A major plotline of the hit sitcom Modern Family is the long journey of figuring out where overachiever, brainiac kid Alex Dunphy will go to college. MIT? Harvard? Stanford? In the end, she chooses the California Institute of Technology. We don’t blame her: Caltech is the most selective college in the country, trumping even Harvard.

So now you’re probably worrying: Can my kid get in? We at Ivy Coach are going to help you answer that question. But first, let’s learn why Caltech is a place so many people are clawing to get into. 

About the Caltech

Caltech is located in Pasadena, just outside of Los Angeles. Caltech has only 971 undergraduate students, making it extremely small, smaller than most tiny liberal arts colleges. This is an intentional part of their philosophy: their a community who achieves together. 

They’re also a community who has fun together. They lead with this: “You’re going to be part of a community—one where everybody works hard, but that also takes a breather every now and then. In fact, the students who do best here already have some kind of outlet, such as theater, athletics, or the arts,” they say. So, if your kid is someone who works themselves to the bone, they might benefit from a leading school that embraces a California state of mind. 

The low student-faculty ratio (3:1) allows Caltech undergraduates to be involved with cutting-edge scientific research. In fact, at Caltech, there is at least one Ph.D.-level researcher for every undergraduate. Over 90% of undergraduates do student research, and about half get involved in their first year. And Caltech manages the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, linking students to real NASA missions. 

California Institute of Technology Admissions Requirements 

There’s no step-by-step instruction manual for getting into Caltech. That being said, Caltech is obviously looking for students who have the potential to be the world’s STEM leaders. They assess this potential in many ways, but chief among them are academic performance, test scores, and extracurricular achievement. Let’s look at what these features look like among Caltech admits. 

What Kind of GPA Is Necessary To Get Into Caltech?

The following is the class rank breakdown of Caltech’s Class of 2028 members, as reported in Caltech’s 2024-25 Common Data Set. Unfortunately, Caltech hasn’t reported any GPA data for recently admitted cohorts, so the class rank data below is the closest to ascertaining the GPA requirements for admission in Caltech’s holistic process.

Assessment	Percentage of Caltech Class of 2028
Percent in top tenth of high school graduating class	86.4%
Percent in top quarter of high school graduating class	97.7%
Percent in top half of high school graduating class	100%
Percent in bottom half of high school graduating class	0%
Percent in bottom quarter of high school graduating class	0%
Percent of total first-time, first-year (freshman) students who subCaltechted high school class rank:	20.2%

What Kind of SAT or ACT Scores Are Needed To Get Into Caltech? 

Caltech doesn’t publicly release the average SAT and ACT scores of its admitted classes. Based on its extreme selectivity, you can bet that these scores are off the charts, though. 

Caltech requires test scores, and it has a slightly convoluted way of evaluating them based on “faculty research and their understanding of how standardized test scores relate to student academic performance at Caltech.” According to Caltech, this research revealed that: 

• There was a small difference in a student’s grades at Caltech when they scored between a 780-800 SAT or a 35-36 ACT. This is called “Bucket A.” 
• There was a larger but still relatively small difference in a student’s grades at Caltech when they scored between a 750-770 SAT or a 33-34 ACT. This is called “Bucket B.” 
• There was a sizable difference in a student’s grades at Caltech when they scored a <750 math SAT or <33 math ACT or a <700 EBRW or <33 on the English exam of the ACT. This is called “Bucket C.” 

With that in mind, they use what they call the bucket system when reviewing scores in each section of the SAT or ACT. If your score falls in Bucket A or B, the admissions committee will not see whether you scored a 750 or 800 SAT (33 – 36 ACT), they will just know you’re in a range. If your score falls below a 750 SAT or 35 ACT (Bucket C), the individual exam score will be shown to the admissions committee.

Whew! It probably takes a Caltech student to comprehend all of that in one go. 

What Classes Do Students Need to Take to Get Into Caltech?

Caltech lists the following as their minimum academic preparation to be considered for admission:

• Four years of math, including one year of calculus 
• One year of physics
• One year of chemistry
• One year of biology (recommended)
• Four years of English
• Two years of history and/or social sciences courses (3+ years recommended)

What Kinds of Extracurriculars Does Caltech Like To See?

Depth over breadth! Caltech students are looking for people who are going to be leaders in STEM fields and industries. That means they want people who are already well on their way to becoming experts, not jacks of all trades who are also masters of none. 

Caltech, unlike its more traditional analog on the East Coast, likes students who, in addition to their STEM achievements, have something quirky about them. In their own words, these are the two features of all Caltech students: 

• Love STEM. Love it.
• Love something that isn’t STEM, too.

You might be wondering why they have this philosophy. Well, Caltech gets thousands of applications from talented, accomplished STEM students; they get so many great applicants, in fact, that they could fill their class dozens of times over if they were just looking for top-notch scientists and mathematicians. Since Caltech is a small school that prides itself on accomplishing things together, they want students who can make their community really feel full and vibrant. As they put it, “This would be a boring place if everybody wanted to hole up in the lab or library with no break.” 

California Institute of Technology Application Requirements

Caltech accepts the Common App. They ask for a letter of recommendation from a STEM teacher and, in accordance with their quirky approach, a recommendation from a humanities or social sciences teacher. They ask several supplemental questions and have already released their fall 2026 prompts. 

Who Should Students Ask For Letters of Recommendation For the Caltech? 

Caltech applicants should ideally ask a humanities teacher and a STEM teacher who they’ve had in their junior year, with whom they’ve developed a close relationship, and in whose class they’ve excelled. 

Does Caltech Require an Interview? 

You can cross this one off your list: they don’t even offer one! 

What Are the California Institute of Technology’s Application Deadlines? 

Restrictive Early Action applications to the California Institute of Technology are due November 1. Regular Decision applications are due January 5.  

How Ivy Coach Helps Students Get Into Caltech

If you’re interested in discerning if your child has a shot of getting into the California Institute of Technology, we recommend setting up Ivy Coach’s Strategy Session. Not only will you find out if your child has a chance of getting into Caltech, but you’ll receive a game plan of how your child can optimize their admission to the best school possible.