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If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “You know, I think I’m really looking for a school that teaches students how to launch eggs using trebuchets,” then you should probably take a look at Caltech.
Well known for its strong science and engineering programs, nestled below the San Gabriel mountains near Pasadena, and linked to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech offers aspiring STEM students a fun, beautiful place to build a foundation for their future careers.
Because of that, Caltech is a very selective school, and you’ll want to spend a good amount of time developing strong responses to its supplemental essays. To explore how, check out the guide below.
If you want to get a clearer sense of what Caltech is looking for, you can explore an extensive, by-the-numbers look at its offerings, from enrollment and tuition statistics to student life and financial aid information, on its Common Data Set.
And a note that Caltech is pretty clear and direct about what it looks for in essays and what it looks for in students.
What are the Caltech supplemental essay prompts?
2024-2025 Required Short Answers:
Your STEM Future - STEM Academic Interests
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.
a) 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.
b) Why did you choose your proposed area of interest? If you selected 'other', what topics are you interested in pursuing? (Min:100/Max:200 words)
Your STEM Present: Curiosity
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. (Min:50/Max:150 words)
Your STEM Past: Prior Experiences
At Caltech, we investigate some of the most challenging, fundamental problems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We are interested in learning more about your engagement with STEM. Select one of the following two STEM Experience prompts to respond to:
a) Tell us how you initially found your interest and passion for science or for a particular STEM topic, and how you have pursued or developed your interest or passion over the last few years. (Min: 100/Max:200 words)
b) Tell us about a meaningful STEM-related experience from the last few years and share how and why it inspired your curiosity. (Min:100/Max:200 words)
Creativity in Action Question
The creativity, inventiveness, and innovation of Caltech's students, faculty, and researchers have won Nobel Prizes and put rovers on Mars. But Techers also imagine smaller-scale innovations every day, from new ways to design solar cells to how to 3D-print dorm decor to experimenting in the kitchen. How have you been a creator, inventor, or innovator in your own life? (Min: 100 / Max: 200 words)
Required Short Answer Questions
Now it’s time for a little fun! You have 250 words total to answer two of the four questions below. It’s up to you how you use your 250 words, whether that means you use exactly 125 words for each answer or you tell us about a niche interest in 30 words so you can spend 200 telling us about a core piece of your identity.
There is no ‘right’ way to choose which question to answer. If you’re all STEMmed out, feel free to tell us about a creative hobby. Or if you just can’t get enough math, tell us about a concept you can barely wrap your head around. Just remember the Caltech Honor Code and stick to 250 words for both answers combined.
- Hobby: What is an interest or hobby you do for fun, and why does it bring you joy?
- Teach: If you could teach a class on any topic or concept, what would it be and why?
- Identity: What is a core piece of your identity or being that shapes how you view and/or interact with the world?
- Concept: What is a concept that blew your mind or baffled you when you first encountered it?
(Two Essay Boxes, each with Min:1 Max: 201 words)
Optional Academic Short Answer Questions
Have you had any extenuating circumstances (such as limited course selection or disruptions) that have affected your coursework, but that are not described elsewhere in your application? If so, tell us about them here. (Min: 0/Max: 150 words)
How to Write Each Supplemental Essay Prompt for Caltech
how to write Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #1
a.) If you had to choose an area of interest or two today, what would you choose? (Select from the dropdown list provided)
(Dropdown: Please indicate your proposed area of interest at Caltech.)
(Dropdown: If you have one, please indicate your second area of interest at Caltech.)
b.) Why did you choose that area of interest? (200 words max)
This is a classic “Why Major” essay. You’ll find a step-by-step guide to writing this essay at this link, but here’s the short version:
Step #1: Imagine a mini-movie of the moments that led you to your interest in STEM and create a simple, bullet point outline.*
Step #2: Put your moments (aka the “scenes” of your mini-movie) in chronological order, as it’ll help you see how your interests developed. It also makes it easier to write transitions.
