caltech essay supplements

How to Write the Caltech Supplemental Essays: Examples + Guide 2023/2024

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What are the caltech supplemental essay prompts.

• How to write each prompt for Caltech
• Prompt #1: "Why major?" essay
• Prompt #2: STEM-related experiences essay
• Prompt #3: "Innovation" essay
• Prompt #4: "Values" essay
• Prompt #5: Optional short answer essay
• Prompt #6: Optional short answer essay
• Prompt #7: Optional short answer essay

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “You know, I think I’m really looking for a school that teaches students how to launch eggs using trebuchets,” then you should probably take a look at Caltech.

Well known for its strong science and engineering programs, nestled below the San Gabriel mountains near Pasadena, and linked to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech offers aspiring STEM students a fun, beautiful place to build a foundation for their future careers.

Because of that, Caltech is a very selective school, and you’ll want to spend a good amount of time developing strong responses to its supplemental essays. To explore how, check out the guide below.

If you want to get a clearer sense of what Caltech is looking for, you can explore an extensive, by-the-numbers look at its offerings, from enrollment and tuition statistics to student life and financial aid information, on its Common Data Set . 

Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #1

A) If you had to choose an area of interest or two today, what would you choose? (Select from the dropdown list provided)

B) Why did you choose that area of interest? (200 words max)

Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #2

At Caltech, we investigate some of the most challenging, fundamental problems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Identify and describe two STEM-related experiences from your high school years, either in or out of the classroom, and tell us how and why they activated your curiosity. What about them made you want to learn more and explore further? STEM experience/activity #1 (100-200 words) STEM experience/activity #2 (100-200 words)

Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #3

The creativity, inventiveness, and innovation of Caltech's students, faculty, and researchers have won Nobel Prizes and put rovers on Mars. But Techers also imagine smaller scale innovations every day, from new ways to design solar cells to how to 3D print dorm decor. How have you been a creator, inventor, or innovator in your own life?

This question can be answered as a written response (200-250 words).

Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #4

Caltech's mission – to cultivate learning, discovery, and innovation for the benefit of humanity – relies on its community members embracing our Mission-Based Values, which include:

Openness and enthusiasm for having preconceptions challenged Respect and appreciation for the idea that, while we are all members of the same community, the opportunities we've had to develop, showcase, and apply our talents have not been equal Passion for the ideal that science can and should meaningfully improve the lives of others

Share what one or more of these values evokes for you. (200-400 words)

Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #5

Optional: If there are aspects of your life or social or personal identity that you feel are not captured elsewhere in this application, please tell us about them below. (150 words)

Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #6

Optional: When not surveying the stars, peering through microscopes, or running through marathons of coding, Caltech students pursue an eclectic array of interests that range from speed-cubing to participating in varsity athletics to reading romance novels. What is a favorite interest or hobby, and why does it bring you joy? (100 words)

Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #7

Optional: Did you have a hard time narrowing it down to just one interest or hobby? We understand – Caltech students like to stay busy, too – tell us about another hobby or interest! (50 words)

How to Write Each Supplemental Essay Prompt for Caltech

How to write caltech supplemental essay prompt #1.

If you had to choose an area of interest or two today, what would you choose? (Select from the dropdown list provided) Why did you choose that area of interest? (200 words max)

This is a classic “Why Major” essay.  You’ll find a step-by-step guide to writing this essay at this link , but here’s the short version:

Step #1: Imagine a mini-movie of the moments that led you to your interest in STEM and create a simple, bullet point outline.*

Step #2: Put your moments (aka the “scenes” of your mini-movie) in chronological order, as it’ll help you see how your interests developed. It also makes it easier to write transitions.

Step #3: Decide if you want to include a specific thesis that explicitly states your central argument—in this case what you want to study and why. This thesis can be at the beginning, middle, or end of your essay.

Step #4: Write a draft!

Important note before writing your response: When choosing your mini-moments, note that there’s potential for overlap in your answers to some of the other Caltech prompts, so consider carefully which experiences you’ll focus on for each prompt to avoid redundancy in your answers. Since this is Caltech, with an obvious emphasis on... tech, it’s possible the prompts were designed this way to urge you to show depth and diversity in your STEM interests and experiences.

Here’s a great example (written for another school but also applicable here).

I fell in love with computers at nine when I learned how to make a graphical turtle crawl across the screen, and I’ve written code every week since. I am self-taught in nine programming languages (my favorite is C++), which I learned through iteration and persistence. Teaching advanced algorithms at a programming bootcamp for the past two years allowed me to share my love of computer science with others. My interest in CS runs deep—from studying memory virtualization to the beauty of the B-Tree O(log n) search algorithm. Writing protein folding simulations for my biology teacher peaked my interest in computational science. Building real-world machine learning models during each of the last two summers expanded my awareness of the types of problems computers can help solve. Over the years, though, I have shaped a focus: security. In the process of running multiple servers, developing custom security software, and configuring the switching and routing for a 96-computer network, I became fascinated with the challenge of creating secure systems. Software has found its way into all aspects of our lives, creating staggering risks to privacy and security. These are problems I want to study, understand, and solve. (196 words) — — —

Tips + Analysis

Take the reader on your journey. Did you feel the author practically grab your hand and pull you along the exhilarating ride of their lifelong love affair with computers? Each paragraph is chock full of the myriad ways they’ve engaged with their object of desire. You get a great picture of the student’s skills and accomplishment, as well as their self-motivated pursuit of their passion.

Let your geek flag fly. This writer exudes about memory virtualization and the B-Tree O(log n) search algorithm, knowing they’re talking to leaders in the field (and who knows, potentially future collaborators!). Knowledge of specialized language is a great way to demonstrate fit to major, so feel free to use lingo as you normally would to show you know your stuff.

Share why you care. This essay isn’t just a list of all the things the student has done. It’s a reflection of why computers matter to them and what they plan to do with them. You hear that they value sharing knowledge with others and see themselves using computers to solve real-world problems. Find those “mini-movie moments” to show how you’ve fallen in love with your field of interest over time.

Look ahead. “Why Major” essays are the natural place to talk about potential future careers, if you know what you want to pursue. Even if you don’t know yet, you can still end the essay by looking forward to how the major you’re interested in will prepare you for life after college.

how to write Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #2

At Caltech, we investigate some of the most challenging, fundamental problems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Identify and describe two STEM-related experiences from your high school years, either in or out of the classroom, and tell us how and why they activated your curiosity. What about them made you want to learn more and explore further? (Min: 100/Max: 200 words for each experience)

Caltech wants a bright, curious, independent student body. It’s looking for intellectual vitality, and this essay is your opportunity to show that side of yourself. What about STEM gets you fired up and why? You get to talk about two of those school or pet projects that you just can’t get enough of, that make your mind spin about the big questions and dream up the answers. Think about things that have inspired you to go down research rabbit holes, that have motivated you to take action, or that have enhanced your understanding of a subject. Choose experiences that genuinely pique your curiosity. Don’t pick something just because you think Caltech will like it. Genuine interest is both easy to write about and hard to fake! 

Check out this example, about one high school experience (it would have to be shortened to meet this year’s lower word count. (Note that you’re asked to write about two experiences, 100-200 words each—and the Common App gives you a separate box for each experience, so you’re essentially writing two essays for this prompt.)

When I was doing customer research for my chemistry practice website, I came across another, much larger issue with education: the lack of personalized learning. It stuck with me. I knew if I could create a solution, I would be helping many students, like my friends, reach their goals. Also, the idea of an engine that can recommend lessons based on your learning style just seemed super cool. As I dug deeper into the issue, I realized I didn’t have the skills to even scratch the surface. So I started developing what I needed to build a system that recommends lessons based on learning style. On my own time, I learned about machine learning algorithms, from linear regressions to k-nearest neighbor classifiers, and whenever I could I applied these skills on mini research projects—finding trends, then using data to create an algorithm that predicts other data. At school, I took a rigorous machine learning course where one of my final projects was using data from Portuguese schools to analyze what factors lead to good grades.  Looking ahead, I’m hoping to study computational neuroscience to properly know how the brain solidifies connections and recalls information. With the two together, I could create a model of how a person learns based on different stimuli, and recommend different lessons based on the stimuli. I still have quite a bit to learn, but if I manage it, it could have a powerful impact on the educations of students around the world. (247 words) — — —

Identify the problem. The prompt asks you to write about two of your favorite STEM experiences, but it’s ultimately about problem-solving, as the first lines invite you to imagine your place among those tackling some of society’s great challenges. Let your response show how you think and how you approach problems and solutions. The problem could be something global, like an environmental issue, or more individual, like the lack of personalized learning this student chose to address. Get your reader engaged in your curiosity by describing the impact of the problem or what it would mean if you could resolve it. Then dive into talking about a project or experience that allowed you to explore that issue. Bonus points if you can describe an outcome you’ve already achieved.

Show initiative. This student got curious about personalized learning and then taught themselves the skills needed to build the learning system they envisioned. This is the kind of self-starting innovation we believe Caltech is looking for. How have you pursued the subjects that pique your curiosity?

Use an extracurricular: We love how this student used this essay as an opportunity to elaborate on an extracurricular: building a chemistry practice website. If this prompt stumps you, look to your Activities List for inspiration!

Focus on the future: What takes this essay to the next level is the final paragraph. The student is doing two things: 1) transforming the issue (impersonal education) into a learning goal (“how the brain solidifies connections and recalls information”) and an action item (“[creating] a model of a how a person learns based on different stimuli, and recommend different lessons based on the stimuli”), and 2) stating a professional goal—make a “powerful impact on the education of students around the world.” This is a high-level maneuver and an inspiring way to stick the landing. 

Here’s a bonus essay we love, written for another school (and a longer word count), but a great example of how to repurpose other essays to fit multiple prompts. 

Example:  

I am fascinated by patterns. Learning the art of writing Chinese characters taught me to pay attention to a pattern’s reference points, where deeper meaning lies. My favorite character, XIAO, from the word XIAOSHUN, visualizes a central tenet of Confucianism: the lifelong supporting relationship between parent and child. The top part, LAO, means old. The bottom part, ZI, means son. Mandarin, like many other ancient languages, provides a code of behavior.  During quarantine, I enrolled in IBM's AI For Everyone and Harvard's CS50 on edX and traveled down a TED rabbit hole. While intriguing to learn that each emoji is made up of patterns like this: 11111011000000010, I was captured by the human applications technology like AI provides. With AI’s pending impacts worldwide, I feel driven to ensure society doesn't experience potentially harmful implications of technology.  How do we embed universally ethical reference points in algorithms for AI to exhibit empathy, recognizing XIAO encourages a relationship of support?  Humans and machines have processing limitations. In his research paper, Linguistics Professor John Whitman taught me that grammar, typically regionally similar, immensely influences humans’ cognition abilities. AI’s applications will be universal, so likewise, its grammar or code must be universal. By learning how people segment information and optimizing this cross-cultural data in a beneficial way, algorithms’ limitations will be reduced. If ethically structured, AI will inherently learn to reflect moral behaviors.  While it’s a big task to construct an ethical and empathetic AI, I believe I will find the tools at Stanford. (250 words) — — —

how to write Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #3

The creativity, inventiveness, and innovation of Caltech's students, faculty, and researchers have won Nobel Prizes and put rovers on Mars, but Techers also imagine smaller scale innovations every day, from new ways to design solar cells to 3D printing dorm decor. How have you been an innovator in your own life? (Min: 200 / Max: 250)

You don't aspire to attend Caltech if you don't have big ideas and the nerve to test them out. What have you created, invented, or innovated? What have you come up with that no one else has, whether it’s an actual invention, an idea, a process, or something else? It might be that gadget you dreamed up and hacked out the prototype for late one night. Or the improved method you developed for your team to document and share its collaborative research. Or maybe it was the summer you decided to teach yourself a new skill for each of 67 days.  Think of a time you didn't just build code in CS or work on a team in robotics, but you actually innovated—changed something for the better or brought something new into the world.

Keeping with the novelty theme, be sure to save this experience for this prompt only and not mention it in your answers to other prompts.

Whatever it is, this is where you get to show off a bit. They’re talking not just Nobel Prizes and Mars rovers, but smaller-scale everyday innovations like techie room decor. If you have a rockstar achievement, this is your time to bring it out and play it loud. But if you don’t, that’s not a problem for Caltech, as the prompt signals that quieter inventions are just as interesting. The question is how you’ve innovated in your own life. As we see in this example (written for a previous prompt with a longer word count), this author paved the way for herself and other young women to excel in STEM.

Why are Siri, Alexa, Cortana, and Google Assistant all female? Because women are often just seen as “assistants”. Society has made some progress, but women still make up only 25 percent of STEM workers.  Last year I was chosen as my school’s delegate to California Girls State. Among other things, the program brought to light to me how big the gender gap really is. Women are underrepresented at every level in STEM--and the higher you go, the greater the gap. Like myself, many of the other delegates are pursuing careers in STEM, and we helped each other understand the importance of having a supportive community of intelligent, empowered young women.  Inspired by Girls State, I’ve become more proactive in my school and community. As Vice President of the Angel Heart Club this year, I’ve worked to recruit new members, helped organize and run meetings, and guided others on how to craft the cards we make to send to children with congenital heart disease in China. I also continue to volunteer at the hospital, helping to discharge patients, deliver food, and transport x-rays from radiology to the ER. But since Girls State, I’ve begun to take greater initiative, volunteering to cover other people’s shifts and taking on tasks that others are reluctant to, like running the tea cart to support nurses and doctors.  At Caltech, I would like to join Women in Physics, Math and Astronomy (WiPMA), which offers a similar supportive community. There, I will listen and interact with female scientist guest speakers, and build confidence and skills alongside my female peers. I hope to join Engineers Without Borders because I am interested in designing and implementing sustainable engineering projects. After working with the H20 for Life Club, I am aware of the global water crisis and would love to get involved in the current project of establishing a spring water source protection system that will help provide clean water for about 300 households in the surrounding Ilam District of Nepal.  I would also like to get involved in Caltech Chemistry Club, demonstrating my love of chemistry and inspiring young children about the wonders of science. I would also like to listen to faculty members discuss career options in the field of chemistry and the yearly guest speaker talk about current innovative chemical research.    I want to be the boss, not just an assistant. I believe Caltech can help. (399 words) — — —

Grab ’em at the start and pull ’em right along. This example has a pretty rad hook. It provokes with an engaging query and sets up the theme of the essay—empowering women in STEM. Then the clear topic sentences guide the reader through the main points. It’s possible, perhaps likely, that your reader will be reading quickly to the point of skimming. Because of this, structural elements like clear topic sentences help ensure the reader doesn’t miss anything important or feel lost. This student also does a nice job bookending the final lines.

Get specific. The author details each of the ways she created more opportunities for herself and others, from representing her school at Girls State and gaining new skills at the hospital to recruiting new members to the community organization she leads. Describe your role and actions in detail.

Show why it matters. In every essay, you want to answer the question, “So what?” Why were you moved to create in this way? What problem did you want to solve, or who did you want to affect and how? How is the world a better place thanks to your inventiveness? Now that you’ve done this thing, what’s the impact? When your reader is invested in your intention, they’ll celebrate your accomplishment. And you for sure want them cheering for you.

Make the match. Because the previous prompt additionally asked students to identify how they hoped to innovate with their Caltech peers, this author described the campus clubs she hoped to get involved with. But it never hurts to smuggle in a few “Why us?” elements into your essays, establishing why your interests and abilities are a perfect fit for Caltech. Naming specific courses, programs, activities, or professors’ work you’re interested in exploring shows you’ve done your research and discovered how the school specifically offers what you want in an education. While it isn’t necessary for this prompt, if you want to level-up in this way, you can read more about how to do it at the link above.

how to write Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #4

• Openness and enthusiasm for having preconceptions challenged
• Respect and appreciation for the idea that, while we are all members of the same community, the opportunities we've had to develop, showcase, and apply our talents have not been equal
• Passion for the ideal that science can and should meaningfully improve the lives of others.

For this prompt, Caltech is highlighting their mission (cultivate learning, discovery, and innovation to benefit humanity) and how students can help bring this mission to life by embracing their values, listed in each of the bullet points. By sharing what one or more of these values evokes for you, Caltech can get a better understanding of how you might fit in with their community and focus. 

