California Institute of Technology vs. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Caltech posts the lower headline rate, admitting about 2.6% of applicants against MIT's 4.5%, though class size drives most of that gap. Caltech draws roughly 13,900 applications and enrolls only about 218 first-years, while MIT draws more than 28,000 and enrolls about 1,106, so MIT extends offers to far more students (roughly 1,284 to Caltech's 356) at the higher percentage. Both rank among the most selective schools anywhere, and Caltech's smaller seat count is what pushes its rate down.

Both require standardized testing, but only MIT publishes an admitted-student score range right now. MIT's enrolled first-years posted a middle-50% SAT of 1520–1570 and ACT of 34–36. Caltech reinstated its testing requirement for Fall 2026 applicants after several test-free years, and since its most recent published class (Fall 2024) applied without scores, it has not yet released SAT or ACT ranges under the new policy.

Effectively a tie for families with need, since both meet 100% of demonstrated financial need. MIT charges a bit less on tuition and fees, about $64,730 against Caltech's $68,708, while Caltech's average need-based aid package runs larger, roughly $74,780 to MIT's $69,036. A slightly larger share of MIT first-years receive need-based aid (about 54% versus 49% at Caltech), and for higher-need applicants the net cost at either school lands well below the sticker.

MIT runs far larger, about 4,535 undergraduates to Caltech's 987, more than four times the size. Both keep the same 3-to-1 student-faculty ratio and house essentially all students on campus, so the contrast comes down to scale rather than class size. MIT's enrollment supports more majors, clubs, and courses, while Caltech's under-1,000 undergraduate body makes for a tighter, more concentrated community.

Caltech concentrates the more tightly of the two. Computer science (about 41% of degrees), engineering (31%), and the physical sciences (14%) account for the large majority of what it grants, with little outside STEM. MIT leads with the same core, computer science (29%) and engineering (27%), but reaches further into mathematics (14%), interdisciplinary programs (9%), and the physical sciences (7%), granting a wider mix beyond them. So Caltech delivers an almost entirely science-and-engineering curriculum, while MIT wraps that same core inside a broader catalog.

Only MIT has it. Caltech runs no fraternities or sororities, channeling student life through its undergraduate house system instead. At MIT, Greek life forms a real part of campus social life, with about 41% of men in fraternities and 25% of women in sororities. Both house essentially all undergraduates in campus or affiliated housing, so the difference lies in social structure rather than whether students live on campus.