 words on your STEM academic interest, up to 200 words on Scholarly Character, two Scientific Drive essays of up to 200 words each and 100 to 150 words for the Fun Question.

Caltech calls this set the Caltech Specific Questions, and you submit it with the Common App or the QuestBridge application. Caltech says the questions change annually and are published in the summer, so check any older draft against the fall 2027 set. Caltech's advice page is direct about the workload: "We ask you to write a lot on purpose!"

Two section names match Caltech's What We Look For page, which lists three central qualities: Capacity for Caltech Rigor, Scholarly Character and Scientific Drive. The Scholarly Character essay shows how you learn when there is no easy answer; the Scientific Drive essays show what you pursue in STEM and why.

The STEM academic interest answer does not bind you. Caltech students don't declare a major until the end of their first year, and Caltech says you are under no obligation to follow this choice if admitted. Caltech also warns: "Do not try to game the system by choosing other fields to hopefully stand out."

What Caltech tells you to write

Caltech describes itself as an unapologetic STEM institution and says there is no way to write about too much STEM. Faculty at Caltech review the files of the most competitive applicants, so you do not need to simplify your science for a lay reader. Because Caltech has no interview process, the supplemental essays are where you speak to Caltech directly.

Caltech wants to know about the classes you've taken, the activities you enjoy, and how you respond to our essay questions. The Common App activities list shows your range; the Caltech essays show depth. Caltech's tip for Scientific Drive is "Don't just list the activities you've done!", because what matters is not the number of STEM activities listed on an application. Pick a recent project: Caltech says recent experiences will always tell us more about who you are.

Common App, QuestBridge and your personal statement

There are two applications to Caltech for fall 2027, and Caltech does not have a preference between them. On the Common App you answer the Caltech Questions on the Common App in addition to the Common App personal statement. Caltech's pages do not state the personal statement word limit, so take it from the Common App's own essay prompts page; our application essays guide covers how to write it.

QuestBridge applicants meet the Caltech questions later: these questions come if you become a Match Finalist and you ranked Caltech. Caltech emails QuestBridge Non-Finalists, Finalists, Non-Participating Finalists and Match Finalists who ranked Caltech access to its Beaver Breakroom portal to submit a Caltech supplement.

Caltech's AI rules for fall 2027 essays

All fall 2027 applicants must review Caltech's guidelines on the ethical use of AI before submitting their supplemental essays, and failure to comply may result in the rescission of your admission.

• Not allowed: relying on AI generated content to outline or draft an essay, or translating an essay written in another language. If you think best in your first language, still write the Caltech essays in English from the first draft.
• Allowed: Grammarly or Microsoft Editor to review grammar and spelling of your completed essays, and generating questions or exercises to kick start brainstorming.
• Anything in between: Caltech tells you to ask whether it would be ethical to have a trusted adult perform the same task.

For autumn 2027 entry Caltech has two rounds: Restrictive Early Action, due 1 November 2026 with decisions by mid-December 2026, and Regular Decision, due 4 January 2027 with decisions by mid-March 2027. Both rounds share the reply date of 1 May 2027 and an admit rate of under 5%, so you choose a Caltech round for its timing and its restrictions, not for better odds.

Deadlines for autumn 2027 entry

Caltech moved from Early Action to Restrictive Early Action because its applicant pool has more than doubled since Fall 2020, while the first-year class has only 245 students. Caltech says REA lets you name it as your first choice and still compare all your college options and aid packages until 1 May. Caltech also intends to make the majority of its admissions decisions in the Regular Decision round.

What Caltech's Restrictive Early Action allows and forbids

Caltech's Restrictive Early Action is non-binding: an REA admit does not have to accept, and you may compare financial aid from universities you apply to in their Regular Decision rounds. The restriction falls on your other early applications. While you apply REA to Caltech, you may not apply Early Action or Early Decision to any other institution, except:

• an institution outside the United States, so applications in the UK, Europe, Canada or your home country are not affected;
• a public institution with a non-binding admissions policy and a fall deadline, such as the University of California system;
• an institution's non-binding rolling admissions;
• any military academy;
• a scholarship or special academic programme elsewhere with an early deadline, if applying early is required to be considered and the outcome is non-binding.

Caltech's rule continues after a deferral. If Caltech defers you, you may then apply to another institution's Early Decision II round, but an Early Decision II admission there obliges you to withdraw your Caltech application.

Caltech REA outcomes: admit, defer or deny

Caltech sends each REA applicant one of 3 outcomes by mid-December. An admit has until 1 May 2027 to accept or decline. A deferral moves you into Regular Decision; Caltech defers only a select few students, and it does not waitlist students deferred from REA. A deny is final, with no appeal and no second application in Regular Decision that cycle.

Caltech through QuestBridge

Caltech accepts two applications for Fall 2027, the Common App and the QuestBridge application, with no preference between them. QuestBridge matches high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds with full four-year scholarships from 55 colleges; Caltech is a QuestBridge partner and charges QuestBridge applicants no application fee.

For autumn 2027 entry, QuestBridge states that its 2026 National College Match application is now closed, with finalists announced on Wednesday 21 October; Caltech's SAT or ACT deadline for QuestBridge applicants is before 31 October 2026. Neither Caltech's admissions pages nor QuestBridge's home page says whether students living outside the United States can apply through QuestBridge, and Caltech's page for international applicants names only REA and Regular Decision. Check QuestBridge's own eligibility rules before you plan on this route.