You have between 200-400 words to respond to this prompt, which allows you solid space to either deeply elaborate on one of these values, or slightly less on two, if you decide that you want to tackle more than one. If you’re not sure which bullet point you might want to address or what exactly you’d want to write about, here are some things to explore:

First Bullet Point —Openness and enthusiasm for having preconceptions challenged: If there was a time when you were challenged or when you challenged someone else, and were able to come out on the other side with new perspectives, the first bullet point could be a great option to respond to. 

This one specifically notes an openness and enthusiasm for having preconceptions challenged—even if this challenge wasn’t just a friendly debate, openness and enthusiasm can also come from reflecting about what you learned, and/or how you changed or grew afterwards, making you excited for similar future interactions in college. To learn more about this type of diversity prompt (experience or conversation with someone who is different from you), you can also check out this guide to answering diversity prompts . 

Here are  a couple things to keep in mind as you brainstorm possible topics for this prompt:

Don’t think you have to write about a knee-jerk issue and a blow-up here. You can. But the point of this prompt is essentially to help a college see the kind of student you will be in a classroom—can you engage with people who disagree with you in ways that lead to productive discussions rather than just shouting or conflict. (See Tips below for more on this.)

Focus more on the engagement, change, and growth than on the conflict. How you engaged on the issue, what you learned, and how you grew are far more important to your readers here than the conflict itself. You can plan on spending fairly little word count on the conflict/topic, so that you can spend most of your time exploring some deeper whys.

Second Bullet Point —Respect and appreciation for the idea that, while we are all members of the same community, the opportunities we’ve had to develop, showcase, and apply our talents have not been equal: Since Caltech prompt #4 is new, this bullet point in particular might be in response to the Supreme Court decision on affirmative action, to which Caltech responded that they “remain committed to pedagogical and research practices that engage, motivate, and support students from all backgrounds.” 

By upholding these values, Caltech could be looking to see how future students hope to uphold these same values. While you don’t have to touch specifically on race, if there was a time when you’ve worked with others from a different background or upbringing from you, or if you’ve worked to give help expand the opportunities available to others,  you might consider responding to this bullet point, exploring some of the following: 

Give the reader some context. The reader will want to know what the context is–who are you interacting with, for what purposes, and how have the experiences of the people you’re mentioning been different from yours? Setting this up will allow you to illustrate the situation first, then expand on the experience later with what you learned, which brings us to…

Don’t forget to focus on what you learned. As with many/most other essays, focus on what you learned from this experience of interacting with others; this will highlight your growth, how you view the world, and how you’ll be able to contribute to a diverse community at Caltech. 

Don’t be afraid to acknowledge differences. This bullet point in the prompt specifically asks you to address your respect and appreciation for those who may not have had equal opportunities. It’s OK, and even encouraged, to acknowledge these differences, which shows the reader your awareness of those with different backgrounds and how you still created a community with those around you. 

Third Bullet Point –Passion for the idea that science can and should meaningfully improve the lives of others: If you have engaged in an activity that has helped to meaningfully improve the lives of others, this might be the direction you want to go. By picking a concrete example of a time when you engaged in a science-related activity that helped improve the lives of others, you’ll not only be able to talk about your passion for this value, but you’ll have the action that illustrates this passion. 

Whether you have one or multiple extracurriculars that could fall under this category, here are some tips to help you get started:   

Use the BEABIES exercise . Using the BEABIEs exercise will help determine which activity you want to talk about (if you have multiple), but it’ll also help you think about the important parts of your experience before you start drafting, especially impact. Speaking of which… 

Pay attention to problems you solved and your impact. Referring to the BEABIES exercise, you’ll want to pay special attention to the sections “problems I solved” and “impact I had” to make sure you can answer the part of the prompt that specifies “meaningfully improve the lives of others.”

No matter which prompt you answer, as a small bonus, you might also consider adding in a sentence or two that touches on “Why Caltech” or how you can contribute. For example, for the third bullet point, if you talked about how you’ve been able to help people through working at a lab, you might name a lab at Caltech where you’ll be able to continue helping people in the same way (if that’s something you’re interested in). Or, for the first and second bullet point, you might be able to name a class or club where you’ll be able to engage with people from diverse backgrounds. This not only shows that you’ve done your research on Caltech, but it also shows how you’d be able to contribute to the community as a Caltech student. 

This is a new prompt for Caltech, so we don’t have any examples specific to this school. Here’s an example that was written for a different school but could work well for focusing on the first bullet point:

I probably argue with my grandfather more than I do with most other people combined. It’s not because we’re at odds. We just have different perspectives, influenced by our experiences—his as a life-long resident of India, mine as a first-generation American.  One pretty common argument we have is over Eastern vs. Western medicine. My solution to a headache, for example, is to take Advil. His is to rub Tiger Balm on his forehead and coconut oil on the soles of his feet. I try to convince him of the benefits of taking a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory, describing how it can reduce inflammation by blocking the production of certain chemicals. He tries to convince me that the balm creates a cooling effect, distracting the brain from pain and relaxing the muscles. Rather than becoming sore at or resentful of each other, we’ve grown closer through these debates, and I’ve learned how to disagree without letting the situation get acrimonious. Through these interactions, I’ve learned that a discussion shouldn’t be confrontational. The purpose isn’t to win, but to share my knowledge with the other party and learn from them as well. So rather than saying, “Rubbing balm on your forehead is stupid; you should just take Advil,” I say, “While rubbing balm on your forehead seems to work, I’ve noticed that taking an Advil has a stronger and more immediate effect.” Respecting the opposing party makes them more willing to hear you out.  I’ve also learned there’s a fine line between logic and emotion. I try not to take personally the things my grandfather says in an argument. Just because he doesn’t think taking Advil is the better solution doesn’t mean he thinks I’m stupid. If I take it that way, we begin to move away from what the argument really was about—the facts.  I’ll continue to apply these learnings in discussions and debates I have with others, realizing that having  a “successful argument” isn’t about winning. It’s about sharing my opinion and learning from theirs, expanding our perspectives without alienating each other. (340 words) — — —

Show your stance. One common fear with these “differing opinion” supplemental essays is that the admissions officer reading it may not agree with your stance or belief. This is actually not the point of these essays. Many colleges have opted to ask this question because of widespread public concern around free speech on college campuses , and requests from their college leadership (such as the Board of Trustees) to identify students who are willing to listen to multiple viewpoints. And this prompt and Caltech’s own website help illustrate their institutional goals around free speech. Given this, a student’s response is more powerful when they specifically clarify that their own position is, rather than sticking to vague terminology so that the reader will see them as “neutral.” Otherwise, you run the risk of coming off as apathetic or indifferent, which lessens the meaning and significance of your example. Here, this student gives specific examples of their support for Western medicine. Sure, it’s not the most controversial opinion, but again, that’s not necessarily the goal! You can choose any opinion, so long as it demonstrates your values and beliefs and a change in how you approach dialogue.

Unveil your “software update.” You know when your phone annoyingly lets you know that you have to install a critical software update to use your favorite app (and you’re like… ugh, bruh, it was working fine before)? Well, in this case, the admissions officer is actually actively craving that update notification. They want to know specifically how your approach has changed when navigating differing opinions. This student does exactly that by using actual quotations: “So rather than saying, ‘Rubbing balm on your forehead is stupid; you should just take Advil,’ I say, ‘While rubbing balm on your forehead seems to work, I’ve noticed that taking an Advil has a stronger and more immediate effect.’” The “2.0” version of this student is more advanced, more sophisticated, and more willing to tackle complex “bugs”—without corrupting someone else’s data. Whether you quote yourself or not, be sure to use this essay as a chance to unveil  “You 2.0” to colleges. 

Be willing to be wrong. We can learn as much from our failures as we do from our successes. In fact, sometimes, it says more about us when we’re willing to be vulnerable enough to admit we’re wrong—or, at least, not entirely right. This student echoes that point, acknowledging it “isn’t about winning.” Instead, having viewpoints that are different from those he respects and admires helped him learn about balancing logic and emotion as well as practice the art of listening. 

And here’s another example essay written for a different school that could work well for the third bullet point in Caltech’s prompt.

When I was doing customer research for my chemistry practice website, I came across another, much larger issue with education: the lack of personalized learning. It stuck with me. I knew if I could create a solution, I would be helping many students, like my friends, reach their goals. Also, the idea of an engine that can recommend lessons based on your learning style just seemed super cool. As I dug deeper into the issue, I realized I didn’t have the skills to even scratch the surface. So I started developing what I needed to build a system that recommends lessons based on learning style. On my own time, I learned about machine learning algorithms, from linear regressions to k-nearest neighbor classifiers, and whenever I could I applied these skills on mini research projects—finding trends, then using data to create an algorithm that predicts other data. At school, I took a rigorous machine learning course where one of my final projects was using data from Portuguese schools to analyze what factors lead to good grades.  Looking ahead, I’m hoping to study computational neuroscience to properly know how the brain solidifies connections and recalls information. With the two together, I could create a model of how a person learns based on different stimuli, and recommend different lessons based on the stimuli. I still have quite a bit to learn, but if I manage it, it could have a powerful impact on the educations of students around the world. — — —

Show us that passion, or in other words, your initiative. While “passion” can be easily talked about (side note: a heads up that “passion” is one of the most used words in college essays), it’s a hard thing to show. This student does a great job of showing us their passion for science (without actually using the word) by talking about how they self-studied machine learning algorithms, applied these skills in their research projects, and took a rigorous machine learning course. Think about how you define passion, then consider the steps you’ve taken to further your knowledge in that area. 

Weave in how the topic relates to your future. This writer ends their essay by stating the major they’re interested in and why, tying it into the issue they identified in the first paragraph. Not only that, they show off a little bit of the knowledge they’ve gained throughout the process, thinking about what they might be able to do to solve the problem given that they’ll be able to learn even more in college. One thing you could potentially do in a conclusion like this is to mention a class or lab at Caltech where you’d be able to continue learning more about the issue that you’re passionate about. 

How would you use science to improve the lives of others? Since this essay was written for a different school and a different prompt, it doesn’t perfectly answer Caltech’s prompt for the third bullet point. To tailor this essay for Caltech, you might consider spending a little bit more time on how you could use science to meaningfully improve the lives of others. While this student does say that they could help many students, like their friends, or how their solution would impact the education of students around the world, they don’t go into how it would meaningfully improve students’ lives. For example, this student could elaborate on how personalized learning has and could further impact students’ educations (would they be able to grasp concepts more fully and boost their confidence? Would this create an increased interest in learning, leading to a more educated society?). If you’ve decided on a topic where you’ve already been able to impact the lives of others through science, you can use this as your example. 

how to write Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #5

Optional: If there are aspects of your identity that you feel are not captured elsewhere in this application, please provide that information below. (Max: 150 words)

Have you said everything you need to say to help Caltech make a decision about you? Are there any aspects of your life or your experiences that haven’t come out so far in your other essays? This essay is optional, but you might use it to share about a learning difference, your long-standing love affair with the upright bass, the particular impact a certain relationship has had on your learning journey. If there’s an aspect of your identity that you haven’t shared, this is the place to highlight it. 

Although this prompt is new for Caltech this year, here’s an essay written for a similar prompt for MIT that works well.

My great-grandpa’s eyes twinkle as my 5-year-old self struggles to stir the giant pot of cioppino. Like this traditional seafood dish, I too am an Italian-American originating from California.  My very loud family crowds my house each holiday, relegating me to an air mattress, a sacrifice I’m more than willing to make. The rooms fill with stories and laughter as we down pizzelles and compete in a cutthroat cookie-decorating contest. Likewise, my California beginnings, though brief, had a sizable impact on my life. I was a year old when we left, but California’s adventurous culture is part of my identity, reinforced by annual trips to visit relatives. From hiking San Jacinto Peak, to days at Disneyland, where my grandparents and mom worked, each excursion left me giddily exhausted. The true centerpiece of our get-togethers isn’t the cioppino, but the stories and experiences that connect us as family. (147 words) — — —

Delight with detail. Great-grandpa’s “eyes twinkle” as a 5-year-old stirs a pot of cioppino. The kids sleep on air mattresses when the family comes. They eat pizzelles and hike San Jacinto Peak. (Pro tip: Proper nouns catch the reader's eye and almost always add unique and interesting info.) The specificity in this answer conveys precise data about multiple aspects of this student’s identity (Italian-American, big family, California roots).

Values, values, values. This essay enthralls with food and fun, but ii’s ultimately talking about the importance of family and knowing where you come from. Why is it important to you to share this piece of your identity? Why do you value it, and why should Caltech? 

Reflect, reflect, reflect. Notice how the final lines of this essay evince the student’s capacity for self-reflection. We believe this is a highly-prized quality that Caltech and all schools are looking for because it shows maturity and higher-order thinking. By zooming out on what you’ve shared, you’ll want to ask yourself: What’s the meaning that you find in it?

how to write Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #6

Optional: When not surveying the stars, peering through microscopes, or running through marathons of coding, Caltech students pursue an eclectic array of interests that range from speed-cubing to participating in varsity athletics to reading romance novels. What is a favorite interest or hobby and why does it bring you joy? (Max: 100 words)

How to pick a topic:

Choose something that actually brings you joy. In seven other essays, you’ve already bragged about your accomplishments and submitted your resume in paragraph form. You don’t have to sound serious or perfect here. What are you really into? Don’t mislead or exaggerate! If you truly love doing this thing, it’ll show. And that in turn will tell something interesting and important about you. Take a look at your brainstorming work and see whether there are any random/odd/fun parts of you that haven’t yet made their way into your application. 

Since this prompt is new for Caltech, we don’t have a sample essay, but these, written for another school, could work. You’ll have more room to elaborate with double the word count allowed.

For many, driving is just a way to get from point A to point B. For me, it’s more than that. It’s becoming one with a multi-ton marvel of engineering, feeling the RPMs as I shift or sensing the road slide under the tires as I take a sharp corner. (50 words) — — — Humming, singing, and belting. Or a combination of the three. Regardless of how I am doing, these activities never fail to make me feel ten times better, whether that be because I am performing, or just because I am screaming in my room. (43 words) — — —

Show a different side. Up until now, there was probably no indication that this student was a speedster. Now they drop a refreshing image to offset the one of them working problem sets at their desk until 3 a.m. These fun prompts let you reveal the amusing, quirky, or little-known parts of yourself.

Be real. “Screaming in my room”–now we get this person. Find those descriptors that really show how and why your hobby brings you joy. What do you look like when you do this thing? How do you feel? Don’t you wanna make us wanna do it too? 

Those values again. Since this prompt allows 100 words, you’ve got room to go further than these short examples and connect your interest back to your core values . What does this interest or hobby show about you and what you value?

how to write Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #7

Optional: Did you have a hard time narrowing it down to just one interest or hobby? We understand – Caltech students like to stay busy, too – tell us about another hobby or interest! (Max: 50 words)

Wind it up and do it again! This time in half the words, like this one … 

Order. For even the most mundane of tasks, whether it's perfectly tying my shoelaces, pulling matching socks out of the drawer without having to look too hard, or getting the ketchup out of the bottle cleanly without a mess, an efficient system that works is unparalleled satisfaction. (47 words) — — —

Show yet another side. Singing is an activity. Order is an approach to life. If these essays were written by the same person, they’d tell interesting and different parts of their story. How many of your many facets can you turn to the light?

Get specific. You can picture this student meticulously performing their domestic tasks: tying shoelaces, choosing socks, extracting ketchup. How exactly do you do this thing? Can you describe it so your reader could draw a picture of you doing it? 

Want advice on dozens of other supplemental essays? Click here

Special thanks to Elica for contributing to this post.

Elica (she/her) is a college essay specialist who has a love of language in all forms; she has degrees in linguistics, has taught academic writing at the university level, and has been coaching students on their college and graduate school admissions essays for over 7 years. When she’s not working with students or writing, Elica can be found reading, printmaking, and exploring nature. 

Top Values: Collaboration | Curiosity | Patience

Caltech Supplemental Essays 2022-2023

Caltech Supplemental Essays 2022-23

Quick facts- caltech essays.

• Caltech acceptance rate:   7%— U.S. News ranks Caltech as a most selective school.
• 1 (650 word) Personal Statement
• 1 (~200 word) Academic essay
• 1 (~200 word) Short answer essay
• 2 (~250 word) Short answer essays
• Caltech application: The Caltech application can be submitted via the Common App , Apply Coalition , Powered by Scoir , or through Questbridge . Make sure to check all of the Caltech application requirements. 
• Caltech supplemental essay tip: Your responses to the Caltech essay prompts are your chance to show your love of STEM . Use the opportunity to show how you would thrive in a STEM-focused environment. 

