A private R1 research university in Pasadena, CA, admitting 2.57% of applicants with $128,566 median earnings at ten years and a 3:1 student-faculty ratio.
Pasadena, California
The California Institute of Technology is a private R1 research university in Pasadena, California, founded in 1891 as Throop University and adopting its current name in 1921. It enrolls 987 undergraduates and 1,443 graduate students, one of the smallest undergraduate bodies at any research university in the country. Undergraduates are enrolled across six academic divisions: Biology and Biological Engineering, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Engineering and Applied Science, Geological and Planetary Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy.
Engineering, physical sciences, mathematics, and computer science account for the largest shares of bachelor's degrees. Caltech holds a Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity (R1) Carnegie classification and is accredited through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). Caltech does not use test scores in any part of its admissions review; submitting SAT or ACT scores has no effect on the application.
Official website: caltech.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), Caltech scores 90.90 overall, rated Excellent. Selectivity scores 99.94, the highest in this peer group, reflecting a 2.57% admit rate. Value scores 97.91, driven by median ten-year earnings of $128,566 combined with an average net price of $16,075. Affordability scores 41.55. All scores use verified federal data only.
Caltech is the most selective university in this peer group, admitting 2.57% of applicants. Caltech does not use test scores in admissions; the SAT and ACT are not reviewed and play no role in the application. Caltech uses its own application with required short-answer essays focused on intellectual curiosity, research experience, and scientific interests. The Early Action deadline is November 1 (non-binding); the Regular Decision deadline is January 3.
Caltech does not have a binding Early Decision program. Caltech's admissions review places exceptional weight on demonstrated mathematical and scientific ability, research engagement, and evidence of independent intellectual pursuit. The applicant pool is almost entirely STEM-focused; prospective students are expected to have engaged seriously with mathematics, physics, chemistry, or computer science beyond standard coursework.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether California Institute of Technology is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Caltech charges $65,898 in tuition plus $20,283 in room and board, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $86,000 before aid. Caltech meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted domestic students, with no loans in aid packages. The average net price after all grants and scholarships is $16,075.
For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is negative: Caltech's aid packages exceed total cost of attendance, meaning families in this income bracket on average receive stipends beyond full cost coverage. For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the average net price is similarly negative, with Caltech's grants again exceeding the cost of attendance. For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $18,753. For families earning above $110,000, it averages $54,157.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $75 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Caltech completes the large majority of the students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 94.37% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students. The four-year rate is 81.03%, lower than the six-year rate because Caltech's research-intensive programs frequently lead students to extend their time for deep research engagement or co-authored publication. First-year retention stands at 97.55%. Caltech's federal loan rate of 4.30% is among the lowest at any university in the country, consistent with the no-loan aid policy.
Caltech graduates earn substantially above the national median for any category of institution. Median earnings are $132,140 six years after first enrolling and $128,566 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 94.03% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate.
The six-year earnings figure exceeding the ten-year figure is unusual and likely reflects the mix of Caltech graduates entering industry directly, where early compensation is high, versus those who pursue doctoral programs and postdoctoral research before entering industry or faculty positions. Caltech's earnings are the highest of any school in this peer group outside of MIT.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Caltech enrolls 987 undergraduates on its residential campus in Pasadena, California, a city of approximately 140,000 people approximately ten miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Asian students account for 35.87% of undergraduates; Hispanic 17.43%, white 18.74%, and Black 4.66%. International students account for a significant share of graduate enrollment given Caltech's global research reputation.
Eighteen percent of undergraduates receive Pell grants. Caltech operates the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) under contract with NASA, which means that the research environment includes active planetary science, space exploration, and aerospace engineering programs that are literally running Mars missions and deep space probes.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at California Institute of Technology. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
California Institute of Technology offers an extensive catalog of programs: 61 distinct programs across 8 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
Caltech operates at a 3:1 student-to-faculty ratio, the lowest of any research university in the country. 91.00% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $124,489 per year, the highest in this peer group by a significant margin. The endowment stands at $4.23 billion, which relative to 987 undergraduates represents one of the highest per-student endowment figures anywhere.
Caltech faculty have earned 47 Nobel Prizes, 73 National Medal of Science recipients, and 6 Turing Award winners as of recent years. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, managed by Caltech for NASA, employs approximately 5,000 scientists and engineers and provides undergraduate and graduate research opportunities unavailable anywhere else.
324 instructional faculty across 4 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 254 | 78% | $226,460 |
| Assistant Professors | 48 | 15% | $154,486 |
| Instructors | 14 | 4% | $61,394 |
| Lecturers | 8 | 2% | $85,987 |
Caltech's defining strengths are singular: 2.57% admit rate (most selective in this peer group), $128,566 ten-year earnings (among the highest of any university), 3:1 student-to-faculty ratio, $124,489 instructional spend per student (highest in peer group A), and a no-loan aid policy with families under $48,000 receiving grants exceeding total cost. UCD 90.90 Excellent reflects these.
The trade-offs are structural: with 987 undergraduates, Caltech is not a school for students who want social breadth, cultural variety, or a range of non-STEM programs; the academic culture is intensely demanding and concentrated in science, engineering, and mathematics; and the Los Angeles metro area requires a car for most activities beyond the Pasadena campus. Best fit for students who want the most research-intensive undergraduate experience in the world in science and engineering, who are prepared for a rigorous all-STEM environment, and who qualify for significant financial aid.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about Caltech: how selective admissions are, what the test-free policy means, how the tiny size shapes the experience, and what graduates earn.
Most colleges under 1,000 students score below average on a fair outcome ranking. The few that reach the top are a specific type, and the leader earns $128,566.
The 30 colleges that admit under 10% of applicants post median earnings of $92,000, about $38,000 a year above every other four-year school. Here is the math.
One federal dataset, 3,839 colleges. The median school costs $16,371 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,259 students. The shape of US higher ed.
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