REA or Regular Decision if you apply to Caltech from abroad

Caltech lets international applicants, including aid applicants, use either deadline: Restrictive Early Action (1 November) or Regular Decision (4 January). If you will ever want need-based aid at Caltech, you must apply for it at the time you apply for admission, and Caltech plans to send REA admits their financial aid notification before the December holiday break. The financial aid chapter covers the forms.

Caltech's REA limits an applicant from abroad less than its name suggests. Universities outside the United States are exempt, so your UK, European and Canadian applications stay open, as do University of California campuses. What you give up is Early Action or Early Decision at private US universities, and binding Early Decision at public ones.

Caltech recommends REA if you are excited about attending Caltech, have taken the required calculus, chemistry and physics, and have a competitive application ready by 1 November, including letters of recommendation. Caltech asks you not to apply REA to improve your chances, because the difference in admit rates is negligible. Your English test must be taken before the application deadline, so if it or your teacher letters will not be ready by 1 November 2026, or your SAT or ACT by 30 November 2026, apply in Regular Decision by 4 January 2027.

To start at Caltech in autumn 2027 you apply through the Common App by November 1, 2026 for Restrictive Early Action or by January 4, 2027 for Regular Decision, pay the $85 fee or get it waived, and, if Caltech admits you, reply by May 1, 2027. Along the way Caltech needs your SAT or ACT, two teacher letters, your counselor's School Report and, unless English is your native language or English is the primary language of instruction in your secondary school, an English test.

Caltech accepts two applications for Fall 2027, the Common App and the QuestBridge application, and has no preference between them. The QuestBridge 2026 National College Match application is now closed, so if you did not apply to the Match, the Common App is your route this cycle. Inside it you answer the Caltech Questions, including a STEM interest essay of 150 to 200 words and a Fun Question of 100 to 150 words; the essays chapter covers every prompt.

Each Caltech round has three cut-offs: the application, then the remaining required and supplemental materials, then SAT or ACT scores, re-submissions included. Caltech's admissions pages give no time of day or time zone for any of them, so plan to submit a day early.

Caltech advises Restrictive Early Action only if your most competitive application, including letters of recommendation, is ready by November 1. It also bars other Early Action and Early Decision applications, though not to universities outside the United States; the Restrictive Early Action chapter has the rules. Caltech sets the hour of each decision release through riddles: once solved, you'll know the decision release time.

One paragraph of Caltech's deadlines page prints May 1, 2026 as the Regular Decision reply date. The rest of that page and the international applicants' table say May 1, 2027, the date that matches autumn 2027 entry.

Application requirements and fee

Caltech's first-year application has parts you submit and parts your school and teachers send. Caltech will not review your application if any part is not translated in English, so every document issued in another language needs the original document and an English translation.

Both required Caltech letters come from teachers, not your counselor: two teachers or instructors from your last two years of high school, one in math (calculus or beyond preferred), physics, chemistry, or biology and one in English, History, Government, or Economics. Caltech wants the second teacher to comment on your writing skills, so ask a teacher from a class with a significant writing component. If you are an international applicant with no humanities or social science course in your final two years, as with A-levels, you can substitute that letter with another letter from a teacher in a different STEM subject. Teachers submit their own letters, and Caltech does not accept letters submitted by the applicant.

Caltech's $85 application fee is one-time and non-refundable. If you are applying for financial aid and the fee is a hardship, the Caltech Active Transport Pass form decides whether Caltech waives it, and QuestBridge applicants are never charged an application fee. International applicants also answer the International Financial Aid Statement of Intent questions in the application, with no separate form. Answer them with care: Caltech is need-aware for international applicants, and if you will ever want aid at Caltech you must apply for it at the time you apply for admission.

Caltech checks what you send. Verification begins once you submit your application: Caltech reserves the right to verify any and all components of an application, including awards and participation in extracurricular programs, events, or competitions. Checks can continue after admission, and any discrepancies or falsifications will result in the rescission of your admission.

The Beaver Breakroom, activities and optional materials

The Beaver Breakroom is Caltech's applicant portal, and you receive its link after you submit your application. In the Breakroom you review a checklist of materials that are missing, self-report AP and IB scores, upload optional materials, read your decision and, if admitted, can often confirm your enrolment.

The activity list is a Common App section, and Caltech's admissions pages set no Caltech limit on how many activities you list. Caltech can verify each activity and award, and through the Breakroom it asks for a record or proof of any supplemental materials you declared.

Research papers and portfolios at Caltech are completely optional: only about 42% of admitted students from the recent class submitted research papers and publications. A research submission needs 3 components, the paper, a letter from the site of research and a research description form, while a STEM or non-STEM portfolio has no limit on how many items you can submit. You upload either in the Breakroom after submission of your application, by November 6 in the early round or January 10 in the regular round.

QuestBridge, transfer, 3/2 and homeschooled applicants

QuestBridge applicants who rank Caltech are emailed Beaver Breakroom access, where they are asked to submit a Caltech supplement, and their SAT or ACT must reach Caltech before October 31, 2026. QuestBridge announces Match Finalists on October 21.

If you have already enrolled at another university, you may only apply for transfer admission to Caltech; Caltech may grant exceptions for students in the southern hemisphere who begin their college education while applying to U.S. universities. For an international student both the transfer and the 3/2 route are self-funded: financial aid is not available for international transfer and 3/2 applicants.

