Caltech Survival Guide: How to Excel at the World's Most Intense STEM School
December 3, 2024 • 13 min read
Caltech's 3:1 student-to-faculty ratio and honor code system create unique academic intensity. With everyone being a top STEM student, standing out requires exceptional problem-solving and collaborative skills. Learn strategies for managing Caltech's demanding problem sets, thriving in the house system, and using AI tools without compromising the honor code.
The Caltech Problem Set Culture
Problem sets dominate Caltech academics. Expect 20-40 hours weekly just on sets across all courses.
Set Survival Strategy:
- Start sets immediately when posted (Monday)
- Work with house study groups—collaboration is expected
- Generate similar practice problems for pattern recognition
- Visit professor/TA office hours with specific questions
- Use AI to check understanding, not generate answers
House System Study Community
Caltech's eight residential houses (Avery, Blacker, Dabney, Fleming, Lloyd, Page, Ricketts, Venerable) provide instant study communities. Upper-class students mentor freshmen through regular collaborative problem-solving sessions.
House Culture Benefits:
- • 24/7 access to upperclassmen who've taken your courses
- • House study sessions for major exams
- • Collaborative problem-solving culture
- • Past exam and problem set archives
Study Group Strategy:
- • Work together, write up individually
- • Share insights, not answers
- • Use whiteboards for collaborative solving
- • Generate practice problems as group
The Honor Code and AI Tools
Caltech's honor code is central to campus culture. All exams are take-home with honor-system timing. Using AI requires understanding boundaries.
Acceptable AI Use:
- ✓ Generate practice problems on topics you're learning
- ✓ Create flashcards from lecture notes and textbooks
- ✓ Check your problem-solving approach after attempting
- ✓ Generate similar problems for additional practice
Honor Code Violations:
- ✗ Using AI to solve assigned problem sets
- ✗ Generating solutions during take-home exams
- ✗ Submitting AI-generated work as your own
- ✗ Using AI to bypass understanding concepts
Core Curriculum Requirements
All Caltech students take rigorous math, physics, chemistry sequence freshman year—the infamous "core."
Freshman Core:
- • Ma 1abc: Calculus (single and multivariable)
- • Ph 1abc: Physics (mechanics, E&M, waves)
- • Ch 1ab: Chemistry (general chemistry)
- • Plus writing, humanities, and CS requirements
Core Success Strategy:
- • Collaborate intensively—everyone struggles
- • Generate additional practice problems
- • Attend faculty lunch discussions
- • Use TAs extensively—they're grad students who've been through this
Time Management at Caltech
With 20-40 hours of problem sets weekly plus lectures, time management is survival skill.
Weekly Schedule Reality:
- • Classes & Labs: 15-20 hours
- • Problem Sets: 25-40 hours
- • Study Groups: 10-15 hours
- • Sleep: 40-50 hours (protect this!)
- • Everything Else: 15-20 hours
Mental Health and Support
Caltech's intensity is real. Using support resources is sign of strength, not weakness.
Resources Available:
Counseling Center, Dean of Students, Peer advocates, House RAs, Academic advisors. Use them proactively.
Your Caltech Success Formula
Survive and thrive at Caltech with strategic problem-solving systems and collaborative learning.
- Master problem-solving through consistent practice and pattern recognition
- Collaborate extensively while maintaining honor code integrity
- Generate flashcards for theorems, formulas, and problem-solving patterns
- Use AI tools to create additional practice problems for mastery
- Protect sleep and mental health—marathon not sprint
✓ Generate practice problems for core classes
✓ Create theorem flashcards
✓ Build formula reference sheets