I definitely like Caltech. It's a really difficult place, but you end up gaining a deeper, more rigorous theory-based scientific education than at any other undergraduate institution.

We sort of have a "work hard, play hard" attitude here, as students tend to find rather unusual ways to have fun and unwind. My Freshman year here, I averaged maybe 4.5 hours of sleep a night. Some of that was due to work (I pulled quite a few all-nighters), but a lot of it was because there were too many interesting things to do to make time for sleep. However, it is really easy to get wrapped up in social activities or trying to catch up on sleep, resulting in the workload becoming overwhelming (getting sick for a week can sometimes screw you over for an entire term). So, the best advice I can give is don't come here unless you're really serious about science. In my free time, I like to play video games, but even now in the middle of summer, I haven't played a video game in weeks.

That being said, Caltech is probably the best research university in the world, especially for undergraduates. That is why I love it here. I'm doing cutting-edge research, taking some of the most advanced courses available in my field, and grad school is still two years away.

Next spring, if you've gotten in, you should definitely come to Prefrosh Weekend. That's basically when the school gets to show off its program, and students get to show off how we enjoy ourselves.

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Journal for a Free Society: [link]

A scientist cannot be dismissive of new or unpopular ideas, for it is investigation of that which has not been considered which leads to discovery and understanding.

Chemistry is just advanced physics. That is, if you're doing it right.

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Journal for a Free Society: [link]

A scientist cannot be dismissive of new or unpopular ideas, for it is investigation of that which has not been considered which leads to discovery and understanding.