Caltech's transfer and 3/2 pages say the application and requirements for Fall 2027 will be available in late Fall; until then the transfer page shows the requirements for Fall 2026 applicants and the 3/2 page does the same. For Fall 2026, transfer applicants needed two college faculty recommendations from math, science, or engineering professors and took math and physics entrance examinations. The 3/2 programme is for students at Caltech's partner colleges who have attended the partner college for all three years, and the Caltech Faculty Upperclass Admissions Committee decides.

Homeschooled applicants to Caltech go through the same application and review processes. The person most closely fulfilling the role of a college counselor or principal, often a parent, completes the Secondary School Report, and if all of your instructors have been parents, Caltech requires an additional recommendation from someone who can speak to your college-level work.

After admission: aid documents and the visa form

Caltech plans to give Restrictive Early Action admits their financial aid notification before the December holiday break, and says the financial aid logistics and timeline will be posted later. Caltech's International Financial Aid Statement of Intent lists the aid documents: the CSS Profile by February 1 before the term of enrollment, then the parents' tax return and the Caltech Scholarship Data Form by July 15 before the term of enrollment. Check them against the aid office's page for your round once it shows autumn 2027 dates; the financial aid chapter has the detail.

Once you accept Caltech's offer by May 1, 2027, you send official documents: only students who matriculate to Caltech are required to submit official exam scores, and unofficial transcripts must be followed by official ones if you are admitted and enrolled. For the F-1 visa you need a Form I-20, and the designated school official must collect evidence of your financial ability before issuing it; financial aid letters count as evidence. The visa chapter covers the visa itself.

Caltech's undergraduate program leads to a four-year Bachelor of Science in every subject, from Physics and Computer Science to English and Economics, in majors that Caltech calls options, run by six academic divisions. Under Caltech's 2026-2027 catalog you start in the fall term only, declare your option at the end of your first year, and need four years (12 terms) of enrollment and at least 486 units to graduate.

At Caltech the choice of option comes after a shared start. Every first-year student at Caltech takes the same classes during their first two terms, and the core curriculum puts you in classes across the divisions, so a physics student will take biology classes, and a biology student will take a class in econ, poli sci, or literature. Caltech's options are not science-only: English leads to a Bachelor of Science (BS) in English.

Caltech's Interdisciplinary Studies Program (ISP) allows the student to create their own scholastic requirements, under faculty supervision, for goals no listed option covers. The minors-only subjects in the table can be added to an option but cannot be your main field. Caltech's Majors & Minors page also warns that, for a subject you love, you might not want to study it at Caltech, because Caltech is built to work best for students who aren't afraid of getting in over their heads.

Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy (PMA)

Physics, Mathematics and Astrophysics are the options in the subjects of Caltech's Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy. Caltech's physics page offers research with more than 50 faculty members, says you'll be learning from Nobel Prize-winning physicists, and starts the physics major in the second year with intensive foundational courses, including advanced topics like quantum mechanics that other schools leave to graduate students. Caltech cofounded and comanages LIGO and runs observatories including the Palomar and W. M. Keck Observatories.

For physics placement, Caltech doesn't accept previous courses at other institutions or through Advanced Placement; instead you may take the Physics 1c placement exams the summer before starting at Caltech to place out of introductory physics.

Engineering and Applied Science (EAS)

Engineering and Applied Science is both a Caltech division and an option. Caltech's other engineering and computing options are Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Applied Physics, Applied and Computational Mathematics and Information and Data Sciences. Aerospace is a minor only at Caltech, as are Control and Dynamical Systems and Structural Mechanics, so you add aerospace to an option rather than major in it. Caltech counts at least one Ph.D.-level researcher for every Caltech undergraduate.

Caltech Entrance

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (CCE)

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering are the options in the subjects of Caltech's Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, and Caltech also offers a chemistry minor. Caltech's chemistry page counts 30+ chemistry professors, lets you start research as early as your first year and says entering the major after the first-year core requires no prior coursework. The chemistry option has a track in biochemistry. Caltech's About page features Frances Arnold, 2018 Nobel Laureate and the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry.

Biology and Biological Engineering (BBE)

Biology, Bioengineering and Computation and Neural Systems are the life-science options on Caltech's list; Neurobiology is a minor only. Caltech's biology division goes back to Thomas Hunt Morgan, who established the Division of Biology in 1928. First-years can join Caltech's biology research tutorial, which runs in the winter and spring quarters and involves small group discussions.

Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS)

Geological and Planetary Sciences and Environmental Science and Engineering, which Caltech also lists in Chemistry and Physics versions, are the Earth and planetary options on Caltech's list. Caltech manages JPL for NASA, sending probes to explore the planets of our solar system and quantify changes on our home planet, and Caltech's admissions office tells students you may work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Caltech also runs the Seismological Laboratory.

Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS)

You can major in the humanities and social sciences at Caltech: English, History, History and Philosophy of Science, Philosophy, Economics, Political Science and Business, Economics, and Management are options, and Visual Culture is a minor. Caltech's Division of Humanities and Social Sciences centers on small, discussion-based courses instead of lectures. Caltech's English page counts 50+ humanities faculty, and Caltech's history page counts 14 history professors.

Caltech's humanities options keep a science component. Besides the Senior Tutorial and nine courses, the English option asks for 54 additional units of science, mathematics, and engineering courses.

The core curriculum: what every student takes

Caltech's core curriculum is the set of Institute requirements every undergraduate must pass, whatever the option: the Bachelor of Science needs passing grades in each of the required courses plus your option's own requirements. Caltech's admissions office calls the core about much more than STEM, with humanities and social sciences built in.

