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EnglishHow Prospective Students Can Connect With Caltech Undergraduate Admissions
Updated
Caltech's undergraduate admissions site (admissions.caltech.edu) is the official hub for prospective applicants, and its "Connect With Us" section is the starting point for reaching the admissions office directly. Use it if you are a prospective undergraduate, a parent, or a counselor looking for application guidance, affordability information, or a way to ask a specific question. The site is built around the message "Go from dream to do," and it organizes everything a prospective student needs into a few clear paths: apply, afford, and connect.
What you'll find on admissions.caltech.edu
The site is designed for students who love STEM and want to do the work to find answers, not just ask big questions. Key figures the admissions office highlights about the undergraduate experience include:
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate students | 982 |
| Student-to-faculty ratio | 3:1 |
| Undergrads who participate in research | 95% |
| First-generation to college students | 14% |
These numbers give you a quick sense of scale: Caltech is a small school, and the admissions office is explicit that "a small school isn't for everyone." That framing is useful context before you reach out, because it tells you what kind of fit the office is looking for.
Ways to reach the admissions office
The site's "Connect With Us" section is the primary route for contact. From there, prospective students can find the admissions office's contact channels and inquiry options. Because the site is the official source, any question about deadlines, required materials, or your specific situation should go through the channels listed there rather than through third-party forums.
If you are planning to reach out, prepare your question in advance. Admissions offices handle high volumes of inquiries, and a specific question (for example, about a particular application component or a documented circumstance) will get a more useful answer than a general "What are my chances?" message.
Where to find applying and affordability information
Two of the main pathways on the site are Apply and Afford. These are the sections to use when your question is about the application process itself or about the cost of attendance.
- Apply covers the application process for prospective undergraduates.
- Afford covers affordability information for applicants and families.
Start with these sections before contacting the office, since many common questions are already answered there. If your question remains unanswered after reading them, that is a good signal that it is worth sending to the admissions team.
Resources for prospective applicants
Beyond contact information, the site offers several resources that help you decide whether Caltech is the right fit:
- Student and alumni stories — profiles of current students and graduates describing their research, community, and challenges. For example, student Miles Jones notes that in high school he could understand everything on his own, but "that doesn't fly here. You need to reach out for assistance." That is a candid look at the academic culture you would be joining.
- Faculty perspectives — professors describe the interaction between students, postdocs, and faculty. Katherine de Kleer, Assistant Professor in Geological and Planetary Sciences, says one thing she loves about Caltech is that "students, postdocs, and faculty interact all the time."
- Research participation — with 95% of undergraduates involved in research, the site's stories show what that looks like in practice, from astrophysics to environmental microbiology.
These resources are worth reading before you contact the office, because they answer the "is this the right place for me?" question that no admissions officer can answer for you.
A practical sequence for prospective students
- Read the Apply and Afford sections to see whether your question is already answered.
- Review student and faculty stories to assess fit, especially if you are weighing Caltech against larger schools.
- Use "Connect With Us" to reach the admissions office with any remaining specific questions.
- Prepare a focused question so the response you get is actually useful.
The site is the authoritative source for application and affordability details, so treat it as your first stop rather than relying on secondhand summaries.