To apply for admission to Caltech,

please submit the Common Application

and the Caltech Transfer Common
Application Supplement, along with the
application fee of $65. The application
deadline is February 11, 2011. We
strongly encourage candidates to apply
online by going to commonapp.org.
The online versions of the Common
Application and the Caltech Transfer
Application Supplement are easy to use,
they ensure quick and accurate transfer
of your personal information to our
database, and online applicants have
the option of paying by credit card.
Candidates are required to submit the
Common Application and the Caltech
Transfer Common Application Supple-
ment together. Applications will not be
considered complete until both forms
are submitted together and via the
same submission method. All applica-
tion materials are imaged and evaluated
online. Submissions that are bound or
sent in folders may delay the application
process.
GENERAL TRANSFER
POLICIES
o Applications for transfer admission
will be considered from students
who have completed their secondary
school education and have subse-
quently enrolled at a college or uni-
versity and earned credit for courses.
Students concurrently enrolled in a
secondary school and a college or
university should apply for freshman
admission. Freshman applications
are due the beginning of January
each year, and are available from the
Undergraduate Admissions Office
website.
o Applications for transfer admission
will not be considered from students
who have already completed a bache-
lors degree (or the equivalent) in any
subject. Such students must apply
for graduate admission. Graduate
applications are available from the
Graduate Office, gradoffice.caltech.
edu.
o Transfer students are admitted for
the fall term only.
ACADEMIC
PREREQUISITES
All Caltech students take a common
core curriculum that includes five terms
of math, five terms of physics, two terms
of chemistry, and one term of biology
regardless of their major (option at
Caltech). Transfer students are expected
to have followed the Caltech core cur-
riculum as closely as possible. The core
curriculum is described on the third
page of these instructions. There are no
specific requirements for topics to be
covered in humanities and social science
classes.
The Upperclass Admissions Com-
mittee strongly recommends that every
applicant complete at least one year
of calculus and calculus-based physics
at your postsecondary institution before
applying as a transfer student.
TESTS AND EXAMS
Transfer applicants are not required to
submit SAT scores. However, the Test of
English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
is required of transfer applicants whose
native language is not English and who
have not been studying in an English-
speaking country for two or more years.
The TOEFL should be taken by the
January test date.
To receive information about overseas
TOEFL administrations, including regis-
tration forms, please use the following
contact information:
TOEFL Services
Educational Testing Service
P.O. Box 6151
Princeton, NJ 08541-6151, USA
PHONE 609.771.7100
FAX 609.771.7500
WEB toefl.org
EMAIL [email protected]
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Caltech
T R A N S F E R A P P L I C A T I O N I N S T R U C T I O N S
F A L L 2 0 1 1
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Instructions
for Transfer Applicants
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Mail Code 10-90, Pasadena, CA 91125
626.395.6341
The Transfer Entrance Exam
All transfer applicants are required
to take Caltech Transfer Entrance
Examinations in mathematics and phys-
ics. There is an exam for each of these
two subjects. You will take
these exams on your current campus,
proctored by a faculty member of
your choosing. In March, after the
Undergraduate Admissions Office has
received your completed application
and entrance examination proctor
agreement form, you will receive further
instructions regarding the exams.
Sample exams or exam questions
are not available. Students who have
taken at least one year of university-level
course work in each examined discipline
should be sufficiently well-prepared
to take the transfer exams. The math-
ematics exam covers basic calculus,
with additional sections on linear alge-
bra, vector calculus, and differential
equations. In physics, the exam covers
mechanics and electromagnetism.
You will be sent further details on the
content and format of each exam after
the Undergraduate Admissions Office
has received your completed applica-
tion and entrance examination proc-
tor agreement form. Note that the
Upperclass Admissions Committee
gives consideration to the level of each
applicants course preparation when it
evaluates exam performance. Exams
taken for admission in one year are not
considered for admission in any subse-
quent year. The transfer exams must
be completed and in the possession of
the Caltech Undergraduate Admissions
Office on or before April 1, 2011.
TRANSFER CREDIT
The scores from the entrance exams are
used for admissions purposes only and
are not used to determine course credit.