This report could not verify the term-by-term course list in the Institute requirements section of Caltech's catalog, so it gives no course counts. Your requirements are those stated in the catalog published in the first year of a student's enrollment at Caltech, so read that section in the catalog for your entry year. Caltech expects that all students have taken as much math as possible, including one year of calculus, to be prepared for the core curriculum.

First-year seminars, frontier courses and research tutorials

Beyond the core, Caltech's catalog encourages first-year students to join courses that bring them close to faculty research:

• First-year seminars: 10 to 15 first-year students and a faculty member on one topic, including earthquakes, gravitational waves, and the science of music.
• Frontier courses: 10 frontier courses, each built on a weekly presentation by a faculty member on a topic of current research, often over lunch, which is why students refer to the courses as “pizza courses.”
• Research tutorials: three, in physics, biology and chemistry; the physics one takes approximately seven first-year students and extends over three academic terms plus the summer.

More than 80 percent of Caltech students do research at some point, by the catalog's count. The research and careers chapter covers SURF and JPL.

Double options, minors and study abroad

Caltech lets you combine options: Caltech's catalog says most students pursue English as a second option, and Caltech's physics page profiles a student in Physics and Business, Economics, and Management. This report did not verify Caltech's general rules for taking two options; check the catalog before you plan a pair.

Caltech's English minor asks for 72 units of English courses, and those courses may not be used to satisfy the requirements of another option or minor. Caltech's admissions pages also invite you to add a minor in history or pair a major or minor in HPS with another major.

Caltech students study around the globe in cities including Cambridge, London, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Paris, and Melbourne, and Caltech's admissions office mentions an exchange program in China or Iceland. The Caltech pages verified here name no partner universities or costs for these programs.

The 3/2 program and transfer entry

Caltech's 3/2 program is a route in for students at Caltech's partner colleges, and applicants must have attended the partner college for all three years of their undergraduate career. Caltech says the application and requirements for Fall 2027 will be available in late Fall; for Fall 2026 entry the deadline was February 1 and decisions were released on April 15.

Caltech's transfer and 3/2 students must enroll for a minimum of six terms at Caltech, and financial aid is not available for international transfer and 3/2 applicants. If you have already started a degree anywhere, you will be required to apply as a transfer student, and Caltech cannot consider you if you already have a bachelor's degree.

As of October 2026, the Caltech pages we checked publish no graduate-outcome figures, so the career record you can verify is research: Caltech's 2026-2027 catalog says more than 80 percent of students do research, and Caltech's history page says 80 percent of undergraduates take part in SURF. Those pages give no PhD share, median salary or employer list; they do show a SURF fellowship that paid $8,110 in 2026 for a ten-week summer project.

Caltech's catalog names the routes into research: research credits with a faculty member, paid lab work, a senior thesis, or SURF. You do not need research to get in: only 42% of admitted students had done research before Caltech, and Caltech counts at least one Ph.D.-level researcher for every undergraduate.

Caltech's figures count different things, research of any kind or SURF alone: Caltech's SURF figure is 80 percent, with one in four of each year's participants coming from the freshman class.

SURF: a paid summer project you propose yourself

Caltech has run SURF since 1979, and SURF is modeled on the grant-seeking process: you define a project with a potential mentor, write a research proposal, and faculty review the proposals and recommend awards. During the ten-week fellowship you cannot take courses or hold another job, and remote projects are not allowed. You submit two interim reports, an abstract and a final technical paper, then give an oral presentation at a SURF Seminar Day.

Caltech from the air

JPL, Palomar, Keck and LIGO

Caltech manages JPL for NASA, owns and operates the Palomar and W. M. Keck Observatories and cofounded and comanages LIGO. For undergraduates the way in is research: Caltech's admissions site says you may work at JPL or LIGO, and SURF Fellows are invited to weekly seminars by Caltech faculty and JPL scientists and engineers.

JPL's own rules for international students are not on the Caltech pages we checked. If a JPL project is your reason for choosing Caltech, ask JPL or your SURF mentor whether a non-US citizen can join it before you plan a summer around it.

What Caltech publishes about jobs and PhDs

Caltech's career office, Career Achievement, Leadership, and Exploration (CALE), serves students, postdocs, and recent alumni, but the CALE and admissions pages we checked publish no outcomes survey: no graduate-school share, employment rate, median salary, employer list, survey year or response rate. Caltech's statements are qualitative: its physics page says many physics graduates go on to doctoral studies, its chemistry page says many pursue advanced degrees, and CALE quotes alumna June Yang, VP of Google Cloud, B.S. Chemical Engineering.

Nobel laureates and alumni, as Caltech lists them

Caltech's About page counts 49 Nobel Prizes without splitting faculty from alumni. The laureates Caltech names on these pages are faculty and leaders: Frances Arnold, 2018 Nobel Laureate and Linus Pauling Professor; Robert Millikan, who chaired the executive council, the equivalent of president and was Caltech's first Nobel Prize winner, in 1923; and David Baltimore, president from 1997, Nobel laureate in 1975. The pages we checked mention Gordon Moore as a donor, Linus Pauling only in Arnold's title and Kip Thorne not at all, so this chapter gives none of the three an alumni label.

Working in the US after Caltech: OPT and STEM OPT

Optional Practical Training is temporary employment directly related to an F-1 student's area of study, set by US rules, not Caltech. A degree on the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program list can add a 24-month extension, so check that your Caltech option is on it. Visa steps are in our visa chapter.