What are Caltech’s supplemental essays?

The Caltech supplemental essays are listed on the Common App website . You can also find the Caltech supplemental essays listed on Caltech’s website , alongside brief explanations of each prompt. 

Required Caltech supplemental essays and short answer questions:

1. Because of the rigorous core course curriculum, Caltech students don’t declare a major until the end of their first year. However, some students arrive knowing which academic fields and areas already most excite them, or which novel fields and areas they most want to explore.If you had to choose an area of interest or two today, what would you choose? Why did you choose that area of interest? (200 words )

2. At Caltech, we investigate some of the most challenging, fundamental problems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Identify and describe two STEM-related experiences from your high school years, either in or out of the classroom, and tell us how and why they activated your curiosity. What about them made you want to learn more and explore further? (100-200 words for each experience)

3. The creativity, inventiveness, and innovation of Caltech’s students, faculty, and researchers have won Nobel Prizes and put rovers on Mars, but Techers also imagine smaller scale innovations every day, from new ways to design solar cells to 3D printing dorm décor. How have you been an innovator in your own life? (200-250 words)

4. The process of discovery is best advanced when people from diverse backgrounds come together to solve the greatest challenges in their fields. How do your past experiences and present-day perspectives inform who you have become and how you navigate the world? (200-250 words)

Optional Caltech supplemental essays:

1. If there are aspects of your identity that you feel are not captured elsewhere in this application, please provide that information below. (150 words)

2. When not surveying the stars, peering through microscopes, or running through marathons of coding, Caltech students pursue an eclectic array of interests that range from speed-cubing to participating in varsity athletics to reading romance novels. What is a favorite interest or hobby and why does it bring you joy? (100 words)

3. Did you have a hard time narrowing it down to just one interest or hobby? We understand – Caltech students like to stay busy, too – tell us about another hobby or interest! (50 words)

4. Have you had any extenuating circumstances regarding your coursework (such as limited course selection or disruptions) not described elsewhere in your application? If so, tell us about them here.

5. Some Caltech applicants engage in STEM competitions locally, nationally, and internationally (such as AIME, Science Olympiad, International Science Olympiads.) If you have received any STEM honors or awards, list them here (and scores, if applicable).

You’ll notice that the first thing stated on the Caltech supplemental essays page is that Caltech is “unapologetically STEM.” So, Caltech admissions wants to read all about your STEM-specific experiences . When considering how to write Caltech essays, look first to the “what we look for” page on the Caltech site. This is a cohesive list of what admissions looks for in applicants. 

Notably, the Caltech supplemental essays do not ask students to write a “Why Caltech essay.” However, just because there is no “Why Caltech essay” doesn’t mean that you can’t show the admissions team why you belong at a science and engineering powerhouse like Caltech . So, think of these essays as your chance to show how you’ll contribute to the Caltech community. 

Whenever possible and relevant, reference specific Caltech programs, classes, professors, and organizations that you would take advantage of. The Caltech admissions process extends beyond the admissions office alone. In fact, the Caltech supplemental essays are read directly by faculty. With a 3:1 student to faculty ratio at Caltech, it may not be a surprise that students closely interact with their professors. 

Later in this guide, we will break down each of the Caltech essay prompts in more detail. This should give you an idea of Caltech supplemental essay examples, both required and optional.

How many essays does Caltech require?

Caltech requires students to complete four Caltech essay prompts .

These Caltech essay prompts ask students to reflect on their experiences, interests, and character. You should also use the Caltech essay prompts to discuss your STEM experiences. Prime Caltech supplemental essay examples will encompass who you are within the context of STEM programs . 

Additionally, there are five optional Caltech essay prompts that students can respond to. Caltech stresses that these Caltech essays are optional. We’ll get into specifics later about these optional Caltech essays. This may help you determine if and when to respond to each of the optional Caltech supplemental essays. 

How to Write Caltech Essays

So, how do you answer the Caltech supplemental essays?

Since each of the four required Caltech essays has a 200-250 word maximum, you will want to focus on both content and execution in your writing process. As we’ll discuss, each of the Caltech supplemental essays asks students to reflect on a particular experience or interest. 

To maximize your Caltech essays, you’ll want to offer a brief summary of each experience of an event. Then, use the bulk of your essay to reveal how this experience or event influenced your broader character. Specifically, when focusing on how to write Caltech essays, reflect on your STEM experiences. You may want to write about STEM research in your Caltech supplemental essays. The admissions committee should come away from your Caltech supplemental essays with a clear conception of who you are and the kind of community member you would be on the Caltech campus. 

Caltech Essay Prompts #1 

If you had to choose an area of interest or two today, what would you choose why did you choose that area of interest (200 words).

The first of the four required Caltech essay prompts asks applicants to write “why major essays.” Caltech makes it clear that students aren’t expected to know their major. In fact, students actually can’t declare a major until after their first year. So, undecided students shouldn’t stress too much about their choice of major in these “why major essays.” Students are in no way obligated to study the major in which they reference in their why major essays. 

To answer the first of the Caltech supplemental essays, students should reflect on why they want to attend a STEM-forward university such as Caltech. Think about more than just the Caltech ranking and Caltech acceptance rate. What made you first fall in love with STEM? What specific programs are offered at Caltech and nowhere else? Are you planning to go pre med and hoping to study science at one of the best institutions for STEM? Do some research on the Caltech website in order to reference specific details on programs, internships, research, or faculty.  

Think about the “why”

After having decided an area of interest to write about in this Caltech supplemental essay, focus on the “why” part. Successful “why major essays” will explain why you need to study that major in that particular school. They’ll draw from both personal and academic experiences. Students should also discuss how studying this major would influence their future career goals. 

Let’s say you decide to focus on chemistry. You could discuss how your AP Chemistry course challenged your previous understanding of science. Or maybe a specific experiment stands out in your mind as the point when you knew chemistry was for you. Or perhaps it was the teacher that made an impact on your life. Whatever the reason, reference an academic or personal experience that told you this was the major for you. If you can get more specific than just “chemistry,” such as organic or inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, theoretical chemistry, etc., that’s even better.

Reflection Questions for Caltech Essays:

• Do you choose an area of interest that genuinely excites you?
• Does your essay talk about Caltech specific programs and offerings?
• Do you tie your study interest to your future and career goals ?

Caltech Essay Prompts #2

Identify and describe two stem-related experiences from your high school years, either in or out of the classroom, and tell us how and why they activated your curiosity. what about them made you want to learn more and explore further (100-200 words per experience).

Similar to the “why major essays,” successful Caltech supplemental essays for this prompt will show applicants’ love of STEM. However, the difference between these two Caltech essay prompts is that the first should focus on a specific area of interest offered at Caltech. The second, however, asks students what sparked their interest in STEM in general during high school. 

We probably don’t have to mention that figuring out how to get into Caltech should start with a passion for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering , Math ) programs. That being said, students will likely have a number of experiences to reference in their Caltech essays. Start by brainstorming some of the most impactful STEM moments of your high school career. 

Are you in the robotics club and spend your free time tweaking your newest room cleaning robot? Or have you just led your team to the finals of your state’s math competition? Did you participate in a STEM summer program ? Or, maybe it’s nothing too outwardly dramatic. It could be something as simple as an experiment in biology class that ignited your curiosity. 

Make a list and choose two experiences that evoke emotion surrounding choosing STEM. Caltech admissions wants to see serious STEM applicants in these Caltech supplemental essays. Show through your two chosen experiences that you are passionate and committed to a STEM education.

When writing, you’ll also need to show why you want to further study STEM. How have these experiences shaped your future goals and intellectual curiosity? California Institute of Technology seeks students who will pursue their interests, contribute to a thriving intellectual community, and still love learning even when classes get difficult. 

• Does your draft sincerely convey your inspiration and excitement?
• Do you choose two specific STEM related experiences?
• Do you show how these experiences have affected your future studies?

Caltech Essay Prompts #3

The creativity, inventiveness, and innovation of caltech’s students, faculty, and researchers have won nobel prizes and put rovers on mars , but techers also imagine smaller scale innovations every day, from new ways to design solar cells to 3d printing dorm décor. how have you been an innovator in your own life (200-250 words).

When planning how to write Caltech essays, you may think that you only need to focus on STEM-related topics and experiences. Of course, Caltech admissions shamelessly states that they want to hear about as much STEM topics as possible in students’ Caltech supplemental essays. However, they also look for critical thinkers with the ability to problem solve. This prompt asks applicants to think about times when they had to create their own innovative solutions to problems. 

If you can think of STEM related instances, great. However, if not, don’t stress. Successful Caltech essays responding to this prompt will just show how you creatively found solutions to an issue you were facing. 

Let’s say your doorbell was broken for months. No one in your household seemed too concerned about it, but one day you miss an important package that you’d been looking forward to receiving. You decide to take matters into your own hands and fashion your own doorbell with some tips from the employee at your local hardware store. Problem solved. 

Solving problems

Any version of that hypothetical story will work in this Caltech supplemental essay. There’s a problem that needs to be solved, and you do so. If you’re stuck, try to focus on your strengths. Are you hard-working, creative, motivated, or curious? Highlight these strengths in the examples you come up with for this essay. 

You have to fall within 200-250 words, so you can use multiple anecdotes here. However, keep it focused—limit yourself to one or two topics. Make a list and choose the instances that show your most innovative, creative, and unique solutions to personal problems while highlighting your strengths. 

Reflection Questions for Caltech Essay:

• Does your essay show that you are innovative and creative?
• Do you discuss specific examples and solutions that you came up with?
• Does your essay give Caltech admissions a better picture of who you are and what you would bring to the campus?

Caltech Essay Prompts #4

The process of discovery is best advanced when people from diverse backgrounds come together to solve the greatest challenges in their fields. how do your past experiences and present-day perspectives inform who you have become and how you navigate the world (200-250 words).

Think about the most important parts of who you are. What makes you you? How have you become that way? Focus on your background and how it has shaped you. Are you about to be a first generation college student? Do you come from a small, close knit town? Has a certain culture or language greatly influenced your upbringing? What communities do you belong to? 

Background can refer to endless things; choose something that resonates deeply with you. It should be something that has greatly impacted you and how you maneuver through the world. Try to avoid cliche topics when writing this essay. Remember that your background can mean anything.

Maybe your mom is a chef at a five-star restaurant and you grew up in the kitchen. Paint a picture of life in a chaotic, fast-paced environment and what it taught you. Successful Caltech essays will be creative while answering the Caltech supplemental prompts. Start with a hook and then expand on how it has impacted you. 

• Do you draw on personal experiences from your background?
• Is it evident what an impact those experiences have had on who you are today?
• Do you show how your background affects your worldview or experiences?

Caltech Supplemental Essays: Optional Short Answer Questions

On their website, Caltech prefaces these optional essays by saying that they are “optional opportunities to show us more of your personality.” Before even getting into the optional Caltech essay prompts, admissions reiterates that they are in fact optional by stating: “Optional. We Promise.”

Basically, you can choose whether to answer these Caltech essay prompts or not. However, there are certain optional Caltech essay prompts that you should opt to answer if you want your Caltech application to be as competitive as possible. 

Optional Caltech Essays #1

If there are aspects of your identity that you feel are not captured elsewhere in this application, please provide that information below. (150 words).

If you struggled to fit all of your meaningful, personality-forming experiences and background information into the last Caltech supplemental essay, then this is your opportunity to add more. 

Continuing with our last example in the previous Caltech supplemental essay, let’s say that you wrote about growing up in a fancy restaurant’s kitchen because of your mom’s profession. Maybe in the last essay, you wrote about how you learned to think on your feet in a high-pressure environment, which has made you the decisive person that you are today. You may want to add onto this by talking about the different cultures that you experienced in the kitchen. Did you become close with the sous chef who was from Italy? Did it inspire a gap year or summer trip to Italy that changed your life?

Or maybe you want to talk about a completely different community that has shaped you. Maybe you’ve grown up training ballet in every moment of your spare time, which has built discipline and pushed you to achieve. If you can talk about how a certain community has formed you, and your story will add value to your Caltech application, then answer this prompt. 

However, if you were struggling with the last of the Caltech essay prompts that touched on background and feel as though you have nothing to add, then feel free to skip this essay.  

Optional Caltech Essays #2

When not surveying the stars, peering through microscopes, or running through marathons of coding, caltech students pursue an eclectic array of interests that range from speed-cubing to participating in varsity athletics to reading romance novels. what is a favorite interest or hobby and why does it bring you joy (100 words).

While the first of the optional Caltech supplemental essays is actually optional, we recommend considering the second of the Caltech essays as required. The goal of this Caltech supplemental essay is to see who you are outside of STEM-related hobbies and interests. While admissions wants to see that you love all things STEM, they also want to learn about your other interests. They understand the importance of having some sort of outlet from academics or work. 

Use this Caltech supplemental essay to talk about a hobby that you haven’t mentioned elsewhere. Basically, don’t just repeat your extracurricular activities. That certainly won’t do anything to help you beat the Caltech acceptance rate and impress admissions. Talk about something that will demonstrate a new skill or interest. Don’t forget to mention why this activity is worth writing about. What impact has it had on your life?

To start writing this essay, make a list of all of your activities. Hone in on the ones that are most important to you. Make sure they haven’t been mentioned elsewhere in your Caltech application. Then, choose the topic that interests you the most. 

Consider the following questions:

• Which activity elicits the most emotion? 
• What hobby could you not live without? 
• Which interest has made an impact on who you are today?

Successful Caltech essays will not only mention the activity but also explain why it brings joy. Feel free to get creative when responding to this prompt. Make sure that admissions can feel your passion for this topic. 

Optional Caltech Essays #3

Did you have a hard time narrowing it down to just one interest or hobby we understand – caltech students like to stay busy, too – tell us about another hobby or interest (50 words).

This is another of the optional Caltech supplemental essays that is definitely optional. No tricks here. If you are a true hobbyist and have various activities that define you, then feel free to take on this Caltech supplemental essay. 

Was your list of interests from the last essay spilling onto multiple pages? Great. Students writing their Caltech supplemental essays shouldn’t skimp on passion. However, these Caltech supplemental essays will have to be more succinct, as you only have 50 words. 

Stay creative, just as you were with your last essay. Show why this activity brings you such joy and how it has been such a formative part of your being. Just be sure to do so concisely. 

Caltech Supplemental Essays: Optional Academic Short Answer Questions

The optional academic Caltech supplemental essays are completely optional. Students should only submit Caltech essays for this section if they truly feel the need to. 

There is no word count listed on these Caltech essay prompts, so these Caltech supplemental essays should be concise. This isn’t the time to write a novel. Answer these Caltech supplemental essay prompts succinctly and comprehensively. 

Caltech Essay Prompts #1

Have you had any extenuating circumstances regarding your coursework (such as limited course selection or disruptions) not described elsewhere in your application if so, tell us about them here..

Successful essays to the previous optional Caltech supplemental essays are creative, captivating, and passionate . These final Caltech supplemental essays don’t need to tick the same boxes. These Caltech essays serve to fill any mysterious gaps in the rest of your Caltech application. 

This Caltech supplemental essay specifically asks you to explain any extenuating circumstances that may be noticeable in the coursework noted in your application . If you’ve had access to all the STEM, AP, and IB courses, then there’s no need to respond to this prompt. However, if you attended a school with limited resources and offerings, then you should mention that here. 

Some Caltech applicants engage in STEM competitions locally, nationally, and internationally (such as AIME, Science Olympiad, International Science Olympiads.) If you have received any STEM honors or awards, list them here (and scores, if applicable).

While these Caltech supplemental essays are included with the other Caltech essays, they’re not really essays. They actually want you to list your honors or awards related to STEM here. 

Only respond to this Caltech supplemental essay if you have received STEM related honors or awards. Don’t set the scene of the science competition where you won first place. There are other Caltech supplemental essays where you can do that. Simply list your specific STEM accomplishments.

How much does Caltech care about essays?

Through the Caltech essays, the admissions committee gains a glimpse into who you are as a student, peer, scientist, and individual. Keep in mind that they don’t know what you don’t tell them. Look at your application as a whole—including your Common App essay —and think critically about whether you have included as many facets of yourself as you can. Your Caltech application requirements should do more than just check boxes; they should tell your story , showing why you belong at Caltech. 

