How We Make Decisions

There are a lot of numbers and formulas at Caltech—but not at the Admissions Office. The decision-making process is much more of an art than a science here. We do not put your numbers into a computer to calculate your admissibility. Rather, we read every application to get a sense of who you are and whether you would be a good fit for Caltech.

Where You Come From

The admissions counselors read applications from the geographic regions they have visited and know well. Each student is considered in the context of his or her background. Every student has different resources, depending on his or her family, school, and community situations. Students are not compared to one another, even if they come from the same high school, because each student has a different set of life circumstances. We gather this information from the “background” pages of your application and from your secondary-school profile. We have no quotas whatsoever. The background information simply gives us the context in which to consider your application.

Academics

We first look for academic ability by evaluating test scores, grades, and recommendations. Caltech students are gifted in math and science and also are good test takers. If you have low math and science test scores, we will look for evidence of abilities in other parts of your application. Even if you have done well on your standardized tests, we will confirm that ability with your grades and teacher recommendations. Caltech students are not only good at math and science; they love those subjects, too. We will look for your love of learning in your curriculum and teacher recommendations. If you have taken courses or done research outside of school, be sure to include those transcripts and, if possible, recommendations from those experiences.

Extracurricular Activities 

You should think broadly about how you spend your time outside of academics. List activities like sports, music, summer programs, community service, math and science academic teams, tutoring programs, and whatever else you spend time doing. You might even think about how you spend time with your friends. We are trying to understand how you might be involved in our community.You can detail your activities both on the Common Application and on the Caltech Supplement. 

　　在加州理工，有许多数字和公式——但不是在录取委员会。我们做出决定的过程更像是一门艺术，而不是一门科学。我们不是把你提供的一些数字录入计算机，计算你的录取比率。恰恰相反，我们会阅读每份申请材料，来感受你是谁，以及你是否会适合加州理工。

　　你来自哪里

　　录取委员会官员会阅读他们拜访和了解过地区的申请者材料。他们对学生进行判断时，都是考虑到他（她）的生活背景。由于生活的家庭，就读的学校，居住的社区环境的不同，不同的学生拥有不同的资源。纵然是来自同一所高中，学生与学生是不同的，因为每个学生都有一组不同的生活环境。我们从你申请材料中的背景页和高中文档中发现和提取这类信息。这种背景类信息，只是单纯地为我们考虑你的申请时提供一个大的背景。

　　你应该思考一下你是怎样度过课余时间的。列出一个平常你所参与或者做过的活动清单，包括运动，音乐，暑期计划，社区服务，数学和科学学术团队，辅导计划，和其他你花费时间做的事情。你甚至可以思考一下你跟朋友平常做的事情。我们试图理解你可能怎样参与我们社区。