For the 2026-27 school year, Caltech bills an undergraduate in Caltech-owned housing $93,225 in direct costs, tuition of $68,574 included, and estimates $5,397 more for books and personal expenses that you pay yourself. Caltech has not yet published costs for 2027-2028, the year you would start. On top of the budget you pay for health insurance unless you have a comparable plan and, as an international student, for visa fees and flights.

Caltech's Financial Aid Office sets a nine-month, full-time budget in two parts. Direct costs are the costs that Caltech will bill you for before receiving any financial aid: tuition, fees, housing and food. Indirect costs, for books and personal spending, are estimates of what a family may pay. Caltech adds that the cost of attendance is not the same as the bill you will receive from Caltech.

Caltech requires students to live on campus for the first two years of study, so the off-campus column applies to you from your third year at the earliest. Off campus, housing and food leave the Caltech bill: direct costs fall to $71,229, and the costs you pay yourself rise to $31,695, housing alone $16,677.

This page gives Caltech's figures in US dollars only, because we found no official dated exchange rate; convert at your bank's rate when you plan and again when you pay.

Tuition for 2027-2028 and for international students

On 9 October 2026, Caltech's cost pages show only the 2026-27 budget; tuition for 2027-2028 is not published yet. Check the Caltech Financial Aid Office cost page again before you accept an offer. Caltech publishes no four-year total, and this page does not add one up.

Caltech presents the budget as generally applicable to Caltech undergraduate students, with no separate international rate. Only travel depends on where you live: Caltech can add an allowance toward two roundtrips only for U.S. Citizens or eligible non-citizens who reside in the US, associated US territories, Canada, or Mexico. Flights from anywhere else are not in your Caltech budget, so price them yourself.

Extra costs for an international student

Caltech's fees do not include the Caltech Student Health Insurance Plan: $5,388 for the 2026-27 school year, $1,796 per insurance term. You do not have to buy it if you have coverage through a comparable plan. If you receive aid and enroll in the plan, you can ask Caltech to add it to your budget, and students will be offered grant assistance to cover the additional expense.

Caltech offers fee waivers to aid applicants for whom the $85 application fee is a hardship, and QuestBridge applicants are never charged an application fee. We found no enrolment deposit for first-year applicants on Caltech's admissions or financial aid pages. The SEVIS fee comes after admission: you must receive the Form I-20 from a DSO at the school you plan to attend before you pay it. A visa issuance fee may also apply, depending on your nationality.

Proof of funds for the Form I-20

Before Caltech issues the Form I-20 you need for an F-1 student visa, US rules say designated school officials (DSOs) must collect evidence of the student's financial ability to cover the cost of tuition, books, living expenses and travel. Evidence includes but is not limited to family bank statements, sponsor documents and aid or scholarship letters. Caltech's pages we checked do not state the amount to show, so contact the school's international student office before you gather documents.

Caltech is need-aware for international students and meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need once you are admitted, with aid that covers the full cost of attendance. International students not offered financial aid must have the ability to pay the full cost of a Caltech undergraduate education before committing to attend, and you can apply for aid only as an incoming first-year. The financial aid chapter explains how.

For autumn 2027 entry Caltech is need-aware for international students, because its aid funds for them are limited, and it offers need-based aid that meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need once you are admitted. Caltech aid covers the full cost of attendance, and most international applicants get one chance to ask for it, on the admissions application.

Need-aware means that financial need may be a factor in Caltech's admissions decisions for international applicants; otherwise the application and review are the same for all applicants. The trade-off sits at admission, not in the offer: Caltech meets the full demonstrated need of all admitted students.

Apply for Caltech aid with your application, or never

Caltech gives international citizens one window for need-based aid. If you will ever want aid as an undergraduate, you must apply when you apply for admission, and without aid in the first year, an international citizen is not eligible in any later period. The policy cannot be appealed, and international students not offered aid must be able to pay the full cost before committing to attend.

• Say it on the application. You must disclose on your admissions application that you plan to apply for aid; there is no separate form.
• Canada and Mexico are the exception. Exceptions may be made for citizens of Canada and Mexico; the Financial Aid Office pages add permanent residents of Canada and Mexico.
• Aid, once offered, continues on request. An international citizen offered first-year aid can reapply in later years, and all eligible students must reapply each year.
• No aid for transfer or 3/2 entry. Financial aid is not available for international transfer or 3/2 applicants, who are considered only if they can show they can pay the full cost.
• No US federal aid. International students are not eligible for Federal Student Aid: no Pell Grant, no Federal Work-Study, no Federal Direct Stafford or PLUS loans.

How to apply for Caltech financial aid from abroad

For autumn 2027 entry you apply for admission by 1 November 2026 in Restrictive Early Action or 4 January 2027 in Regular Decision, and international aid applicants may use either deadline. The aid forms come after the application, and the table shows their last published dates.

Of the aid forms, the parents' tax return takes the most work: Caltech wants your parents' national income tax return or their most recently filed statement, with all supporting schedules, translated into English; a statement from their employer can replace a missing return. IDOC is for continuing students.

On 9 October 2026 the Caltech Financial Aid Office pages still showed fall 2026 dates, so the autumn 2027 aid deadlines are not yet published. Those pages set the Restrictive Early Action CSS Profile date months before the 1 February in the undated Statement of Intent. Plan on the earliest date: if you apply Restrictive Early Action by 1 November 2026, send the CSS Profile right after the application and recheck your round's page once Caltech updates it.