The Caltech ranking is #9 on U.S. News’ Best National Universities list. With the Caltech ranking so high, it makes sense that the Caltech acceptance rate is 4% . Every applicant will have an above average GPA and impressive extracurriculars. So, the Caltech supplemental essays are a chance to stand out . Successful Caltech supplemental essays will add to students’ application narratives. Planning how to get into Caltech involves thoughtfully and carefully answering the Caltech supplemental essays.  

Beyond the numbers

The Caltech essay prompts seek to understand who you are rather than just what’s on your resume. This demonstrates the value of the Caltech essays. Since Caltech is test-blind until 2025, you should maximize each essay as an opportunity to help the admissions team get to know you. Test blind schools, unlike test-optional schools, don’t want any ACT/SAT test scores submitted. Basically, Caltech won’t even look at standardized test scores. However, they will pay close attention to the Caltech supplemental essays. 

Check out this webinar to make sure you stand out as a STEM applicant. 

Five Tips for Writing Caltech Essays

Writing comprehensive and meaningful Caltech essays doesn’t have to be overwhelming. We’ve compiled our top 5 tips for how to write Caltech essays that impress admissions. 

Five Tips for Writing Caltech Essays: 

#1- meet the deadlines.

This may seem obvious, but there’s no way that you will figure out how to get into Caltech if you don’t submit your Caltech application requirements by the deadlines . The Regular Decision deadline is January 3rd . The Restrictive Early Action deadline is November 1st . Learn more about applying Early Action in our article .

#2- Don’t rush the writing process

Yes, you know you have to write and submit your Caltech essays by the deadline. However, that doesn’t mean that you should be scrambling to brainstorm, draft, edit, and revise your Caltech supplemental essays the night before they’re due. 

#3- Carefully choose your topics

This is why it’s important to give yourself plenty of time to write your Caltech supplemental essays. You only have one chance to impress the admissions committee. You should have various topics to choose from after brainstorming. Write essays on the topics that you are most passionate about. 

#4- Get creative

The greatest scientists are extremely creative innovators. Use your essays to creatively write on the topics you’re given. As long as you comprehensively and thoughtfully answer the prompt, a creative writing style will only bolster your Caltech essays.

#5- Ask for help

You certainly don’t have to take on your Caltech essays completely alone. Have someone else look at your completed Caltech essays. While they should check mechanics, also ask them for feedback on what they’ve learned about you through your Caltech essays. When implementing their feedback, maintain your own voice and style. 

Caltech Supplemental Essays — Final Thoughts

The Caltech supplemental essays are a key part of your application. The Caltech acceptance rate is low. Maximizing your admissions odds will take acing every part of the application process, including the Caltech supplemental essays. 

Remember to be clear, concise , and specific while telling authentic stories in your essays. Reference STEM-related subjects as much as possible. However, do so in a natural manner. Use the essays as a chance to supplement the quantitative parts of your application such as your grades and GPA with qualitative attributes of who you are as a student, person, and peer.

This Caltech essay guide on was written by Sarah Kaminski. Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeA d visor.com can support you in the college application process.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, how to write amazing caltech essays.

College Essays

The California Institute of Technology—or Caltech, as it's more commonly known—is a highly exclusive college. If you want to join the Beavers, you'll need not just top grades and standardized test scores, but strong writing supplements to support them as well.

Caltech accepts around 6% of students who apply, making it an extremely competitive school . The more you know about the Caltech essay prompts before you start, the better prepared you are to answer them.

Read on to learn about 2021's essay prompts, as well as some tips and tricks for maximizing their potential to impress!

Feature Image: Canon.vs.nikon /Wikimedia Commons

BREAKING: Caltech Application Changes Due to COVID-19

As a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic, many colleges have made the decision to at least temporarily stop requiring SAT and ACT scores. In June 2020, California Institute of Technology announced that they will stop considering SAT and ACT scores of applicants for the next two admission cycles (those applying in fall 2020, 2021, and 2022). This means that, not only are SAT and ACT scores not required, but, even if you submit them, they won't be reviewed and they won't be considered as part of your application. (This is what we refer to as a "test blind" policy.) Additionally, international students can now meet Caltech's English proficiency requirement by submitting either TOEFL or Duolingo scores.

Because of SAT and ACT cancellations , as well as the difficulty some students are having preparing or paying for the tests, Caltech made the decision to temporarily stop requiring standardized test scores to make admissions as fair and equitable as possible. Because test scores aren't being considered, there will be an increased emphasis on classes students took and the grades they received in them.

What Do I Need to Know About the Caltech Essays?

Caltech accepts four different applications: Coalition, Common App, Powered by Scoir, and Questbridge. In addition to the required Coalition,  Common Application, and powered by Scoir essays, Caltech also requires three short essays. ( Questbridge applicants only need to write these if they become Match Finalists and have ranked Caltech.)

You’ll write one required academic question and three required short answer questions, but you’ll also have the option to answer three supplemental short answer questions and one supplemental academic question, if you want.

Altogether, you'll be writing up to 1100 words for the required essays, and 300 words for the optional short answer questions. These essays are fairly short, so you'll want to spend a good amount of time honing your argument to its most efficient. Start early so you have plenty of time to plan, refine, revise, and proof before you submit!

Do a little preparation and you can look this happy when writing your Caltech essays, too!

What Are the Caltech Essay Prompts?

The Caltech essay prompts are fairly standard, though each one is tailored to the college's specifications. You'll see the usual "Overcoming Obstacles” and “Defining Your Fit” essay questions, but always keep in mind that you're applying to Caltech specifically, and your essays should reflect that.

Required Academic Question

Because of the rigorous core course curriculum, Caltech students don't declare a major until the end of their first year. However, some students arrive knowing which academic fields and areas already most excite them, or which novel fields and areas they most want to explore. If you had to choose an area of interest or two today, what would you choose? Why did you choose that area of interest? (Max: 200 words)

The first essay asks you share your academic passion (or passions), and how you discovered them. Many colleges understand that students change their majors throughout the course of their careers, and Caltech doesn’t want you to have to choose a major until you’re a sophomore. But they still want you to have a good idea of what you want to focus on and why it matters to you.

The key here is to be specific about your area of interest. Note that they don’t mention a major, but instead an overall field. In other words, now isn’t the time to say that you want to major in biology because you’ve always done well in school. Instead, focus on something more specific, like a problem you want to solve or an experience that changed the way you see your career. Maybe your physical science egg-drop challenge inspired a desire to create safer structures, or maybe a field trip to a NASA location made you realize you had to be in that control room one day.

Whatever the case, be as specific as you can with what you want to study, and remember that multiple majors could get you there. For example, visiting NASA could have inspired you to study mathematics, physics, or engineering. There are multiple paths to reach the same goal; do your homework, look at the different programs Caltech offers, and choose one or two that align with your dream.

Caltech is, in their own words, “an unapologetic STEM institution.” Whatever you do, make sure that your chosen area fits within these parameters.

Required Short Answer Question #1

At Caltech, we investigate some of the most challenging, fundamental problems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Identify and describe two STEM-related experiences from your high school years, either in or out of the classroom, and tell us how and why they activated your curiosity. What about them made you want to learn more and explore further? (Min: 100/Max: 200 words for each experience)

This prompt is asking you to discuss something you're passionate about. Your interests and activities outside of school and work can reveal a lot about the kind of person you are. As such, this prompt is a great opportunity to show how you exhibit the characteristics of the perfect Caltech candidate in your life experiences that don’t show up in your test scores and GPA.

Hopefully, thinking of a topic for this essay will be easy for you. You should write about a situation, story, or topic that gets you so engrossed and excited that it’s tough to tear yourself away from learning about it! Whether that’s reading up on the psychology of conspiracy theories or bird watching with your little brother, the most important thing is that you choose something that you’re deeply interested in. When you do that, admissions counselors will be able to feel your passion too!

Even though you probably could write pages and pages about the topic you choose, it’s important to keep things clear and concise here. Remember: you only have 200 words per topic to work with! To keep your essay focused, tell the story of how these experiences piqued your curiosity into the subject (or subjects) you’ve chosen to write about. You can describe your learning process, even if it’s quirky or unconventional. This is your chance to show Caltech how you choose to expand your mind when left to your own devices.

And that’s the most important thing to emphasize in your essay. Caltech is looking for students who don’t stop learning when the semester ends. The people who make a difference in the world are passionate, lifelong learners. This essay is your chance to show off your niche interests and prove to Caltech that you’re a lifelong learner too.

This guy would fit right in at Caltech.

Required Short Answer Question #2

The creativity, inventiveness, and innovation of Caltech's students, faculty, and researchers have won Nobel Prizes and put rovers on Mars , but Techers also imagine smaller scale innovations every day, from new ways to design solar cells to 3D printing dorm decor. How have you been an innovator in your own life? (Min: 200 / Max: 250)

This question is a great way for you to show off your skills! Maybe your insight helped your school’s robotics team take home first place, or maybe you found a way to streamline some part of your family’s day-to-day routine. You have a lot of options here, but make sure to keep your topic focused on STEM-related subjects. This is an excellent topic for a problem-and-solution essay: after all, your innovation will have improved a situation, right? You only have 250 words, so you’ll need to make them count! Caltech wants to see how your mind works : why were you driven to your chosen innovation? Were there any obstacles? What was the end result, and how was it received?

Remember:  you'll need to give the admissions counselors enough information that they can understand your innovation and  its impact. Be sure to answer both parts of this question so that you're fully addressing the prompt. 

It probably wasn't one of these kids who wrote these successful Caltech essays.

Required Short Answer Question #3

The process of discovery is best advanced when people from diverse backgrounds come together to solve the greatest challenges in their fields. How do your past experiences and present-day perspectives inform who you have become and how you navigate the world? (Min: 200 / Max: 250)

This is your chance to show Caltech what makes you tick, and how you’ve become who you are. Think back on the formative experiences in your life: your home, your family, your cultural background. How have they shaped you into who you are now and what you want? Show Caltech how you see the world, and why.

As always, you should remember to gear this toward STEM as much as you can: Caltech isn’t kidding when they tell you to “lean all the way in on the STEMiest of STEMmy topics.” The trick here is to show how your own lived experiences have informed your interest and perspective on the STEM subject that you’re most drawn to. Maybe you come from a family of artists, and their sense of aesthetics informs the way you design and present your projects. Maybe you have a different cultural background than most of your peers, which influences your thought processes.

Be sure to tell a story here so that you can connect with admissions counselors. For example, was there a formative experience in your childhood or youth that made you realize you stand out from your peers in some way? Was a family member or cultural tradition particularly influential?

CalTech Short Answer Questions

Along with longer essays, you'll also have to tackle a few short answer responses, too. We'll break them down below! 

Supplemental Short Answer Question #1

If there are aspects of your identity that you feel are not captured elsewhere in this application, please provide that information below. (Max: 150 words)

This is a pretty broad prompt! Unlike Required Question 3, which asks about your background, or Supplemental Question 2, which asks about your hobbies, this is about your identity, which includes both of those things and more! You have a lot of options here: think of past experiences that made you realize more about who you are and what you stand for. Maybe you stood up to a bully. Maybe you went stargazing with family or friends, and found yourself overwhelmed by the vastness of the universe. Just like with the other prompts, remember to be as specific as possible, and give examples.

Supplemental Short Answer Question #2

When not surveying the stars, peering through microscopes, or running through marathons of coding, Caltech students pursue an eclectic array of interests that range from speed-cubing to participating in varsity athletics to reading romance novels. What is a favorite interest or hobby and why does it bring you joy? (Max: 100 words)

This is a great prompt to answer, because it gives you the chance to show the admissions counselors more about who you are not just as a budding scholar but as a person. Here’s a chance to open up about, say, your passion for rock climbing or your increasingly-large collection of succulents. You only have 100 words, but try to go into as much detail as possible about how your hobby makes you feel. This is the place to be descriptive, and to show rather than tell.

Supplemental Short Answer Question #3

Did you have a hard time narrowing it down to just one interest or hobby? We understand – Caltech students like to stay busy, too – tell us about another hobby or interest! (Max: 50 words)

You've probably got more than one hobby you love. This is your chance to share that with admissions counselors at CalTech. You don't have much space, but help your readers understand why you're passionate about the hobby you choose. 

Caltech Essays That Worked

All this information is great, but it can still be tricky to understand exactly what Caltech wants to know until you've seen it demonstrated. Check out this accepted essay—and some tips from someone who took a serious risk—to learn more about what Caltech hopes to see in your essay!

Even though the example essays below respond to old essay prompts, there’s still a lot you can learn from them about how to write successful Caltech essays.

Martin Alternburg's Essay

I cross over the bridge into Minnesota. Out of my three sports, cross country is definitely my worst — but I continue to be hooked on it. Unlike swimming and track, my motivation to run is heavily intrinsic. I live for the long runs I take on by myself. While they rarely happen during our season, we were assigned a long run to complete over our first weekend of cross country. In reality, I was supposed to go six miles, but felt eight gave me more time to explore the home I had just returned to. My mind begins to wander as I once again find my rhythm. My train of thought while running is similar to the way one thinks in the minutes before sleep — except one has more control over how these thoughts progress and what tangents they move off of. While special relativity would be the "proper" thing to think about, especially at MITES, I revive the violin repertoire I had turned away from for so long and begin playing it in my head. I'm now at the edge of town in between the cornfields. The streaming floodlights on the open road give me a sense of lonely curiosity, reminiscent of the opening lines of Wieniawski's first violin concerto. I come up with adaptations of the melody in my head, experimenting with an atonality similar to Stravinsky's.

Martin Altenburg's essay is well-structured, using the narrative of a morning run to demonstrate all the things that run through his head, and, more importantly, all the unique traits that make him who he is.

From just these two paragraphs, we know he's a runner, that he's driven, that he strives for more than he thinks he's capable of, and that he knows music and composition. Because the essay is in a narrative format, we're able to follow this line of thinking and have it all wrapped up neatly at the end. We're drawn in by energetic and purposeful writing that also delivers us all the information we need.

Throughout the essay, Altenburg discusses his interests and his growth. His strategic use of locations in his hometown allows readers to understand where he comes from both literally and figuratively, especially the part about his beliefs and how the community he's grown up in have impacted them. All this is valuable information to an admissions office, who wants to see how you see yourself and why.

One thing to note about this essay is that it doesn't include any reference to Caltech. In fact, Altenburg used the same essay to apply to—and get into—eight different Ivy Leagues as well as some other schools. The essay was likely written as part of the Common or Coalition Application rather than as part of Altenburg's Caltech supplement, hence the lack of specificity. Your essays for the Caltech supplement should contain more specificity than this, as these essays are unique to Caltech and want to know exactly what draws you to that school above others.

Michelle Fan's Essay Reflection

"How do you believe Caltech will best fuel your intellectual curiosity and help you meet your goals?" If I had a few weeks, I might have done enough research to namedrop a few professors, rave about the strength of their computer science programs, and come up with a compelling story about all my professional goals. But I didn't have those few weeks, so I told them the unembellished, wholehearted truth: I said I have no idea what I want to do in life. All I knew was that I liked making calculator games and explosions and wanted to participate in the bread-throwing, water-dumping congregations otherwise known as Caltech house dinners. As it turns out, being yourself actually works. Shocker, I know. Colleges really do want to like you for you.

Michelle Fan doesn't post her Caltech essay directly, but she does talk about her process and what she discovered between her highly planned essays and the ones she wrote the day they were due.

Fan points out that her last-minute essays, the ones that she wrote from her heart rather than from her head, are the ones that got accepted. Though I definitely don't advocate for waiting until the same day that your essay is due to start writing it, it's a good message to keep in mind—when you're faced with an imminent deadline and you just need to get something out, your writing is probably more genuine than if you've been editing and revising it for ages.

But the big takeaway here should not be to wait until the last second to write your essay (please, don't do that!). The real lesson is that you should write in a way that is true to yourself, not a way that you think will impress admissions offices. You should be authentic and genuine, letting your personality and interests tell Caltech why you're a good fit.

If your essay looks like this, that's a good thing!

4 Key Tips for Writing a Caltech Essay

Like all college essays, there are some general things to keep in mind when working on your Caltech writing supplement. The earlier you get started, the better—take a little time to make sure that your essay is as polished as possible!

Brainstorming before you start writing will help you pick a topic that's both meaningful and impressive. Jotting down a list of ideas for each topic, no matter how silly they might feel at first impression, gives you options. Spend a little time away from your options so that you can pick the one that you feel most strongly about with less bias!