Step #3: Decide if you want to include a specific thesis that explicitly states your central argument—in this case what you want to study and why. This thesis can be at the beginning, middle, or end of your essay.
Step #4: Write a draft!
Important note before writing your response: When choosing your mini-moments, note that there’s potential for overlap in your answers to some of the other Caltech prompts, so consider carefully which experiences you’ll focus on for each prompt to avoid redundancy in your answers. Since this is Caltech, with an obvious emphasis on... tech, it’s possible the prompts were designed this way to urge you to show depth and diversity in your STEM interests and experiences.
Here’s a great example (written for another school but also applicable here).
Example:
I fell in love with computers at nine when I learned how to make a graphical turtle crawl across the screen, and I’ve written code every week since. I am self-taught in nine programming languages (my favorite is C++), which I learned through iteration and persistence. Teaching advanced algorithms at a programming bootcamp for the past two years allowed me to share my love of computer science with others.
My interest in CS runs deep—from studying memory virtualization to the beauty of the B-Tree O(log n) search algorithm. Writing protein folding simulations for my biology teacher peaked my interest in computational science. Building real-world machine learning models during each of the last two summers expanded my awareness of the types of problems computers can help solve.
Over the years, though, I have shaped a focus: security. In the process of running multiple servers, developing custom security software, and configuring the switching and routing for a 96-computer network, I became fascinated with the challenge of creating secure systems. Software has found its way into all aspects of our lives, creating staggering risks to privacy and security. These are problems I want to study, understand, and solve. (196 words)
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Tips + Analysis
Take the reader on your journey. Did you feel the author practically grab your hand and pull you along the exhilarating ride of their lifelong love affair with computers? Each paragraph is chock full of the myriad ways they’ve engaged with their object of desire. You get a great picture of the student’s skills and accomplishment, as well as their self-motivated pursuit of their passion.
Let your geek flag fly. This writer exudes about memory virtualization and the B-Tree O(log n) search algorithm, knowing they’re talking to leaders in the field (and who knows, potentially future collaborators!). Knowledge of specialized language is a great way to demonstrate fit to major, so feel free to use lingo as you normally would to show you know your stuff.
Share why you care. This essay isn’t just a list of all the things the student has done. It’s a reflection of why computers matter to them and what they plan to do with them. You hear that they value sharing knowledge with others and see themselves using computers to solve real-world problems. Find those “mini-movie moments” to show how you’ve fallen in love with your field of interest over time.
Look ahead. “Why Major” essays are the natural place to talk about potential future careers, if you know what you want to pursue. Even if you don’t know yet, you can still end the essay by looking forward to how the major you’re interested in will prepare you for life after college.
how to write Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #2
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. (Min: 50 / Max: 150 words)
Here’s a chance to celebrate your nerdy side.
Are you a student that gets so excited talking or thinking about photovoltaic efficiency that you don’t even notice the sun going down?
Great. Here’s your chance to dive in and show us.
And a note that while they do directly say “be as specific or broad as you would like,” writing well and being broad can be difficult to do simultaneously. You can try if you want. But we’ve generally found that picking something specific that gets you excited and curious is easier to build an essay around.
Check out this example, about one high school experience.
Example:
In my ROP Manufacturing Engineering Technology Course, I’m learning about the application of math in manufacturing. We’ve worked on isometrics, including drawing the different views of a 3D object and solving the missing dimensions. Now, I’ve begun learning g-code for CNC mill programming: first linear interpolation then circular interpolation. I’ve loved thinking through what a machine would do step by step, and I feel great accomplishment when my program finally runs correctly. I wrote a program to carve out my own design of a camera with a heart in the lens. Currently, I’m learning Mastercam CAD/CAM software. I can’t wait to take the Advanced course in the Spring semester to further pursue engineering fundamentals. (115 words)
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Tips + Analysis
Focus on clarity and specificity. While hooks can be great, you’ll want to be pretty stingy with your word count for this essay. The above example dives straight in, clearly setting up the experience for the reader with the first lines (and using the specificity of the experience to be a little hook-like). Then, it gets into some nice, specific detail regarding what the student did, and why the experience matters. Notice how much the language focuses on clarity and detail.