The priority deadline at Caltech is the recommended date that puts your aid decision among the first released, but for international applicants a missed date can cost more: those who do not apply for aid by published deadlines are not eligible for need-based aid in any later period. Caltech plans to send Restrictive Early Action admits their aid notification before the December holiday break, and both rounds reply by 1 May 2027.

How much Caltech aid you can expect

Caltech says 51% of its undergraduates receive need-based aid, on an undated page that counts all undergraduates, not international students alone. Most Caltech aid comes as grants, which do not have to be repaid, and Caltech Scholarships have no standard amount: the award depends entirely on your demonstrated financial need.

Need at Caltech is measured against the cost of attendance, with $93,225 in direct costs for 2026-2027, the latest year published; the cost chapter breaks it down. If you are on aid and join the Caltech health plan, $5,388 for the 2026-27 school year, you may ask for its cost to be added to your cost of attendance, and Caltech offers grant assistance to cover it.

Do not count on a loan-free Caltech package. The Caltech catalog counts loan and work-study funds among the parts of an aid package, so ask the Financial Aid Office what work or loan share your offer expects. To estimate aid, Caltech offers a Quick Cost Estimator and a Net Price Calculator, and notes that every aid decision rests on each applicant's own financial circumstances. Caltech's aid home page does not say whether these tools fit income earned outside the United States, so read any result from abroad as a rough guide, not a promise.

No merit scholarships at Caltech, and how student jobs work

All scholarships and grants at Caltech are need-based; Caltech has no merit aid program. Named scholarships are need-based too, though some have a merit component; you are considered for them automatically if you qualify, and a named scholarship replaces part of your Caltech Scholarship rather than adding to it.

Caltech student jobs are open to all students, with or without aid. Students typically work 4 to 10 hours a week, never more than 16, for at least $18.04 an hour. Caltech Work-Study serves students without federal aid, most international students included: the Caltech aid fund pays 60% of the wage, and the job must be at Caltech. Federal Work-Study, typically $2,500, is for domestic students.

Applying to Caltech costs $85. If you are applying for aid and the fee is a hardship, the Caltech Active Transport Pass form checks whether you qualify for a waiver. For other funding, see our guide to scholarships for US universities and our guide to studying in the US for free.

As of October 2026, Caltech guarantees you housing and requires you to live on campus for the first two years of study, in one of 11 residence halls: eight traditional undergraduate Houses and three unaffiliated (non-House) halls. You choose your residence yourself: during Rotation in your first two weeks you visit the residences and then rank where you want to live, and almost everyone gets assigned to one of their top choices.

Caltech students usually stay longer than the rule requires: most students decide to live on campus all four years. Caltech residences mix years, and students of all backgrounds and class years live together. The rooms are singles, doubles, triples and suite-style, and every residence has common areas to mingle, socialize, dine, and work on problem sets together.

Fleming cannon firing

Each Caltech House and hall carries its own unique traditions and activities, and students run much of that life themselves: Techers plan and organize study breaks, movie nights, traditional House activities, hiking and skiing trips, and field trips around L.A. Each Caltech residence also has health advocates, peer advisors and Title IX advocates, as well as a Resident Associate, and some also include faculty in residence.

How Rotation works

Caltech Rotation runs alongside orientation and the start of classes in your first two weeks, so you choose where to live only after you have seen the options and met a lot of Techers.

The choice of a Caltech residence rests on your own ranked list, and Caltech says no one is required to live in a residence that they don't like.

The minimum age rule for younger admits

Since Fall 2023, Caltech has had a minimum age for on-campus housing: you must be 17 years of age by October 1 of the year you matriculate to live on campus in your first year. If you start in autumn 2027, that date is October 1, 2027.

If you are admitted to Caltech but will not be 17 by October 1, you can still fully engage in the academic and co-curricular experience, including becoming a social member of a House. You live off campus in that first year, and Caltech is not able to assist families with finding off-campus housing, so your family has to find it. If you will be 17 by October 1 of your second year, you become eligible for on-campus housing that year.

What housing and food cost at Caltech

Caltech's latest published budgets are for 2026-27; the figures for autumn 2027 entry are not out yet, so use these as a guide. They are nine-month, full-time budgets. On campus, housing and food are direct costs, the costs that Caltech will bill you for before receiving any financial aid. Off campus, they are indirect costs, estimates of what a family may pay.

On campus, Caltech bills housing and food together with tuition and fees, for total direct costs of $93,225 in 2026-27. Caltech's admissions and financial aid pages do not list meal-plan options or rates by room type, so ask Caltech Housing for those before you set your budget.

Student life at Caltech is life in a small residential community: on 9 October 2026 Caltech's About page counted 971 undergraduates, Caltech requires students to live on campus for the first two years of study, and the social life, traditions and student leadership run through its 11 residence halls. Outside the halls, Caltech fields eighteen Division III varsity teams and says sport and recreation draw participation from 80% of the student body.

Caltech's Admissions and Aid page describes an undergraduate body of just under 1,000, and Caltech's undergraduate admissions office says that if you ask any student on campus what the best part of Caltech is, you will routinely hear "The people." Caltech's history page quotes Edward M. Stolper, a former interim president, saying that Caltech's small size is a real advantage in that it leads to a sense of community that is very special.