#2: Get People to Read Your Essays for You

Feedback is an important tool as a writer. Getting someone else to look at your work—preferably someone who will be honest about its shortcomings—will help you find logical holes, weird phrasing, and other errors that may creep into your work. When you feel like your essays are as polished as you can make them is a good time to hand them off to someone else. Remember, you don't have to make every change they suggest exactly as they suggest it, but if your reader is confused about something, see what you can do to make it clearer!

#3: Edit and Revise

Take that feedback you got from your reader and turn it into gold. Again, don't feel like their suggestions are always the right move, but do consider what's causing their confusion or dislike for parts of your essays. Fix them in your own voice, and re-read your essay, especially out loud, to catch any additional errors. The more time you can spend revising, the better!

#4: Be Authentic

Always remember that you're not just trying to impress Caltech with a bunch of statistics—you're trying to impress them as you. That means always staying true to yourself and striving for authenticity. Give Caltech an essay that showcases what it means to be you, not an essay that gives them what you think that they want to hear.

What's Next?

Need an even more in-depth guide to how to write a college essay ? Those tips will help you write a stellar essay from start to finish!

A strong essay is just one part of a successful Caltech application. Also look into Caltech's SAT scores and GPA requirements so you can draft an effective academic plan!

Before you send in your Caltech application, it's a smart idea to figure out how much money it's going to cost you to attend. How do Caltech's financial aid offerings measure up to tuition costs?

Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar.

Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges.

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Melissa Brinks graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with a Bachelor's in English with a creative writing emphasis. She has spent several years tutoring K-12 students in many subjects, including in SAT prep, to help them prepare for their college education.

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How to Respond to the 2023/2024 Caltech Supplemental Essays

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Deciding to go to the California Institute of Technology is the dawn of a new academic adventure! Caltech is a highly selective private research university with a 4% acceptance rate . With such a competitive application pool, your very best writing is required. In this guide, we’ll go over each prompt and help you break the Caltech essays down so you’ll know exactly what is being asked. Let’s get started!

The Caltech essays

Caltech’s supplemental essay prompts are a way for you to show the admission’s readers exactly who you are and why you should be part of the next undergraduate class. Even responding to the optional prompts (Essays #5 through #9 are optional) shows Caltech that you want to be there and are willing to go the extra mile to prove that. Remember, applicants should emphasize STEM in their essays as much as possible since that’s one of the primary focuses of Caltech. 

Keep reading below to learn more about Caltech supplemental essay prompts!

“If you had to choose an area of interest or two today, what would you choose? Why did you choose that area of interest? (Max: 200 words)”

Applicants should see this prompt as an opportunity to discuss their passions in STEM or any other Caltech program. However, it’s important to discuss more than just what  your desired major is; be sure to talk about how Caltech plays a part in whatever interests are shared. What’s so unique about this major/interest that you can’t stop thinking about it? Is it daring? Are you the only one in your family to do it? Use this essay to show your drive and initiative. 

Questions to consider:

• Why do you want to study your major at Caltech?
• What is something unique about the majors that Caltech offers?
• What do you imagine when you think of studying your major at Caltech?

“At Caltech, we investigate some of the most challenging, fundamental problems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Identify and describe two STEM-related experiences from your high school years, either in or out of the classroom, and tell us how and why they activated your curiosity. What about them made you want to learn more and explore further? (Min: 100 / Max: 200 words for each experience)”

Caltech is clear in this prompt that the focus is on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). While your experiences might seem similar to other applicants, try to set yourself apart by incorporating a personal aspect to your essay. Explain to the reader where your love of STEM started or grew during your time in high school and how that might contribute to your desire to attend Caltech. 

Applicants should also explain what they want to learn more about or explore further and why. Doing so further demonstrates your interest in Caltech if you’re able to make a connection between what you’re curious about and what you love about this specific university. 

• Who motivated you to get involved in STEM? Was it a mentor or a family member?
• What about this experience made you want to pursue STEM at Caltech?
• What are you most curious or excited about in STEM?

“The creativity, inventiveness, and innovation of Caltech’s students, faculty, and researchers have won Nobel Prizes and put rovers on Mars, but Techers also imagine smaller scale innovations every day, from new ways to design solar cells to 3D printing dorm decor. How have you been an innovator in your own life? (Min: 200 / Max: 250)”

The definition of innovation is the introduction of something that’s never existed before. Remember, innovation doesn’t have to be some large, spectacular creation. Your innovation can be something new you’ve added to your life or doing something that you’ve never heard of. Even being the first person in your family to go to college could be a form of innovation–you just have to get creative! 

• Are you the first person to do something in your family?
• Have you created something that you think is fresh or different?
• Do you consider yourself a trailblazer? Why?

“The process of discovery is best advanced when people from diverse backgrounds come together to solve the greatest challenges in their fields. How do your past experiences and present-day perspectives inform who you have become and how you navigate the world? (Min: 200 / Max: 250)”

Use this prompt to consider how your background and/or cultural experiences have shaped your life. Have you had a chance to experience other cultures and learn from them? Has your background empowered you to further pursue STEM? These are questions you should think about as you write your Caltech supplemental essay.

The world has advanced from a collection of ideas from various different sources, so it would be good to share how a collaborative effort from people different from yourself has allowed you to grow and learn new things. Try to show your open-minded side as well as your intelligent one.

• What opinions have you formed about the world as a result of your experiences?
• How does your background influence who you are today and who you hope to become?
• What is the difference between how you navigate the world and how other applicants might?

“ Optional: If there are aspects of your identity that you feel are not captured elsewhere in this application, please provide that information below. (Max: 150 words)”

This prompt should take the Caltech admissions office on an exploration of the unknown, aka you. You could approach this essay in a unique way and push conventional boundaries. Alternatively, you could take a straightforward approach that positions you as an ideal candidate. Either way, the goal is to differentiate yourself from all other applicants, especially since this is one of the first optional essays that Caltech offers. 

• Why do you want to share this with the admissions office?
• How will this aspect of your identity make your application stand out?
• What should be the key takeaway from this optional essay?

Also see: How to write an essay about yourself

“ Optional: When not surveying the stars, peering through microscopes, or running through marathons of coding, Caltech students pursue an eclectic array of interests that range from speed-cubing to participating in varsity athletics to reading romance novels. What is a favorite interest or hobby and why does it bring you joy? (Max: 100 words)”

As an optional prompt, it may be tempting to skip over this essay. However, completing it can make your application more interesting while showing that you’re willing to go the extra mile to attend Caltech. Telling the admissions office about a unique interest or hobby reveals a lot about your personality and whether you fit in at the university. You could be especially interested in plants and bugs, which might show that your love of science goes deeper than just in the classroom. The same can be true for any other activity that you find joy in. 

The word count for this prompt is relatively short, but don’t over-generalize your interests. Just saying a particular aspect of STEM isn’t going to cut it, so try to dig a little deeper to highlight something different and new to your application. 

• What is an activity that you haven’t mentioned anywhere else in your application?
• What does this interest or hobby say about you and your personality?
• Why do you enjoy this experience? 

“ Optional: Did you have a hard time narrowing it down to just one interest or hobby? We understand – Caltech students like to stay busy, too – tell us about another hobby or interest! (Max: 50 words)” 

This prompt is for applicants that have multiple unique hobbies or interests. If you completed the initial prompt mentioned above, then don’t feel pressured to write about another hobby if you can’t think of one right away. However, you’ll have to simplify this interest a lot more than the first, so be sure to pick the most important one for the longer prompt.

• Why do you want to write about this additional hobby?
• Does this interest build on your first one and the rest of your application?

“ Optional: Have you had any extenuating circumstances regarding your coursework (such as limited course selection or disruptions) not described elsewhere in your application? If so, tell us about them here.”

Everyone doesn’t have the same journey when it comes to pursuing education. Sometimes, we hit bumps in the road, and Caltech offers this prompt for you to explain your story. Applicants don’t have to share every detail of their circumstances, but disclose enough that Caltech can understand what the conditions at the time were and how they affected you. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and transparent since doing so shows that you’re taking your application seriously. It can also prove your tenacity and determination if you include how you overcame this difficulty in your life and how you’ll continue to progress.

• Is there anything that you feel you need to explain about your grades or courses?
• Was there anything notable and impactful that affected your school performance?
• How have you grown or what did you learn from this experience?

“ Optional: Some Caltech applicants engage in STEM competitions locally, nationally, and internationally (such as AIME, Science Olympiad, International Science Olympiads.) If you have received any STEM honors or awards, list them here (and scores, if applicable).” 

Use this prompt as your opportunity to share your STEM accomplishments with Caltech. Don’t be afraid to include all the awards that you’re proud of! Let your accomplishments speak for themselves, and try not to exaggerate. 

There also isn’t a word limit, which can tempt you to go on and on for page after page. So, show Caltech that you still have tricks up your sleeve by giving them a small piece of what’s next. This means knowing when to bring an end to your essay, even if you haven’t listed every award.

• What are some of the awards I’ve won throughout high school?
• Why do I want Caltech to know about this specific award?
• How does this award relate to attending Caltech?

Final thoughts for applicants

As you wrap up your Caltech essays, it’s important to keep a couple of things in mind. One of the most important things is noticing word count for each prompt. A majority of the prompts are 100-200 words with only a few exceptions. This means it’s ideal to get to the main point of your essay as soon as possible. 

Potential Caltech students should also take time to read through each essay submission to check for errors or any weird issues with the flow and readability of your essays. It can be helpful to ask your teachers, peers, or family members to read over your submission and get feedback to improve on your writing and storytelling skills. The world wasn’t built in a day, so don’t overwhelm yourself! There are resources here to help.

Additional resources

Since you’re considering pursuing higher education, it’s important to have all the resources you can get at your fingertips. Check out some of these Scholarships360 links to learn more!

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• Find out about fully funding your education with scholarships
• Decide on when to submit your application to college

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How to Write the Caltech Supplemental Essays 2020-2021

We’ve updated this post! Read the  2021-2022 Caltech essay guide .

Ranked #12 (tie) in National Universities by the US News and World Report, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) is one of the best STEM schools in the country. Just 11 miles northeast of LA, the Pasadena-based college is known for everything from excellent weather and student-served dining traditions to theory-focused coursework and a large diversity of research. With just a 6.2% acceptance rate, the university remains extremely selective in their admissions.

The actual application for Caltech has four main supplemental essay questions primarily aimed at understanding the applicant’s STEM experience and fervor. As you begin thinking about writing the Caltech supplemental essays, it’s important to think of them as a portfolio working together, where the content should balance well without seeming repetitive. Overall, they are looking for someone who will stand out in their tech community, but that doesn’t preclude you from showing other important facets of your background and interests in the application as well. Want to know your chances at Caltech? Calculate your chances for free right now.

Want to learn what Caltech will actually cost you based on your income? And how long your application to the school should take? Here’s what every student considering Caltech needs to know.

How to Write the Caltech Essays

Prompt 1: Describe three experiences and/or activities that have helped develop your passion for a possible career in a STEM field. Use the separate spaces provided below, one for each STEM experience and/or activity. (10-120 words each)

Prompt 2: Much like the life of a professional scientist or engineer, the life of a “Techer” relies heavily on collaboration. Knowing this, what do you hope to explore, innovate, or create with your Caltech peers? (250-400)

Prompt 3: Caltech students are often known for their sense of humor and creative pranks. What do you like to do for fun? (250-400)

Prompt 4: The process of discovery best advances when people from various backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives come together. How do you see yourself contributing to the diversity of Caltech’s community? (250-400)

All Applicants—Prompt 1

Describe three experiences and/or activities that have helped develop your passion for a possible career in a stem field. use the separate spaces provided below, one for each stem experience and/or activity. (10-120 words per activity).

This essay functions as a set of three mini essays , which allows Caltech to take their own spin on the popular activity-based prompt without the usual 150 word cap on a singular activity. As you approach this set of prompts, think about which three experiences you would like to expand on as an opportunity to include a few more details that would not fit in the character-tight Common App activities list.

Similarly to your activities list, you should order them based on overall significance/priority and make sure that you are not including any repeat information. For example, if you are part of a robotics team as both a member of the drive team and also a CAD designer, you should still consolidate separate roles as just one STEM activity – robotics.

Since the word count for each activity is still limited to just 120 words each , your descriptions should be direct and carefully thought out to maximize space. Although the prompt is asking for you to explain activities that have helped you develop your passion, that doesn’t mean you need to touch base on how exactly they developed your passion in each since you won’t have enough room. Caltech has also eliminated any need to transition between activities by adding three different text box spaces to keep them segregated.

Once you have drafted these mini essays, double check to make sure someone reading them from an outsider perspective will have a clear understanding of the activity . Clarify your acronyms and use terms that will be accessible especially if you are referencing something local or unusual in your activity descriptions.

All Applicants—Prompt 2

Much like the life of a professional scientist or engineer, the life of a “techer” relies heavily on collaboration. knowing this, what do you hope to explore, innovate, or create with your caltech peers (250-400 words).

Admissions officers can already tell from your activities list, grades, and test scores that you’re willing to put your intellect to work to achieve your goals. Still, success in most fields requires playing well with others alongside a solid drive. Remember, universities want to build a well-rounded class of students who possess the communication skills needed to contribute their unique talents to a collective cause.

Collaboration is one of Caltech’s professed values, and this essay is your chance to show that it’s one of yours too. 

Additionally, this prompt contains a bit of a “Why Caltech” element, as they are seeking to understand which resources and opportunities you will take advantage of in engaging with your Caltech community. As with any “ Why This College? ” prompt, the key here is specificity, specificity, and more specificity . There are plenty of fantastic STEM-focused schools out there —MIT, Johns Hopkins, and Harvey Mudd, to name a few, so what makes Caltech special to you, and how will you contribute to their special community?

With your 400-word limit in mind, feel free to briefly touch upon your past collaborative experiences, but focus on your takeaways regarding which elements of these experiences you most enjoyed, what you learned from them, and which collaborative skills you’ll bring to the Caltech campus. Here’s where you get into your interests within STEM, making sure to mention the specific opportunities—including research, academic offerings, programs, and facilities—which will allow you to reach your goals while working with others. 

Since Caltech values contribution as well as collaboration, don’t shy away from potentially starting something new! Perhaps you would like to start a new club, company, or nonprofit; just make sure it will bring something truly original and previously unexplored on the Caltech campus. 

For example, you could discuss your dream of creating a company that uses neural networks to conduct customer research through use of the resources at Caltech’s CAST, or Center of Autonomous Systems and Technologies. While you have deep knowledge and experience in neural networking, you’ll turn to your classmates for their skills in web design, data analysis, and more, which you recognize as equally essential skills. 

Explain what you’ll bring to the table and show healthy humility in exploring what you hope to learn and gain from the classmates you collaborate with. After all, one of the best things about college is the people you meet there. 

All Applicants—Prompt 3

Caltech students are often known for their sense of humor and creative pranks. what do you like to do for fun (250-400 words).

This prompt can be one of the most entertaining to write and read because of the opportunity to present the admissions office with an amalgamation of weird topics. Applicants can explore their quirky side with this prompt by writing about unique hobbies or interesting personality oddities.

The main point of the question is to invite students to take a more relaxed approach to writing about themselves. It brings the application to life by asking you to write only about your own personality and humor , which feels more open than other essays that ask you to answer a specific question on something like a challenge you’ve faced or a person you admire. While answering both of those prompts still offers insight into who the author is, they are fundamentally centralized around another topic or person, which is why Caltech cuts straight to the chase with this prompt to get you know you better.

The admissions office is looking for an authentic and fun 400 word portrayal of your character that could distinctly identify you from a crowd of essays. If you got to meet your admissions officer in person, and only had 60 seconds to pitch yourself without using anything from your activities or awards, what would you say first? Think of this essay’s tone as similar to the “letter to your roommate” type essays where you want to showcase quirky qualities and experiences related to your hobbies.

When thinking of unusual activities to include, we advise applicants to be careful with content related to contentious topics or politics (i.e. if one of your hobbies is to photograph/meme political campaign signs around your hometown or to actively moderate a controversial subreddit, don’t indicate which party/ideology/position you tend to support even through jokes or minor references).

While including pastimes that are extremely common like watching Netflix or pranking your friends might not stand out, adding specificity will. For example, you could talk in more detail about these activities by explaining how you love to memorize passages from Netflix comedy specials to pull out random Ali Wong impressions whenever possible or how you have a child-like obsession for food pranks and once ate an entire mayo-container full of vanilla pudding in front of your robotics team on the bus, etc. These “mini anecdotes” can elevate even the most generic topics throughout your essay.

