Living near LA, you encounter many famous universities. UCLA and USC are well-known, and their campuses are quite large.

However, there is one school with a name that stands tall globally, despite having a student body much smaller than most universities.

That school is Caltech, the California Institute of Technology, located in Pasadena.

What surprises most about Caltech is its size. With around 1,000 undergraduates and fewer than 2,500 students in total, it is a very small university.

Most public universities in the U.S. have at least 20,000 to 30,000 students, and even large universities typically have over 10,000 students, making Caltech quite small in comparison.

For instance, UCLA has over 40,000 students, with the current record showing 48,000.

Despite its small student body, Caltech is consistently mentioned alongside MIT and Stanford as one of the top universities in the world for science and engineering.

Even more impressive is the faculty-to-student ratio. Caltech is known for having a student-to-faculty ratio of about 3 to 1 at the undergraduate level.

When you think of a large university class with 100 students and one professor lecturing, the atmosphere is completely different.

With fewer students, there are many opportunities to talk directly with professors, ask questions, and participate in research. Notably, Caltech professors are not just instructors; they are scientists and engineers conducting world-class research in their fields.

Considering the scale of research funding is also interesting. While it may seem like a small liberal arts college based on student numbers, it is actually a place where world-class research is conducted in fields like astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, computer science, and aerospace engineering. The small size allows the school to focus its resources heavily on scientific and engineering research.

When discussing Caltech's reputation, it's hard not to mention the Nobel Prizes. Historically, many Nobel laureates have studied, taught, or conducted research here. Among them is Richard Feynman, a world-renowned physicist who was a long-time professor at Caltech. This is a school where scientists you read about in textbooks actually conducted research and taught students.

Caltech also has a strong connection that is hard for other universities to replicate: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Caltech manages and operates JPL for NASA, where projects like Mars rovers and solar system and deep space exploration are conducted. JPL is at the center of space exploration projects like the Mars rover Perseverance that we see in the news.

Thus, for Caltech students, research is not a distant concept. They study in an environment where what they learn is directly connected to actual space exploration and cutting-edge scientific research.

Of course, getting into such a school is incredibly difficult. Just having top grades in a U.S. high school does not guarantee admission. Students who show exceptional skills and interest in math and science apply from all over the world. Even after being admitted, the coursework is famously challenging.

Every time I think about Caltech, I find it interesting that a university's competitiveness is not determined by the number of students. With fewer than 2,500 students, its research scope extends beyond Earth to Mars. Although it is a small campus quietly located in Pasadena, it is a remarkably significant institution in the world of science and engineering.

When talking about Caltech, we cannot overlook NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL.

Caltech manages JPL for NASA, and this is where many of the Mars rover and various space exploration projects we see in the news are centered.

The Perseverance rover that landed on Mars is also a project led by JPL.

The ability to connect with an institution where cutting-edge space research is conducted while studying at a university is a tremendous advantage unique to Caltech.

Of course, getting in is incredibly challenging. It is not a school to take lightly just because you do well in school.

Especially students who demonstrate outstanding skills in math and science apply from all over the world.

There are many stories about how it is even harder once you are admitted. With so many exceptional students studying difficult math and science together, the academic intensity is well-known.

When you combine tuition and housing costs, the expenses can be significant. However, Caltech provides financial aid based on family circumstances, so it is not a school to give up on just because of the tuition amount. If you have the skills to be accepted, it is important to apply first and see what financial aid you can actually receive.

The location is also quite nice. Pasadena is not far from downtown LA, yet the atmosphere is much calmer and cleaner.

It is also the city where the world-famous Rose Parade is held every New Year.

So, when I think of Caltech, I realize that a university does not have to be large to be a great school. The student body is small, but the scale of research reaches into space.

It is quite amazing that such a university exists in the LA area.

For students who truly love math and science and dream of becoming researchers, Caltech is a small but incredibly powerful university worth aiming for.