Caltech Houses, student leadership and traditions

Caltech's eight traditional undergraduate Houses and three unaffiliated halls are where Caltech students eat, socialise and work on problem sets together, and Caltech says each carries its own unique traditions and activities. The Caltech housing system offers loads of opportunities to join student leadership: Techers, as Caltech calls its students, plan and organize study breaks, movie nights, traditional House activities, hiking and skiing trips, and field trips around L.A. How you choose your Caltech House during Rotation is explained in the housing chapter.

One campus-wide Caltech tradition appears on Caltech's own history page: the Olive Harvest Festival, which Jean-Lou Chameau, president from 2006 to 2013, instituted and during which the community gathers olives from campus trees to make oil. Caltech says the festival has yielded as much as 6,000 pounds of olives and 127 gallons of oil. Ditch Day and the student pranks often told about Caltech, including the MIT cannon and the Rose Bowl card stunt, are not described on any Caltech page checked for this report, so this report does not retell them. The same Caltech pages name neither a student government nor a number of student clubs.

Sport at Caltech

Caltech Athletics runs eighteen Division III varsity teams, plus a broad offering of club and intramural sports and other informal recreational activities, which Caltech says draw participation from 80% of the student body. The Caltech pages checked for this report do not name Caltech's athletic conference or publish team records, so this report does not repeat the men's basketball losing streak often told about Caltech.

Caltech in Pasadena and Los Angeles

Caltech has a 124-acre campus located in Pasadena, California. Los Angeles appears in Caltech's own account of student life through the residence halls, whose students organise hiking and skiing trips, and field trips around L.A. No Caltech page checked for this report describes Pasadena's neighbourhoods, public transport or climate, so this chapter gives no temperature range; check an official source such as the US National Weather Service instead.

Support for international students at Caltech

Caltech's International Office helps students prepare, adjust, and enjoy life in the United States. Caltech's orientation takes place during your first two weeks on campus, together with the start of classes and Rotation. Every Caltech residence hall has health advocates, peer advisors, and Title IX advocates, as well as a Resident Associate, and some also include faculty in residence.

Caltech does not make you buy its health plan if you have coverage through a comparable plan. If you receive Caltech financial aid and enrol in the Caltech plan, you may request that the expense be added to your estimated cost of attendance, and Caltech says students will be offered grant assistance to cover the additional expense. No Caltech page checked for this report describes Caltech's counselling service or a programme called International Student Programs, so ask the International Office what support it offers before you arrive.

The Caltech Honor Code is one sentence: "No member of the Caltech community shall take unfair advantage of any other member of the Caltech community." It applies to you before you arrive: Caltech expects applicants to abide by the Honor Code in the admissions process, and every Fall 2027 applicant must review Caltech's guidelines on the ethical use of AI before submitting the supplemental essays.

Caltech prints the Honor Code on its Admissions & Aid page and on the admissions page about verifying applications. It binds more than students: Caltech students, faculty, and staff are guided by the Honor Code.

What the Caltech Honor Code means day to day

Caltech leaves part of the detail to each course: policies of AI use as an academic tool by students will be determined by individual departments and/or individual faculty. Check each course's rules before you start the work. Caltech also says its students do not learn in isolation; they work together in classrooms, laboratories, residences, and research groups. The Honor Code follows you into research: the 10-week SURF summer programme requires every fellow to abide by Caltech's Honor Code.

The Caltech pages used for this report do not describe exam formats or access to labs and buildings, so this report makes no claim about them. Ask Caltech admissions or current students if that matters to your choice.

How Caltech enforces the Honor Code and its integrity rules

The Caltech pages used for this report do not say who hears an Honor Code case, how a hearing runs or which penalties it can set. Caltech does publish an application integrity policy that reaches an applicant, admitted student, enrolled student, or former student at any time. Under it, intentional falsification, distortion, or omission of material information constitutes application fraud, and so does unauthorized use or misrepresentation of AI tools.

For an applicant from abroad, the AI rule that matters most concerns language. Caltech lists translating an essay written in another language among unethical uses of AI, while using AI tools, like Grammarly or Microsoft Editor, to review grammar and spelling of a finished essay is allowed. Do not run an essay drafted in your own language through an AI translator.

Why the Honor Code matters for your Caltech application

Caltech admissions looks for three central qualities. One of them, Scholarly Character, means integrity, resilience, and generosity in the pursuit of learning, shown by a student who approaches academic work and relationships with integrity and collaborates constructively with others.

The Fall 2027 Scholarly Character essay asks "How do you learn when there is no easy answer?" You pick Option 1, Collaboration, about a time another person or group shaped your learning in STEM, or Option 2, Process, about a time your approach mattered as much as the outcome, and write at most 200 words. Caltech's essay advice says it looks for a student who embraces collaboration in the face of a tough problem and brings integrity to the learning process.

Caltech does not tie this essay to the Honor Code in its own words; the link is our advice. Write the Scholarly Character essay as evidence of the behaviour the Honor Code asks for: pick one real moment, say what you did and what others contributed, and keep the account exact.

To start at Caltech in autumn 2027 you need an F-1 student visa, and before you fly you pay the I-901 SEVIS fee of $350 to ICE and the $185 visa application fee to the State Department, as both list them in October 2026. The visa can be issued up to 365 days before the start date of your program, but you may enter the United States no earlier than 30 days before the program start date on your Form I-20.

Caltech admits you, but the F-1 paperwork follows federal rules. The SEVP-approved school will issue you a Form I-20 once its designated school official (DSO) has collected evidence of your financial ability, such as family bank statements, sponsor documents, and financial aid or scholarship letters. If you are under age 18, your parents must sign the Form I-20 for you.