Overall, if your essays starts to feel too “list-y,” remember to break up the examples with more detail and insights into your own personality as well!

All Applicants—Prompt 4

The process of discovery best advances when people from various backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives come together. how do you see yourself contributing to the diversity of caltech’s community (250-400 words).

In this final prompt, Caltech asks applicants to directly address their own background and demonstrate that their contributions in high school will continue once they attend college as well.

For example, a student could talk about how they grew up obsessed with oral storytelling and how that has helped their roles as a speaker during group projects and presentations as well. Expansion on the imagery behind stories they once told and additional detail on the engineering/research/robotics projects where they have used these skills since then could provide the main essay points leading into their hypothetical future contributions at Caltech.

One critical note is that this prompt can quickly morph into a response that is very similar to prompt #2 where applicants are answering what they “ hope to explore, innovate, or create with [their] Caltech peers?” Since these both reference how the student will contribute to Caltech in the future, it’s helpful to make sure the content does not overlap at all. Focus on the key differences in what they are asking, where one is targeted more specifically on collaborating with innovation, and another asks about diversity and background contributing to a community.

This prompt also leaves the door open for particularly interesting responses. CollegeVine’s 2016 Caltech Essay guide encouraged students to approach this type of question by talking about how you will enhance Caltech’s diversity of thought through how you generate ideas, how you analyze problems, or how you approach academic challenges.

Ideally, these topics would paired with some sort of supporting anecdote , and then tied to your ability to solve typical engineering or academic problems. An example also given in the previous guide shows how you could answer this prompt by discussing how your observational nature allowed you to find several potential water leaks in your basement that no one else did, allowing your family to prevent the leaks. Then, you could link your powers of observation to a potential role as a trouble-shooter on academic projects.

Some questions about this type of prompt that we see from students are:

Q: Should we write about how our background influences what we want to major in for this prompt?

A: While you do not need to write about your intended major for this prompt, it could serve as a good way to wrap up your application package if you think your interest hasn’t been clearly indicated already.

Q: Is it better if I center it around one key element of my background/perspective?

A: Since this prompt doesn’t specify choosing one, you do have the option to touch on a few different elements or ideas if you can clearly draw a connection or overarching theme between them. Be careful not to lose depth or end up listing instead of utilizing anecdotes.

Q: How can I use this essay to talk about my research/internship/extracurricular if I haven’t been able to include information about it elsewhere?

A: Many students have been involved in internships, summer programs, etc. that they would like to highlight somewhere in their application. If you don’t provide more detail in the above essays, you may want to incorporate it into this prompt without losing focus on how it relates to your background. It can be difficult controlling how much information you give to explain the program or activity since you really need the word count for connecting it to your perspective and the future elements. We also tend see a lot of generalizations for brevity like, “it was difficult”, or “it was extremely inspiring”, without painting the picture of why with imagery or tangible examples to add evidence.

As you work on these essays, try to choose topics that you genuinely care about. This will help you in devoting much more time to them, resulting in higher quality essays . Since Caltech admissions are extremely selective, there’s a good deal of pressure on both the content and execution of all your application’s essays.

Remember that it is the admissions office’s job to read through thousands of these essays each year and discern whether you would be a good fit, so avoid topics that are even vaguely cliché. As you read through your finals essays, be brutally honest with yourself about whether you would enjoy the essay you’ve written from an outsider’s perspective. Pay close attention to your opening sentences and comb through each section carefully for grammar errors. Overall, do your best to put in the effort on essays that you feel are unique, meaningful, and well-organized.

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How to Get Into Caltech (Essay Examples Included)

How hard is it to get into caltech learn caltech’s admission requirements and discover strategies to write great caltech supplemental essays to increase your chances of being admitted.

LEARN HOW TO GET INTO CALTECH

Part 1: Introduction  

Part 2: caltech admissions requirements, part 3: applying to caltech early action vs. regular decision, part 4: 2023–2024 caltech supplemental essays (examples included)  .

If your child has a passion for STEM and is a competitive applicant for Ivy League and Ivy+ schools (e.g., Stanford, MIT), you may be encouraging them to apply to the MIT of the West Coast: Caltech (or the California Institute of Technology). Caltech’s reputation for science and technology will impress future employers, and it doesn’t hurt that this world-class school is located in beautiful Pasadena, just miles north of downtown Los Angeles.

From years of advising students, we’ve assembled some crucial information for you and your child about how to get into Caltech.

At Caltech, the faculty to student ratio is 3:1, so students have unfettered access to their professors and research opportunities. They can pursue research on climate modeling, study neuroscience, predict how powerful the next major earthquake will be in the Seismological Laboratory, or study space and the stars in one of Caltech’s many observatories.

Students can spend their summers interning, researching abroad, or collaborating with faculty thanks to the support of a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship . Perhaps they’ll study plate tectonics in Mexico City, or pursue investment banking on Wall Street. They might take an internship in Silicon Valley or build a robot under the guidance of Caltech’s world class faculty.

Caltech graduates go on to be among the most impressive and ambitious scientists alive today. They earn prestigious grants and fellowships, conduct cutting edge research in every STEM field, start companies, become astronauts, serve as political leaders at home and abroad—with a degree from Caltech, the possibilities are endless, all with the help of an extensive alumni network that includes accomplished academics, CEOs, and Nobel Prize and Fields Medal winners.

Indeed, the Caltech name will probably make everyone think that your child is, well, a genius. 

Caltech ranking

Caltech is one of those Ivy+ schools that regularly outranks some of the actual Ivy League universities. Here’s where it sits:

U.S. News & World Report: 9

Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education: 4

(Suggested reading: Ivy League Rankings )

Where is Caltech?

Caltech is located in Pasadena, CA—about 11 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Pasadena’s population is approximately 142,000—a small city that is connected to the Greater Los Angeles area (over 12 million) by rail and bus.

Caltech setting

Pasadena is a suburban area with cultural institutions such as libraries and museums, in addition to a variety of cafés, hotels, restaurants, and more.

Caltech student population

Undergrad population: 982

Grad and professional school population: 1,419

Caltech acceptance rate

Here are Caltech’s admissions statistics for the class of 2027:

Acceptances: 412

Matriculants: 263

Acceptance rate: 7%

Caltech is not currently reporting the total number of applications received. The Caltech Admissions office also does not report their “early action” and “regular decision” rates. There is no known statistical advantage to applying early.  

Caltech tuition and scholarships

The 2023–2024 cost of attendance (i.e., tuition, room, board, and fees) at Caltech is $86,886.

Caltech offers need-based financial aid only and is committed to meeting 100 percent of students’ demonstrated need. While financial aid packages may include student loans, the average amount of grant and scholarship aid received by entering students in Fall 2021 was $42,708.

Who gets into Caltech?

It’s safe to say that Caltech matriculants rank among the top echelons, academically speaking. Caltech does not publish its average admitted student GPA, but 99 percent of Caltech students ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school class.

Caltech is currently taking a three-year moratorium from considering any standardized test scores in their admissions process (through Fall 2023). As such, average test scores for the most recently admitted class are not available. However, to give you a sense of Caltech’s high academic standards, here are the average ACT and SAT scores for the class of 2024:

Caltech average ACT score:

25th percentile: 35

75th percentile: 36

Caltech average SAT score:

25th percentile: 1530

75th percentile: 1580

For the incoming class in Fall 2023, Asian students make up the largest percentage of Caltech undergrads at 37 percent, white students constitute 22 percent, Hispanic Americans make up 11 percent, while Black or African American students make up five percent. International students constitute 17% of this class.

Virtually every Caltech student majors in a STEM discipline. Some students pursue a second degree or a minor in the humanities and social sciences, including English, History and Philosophy of Science, and Political Science. 

Over 90% of our students get into one or more of their top 3 schools

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Caltech academic requirements

Like MIT or Harvey Mudd, Caltech is looking specifically for students who have demonstrated excellence in STEM.

Caltech students have excellent grades and some of the highest test scores in the country, but even that isn’t enough. Extracurricular activities and, perhaps most importantly, commitment and enthusiasm for a small number of clubs, STEM projects, or other organizations, also demonstrates excellence.

Your child should have taken every challenging STEM course available to them—including through IB or AP , community college dual enrollment, or summer courses.

On top of that, though, they need to also think about connecting their scientific capabilities—demonstrable through top test scores and adulatory letters of recommendation from STEM teachers—to some urgent problems or questions they care to investigate. It’s not enough for your child to have a knack for math and physics.

Encourage your daughter to think about whether she’s compelled by the mysteries of quantum physics and quantum computing, or if she’s drawn to the rigors of applied physics or engineering. Encourage your son to take a latent talent in the AP Bio classroom to the next level by placing him in a wet lab over the summer, where he can do more than dissect frogs.

To prepare for Caltech’s rigorous core curriculum , here is how Caltech evaluates your child’s academic preparation :

A mastery of calculus and a readiness to study math topics beyond calculus

1 year of physics (preferably calculus-based), 1 year of chemistry, and other science classes taken at the highest level offered by your child’s school

The most advanced and rigorous English coursework offered by your child’s school

At least 1 course in U.S. history or government (for students attending school in the U.S. only).

Caltech application requirements

Here’s the nitty gritty of what it takes to submit an application to Caltech.

Caltech accepts the Common Application, which means your child will need the following to apply:

Common App Essay

Caltech supplemental application essays

2 teacher evaluations

1 from a science or math teacher (e.g., chemistry, physics, calculus)

1 from a social science or humanities teacher (e.g., English, history, foreign language)

Secondary school report sent to Caltech from your child’s high school’s college or guidance counselor

Academic transcripts

Caltech also accepts the Coalition Application .

Your child can apply early to Caltech by November 1 and receive a decision of either accepted, deferred, or denied, by mid-December.

Caltech follows the restrictive early action (as opposed to early decision or early action) model, which means your child need not commit to attending Caltech if accepted; they can still apply to other universities during those schools’ regular decision process and make their choice by May 1. However, your child is not allowed to apply to other early decision programs with some exceptions . Defer means your child will be re-entered into the pool and will hear back by the end of March, and may be accepted, wait-listed, or rejected then.

Your child can also apply regular decision, by January 3.

How do you know if your child should apply to Caltech early?

Restrictive Early Action might be the right choice for your child if:

Caltech is one of their top choices.

They want to know early if they have been accepted to Caltech, but also want to consider other schools later.

They would like to compare financial aid packages from other schools during the regular decision process.

Their test scores and grades are strong by the end of junior year.

Caltech, like many schools, lets in a significant portion of its class early. This is in part because many highly prepared students choose restrictive early action. These are top candidates who make a great case for themselves to attend Caltech, whose grades and scores are ready, and who are prepared to deepen their expertise in multiple STEM fields.

Most importantly: Caltech doesn’t offer preference to those who apply early.

(Suggested reading: Early Action vs. Early Decision: Pros and Cons and What Your Child Should Do )

For some STEM students, the Common App personal statement and supplemental essays are a pain. But they’re still a crucial part of the application.

Your child needs to tell a story of why they’re chasing a top-notch STEM education. This is how the admissions department can weed out the merely competent science students from the future science leaders . A leader in STEM can talk about their interests—and they will have to, whether they’re pitching investors as they start a biomedical device company, or writing research papers or popular science books.  

Below you will find the essay prompts for this year’s application cycle.

Question 1: Because of the rigorous courses in the core curriculum, Caltech students don't declare a major until the end of their first year. However, some students arrive knowing which academic fields and areas already most excite them, or which novel fields and areas they most want to explore. If you had to choose an area of interest or two today, what would you choose? Why did you choose that area of interest? (200 words)

Question 2: At Caltech, we investigate some of the most challenging, fundamental problems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Identify and describe two STEM-related experiences from your high school years, either in or out of the classroom, and tell us how and why they activated your curiosity. What made you want to learn more and explore further? (100-200 words for each experience)

Here’s how Sylvia wrote about STEM-related experiences:

Throughout my high school STEM journey, nothing has piqued my interest quite like robotics. In my school’s robotics club, I built a contraption that could slice fruits, pull seeds out, and seal the torn skin back up (though there was definitely scarring).

Building my apple-cutting robot inspired me to explore how my interest in robotics could be applied to my passion for cancer research. Once I started reading about robotic surgeries, I became obsessed with how they could be used by urologists and gynecologists to remove cancer, so I decided to volunteer with my local American Cancer Society facility. 

Volunteering with the American Cancer Society has inspired me to learn more about the molecular processes that are responsible for the pain and suffering of millions across the globe. Now I want to conduct research to find better treatment options using cutting-edge technology. I want to be on the forefront of innovation in the medical community through my commitment to research, perhaps through building robots that help urologists remove tumors from the prostate. Once I become a researcher, I will always think of the patients whom I encountered in the chemo unit as inspiration for why my work matters.

 Here’s what Sylvia does well in tackling this Caltech supplemental essay:

She explores different aspects of why she is interested in STEM. Through these short entries, we learn that Sylvia is passionate about discovering new treatments to enhance the lives of cancer patients, building robots that can improve surgical procedures for cancer removal, and learning more about how she can contribute to the medical field outside of being a physician. Sylvia crafts a narrative that shows how her passion for cancer research has developed and the form it might take at Caltech and beyond.

She demonstrates curiosity and shows off her independent thinking. While many students might say that working with cancer patients has inspired them to become doctors, Sylvia takes an alternative approach. Rather, she draws on her specific skill set (robotics) and interests (cancer) to show the specific way in which she wants to innovate cancer treatments: building robots that surgeons can use to remove cancer.

Question 3: The creativity, inventiveness, and innovation of Caltech's students, faculty, and researchers have won Nobel Prizes and put rovers on Mars. But Techers also imagine smaller scale innovations every day, from new ways to design solar cells to how to 3D print dorm decor. How have you been a creator, inventor, or innovator in your own life? (200-250 Words)

Question 4: Caltech's mission – to cultivate learning, discovery, and innovation for the benefit of humanity – relies on its community members embracing fundamental Caltech values. Share what one or more of these values evokes for you:

a. Openness and enthusiasm for having preconceptions challenged

b. Respect and appreciation for the idea that, while we are all members of the same community, the opportunities we've had to develop, showcase, and apply our talents have not been equal

c. Passion for the ideal that science can and should meaningfully improve the lives of others (400 Words)

Question 5: If there are aspects of your life or social or personal identity that you feel are not captured elsewhere in this application, please tell us about them below. (150 words)

Question 6: When not surveying the stars, peering through microscopes, or running through marathons of coding, Caltech students pursue an eclectic array of interests that range from speed-cubing to participating in varsity athletics to reading romance novels. What is a favorite interest or hobby, and why does it bring you joy? (100 words)

Question 7: Did you have a hard time narrowing it down to just one interest or hobby? We understand – Caltech students like to stay busy, too – tell us about another hobby or interest! (50 words)

Question 8: Have you had any extenuating circumstances (such as limited course selection or disruptions) that have affected your coursework, but that are not described elsewhere in your application? If so, tell us about them here. (No limit; can keep it to 150 or 200 words).

Gain instant access to essay examples for every supplemental essay prompt from the top universities and BS/MD programs in the United States.

Final thoughts

Fewer than 1,000 students matriculate at Caltech each year, so you can tell that it’s no easy task to get in. That’s why your best bet is to not only seek out and ace a challenging science curriculum, but also to pursue that science creatively outside the classroom.

THERE'S NO REASON TO STRUGGLE THROUGH THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PROCESS ALONE, ESPECIALLY WITH SO MUCH ON THE LINE. SCHEDULE YOUR COMPLIMENTARY CONSULTATION TO ENSURE YOU LEAVE NOTHING TO CHANCE.

Caltech Supplemental Essays 2023-24 – Prompts & Advice

September 14, 2022

With a 2.7% acceptance rate (yes, truly), Caltech is one of the most highly selective schools in the country. Amazingly, they have managed to operate as a test-blind institution throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so until 2025 . This means that they do not presently consider ACT or SAT results in the admissions process. As such, the Caltech admissions committee gives extra weight to the five supplemental essay prompts that they require from all applicants.

 (Want to learn more about How to Get Into Caltech? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into Caltech  for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)

Before we dive right in and begin examining the five required and two optional 2023-24 Caltech essays, one quick note…  the admissions committee has provided in-depth guidance for three of the five required essays , so we’ll keep our advice for those short and sweet.

Caltech Supplemental Essays – Prompt #1 (required)

Why did you choose that area of interest? (200 words)

(Note: you’ll select 1-2 areas of interest from a provided drop-down box on the application)

We all have a story of what drives us to pursue a certain academic pathway and career. How did your interest initially develop? What was the spark? How have you nurtured this passion and how has it evolved over time? If you desire to go into engineering, this is a chance to talk about everything from your childhood fascination with how things work to your participation in an award-winning robotics program at your high school. Share a compelling (and, of course, true!) narrative about how your love of your future area of study has blossomed to its present levels.

In other words, this essay should show evidence of intense hunger for knowledge that extends well outside of the classroom. How do you learn about your favorite subjects? What books have you read on the subject? Which podcasts have you listened to? What museums have you visited? What related experiences have you had?

You should also tie your passions into specific academic opportunities at Caltech including  courses ,  professors ,  hands-on research programs , or any other aspects of your desired major that appeal most to you.

Caltech Supplemental Essays – Prompts #2 & #3 (required)

At Caltech, we investigate some of the most challenging, fundamental problems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Identify and describe two STEM-related experiences from your high school years, either in or out of the classroom, and tell us how and why they activated your curiosity. What about them made you want to learn more and explore further? (100-200 words for each experience)

Main note here—you won’t be writing about both experiences within the same response (phew!). Caltech provides a separate response area for each experience, so you’ll have 200 words for STEM Experience #1 and 200 words for STEM Experience #2.

Perhaps you experienced a fascinating challenge during your engineering internship, encountered a particularly thought-provoking topic during differential calculus, or relentlessly pursued an interest in black holes or topological physics. Whatever you choose—formal or informal, inside or outside the classroom—use this opportunity to share more about your chosen experience. What fascinated you about it, and why? How has it impacted you or enabled you to build particular skills?  Whether it’s falling down a Wikipedia rabbit hole about the nature of time or consuming thousands of hours of podcasts on drone capabilities, this is a chance to illustrate the ways in which you are an obsessive learner with an endless thirst for information.

The admissions reader should emerge from reading this essay with the sense that you are a sincerely curious young person with a strong intellectual drive. If that curiosity can be tied to your intended area of study at Caltech, all the better!

Caltech Essays – Prompt #4 (required)

The creativity, inventiveness, and innovation of Caltech’s students, faculty, and researchers have won  Nobel Prizes  and put  rovers on Mars . But Techers also imagine smaller scale innovations every day, from new ways to design solar cells to how to 3D print dorm decor. How have you been a creator, inventor, or innovator in your own life? (200-250 words)

Caltech knows you’re not a PhD-level researcher or a Nobel laureate, so they’re not looking for anything earth-shattering here (unless, of course, you’ve accomplished something earth-shattering—in which case, please share). Instead, they’re simply trying to understand the ways in which you bring your creative, inventive, and/or innovative qualities to your day-to-day life. Essentially, this is a fun chance to show off that side of yourself. To do so, feel free to go beyond extracurricular activities and formal experiences—maybe you perfected a solar oven design that bakes perfectly chewy chocolate chip cookies without utilizing electricity, or offered to develop a website for your local thrift shop with online shopping options. The sky is the limit here!

Caltech Supplemental Essays – Prompt #5 (required)

Caltech’s mission – to cultivate learning, discovery, and innovation for the benefit of humanity – relies on its community members embracing our Mission-Based Values ,  which include:

1. Openness and enthusiasm for having preconceptions challenged

2. Respect and appreciation for the idea that, while we are all members of the same community, the opportunities we’ve had to develop, showcase, and apply our talents have not been equal

3. Passion for the ideal that science can and should meaningfully improve the lives of others

Share what one or more of these values evokes for you. (200-400 words)

Here, Caltech provides you with three different values to choose from. Before you begin, make sure you familiarize yourself with Caltech’s full breakdown of their values . Then, choose one of the three noted above that 1) resonates most with you and 2) allows you to share more about your own personal experiences. Although you can select more than one, doing so may make it more difficult to craft a focused response, so keep that in mind as you write.

In addition, essays that wax poetic about the general importance of a chosen ideal—without connecting it to your own past experiences or future goals—will have approximately zero needle-moving value to the admissions committee. As such, rephrase each ideal as a question in order to identify the significance and depth of your associated experiences. For example, when have you had preconceptions challenged? How did you respond? When have you been confronted with the fact that yours (or your peers) opportunities have not been equal, and how did you handle it? Have you experienced how science can and should meaningfully improve the lives of others? How so?

Caltech Supplemental Essays – Prompt #6 & #7 (optional)

We know, we know … you see optional and start to wonder if we mean it. But in this section, we truly do! See these as completely optional opportunities to show us more of your personality. 

Optional. We promise.

• If there are aspects of your life or social or personal identity that you feel are not captured elsewhere in this application, please tell us about them below. (150 words)
• Did you have a hard time narrowing it down to just one interest or hobby? We understand – Caltech students like to stay busy, too – tell us about another hobby or interest! (50 words)

Caltech’s admissions committee is quite transparent about what they are and aren’t looking for, so this is one of those rare occasions when an optional essay is truly optional. As such, if there is something significant to share about your background, identity, or interests that hasn’t already been communicated elsewhere on the application, feel free to discuss it here, but do not feel compelled to respond if you’ll be grasping at straws to formulate an answer.

How important are the essays?

Overall, Caltech lists five factors as being “very important” to the admissions process. Those factors are: the rigor of your high school coursework, test scores (even though they are test blind, which is odd) recommendations, character/personal qualities, and your application essays. In fact, the essays are rated as being of greater importance than your GPA, class rank, or extracurricular activities!

Want Personalized Essay Assistance?

If you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your Caltech and  Common App essays , we encourage you to  get a quote  today.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, caltech supplemental essays.

Hello, fellow college applicants! I'm currently working on my Caltech application and struggling with the supplemental essays. Are there any specific tips or advice you can share that might help me better understand what Caltech is looking for in these essays?

Hello! It's great that you're working on your Caltech application. When it comes to the supplemental essays, it's important to keep in mind that Caltech's admissions committee is looking for students who will thrive in their unique academic environment, so you'll want to highlight your genuine passion for the STEM fields and demonstrate how you would contribute to their community.

CollegeVine has an annually updated breakdown with tips on tackling the Caltech essays: https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-write-the-caltech-essays

Remember, the more effectively you can convey your passion for STEM and your fit within the Caltech community, the better your chances of making a strong impression on the admissions committee. Good luck with your essays!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

How to Write Amazing Caltech Essays

Writing amazing essays for Caltech requires careful thought, creativity, and a deep understanding of what the admissions committee is looking for. Here are some key tips to help you craft compelling Caltech essays:

A. Understand the Prompts: 

Understanding the prompts is a crucial first step when writing essays, as it ensures that you address the specific questions or topics provided by the college or university. Here's how to effectively understand the prompts:

1. Read Carefully:

Take the time to thoroughly read and analyze each prompt. Pay attention to the wording, tone, and any specific instructions or requirements mentioned. Understand what the prompt is asking you to discuss or explore.

2. Identify Key Components:

Break down the prompt into its key components to grasp its core elements. Identify the main theme or subject matter, the specific question being asked, and any subtopics or points that need to be addressed.

3. Analyze the Prompt's Purpose:

Consider why the college or university has chosen this particular prompt. Reflect on what they may be looking to learn about you through your response. Are they seeking insight into your personal experiences, intellectual curiosity, problem-solving skills, or values? Understanding the purpose will help you tailor your essay accordingly.

4. Brainstorm Ideas:

Once you have a clear understanding of the prompt, brainstorm ideas related to the topic. Think about personal experiences, academic achievements, challenges faced, or lessons learned that are relevant to the prompt. Consider how these ideas align with your overall narrative or the message you want to convey about yourself.

5. Interpret the Prompt:

Sometimes, prompts can be open-ended or require interpretation. Take the opportunity to delve deeper into the prompt and explore different angles or perspectives. Consider how you can provide a unique and insightful response that goes beyond a surface-level understanding.

6. Consider the Audience:

Keep in mind that your essay will be read by admissions officers who are looking for specific qualities and characteristics in applicants. Consider how your response can showcase your strengths, experiences, and potential contributions to the college or university community.

7. Seek Clarification if Needed:

If you have any doubts or uncertainties about the prompt, don't hesitate to seek clarification. Reach out to the admissions office or consult with your guidance counselor or teachers for guidance. It's better to have a clear understanding of the prompt before you start writing.

Understanding the prompts is essential because it allows you to focus your essay and provide a relevant and meaningful response. It ensures that you address the specific aspects the college or university is interested in, and it helps you avoid going off-topic or providing generic answers. By thoroughly understanding the prompts, you can craft a compelling and well-structured essay that effectively communicates your ideas, experiences, and personal growth.

B. Showcase Your Passion for Science and Technology: 

When writing an essay to showcase your passion for science and technology, it's important to demonstrate your genuine interest and enthusiasm in a compelling and impactful way. Here's how you can effectively showcase your passion for science and technology in your essay:

1. Personal Experiences:

Start by sharing personal experiences that ignited your passion for science and technology. Discuss a specific event, project, or moment that sparked your curiosity and enthusiasm. Explain how this experience influenced your desire to pursue studies in the field.

2. Academic Pursuits:

Highlight your academic achievements and pursuits in science and technology. Discuss specific courses, research projects, or competitions you have participated in and the impact they had on your intellectual growth. Emphasize any exceptional accomplishments or awards that showcase your dedication and commitment to the field.

3. Extracurricular Involvement:

Illustrate your passion by highlighting your involvement in extracurricular activities related to science and technology. Discuss clubs, organizations, or initiatives where you actively participate and contribute. Describe any leadership roles you have held or projects you have undertaken that demonstrate your initiative and commitment to the field.

4. Research Experience:

If you have engaged in research, share details about your research experience. Describe the specific area of study, the research questions you explored, and the methodologies used. Discuss any significant findings or contributions you made to the field. This demonstrates your ability to apply scientific methods and conduct rigorous investigations.

5. Projects and Innovations:

Highlight any personal projects or innovative ideas you have pursued in science and technology. Discuss how these projects allowed you to apply your knowledge and skills, and how they reflect your passion for pushing boundaries and finding creative solutions to real-world problems.

6. Future Goals and Impact:

Explain your long-term goals in science and technology. Discuss how you aspire to make a positive impact in the field and contribute to advancements or solve pressing challenges. Highlight specific areas of research or industries that interest you and explain why they are important to you.

7. Showcasing Curiosity:

Demonstrate your curiosity by discussing how you stay updated with the latest developments in science and technology. Mention books, journals, websites, or podcasts you follow to enhance your understanding and expand your knowledge. Showcasing intellectual curiosity reveals your dedication to continuous learning.

8. Connecting to Caltech:

If you are applying to Caltech, make connections between your passion and their specific programs, faculty, or resources. Research the school's unique offerings, such as research opportunities, collaborative projects, or renowned professors, and explain how these align with your interests and goals.

Remember to convey your passion for science and technology through vivid storytelling, engaging language, and personal anecdotes. Let your enthusiasm shine through in every aspect of your essay, from the introduction to the conclusion. By showcasing your authentic passion and dedication, you can make a compelling case for why you are an ideal candidate for further studies in science and technology.

C. Be Authentic: 

Being authentic in your college essay is crucial as it allows you to present your true self to the admissions committee. Here are some key points to consider when striving to be authentic in your writing:

1. Reflect on Your Values and Experiences:

Take the time to reflect on your values, beliefs, and experiences that have shaped your identity. Consider the moments, challenges, or accomplishments that have had a significant impact on you. These insights will help you convey your authentic self in your essay.

2. Share Personal Stories:

Use personal stories and anecdotes to bring your essay to life. Be open and honest about your experiences, emotions, and lessons learned. Sharing vulnerable moments can demonstrate your authenticity and allow the reader to connect with you on a deeper level.

3. Use Your Own Voice:

Write in a way that reflects your unique voice and personality. Avoid trying to mimic a particular writing style or using vocabulary that doesn't feel natural to you. Your essay should sound like you, conveying your thoughts and ideas in a genuine manner.

4. Express Your Passion and Enthusiasm:

Write about topics, interests, or activities that genuinely excite you. Showcasing your enthusiasm and genuine passion for your chosen field of study or extracurricular pursuits will help the reader understand your genuine interest and commitment.

5. Be Honest and Transparent:

Don't be tempted to exaggerate or fabricate experiences or accomplishments. Admissions officers can quickly identify inauthentic content, and it can harm your chances of admission. Instead, focus on presenting an honest and sincere representation of who you are.

6. Embrace Your Flaws and Failures:

It's important to acknowledge and embrace your flaws and failures as part of your authentic self. Admissions committees appreciate vulnerability and the ability to reflect on challenges and personal growth. Discuss how you've learned from setbacks and how they have contributed to your personal development.

7. Stay True to Your Values:

Your values shape who you are as a person. Ensure that your essay reflects your core values and beliefs. Discuss how these values have influenced your decisions, actions, and aspirations.

8. Seek Feedback from Others:

While it's essential to maintain your authentic voice, it can be helpful to seek feedback from trusted individuals, such as teachers, counselors, or mentors. They can provide insights and suggestions to help you refine your essay while ensuring that your authentic self shines through.

Being authentic in your college essay allows you to stand out and make a genuine connection with the admissions committee. By sharing your unique stories, expressing your true passions, and staying true to yourself, you can create a compelling and memorable essay that truly represents who you are as an individual.

D. Demonstrate Fit: 

Demonstrating fit in your college essay is about showing the admissions committee why you are a perfect match for their institution. Here's how you can effectively demonstrate fit in your writing:

1. Research the College:

Before writing your essay, thoroughly research the college or university you are applying to. Gain an understanding of its mission, values, academic programs, campus culture, and any unique opportunities it offers. This knowledge will help you tailor your essay to highlight the aspects that align with your interests and goals.

2. Connect Your Interests and Goals:

Clearly articulate how the college's offerings align with your academic and career aspirations. Explain why the specific academic programs, research opportunities, or extracurricular activities at the college resonate with your interests. This demonstrates your genuine enthusiasm and motivation to contribute to and benefit from the college's resources.

3. Showcase Shared Values:

Identify and emphasize the shared values between yourself and the college. If the institution emphasizes community engagement, social justice, or environmental sustainability, provide examples of your own experiences, projects, or initiatives that reflect these values. Showcasing alignment in values helps establish a strong connection between you and the college.

4. Mention Faculty and Resources:

Highlight specific professors, researchers, or resources at the college that are relevant to your intended field of study. Explain how their expertise, research interests, or teaching methods align with your own academic interests and goals. This demonstrates that you have done your homework and are genuinely excited about learning from and collaborating with the college's faculty.

5. Relate Experiences to College Life:

Share experiences, accomplishments, or challenges that demonstrate your ability to thrive in the college environment. Discuss leadership roles, teamwork experiences, or community involvement that showcase your readiness to actively engage with the college's campus life and contribute to the community.

6. Connect with Alumni or Current Students:

If possible, reach out to alumni or current students to gain insights into their experiences at the college. Mention any conversations or interactions you've had and how those experiences solidified your interest in attending the institution. This demonstrates your proactive approach to researching and understanding the college community.

7. Show Long-Term Vision:

Articulate your long-term goals and how attending the college will help you achieve them. Discuss how the college's academic programs, internships, or networking opportunities align with your career aspirations. Demonstrating that you have a clear vision of how the college fits into your future plans can reinforce your commitment and dedication to the institution.

8. Convey Enthusiasm:

Throughout your essay, convey genuine enthusiasm and excitement about the college. Use descriptive language and specific examples to illustrate why you believe the college is the ideal place for you to learn, grow, and make a meaningful impact. Showcasing your enthusiasm will leave a positive impression on the admissions committee.

By effectively demonstrating fit in your essay, you can convince the admissions committee that you are not only a qualified applicant but also a perfect fit for their institution. Showcasing your understanding of the college's values, resources, and opportunities will help you stand out and increase your chances of admission.

E. Use Concrete Examples: 

Using concrete examples in your writing is an effective way to enhance the clarity, credibility, and impact of your essay. Here's how you can use concrete examples to strengthen your writing:

1. Provide Specific Details:

Instead of making general statements or using vague language, provide specific details and vivid descriptions. For example, instead of saying, "I had a challenging research experience," you can say, "During my summer internship at XYZ Research Institute, I conducted experiments on the effects of temperature variation on plant growth, collecting and analyzing data from over 100 samples."

