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Caltech Common Data Set 2025-26
CATest policy: Test-required: SAT or ACT required to be considered for admission; institutional exam used for placementCompare with other schools
Acceptance rate
3.8%
428 of 11,285
Early decision rate
No ED
SAT middle 50%
~1550–1580
ACT middle 50%
35–36
Who got into Caltech: GPA and SAT of reported applicants
Accepted 72Waitlisted 30Rejected 284Preview
Self-reported by 386 applicants on Reddit, so it leans toward strong applicants and isn't Caltech's official data. 11 with lower scores are off the chart but counted in the table. See your chances
See who got into Caltech
GPA and SAT of 386 reported applicants, accepted vs. rejected.
Unlock for $39, one timeAdmissions
| AppliedC1 | 11,285 |
| AdmittedC1 | 428 |
| EnrolledC1 | 248 |
| YieldC1 | 57.9% |
| Early decisionC21 | Not offered |
| Early actionC22 | Offered, counts not reported |
Waitlist
| Offered a placeC2 | 263 |
| Accepted a placeC2 | 211 |
| Admitted from waitlistC2 | 1 |
| Odds if you stay on the listC2 | 0.5% |
Test scores and GPA
| Submitted SATC9 | 78% |
| Submitted ACTC9 | 22% |
| SAT Reading & Writing (25th–75th)C9 | 760–780 |
| SAT Math (25th–75th)C9 | 790–800 |
| Average high school GPAC12 | — |
| GPA of 4.0C11 | — |
| GPA 3.75–3.99C11 | — |
| GPA 3.50–3.74C11 | — |
| GPA below 3.50C11 | — |
Cost and financial aid
| TuitionG1 | $68,574 |
| Required feesG1 | $3,255 |
| Food and housingG1 | $21,996 |
| Need fully met (first-years)H2 | 100% |
| Average % of need metH2 | 100% |
| Average need-based packageH2 | $69,491 |
| Average need-based grantH2 | $66,645 |
What admissions looks at
- Rigor of secondary school recordVery important
- Class rankImportant
- Academic GPAImportant
- Standardized test scoresVery important
- Application essayVery important
- Recommendation(s)Very important
- InterviewNot considered
- Extracurricular activitiesImportant
- Talent/abilityConsidered
- Character/personal qualitiesVery important
- First generationConsidered
- Alumni/ae relationNot considered
- Geographical residenceConsidered
- State residencyNot considered
- Religious affiliation/commitmentNot considered
- Volunteer workConsidered
- Work experienceConsidered
- Level of applicant's interestNot considered
From item C7.
Outcomes
| UndergraduatesB1 | 971 |
| First-year retentionB22 | 96% |
| 4-year graduation rateB | — |
| 6-year graduation rateB | 89.8% |
Notes on this filing
- Admissions applied/admitted/enrolled are sums of the men and women rows in C1 (7772+3513, 224+204, 136+112); no total printed. Unknown-sex rows blank.
- C2: waitlist counts mapped by position (offered 263, accepted 211, admitted 1); waitlist is not ranked.
- C21: early decision not offered. C22: early action offered, but applicant and admit counts are not printed.
- C8A: SAT or ACT required to be considered; C8F clarification blank. C8G lists institutional exam for placement only.
- C9: SAT composite percentiles are blank though ERW and math are printed. Submitter counts (190 SAT + 55 ACT = 245) differ from 248 enrolled first-time first-years.
- C11/C12: GPA bands and average are blank; C11 totals print 0.00, so all GPA fields are null.
- G1: costs are labeled 2026-2027 costs of attendance, though the CDS is the 2025-26 filing. First-year column used; fees 3255 first-year vs 2655 undergraduate.
- B4-B21: 6-year rate 89.79 is from the Fall 2019 cohort. The 4-year graduation rate is not printed.
- H2: pct_with_need_awarded_aid left null because the filing does not print that percentage. pct_need_fully_met = 104/104 (line h / line d), first-year column.
- H1/H2 aid data are 2025-26 estimated figures.
Source: Caltech Common Data Set 2025-26 . “—” means the college left the item blank.