I’m currently writing this in the computer science building at Cambridge (study abroad post in progress :)). Recently, people keep asking, “What’s Caltech like?” or “How’s Caltech different from the UK?” which has made me reflect on the past two years and what makes Caltech feel so different. The things I’d gotten used to suddenly stand out – little quirks that feel totally normal at Caltech but aren’t the norm everywhere else.
Caltech’s Small Size
In high school, I knew Caltech was a small school, but it was not until I came to Cambridge that I really understood what being at a small school actually meant. Caltech feels very homey and welcoming. You can walk into the dining hall and almost always find someone you know to eat with, making the campus feel familiar in a way that’s hard to describe. Meeting someone from Caltech outside of school feels like finding an Easter egg — there are so few of us that it’s kind of exciting. Maintaining friendships is easy because you naturally run into people all the time.
Exams
People are usually shocked when I say we have exam weeks six times a year — midterms and finals x3 quarters. The shock dies down a little when they hear the exams are take-home, but the academic pace at Caltech still catches most people off guard. I’ve gotten kind of used to the intensity, and I honestly like the fast-paced environment.
TAing
I’ve been a teaching assistant for two of Caltech’s courses (CS 1 and CS 2), which has been one of the best parts of my time here. Caltech is unique in that there are so many opportunities to TA, even as a sophomore. A lot of my friends are TAs too, and I think it’s one of the best ways to get the most out of your college experience. It forces you to learn the material in much more depth, and explaining your thought process to someone else is the best way to figure out what you actually know (and what you don’t). Plus, it’s great practice for technical interviews.
Friends
At Caltech, the people you do problem sets with are probably also your closest friends, inherently because of how much time you spend on problem sets. At other schools, it’s common to have friends in your major for work and then separate friends for other social things, and while that has its upsides, I really enjoy that my closest friends also have similar academic interests. It means we can talk about random topics outside of problem sets, and it opens the door to lots of interesting conversations that aren’t strictly academic but are on tangentially intellectually stimulating topics.
Roommate and Alley Culture
One of the things I miss most about Caltech is my roommate and I “working” in Lloyd with our door open as friends walk past and stop to chat. There’s something really nice about these informal, unscheduled interactions. Everyone lives close together, so if you say you’re “on your way,” you’ll actually be there in seconds.
Interhouse Parties
There’s something special about going to a party and knowing everyone there and being able to float around and talk to whoever you want. It’s a time when people you don’t necessarily see every day all come out to have a fun time together, and it brings the whole campus together in a way that makes Caltech feel like one big, connected place.
Being approximately 6.5/12 of the way through Caltech, this feels like a pretty great time to pause and appreciate it all — the quirks, the random moments, and all the things I want to hold onto for my remaining time here. It’s amazing how these little parts of Caltech life add up into something that feels so rare and memorable, and I’m happy to still have time to soak it all in. I know that someday I’ll look back and be grateful for every experience, big and small, that shaped my time here.
