Caltech or MIT: Where to study in USA?

California Institute of Technology (Caltech) vs Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

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Sonal Vaid

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California Institute of Technology popularly known as CalTech is a well-renowned research institute for Science and Engineering. It is one of the hardest institutions to gain admission in USA.has achieved the #1 position in education subcategory of America’s best employers according to Forbes, 2022. The university provides extensive career support to its students through the Career Development Center.Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private institution located in Cambridge, have consistently demonstrated the university's enduring academic excellence. Ranking #1 in the world, Massachusetts Institute of Technology is globally acknowledged for its affordability.

Overview Comparison
California Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Collegedunia Score8.3 Out of 109 Out of 10
ranking (overall)# 10 QS World University 2025
# 7 Times Higher Education 2024
# 7 US News 2024
# 1 QS World University 2025
# 1 QS World University 2024
# 1 QS World University 2024
Subject Strength# 7 for Engineering by Times Higher Education 2024
# 21 for Data Science and Analytics by QS World University 2024
# 140 for Medicine by QS World University 2024
# 1 for Engineering by QS World University 2024
# 1 for Data Science and Analytics by QS World University 2024
# 5 for Medicine by QS World University 2024
ProgramsUG Programs -27
PG Programs -13
Doctorate Programs -16
UG Programs -48
PG Programs -41
Doctorate Programs -30
Acceptance Rate3.0 %4.0 %
Exam ScoreSAT-1530
GRE-310
IELTS-7
PTE-65
SAT-1510
TOEFL-90
Cost to StudyAverage Tuition Fees   56364
[For UG Program]
Average Tuition Fees  56364
[For PG Program]
Hostel + Meal - 32373 Per Year
Average Tuition Fees   57590
[For UG Program]
Average Tuition Fees  57590
[For PG Program]
Hostel + Meal - 24390 Per Year
placement (average package)

Annual salary offered is 111,000 USD per annum and ROI is 7.9%. Top recruiters are Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Apple Computer Inc, etc. Graduate Employability Rankings (2020): #74. Doctorate students were the highest-paid ($138,000-154,000). 


Average Salaries Of Degree:

  • Executive MBA : $192,000 
  • Masters in Management : $178,000 
  • MBA : $175,000 
  • Doctorate : $170,000 
  • PhD : $169,000 
  • Masters in Science : $140,000 

application requirements

International students can apply through Common App and Coalition Application. When applying through the latter, you need to provide additional CalTech questions. Teacher evaluations are mandatory. 

Letter of recommendations (two, preferrably from teachers of subjects maths and science or humanities)
Student profile
Creative portfolio
Interview
 

Campuses and B-SchoolsNAMIT Sloan School of Management
CollegeDunia Reviews7.9/10 Read 3 reviews-
General Facts Comparison
General FactsCalifornia Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Type of UniversityUniversity
University
Established1920
1861
Student:Faculty Ratio3:1
3:1
Male:Female54% Male, 46% Female54% Male, 46% Female
Location Facts

124-acre campus located in Pasadena, California. The campus lies on the northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is at a walking distance from Pasadena Playhouse District and Old Town Pasadena.  


Lying between central and kendall squares across Charles River from Boston’s Back bay. Small instituition with close knit student body postioned to collaborate and contribute to neighbors


Library

Has Sherman Fairchild Library; Includes print collections on Applied Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, etc. These six libraries together offer 412,217 records and collections to explore from. As per the library catalogs, you can access up to 412,271 resources. 


More than 5 million items, with over 21,000 MIT theses
478 online database
17,000 journals
55,000 electronic journals


Campus Life

It is Pasadena’s largest employer; Has Caltech Today and Caltech Matters to update students about events of the university; Has Diversity Centre, Wellness Centre, Performing and Visual Arts Centre etc. You can enjoy or indulge in 20 varsity sports and various theatre, music, art groups. 80% of students (UG) are a part of athletic teams and 65% play a musical instrument.  


Over 450 co-curricular organizations, Society for Women Engineers, LGTQ+ community, Black stuents union, 33 varsity sports, The Tech (student newspaper), The Byte (graduate student publication), religious organizations, around 43 sororities, fraternities and independent living groups.


Hostel#Off campus (not with family) - $13293
#On campus - $14796
#Off campus (with family) - $4284
#Rooms - $10430
#Rooms - $8000
Famous Alumni

Over 22 Nobel Laureattes, 6 Turing Award winners; Edwin McMillan (synthesized first transuranium element), Donald Knuth (father of the analysis of algorithms), Harrison Schmitt (Astronaut), Arnold Beckman (invented the pH meter), William Shockley (father of Silicon Valley), etc.


85 Nobel laureates, 58 National Medal of Science Winners, 29 National Medal of Technology and Innovation Winners
Kofi Annan (Former secretary general of UN), Buzz Aldrin (former Apolo 11 astronaut & fighter pilot), Benjamin Netanyahu (Iraesli Prime Minister), Amar Gopal Bose (Owner of Bose), etc


City Life

Pasadena is located 15 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. Some of the top companies in Pasadena are Jacob’s Engineering Group, Green dot corporation, Tetra Tech, Wesco Financial, etc. It has a wide variety of comedy clubs, outdoor cafes, night clubs, etc.  You can shop around Rose Bowl Flea market. Unemployment rate of Pasadena for July 2020 is 16.80%


Cambridge- city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts; City is part of the Boston metropolitan area; home to a huge student community; Average salaries offered within the state are up to 97,5000 USD; Famous tourist attractions: Charles River, Harvard Square, Mount Auburn Cemetery, MIT Museum, CambrdgeSide, John Harvard Statue, Sanders Theatre; Unemployment rate- 2.1% (Dec 2019)


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