Caltech's pages that we checked do not describe Caltech's own visa paperwork, document list or international check-in. Ask Caltech for that checklist when you reply to the offer, by May 1, 2027 for Restrictive Early Action and Regular Decision admits.

Before you travel: SEVIS fee, visa application and interview

The F-1 steps for a Caltech student run in a fixed order: you must receive the Form I-20 before you pay the I-901 SEVIS Fee, then you complete Form DS-160 and attend an interview at a US embassy or consulate, where you must present the Form I-20 to the consular officer. Wait times for interview appointments vary by location, season, and visa category, so book early. Our US student visa guide covers the steps that do not depend on Caltech.

Plan your trip to Caltech around the visa: do not make final travel plans or buy tickets until you have a visa, and bring your evidence of financial ability to the visa application too. F-1 rules are also changing: on July 17, 2026, DHS published a final rule establishing a fixed time period of admission for F students. The ICE page does not give the length of that period, so ask Caltech how the F-1 rule applies to your degree.

Arriving at Caltech: entry date, orientation and health insurance

Caltech says that during the first two weeks you'll have orientation, and classes will start. Rotation, when first-years visit the Houses and rank where they want to live, runs in the same weeks. Caltech pages that we checked give no autumn 2027 dates yet, so time your arrival from the program start date on your Form I-20, 30 days before which you may enter.

Caltech charges every entering undergraduate a one-time $600 Orientation Fee. The Caltech Student Health Insurance Plan costs $5,388 for the 2026-27 school year, with 2027-2028 prices not yet published, but you do not have to buy it through Caltech if you have coverage through a comparable plan.

Working on an F-1 visa at Caltech and after graduation

Caltech's limit on student jobs is stricter than the federal one. On campus, F-1 rules allow no more than 20 hours per week when school is in session, and the Study in the States page gives no figure for breaks; Caltech sets a maximum of 16 hours per week. Caltech students typically work an average of 4-10 hours per week for at least $18.04 per hour, and all students who wish to work must apply for a Social Security Number.

Two DHS rules shape practical training during a Caltech degree. One year or more of full-time CPT rules out post-completion OPT. And the 24-month STEM OPT extension covers only degrees on the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List; the Caltech and DHS pages we checked do not say which Caltech options are on that list, so confirm yours with Caltech.

For autumn 2027 entry, Caltech suits you if you want science and engineering at the centre of your degree, in a first-year class of only 245 students; if you have already taken one year of calculus, one year of physics and one year of chemistry; and if you can settle your aid plan before you apply by 1 November 2026 or 4 January 2027. Caltech suits you less if you want to specialise from the first day, want a business school, or might need aid later but will not ask for it with your application.

Caltech calls itself an unapologetic STEM institution, yet Caltech is not science-only: Caltech is split into six academic divisions, one of them Humanities and Social Sciences. Every first-year student at Caltech takes the same classes during their first two terms, and you declare your major only at the end of your first year. In the Caltech core, a physics student will take biology classes, and a biology student will take a class in econ, poli sci, or literature.

Research before university is not a condition at Caltech: only 42% of admitted students had done research before, while 90% of undergraduates take part in research at Caltech, some at JPL, which the Institute manages for NASA. Caltech expects applicants to abide by the Honor Code already in the admissions process.

Money decides the fit for many applicants from abroad. Caltech is need-aware for international students, so financial need may be a factor in admissions decisions for international applicants. Caltech aid meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need, but you must apply for it at the time that you apply for admission: if you do not apply for or receive aid for your first year, you may not apply for aid for any other academic period.

If you apply Restrictive Early Action to Caltech, you may not apply Early Action nor Early Decision to any other institution, with exceptions that include an institution outside of the United States. Caltech's admit rate is under 5% for both Early Action and Regular Decision, so build a full list whichever Caltech round you choose.

Caltech vs MIT

Every Caltech figure below comes from Caltech's own pages; where two Caltech pages give different figures, both are shown.

For MIT, the MIT admissions home page we checked gives only the Early Action deadline for first-year applicants, November 1. This report prints no MIT figures for the rows above, MIT's aid policy for international applicants included, so read them on MIT's own pages before you compare. The MIT date alone matters: MIT Early Action is not among the exceptions to Caltech's REA rule, so you can apply early to only one of Caltech and MIT.

Alternatives outside the US: Imperial College London and ETH Zurich

Applications outside the United States stay open under Caltech's REA rule. Imperial College London offers over 110 undergraduate degree courses in science, engineering, medicine and business. ETH Zurich's English home page, the only ETH Zurich page we checked, carried news but no admissions or ranking facts, so this report prints no ETH Zurich figures; read ETH Zurich's bachelor admissions pages directly.

Your next steps for autumn 2027 entry

Two decisions come before you submit anything to Caltech: whether you will ever need aid, and which two teachers will write for you.

Official pages of California Institute of Technology, UCAS, gov.uk and the ranking publishers. Applicant reports, where shown, are self-reported and labelled.

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Photos: Robert A. Millikan Memorial Library at Caltech: photo Canon.vs.nikon, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons · Beckman auditorium, Caltech: photo en:User:Geographer, CC BY 1.0, Wikimedia Commons · Kerckhoff Laboratory of the Biological Sciences: photo Canon.vs.nikon, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons · Caltech Entrance: photo Canon.vs.nikon, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons · Caltech from the air: photo Tobin, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons · Fleming cannon firing: photo Canon.vs.nikon, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons