Caltech

Johnny Jones, October 1991

Caltech was high on Bryan's list before we visited there. What was not to love? Located in sunny California, world class in engineering, small. It sounded terrific. After Bryan got a 750 on his math SAT, Caltech started recruiting him heavily.

Besides, the things we read sounded like Bryan. They stated their purpose as "...train(ing) the creative type of scientist or engineer so urgently needed in our educational, governmental, and industrial development." When we were looking, there were 850 undergraduate students, 1000  grad students, and about 800 faculty members. We knew of nowhere else in the world with such a terrific student faculty ratio.

Their president said in his inaugural address, "In 1988, when we hear concerns about economic competitiveness, when we are still recovering from the Challenger disaster, when our grade schools and high schools are not as competitive as we would like, when we cannot find the will to balance our national budget, there need to be a few places that look ahead and still dare

to do the most ambitious things that human beings can accomplish. Caltech still has that ambition and that daring."

Besides, there was a heavy research emphasis. An admissions officer told Bryan, "We treat our students like graduate students." Wow! And you should have seen the facilities. Solid rock and pocked with labs, they smelled of engineering and research. Bryan loves hands-on engineering and research.

I stayed abut 2 miles from campus and walked there about 8 a.m. The only sign of human life I found were the Hispanic gardeners. I was told it was a late campus, California style; to Tekkies, a 9 o'clock was an early class. Insider's Guide puts it this way: "It's difficult to expect a party-hardy social life at a place where it's the norm to work until 4 a.m. (morning classes are not that popular)..."

But it was a gorgeous California morning. To see the homes surrounding campus, you would think there was a law regarding plants and flowers: You must have lots of lush ones. So I was surprised to see there were no frisbees flying across the quad. Another thing I noticed was that the students and profs seemed to be into their own little world. I stood a long while trying to interpret the campus map, but no one offered to help. I don't think anyone saw me. They were probably too busy talking about quarks and Bucky balls.

I finally found my way to the student center. There I expected to find an informal place to gather. Instead I found practice rooms, wafting out of which I heard absolutely beautiful classical music. The admissions officer suggested that Bryan mention on his application that he took piano. "There is a strong and recognized correlation between music and math," she told us.

The strong correlation I found at Caltech was between the school and its intensity.
 Insider's Guide starts its Caltech review with, "Here's a simple equation: `Intense' = California Institute of Technology." The high pressure environment means that, of the extraordinarily well prepared student body they accept, about 20% of the freshman class either drops out or does not  graduate. That's the down side to treating their freshmen as graduate students.  One of the unusual competitions on campus was to stay in the dorm as long as possible. Friends take notes from class, and turn in the work while the student stays inside. It was telling that Caltech had a word for doing anything besides studying: "flicking." Since the men\women
ratio is extremely unbalanced, there was another unique word. "`Glomming' is a campus term for hanging around women and fawning over them."

Another Caltech tradition is Ditch Day, when the seniors leave campus for the day. They block the entrance to their rooms, and underclassmen try to overcome the obstacles. Some barriers involve brute strength; others involve puzzles and clues. Students there are fascinated by technology.

We saw some of the results of the creativity and technical skill in the campus pond. There were some whales with moving parts stationed in the water, erected temporarily by students.

The comment in Insider's Guide is that, "Sports, music, and other extracurriculars such as government and journalism exist at Caltech, but are not very popular because most students have little free time." One of the student Christian leaders told Bryan how difficult it was for him, because he did not have time to adequately prepare for class and to devote the time needed to his small group. He also said that, if Bryan went there, he would need to be in that dorm. "We can protect you here," he said. I wanted to know what Bryan would need to be protected from. Hesitantly, the young man explained, "There is a lot of Satanism on campus." That's the kind of thing college guides don't tell you.

The SATs of 1400 combined math and verbal (800 is the   score possible for each) for incoming freshman make Caltech the tops in the nation; their faculty has nearly 20 Nobel prizes to its credit. Caltech is recognized by Newsweek as having the top graduate engineering school in the world. When we asked one student why he was there, he replied simply: Because it's the best.

But Bryan did not apply. "I want to have a life while I'm in college," he explained. Fiske

Guide to the Colleges confirms this feeling with a quote from a Caltech student, "If you truly want to study science or engineering and you want to be the best at it, even at the expense of social life and free time, come here. Otherwise, don't." That sounds like good advice.