Any courses for which enrolling students
will receive credit, and students corre-
sponding class standing at Caltech, will
be determined by Caltech faculty at the
time of enrollment. Therefore, it is not
possible to know in advance how much
course credit will be awarded upon
matriculation at Caltech.
THE TRANSFER
APPLICATION
The Common Application and
the Caltech Transfer Common
Application Supplement
The Common Application and the
Caltech Transfer Common Application
Supplement are available online at
commonapp.org. Some of the questions
we ask on the supplement are similar
to the questions asked on the Common
Application; please repeat the answers
to similar questions again on our
Application Supplement.
If you feel you do not have enough
space to answer any of the ques-
tions asked, please feel free to use the
Supplement Additional Information sec-
tion (if applying online) or add additional
sheets to your Supplement (if applying
by mail). Please follow our format for
additional information and do not refer
us to an attached resume. If you submit
the Supplement online, we strongly
suggest that you use the print preview
option to look at your materials before
submitting them.

Evaluation Forms
Caltech requires Faculty Evaluation
forms from two math or science, or
engineering faculty. The College Official
Report must be completed by a school
official, i.e., a counselor or academic
advisor. A proctor agreement form is
also required from the faculty mem-
ber you select to proctor your transfer
entrance exam. This document will
be mailed to you after we receive your
transfer application.
Research Papers
If you have research experience in math,
science or engineering, you are welcome
to submit a copy of any research paper
or report you have written. Papers must
be submitted as PDF files and emailed
to: [email protected].
Please clearly mark your full name and
birth date on your submission. To assure
consideration, papers should be submit-
ted no later than the application dead-
line. Papers that do not have your name
and birthdate clearly indicated on the
first page of the paper submission may
not be considered.
Other Materials
If you would like to submit additional
materials (CDs, music, written submis-
sions, or art samples) you may mail
them to our office postmarked by our
application deadline. Please note that
we may not always use supplemental
materials in our evaluation process but
sometimes find them helpful. All supple-
mentary materials should be clearly
labeled with your full name and date of
birth. Supplemental materials cannot
be returned. While Caltech requires two
math or science professor recommen-
dation letters, you are also encouraged
to submit a letter of evaluation from
mentors or supervisors you have worked
with during your research experience.
FINANCIAL AID
INFORMATION
U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents
To apply for Caltech need-based aid,
please complete the CSS PROFILE
online at https://profileonline.colleg-
eboard.com by January 15, 2011. Use
Caltechs code: 4034.
Complete the FAFSA (Free
Application for Federal Student Aid)
online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. The
form will be available on January 1, 2011
and must be submitted by January 15,
2011. Fill out the form using Caltechs
federal code: 00113.
International Students
Financial assistance is currently not
available for international transfer and
3/2 candidates. International transfer
students must demonstrate the abil-
ity to pay the full cost of attendance for
each year they expect to attend Caltech.
The cost of attendance for 2010-2011 is
$52,389.
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Caltech Core Curriculum
First-Year Courses:
Ma 1 abc: Calculus of One and Several Variables and Linear Algebra. Review of
calculus. Complex numbers, Taylor polynomials, infinite series.
Comprehensive presentation of linear algebra. Derivatives of vec-
tor functions, multiple integrals, line and path integrals, theorems of
Green and Stokes.
Ph 1 abc: Classical Mechanics and Electromagnetism. Introductory classical and
modern physics. Newtonian mechanics, electricity and magnetism,
special relativity. Emphasis on physical insight and problem solving.
Ch 1 ab: General Chemistry. Electronic structure of atoms, periodic properties,
ionic substances, covalent bonding, Lewis representations of mole-
cules and ions, shapes of molecules, Lewis acids and bases, Bronsted
acids and bases, hybridization and resonance, bonding in solids,
chemical equilibria, oxidation and reduction, thermodynamics, kinetics,
intro-
duction to organic chemistry and the chemistry of life.
Ch 3 a: Fundamental Techniques of Experimental Chemistry. Introduces the basic
principles and techniques of synthesis and analysis and develops the
laboratory skills and precision that are fundamental to experimental
chemistry.
