Supplemental Application Essays
Fall 2027 Supplemental Application Essays
When you apply to Caltech through the Common App or QuestBridge Application, you will also submit the Caltech Specific Questions (for QuestBridge applicants, these questions come if you become a Match Finalist and you ranked Caltech). These questions change annually, are updated, and published in the summer.
The essays are an opportunity to tell us about yourself in your unique voice. There are no right or wrong answers but we do have some advice:
- Remember, Caltech is an unapologetic STEM institution. Literally, there is no way to write about too much STEM in your supplemental questions. So lean all the way in on the STEMiest of STEMmy topics (yep, those are made-up words but totally appropriate). Review our What We Look For page before you get started.
- Faculty at Caltech review files of the most competitive applicants. So don't worry that your science won't make sense to a lay-person because our faculty with PhDs conducting research that will change the world will understand what you're saying. We promise.
- If there is anything important about who you are, what you've done, or how you've experienced your life - we want to know about it. Holistic review means whole person review. We're here for whatever you want to share.
All Fall 2027 applicants will be asked to review Caltech's guidelines on the ethical use of AI before submitting their supplemental essays.
Required STEM Academic Interest Question
Caltech has a rigorous core curriculum and students don't declare a major until the end of their first year. However, some students arrive knowing which academic fields and areas already most excite them, or which novel fields and areas they most want to explore.
If you had to choose an area of interest or two today, what would you choose?
*Note that you are under no obligation to follow this choice if admitted.
Why did you choose your proposed area of interest? If you selected 'other', what topics are you interested in pursuing? (Min: 150 / Max: 200 words)
Required Short Essay Questions
Scholarly Character
How do you learn when there is no easy answer? Caltech's learning environment asks students to work through difficulty, collaborate around hard ideas, and contribute to one another's understanding. Use these responses to show us how you learn and grow.
Choose one of the following prompts: (Max: 200 words)
Option 1 -- COLLABORATION: STEM as shared learning
Tell us about a time your learning in STEM was shaped by another person or group — either because you needed help, offered help, changed your thinking through collaboration, or contributed to someone else's understanding. What did that experience teach you about learning and working with others?
or
Option 2 -- PROCESS: The thought behind the outcome
Tell us about a time your approach to a STEM problem, concept, or project mattered as much as the outcome. How did you work through uncertainty or persist creatively in tackling the problem? What would you still defend about your process, regardless of the outcome?
Scientific Drive
How does STEM come alive in your life through learning, pursuing, or making? Caltech faculty review applications, so feel free to get technical in your response!
Choose two of the following prompts: (Two Essays, Max: 200 words each
Option 1 -- LEARNING: STEM as a never-ending rabbit hole
Regardless of your STEM interest listed above, take this opportunity to nerd out and talk to us about whatever STEM rabbit hole you have found yourself falling into. Be as specific or broad as you would like.
Option 2 -- PURSUING: STEM as sustained intellectual engagement
Tell us about a STEM question, problem, idea, or project that has held your attention over time. What drew you to it, how have you pursued it, and what do you still want to understand?
Option 3 -- MAKING: STEM as creation
Tell us about something you created, tested, repaired, modeled, coded, built, or redesigned. What problem were you trying to solve and what did the process reveal to you?
Fun Question
Caltech students bring more than academic ability to the communities they join. What is something you would be excited to do, share, teach, make, start, or contribute as part of the Caltech community? (Min: 100 / Max: 150 words)
Optional Academic Short Answer Question
Caltech cares about context. Is there anything about your academic preparation, coursework, school context, or learning experiences that would help us better understand your readiness for Caltech?