2. Use Personal Anecdotes:

Share personal anecdotes or stories that support your points or illustrate your experiences. By providing real-life examples, you bring your writing to life and make it more relatable and engaging. These anecdotes can showcase your skills, achievements, challenges, or personal growth.

3. Quantify Achievements:

Whenever possible, use numbers, percentages, or statistics to quantify your achievements. For instance, instead of saying, "I contributed to increasing sales," you can say, "I implemented a marketing campaign that resulted in a 20% increase in sales within three months." Quantifying your accomplishments adds credibility and provides a clear picture of your impact.

4. Reference Specific Events or Experiences:

If you have participated in significant events, conferences, or competitions related to your field, mention them. Discuss your role, the outcomes, and how these experiences have shaped your perspective or skills. By referring to specific events, you demonstrate your active engagement and commitment to your area of interest.

5. Incorporate Research Findings or Studies:

When discussing academic topics or making arguments, support your statements with relevant research findings or studies. Cite reputable sources and provide specific details such as the authors, publication dates, or key findings. This shows that your arguments are grounded in evidence and adds credibility to your writing.

6. Draw from Personal Observations:

If you have observed real-world phenomena or trends that are relevant to your topic, share them in your essay. Provide specific examples of what you have observed, including the context, details, and any insights or conclusions you have drawn from these observations.

7. Discuss Relevant Projects or Assignments:

If you have completed noteworthy projects, assignments, or coursework, use them as concrete examples to support your claims or illustrate your abilities. Explain the objectives, methodologies, and outcomes of these projects, highlighting your skills, problem-solving abilities, or creativity.

8. Connect Examples to Your Overall Narrative:

Ensure that the examples you use align with the central theme or message of your essay. They should contribute to a coherent and compelling narrative that showcases your unique qualities, experiences, or perspectives.

By incorporating concrete examples into your writing, you provide tangible evidence of your experiences, skills, and achievements. This not only enhances the credibility of your essay but also helps the reader visualize your story and connect with your ideas on a deeper level. Remember to choose examples that are relevant, specific, and support the main points you are making in your essay.

Remember, the essay is an opportunity for the admissions committee to get to know you beyond your academic achievements. Use it as a platform to showcase your passions, values, and intellectual curiosity. Be confident in your abilities, be genuine, and let your personality shine through your essays.

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California Institute of Technology (Caltech) 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 3

You Have: 

California Institute of Technology (Caltech) 2023-24 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: 3 essays of 200 words; 1 essay of 400 words; 3 short optional essays

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Community , Activity , Oddball , Why , Short Answer

In addition to the personal essay in the Common Application or the Coalition Application, applicants to Caltech must complete required supplemental short-answer essays. These are questions that the Admissions Committee has devised to get to know you better as a student, scientist, and person, and ascertain who you’ll be on our campus. 

We don’t want essay writing to be intimidating, but we know it often is. We have put together some advice to help you get started writing your Caltech supplemental essays, so you can worry less and enjoy the application process.

Because of the rigorous courses in the core curriculum, caltech students don’t declare a major until the end of their first year. however, some students arrive knowing which academic fields and areas already most excite them, or which novel fields and areas they most want to explore., if you had to choose an area of interest or two today, what would you choose , please indicate your proposed area of interest at caltech. [choose an option from a dropdown list].

There’s only one trick to selecting a major or generating a straightforward list of your academic interests: be honest. If you already know what you want to major in or have it narrowed down to two choices, you’re set! Don’t waste time trying to strategize because choosing anything other than your true interests would be a misrepresentation of who you are and a disservice to yourself and the admissions office. This assignment will, no doubt, be most challenging for the undecideds, but ask yourself: how can you use this opportunity to reveal something about what excites you intellectually or academically? 

Why did you choose that area of interest?  (200 words)

You’ve only got 200 words, but if you chose wisely in the previous question, answering this one should be easy as pie. Whether you listed one or two interests, your goal here is to tell a cohesive story about your intellectual curiosity. Ideally, you should try to recount an anecdote that illustrates your engagement with your chosen field or demonstrates your ability to link together seemingly disparate fields. Perhaps you’re interested in both philosophy and astrophysics because each offers a way for you to contemplate our place in the universe. This is a great opportunity for you to explain how your intellectual interests relate to who you are as a person. Don’t waste it!

At Caltech, we investigate some of the most challenging, fundamental problems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Identify and describe two STEM-related experiences from your high school years, either in or out of the classroom, and tell us how and why they activated your curiosity. What about them made you want to learn more and explore further? (200 words each)

Stem experience/activity #1* , stem experience/activity #2*.

For these two short answer responses, we recommend using concrete sensory details to pull your reader into the story. Strong responses will not only describe the project at hand, but also make the readers feel like they’re in the room where it happened (“the room where it happened” – Hamilton ). What about the project captured your attention and curiosity? How did you develop your skills or interest in STEM as a result of your participation? How did this experience lay the foundation for your future STEM-related pursuits? If you’re applying to Caltech, we’re willing to bet you have a few experiences to choose from, so we recommend writing about the two that were most intellectually engaging for you.

The creativity, inventiveness, and innovation of Caltech’s students, faculty, and researchers have won Nobel Prizes and put rovers on Mars. But Techers also imagine smaller scale innovations every day, from new ways to design solar cells to how to 3D print dorm decor. How have you been a creator, inventor, or innovator in your own life? This question can be answered as a written response (200-250 words).*

Admissions is seeking to invite movers and shakers to campus who are excited and motivated to turn their dreams into reality. Whether you’ve been experimenting with robotics or spending your summers researching ways to integrate renewable energy into daily life, this is the place to share your story. Show admissions that you are not only planning to be an innovator, but have already taken steps to incorporate this approach in your day-to-day activities. The more specific details you can incorporate into your essay, the more sincere and personal it will feel (and be!). 

Caltech’s mission – to cultivate learning, discovery, and innovation for the benefit of humanity – relies on its community members embracing our Mission-Based Values, which include:

1) openness and enthusiasm for having preconceptions challenged, 2) respect and appreciation for the idea that, while we are all members of the same community, the opportunities we’ve had to develop, showcase, and apply our talents have not been equal, 3) passion for the ideal that science can and should meaningfully improve the lives of others, share what one or more of these values evokes for you.* (400 words).

For this prompt, Caltech wants to know how its mission resonates with you, so read over their values, then think about how they overlap with your own. This could be a great opportunity to recycle an essay you’ve written about engaging in conversation with someone who holds opposing beliefs (Value 1), embracing diversity and inclusion (Value 2), or your love for all things science (Value 3). If you don’t have any material to recycle here, don’t fret, odds are you have something to say about at least one of these three values. Maybe you’ve been developing and testing your hypotheses since you were a little kid and you are just as excited when they prove true as when they are proved wrong! Perhaps inclusivity and equity are important to you because you know what it’s like not to have the same opportunities as your peers and you’ve worked hard to achieve your goals regardless. Whatever your story is, be sure to avoid generalizations and, instead, provide concrete examples. For example, anyone can write that they are ambitious and resilient, but not everyone is going to be able to exhibit those traits with real-life examples. Specifics are what stick in admissions’ minds!

We know, we know … you see optional and start to wonder if we mean it. But in this section, we truly do! See these as completely optional opportunities to show us more of your personality. 

Optional. we promise., if there are aspects of your life or social or personal identity that you feel are not captured elsewhere in this application, please tell us about them below.  (150 words).

Caltech knows that you are a multifaceted person, that your identity cannot be boiled down to nuggets of information on an application. That’s why admissions is giving you this (albeit small) space to expand on an aspect of your identity. Scroll through your application (personal statement, activity list, major selection) and take a moment to think about what you haven’t been able to include yet. Perhaps you want to write about your identity as a first-born daughter of immigrants or the daily yoga practice that grounds you and enables you to better connect with people and places around you. Regardless of what you choose to write about, you don’t have a lot of words to play with, so we recommend brevity!

Did you have a hard time narrowing it down to just one interest or hobby? We understand – Caltech students like to stay busy, too – tell us about another hobby or interest! (50 words)

This is a great place to write about a hobby or interest that is, maybe, newer to you, one you’ve spent less time on. Have you been learning how to play guitar? Did you start taking kayaking lessons this summer? You only have 50 words for this response, so try not to choose a topic that will require too much explaining. Instead, dive right into what makes you lose track of time!

Have you had any extenuating circumstances (such as limited course selection, inconsistent grades, or disruptions), that have affected your coursework, but that are not described elsewhere in your application? If so, tell us about them here. (150 words)

This is Caltech’s version of the Additional Info essay, which means that, unless you have something crucial to explain to admissions, and there is absolutely NOWHERE else on the application for you to write about it, you should skip this essay. Think about it: if you were an admissions officer, would you really want to read one more essay per applicant? That being said, this essay is perfect for students who have encountered extenuating circumstances and need an opportunity to explain them. In fact, we recommend saving those details for an Additional Info essay, so that you can use the rest of your application to highlight other parts of your amazing personality. So, if something has happened that affected your academic performance, this is a great opportunity to give the 4-1-1 (that means “information” because, in the Stone Age of the late 1900s, we used our rotary phones instead of the internet). 

Some Caltech applicants engage in STEM competitions locally, nationally, or internationally (e.g., AIME, Science Olympiad, International Science Olympiads). If you have received any STEM honors or awards, list them here (with scores, if applicable).

This prompt is as dry as they come. If you’ve earned any STEM honors or awards, this is the place to list them. If you don’t have anything to add here, feel free to skip this prompt altogether!

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Writing the Caltech Supplemental Essays 2021-2022

Padya Paramita

August 24, 2021

If you’re planning to apply to the California Institute of Technology, one of the key ways to distinguish yourself from fellow STEM-oriented applicants is to take full advantage of the Caltech supplemental essays 2021-2022 . Use the prompts provided by this competitive Pasadena institution to show how you hope to grow as a young scientist and to describe the ways you would contribute to the Caltech campus.

The supplemental questions are designed to learn more about your interests and goals within STEM disciplines, as well as determine how you would fit in with the collaborative and creative Caltech campus. To guide you through the four Caltech supplemental essays 2021-2022 , I’ve outlined the prompts, the dos and don’ts of your responses, and more tips to ensure a successful essay-writing process.

Prompts for the Caltech Supplemental Essays 2021-2022

Describe three experiences and/or activities that have helped develop your passion for a possible career in a STEM field. (10-120 words each)

The first question in the Caltech supplemental essays 2021-2022 may just require a short response, but that doesn’t mean your answer is any less important. Think about ways to frame your three most significant activities related to science, technology, engineering, and math. Don’t be tempted by the minimum word count of “10” and just name the activities. You need to stand out from thousands of applicants who bring a lot of experience in STEM areas. In your answer, add a sentence showing how each one helped you realize that this is the field for you. If you have space, note how you have made an impact in the activity, whether you’ve involved a greater community, and how you hope to continue your STEM education in relevance to the activity. 

While you have been asked to describe three different activities, they should have some sort of connection to each other, as you don’t have enough space to go over multiple fields you enjoy. Colleges appreciate when your interests are specialized. Moreover, a connection between the three allows you to convey a more elaborate picture of yourself, letting admissions officers know exactly how you would contribute to Caltech. Think about what the combination of your chosen entries conveys about you. This could range from highlighting your teamwork skills to reflecting on your specific niche interest in STEM. Making sure your answers aren’t all over the place is a good way to stay organized when tackling multiple supplemental essays. 

Much like the life of a professional scientist or engineer, the life of a "Techer" relies heavily on collaboration. Knowing this, what do you hope to explore, innovate, or create with your Caltech peers? (250-400 words)

Even though this question doesn’t specifically ask “Why Caltech,” admissions officers want to know that you have made a well-informed decision in applying. Your essays should be tailored to Caltech - they shouldn’t be applicable to other STEM-focused colleges such as MIT or Harvey Mudd as well. The school wants to see that you’re an ambitious individual, and they want to learn how you work in a team and where your interests within STEM lie. 400 words should be enough to get your points across, but at the same time, you have to use your allotted space wisely.

Think about your favorite topics within STEM and your biggest goals. How have you worked to achieve them so far? Mention experiences that reflect your collaboration skills. However, the majority of your essay should focus on how you hope to bring your skills to the Caltech campus, and how you hope to engage the Caltech community in your endeavors. Mention any specific courses, research opportunities, and programs that appeal to you, emphasizing how working alongside your peers in these initiatives can encourage growth and help you get closer to achieving your goals. Don’t miss out on the chance to let admissions officers see that you have done the research and know about the different opportunities available at the university. 

Caltech students are often known for their sense of humor and creative pranks. What do you like to do for fun? (250-400 words)

The third prompt among the Caltech supplemental essays 2021-2022 diverts from the academic approach. Admissions officers want to know how you would fit into the community. Since the question specifically mentions sense of humor and creative pranks, Caltech would appreciate any examples which showcase a playful of you. Now if you’re not the number one jokester in your high school, that’s okay. You could still find ways to depict your humorous and creative side.

Pick one or two activities that you enjoy the most - and bring up any anecdotes that portray you as a fun and creative individual. Remember to stay away from activities that you think the admissions officers want to hear. If you don’t spend your free time drawing portraits or making films don’t write about that. Nor should you say that you enjoy eating and sleeping unless you have a very unique take on these everyday activities. Think about what you like to do when you have a long weekend, or what you do when you have the most fun with your friends. Find innovative ways to bring light to a side of you that isn’t mentioned in the rest of your application. 

Download all supplemental essay prompts here!

The process of discovery best advances when people from various backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives come together. How do you see yourself contributing to the diversity of Caltech's community? (Your response should range between 250-400 words)

The word “diversity” goes beyond your background. Yes, you can be diverse in your race and ethnicity, but you can also distinguish yourself through unique activities and experiences. Since most Caltech applicants are skilled in math and science, your answer to this question can help distinguish you from peers with similar academic interests. After all, Caltech doesn’t want every single student to bring the same attributes. To brainstorm experiences that separate you from the rest of the highly talented applicant pool, you need to jot down some standout experiences you’ve had. This could range from aspects of your identity such as your ethnicity or sexual orientation to an unusual extracurricular activity or hobby, such as calligraphy or competitive eating.

Don’t use up all of the allotted space describing the part of yourself that you’ve chosen to highlight. Discuss anecdotes that clarify to the admissions officers why this quality makes you exceptional. Finally, remember the prompt: Caltech wants to know how this trait can help you contribute to the campus. You should be specific in exactly how and where you are going to contribute, instead of broadly alluding to being a valuable Caltech community member. Will this part of you help you make standout additions to classroom discussions or extracurricular activities? Your essay should focus on connecting the way your perspective has been shaped to how you can make an impact on your fellow Techers.

Additional Tips to Answer the Caltech Supplemental Essays 2021-2022

• Make Sure You’ve Done School Research - You may have noticed that the Caltech supplemental essays 2021-2022 don’t ask an explicit “Why Caltech” question. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t thoroughly explore the Caltech website before sitting down to write your responses. You need to know what makes the school unique and which resources call out to you the most. This knowledge will come in handy when writing your essays, as you’ll know how to tailor them to demonstrate knowledge of programs and opportunities at this prestigious institution.
• Prioritize Adding New Information About Yourself - The Caltech supplemental essays 2021-2022 are geared for the reader to get to know you better. If you repeat topics you’ve already covered in your activities list or Common App personal statement, you’ll go against the whole purpose of these essays! Make sure answers to each prompt show a new side of you that admissions officers previously did not know. This helps add depth to your application, and convince the reader more and more that you could be a good fit for Caltech.
• Be as Specific in Your Interests as Possible - Here’s the thing: everyone applying to Caltech is interested in science and math. Adding generic statements about your love for STEM as a whole is far from enough. STEM covers a huge array of topics, and each category is broad in itself. In writing your Caltech supplemental essays 2021-2022 , you need to find ways to iterate which specific part of STEM you’re passionate about. Don’t just say engineering or biology. Go deeper. Is it molecular biology? Is it marine engineering? Make sure you give admissions officers the chance to understand the depth of your curiosity and knowledge.

Caltech admissions officers want to know that you’re not just applying for the sake of attending any strong STEM school. Use the Caltech supplemental essays 2021-2022 to convince admissions officers that not only have you made a well-informed decision, but you would make valuable contributions if accepted to this selective institution.

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