Bi 1: Drugs and the Brain. This course introduces nonbiologists to recent
advances in biology, biomedical science, and applied biology.
One of the following menu courses: Astronomy 1, Geology 1, Math 7, Chemistry
2, or Environmental Science and Engineering 1.
H&SS: Humanities and Social Science electives.
Caltech Core Curriculum
Second-Year Courses:
Ma 2 ab: Probability, Statistics, and Differential Equations. Probability, statistics,
ordinary differential equations.
Ph 2 ab: Statistical Physics, Waves, and Quantum Mechanics. Statistical physics,
classical waves, introductory quantum mechanics.
or
Ph12 abc: Waves, Quantum Physics, and Statistical Mechanics. Classical waves;
wave mechanics, interpretation of the quantum wave-function,
one-dimensional bound states, scattering, and tunneling; thermody-
namics, introductory kinetic theory, and quantum statistics.
Lab: Additional introductory laboratory.
H&SS: Humanities and Social Science electives.
OPTIONS (Majors) and
CONCENTRATIONS of STUDY
Biology
o Biology
Chemistry and Chemical
Engineering
o Chemical Engineering*
o Chemistry
Biochemistry
Chemical Physics
Inorganic Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Engineering and Applied Science
o Applied and Computational Mathematics
o Applied Physics
o Bioengineering
o Computer Science
o Control and Dynamical Systems
o Electrical Engineering
Communications and Signal Processing
Control
Electronic Circuits
Microwave and Radio Engineering
Optoelectronics
Solid-State Electronics
o Engineering and Applied Science
Computational & Neural Systems
Environmental Science and Engineering
Materials Science
Structural Mechanics
o Mechanical Engineering
Geological and Planetary Sciences
o Geobiology
o Geochemistry
o Geology
o Geophysics
o Planetary Science
Humanities and Social Sciences
o Business Economics and Management
o Economics
o English
o History
o History and Philosophy of Science
o Philosophy
o Political Science
Physics, Math, and Astronomy
o Astrophysics
o Mathematics
o Physics
Independent Studies Program
This program allows students to design, with
faculty advice, a customized course of study to
investigate topics not covered by any of the
traditional options.
* Chemical Engineering majors select 1 of
4 tracks: biomolecular, environmental, process
systems, or materials.
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Transfer Admission Checklist
The following is a checklist of all the documents that are required
as part of the transfer admissions process. The postmark deadline
for each item, with the exception of completed transfer entrance
examinations, is February 11, 2011.
A complete transfer application includes:
o Common Application for Transfer Admission and
Caltech Transfer Common Application Supplement
o Entrance Examination Proctor Agreement Form
o Math/Science/Engineering Faculty Evaluation Forms
(two are required)
o College Officials Report
o Official academic transcripts from the last secondary
school attended, and all colleges or universities attended
o Topics and names of textbooks for all college math,
science, and engineering courses taken
o Application fee in the amount of $65 (U.S. dollars).
o Official TOEFL score (if applicable)
o Entrance Examinations in Mathematics and Physics
(exams will be sent to your proctor in March 2011; they
must be in the possession of the Caltech Undergraduate
Admissions Office on or before April 1, 2011).
o International Student Supplemental Form (if applicable)
admissions.caltech.edu
Questions?
If you have additional questions, we
would be happy to assist you. Please
feel free to contact the Office of
Undergraduate Admissions:
PHONE (626) 395-6341
FAX (626) 683-3026
EMAIL [email protected]
Contact a counselor:
admissions.caltech.edu/contact
Mailing address
(for paper applications, teacher
recommendation forms and supple-
mental materials):
California Institute of Technology
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Mail code 10-90
Pasadena, California 91125
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Caltech is committed to equal opportunity for all persons without regard to sex, race,
creed, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, gender
identity, sexual orientation, status as disabled veteran, a veteran of the Vietnam era or
other eligible veteran, and for otherwise qualified individuals with a disability. It is the
policy of Caltech to provide a work and academic environment free of discrimination.
Consistent with this policy, illegal harassment will not be tolerated at Caltech. Caltech
will take all reasonable steps to eliminate it in its work and academic environment.