The real Real Genius
Written: Mar 07 '00 (Updated Mar 27 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: academic excellence, student spirit
Cons: lack of academic breadth, cost
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| Arthur.Rubin's Full Review: California Institute of Technology |
(This is my first E-pinion. It's been re-edited for spelling only.)
California Institute of Technology, known as CalTech, or 'Tech, is located in Pasadena, the smog capital of Southern California -- but don't worry, if you want a gas mask, all you have to do is ask.
If you're good, (SAT scores 1500+ preferred, and 1400+ almost required), and are interested in academics and in research, and are willing to work hard, this is the school for you. It's expensive, (now around $33,000/year according to their home page), but it's been rated in the top five for value received in many academic categories. The school has what might be the most Nobel Prize winners per capita, and they actually teach courses and work with students. Undergraduate students are frequently involved in real research projects. The ratio of faculty to graduate students to undergraduate students is about 1:1:1.
However, because the school is small, if you want to become the best (say) laser physicist in the world, make sure there's a laser physicist there. (That was the cause of a delay in my graduation, in fact. My advisor on my first thesis attempt didn't get tenure.)
The honor code
This is binding on students and faculty. Exams are not proctored. If the professor asks you not to work together on homework, you don't do it. On the other hand, it is frequently the case that students are encouraged to work together, as long as they all understand the material, as in real research. There are closed-book take-home exams in some courses.
It's basically a matter of trust. The faculty trusts the students not to cheat, and the faculty doesn't monitor the students.
student spirit
Remember the 1968 Rose Bowl game (or was it 1969). I suppose most of you don't. In any case, CalTech took over some of the card section at half-time, by "borrowing" the instruction sheets, reprogramming some of the tricks, and returning the sheets before the game. For more information, see the books Legends of CalTech and More Legends of CalTech.
This is where my title came from, by the way. For those who have not seen the movie Real Genius, I apologize. I'm going to give away some minor plot elements.
Lighting the start of the student revels (actually, Interhouse, I believe) using a laser beam bounced around the campus wouldn't be done; it would have been considered too dangerous. However, the skating rink in one of the student houses (including the stairs) was real, as were the 1.2 million entries to the McDonalds sweepstakes. (Well, they said: Enter as often as you like and Print your name and address on an entry form or facsimile. What would you do if you had access to a printer with a free student account.)
By the way, I read for the part of the chief nerd in Real Genius. I didn't get the part, but one of my suggestions was incorporated into the movie.
Freshmen were required to live on campus in one of the 7 student houses. (I said, were, because the number of undergraduates has increased slightly since I was there, and I don't think there are any more student houses. I could be wrong.) The houses are somewhat similar to fraternities in other houses, except that academics (almost) always comes first.
There's also senior ditch day. On a day late in the spring quarter, selected by the seniors, and announced about 24 hours in advance, all the seniors leave campus. (If found on campus, they're tied to a tree.) The seniors create a "stack" to block entry to their rooms, and the underclassmen are given some time (8 am to 5 pm, I believe) to break into the senior's room. A good time is had by all.
Student diversity
Some of us referred to the school as the "Chinese Institute of Technology". There are relatively few Blacks and Hispanics, and the number of women reflects generally the number of scientific or engineering geniuses among women, which is relatively few.
Food
OK, it's not Spago's, but the cafeteria and the undergraduate house food service is run by an actual restaurant, Burger Continental.
Sports
As another reviewer pointed out, because the school is so small, if you want to play, you're in. For the most part, the school rarely wins, (although, when I was there, the hockey club beat the UCLA B team), but you can play.
Alumni services
Members of the Alumni Association are allowed a web page (well, almost all ISP's do so these days) and access to the campus computer network. (The network was hacked into in 1998, and they only allow "secure Telnet" access at this time; I haven't reactivated my account yet.) There's an annual seminar day.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Arthur.Rubin
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Member: Arthur Rubin
Location: Brea, CA, USA
Reviews written: 97
Trusted by: 109 members
About Me:
Expert in mathematics, computers, income tax, with a wide variety of interests.
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