Show your chops. This example shows the student doing some higher-level STEM work. It gets into complex, interesting experiences in a (focused) range of areas, using language that may not mean much to the average reader but that shows they’ve already started developing the scientific chops they’ll need at Caltech.
Connect to your values through reflection. We refer to this as the “so what” element of the essay—above, some of the word count toward the end is devoted to helping the reader understand why this experience was meaningful. This reflection on meaning is something that the essay above has, and could have done even more so with some of the remaining word count. Be sure to spend some time exploring why the details and experiences you’ve discussed connect to some of your core values by reflecting on what they’ll allow you to pursue or explore, and why those things matter to you. Consider linking to specific, dynamic problems you’re interested in working on.
Here’s a bonus essay we love, written for another school (and a longer word count), but a great example of how to repurpose other essays to fit multiple prompts.
Example:
At the Biotechnology Open House at Santiago Canyon College, I participated in gel electrophoresis, separating red, blue, and purple dyes by running current through the gel with the buffer solution. The purple dye separated into two bands of blue and red. Observing that the red moved farther than the blue, I concluded that the molecules were smaller and moved through the gel quicker. After learning that electrophoresis is even used to separate DNA, I had the opportunity to extract DNA from my cheek cells. I was amazed to see my own genetic blueprint in a tube! These experiments excited me to learn more about how biology and engineering can create pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and environmental products to benefit society. (118 words)
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how to write Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #3
At Caltech, we investigate some of the most challenging, fundamental problems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We are interested in learning more about your engagement with STEM.
Select one of the following two STEM Experience prompts to respond to:
a) Tell us how you initially found your interest and passion for science or for a particular STEM topic, and how you have pursued or developed your interest or passion over the last few years. (Min: 100 / Max: 200 words)
b) Tell us about a meaningful STEM-related experience from the last few years and share how and why it inspired your curiosity. (Min: 100 / Max: 200 words)
Caltech wants a bright, curious, independent student body. It’s looking for intellectual vitality, and this essay is your opportunity to show that side of yourself.
What about STEM gets you fired up and why?
You can talk about one of those school or pet projects that you just can’t get enough of, that make your mind spin about the big questions and dream up the answers. Think about things that have inspired you to go down research rabbit holes, that have motivated you to take action, or that have enhanced your understanding of a subject. Choose experiences that genuinely pique your curiosity. Don’t pick something just because you think Caltech will like it. Genuine interest is both easy to write about and hard to fake!
Check out this example about one high school experience (it would have to be shortened to meet this year’s lower word count).
Example:
When I was doing customer research for my chemistry practice website, I came across another, much larger issue with education: the lack of personalized learning. It stuck with me. I knew if I could create a solution, I would be helping many students, like my friends, reach their goals. Also, the idea of an engine that can recommend lessons based on your learning style just seemed super cool. As I dug deeper into the issue, I realized I didn’t have the skills to even scratch the surface. So I started developing what I needed to build a system that recommends lessons based on learning style.
On my own time, I learned about machine learning algorithms, from linear regressions to k-nearest neighbor classifiers, and whenever I could I applied these skills on mini research projects—finding trends, then using data to create an algorithm that predicts other data. At school, I took a rigorous machine learning course where one of my final projects was using data from Portuguese schools to analyze what factors lead to good grades.
Looking ahead, I’m hoping to study computational neuroscience to properly know how the brain solidifies connections and recalls information. With the two together, I could create a model of how a person learns based on different stimuli, and recommend different lessons based on the stimuli. I still have quite a bit to learn, but if I manage it, it could have a powerful impact on the educations of students around the world. (247 words)
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Tips + Analysis
Identify the problem. The core of STEM is problem-solving—tackling some of society’s great challenges. Let your response show how you think and how you approach problems and solutions. The problem could be something global, like an environmental issue, or more individual, like the lack of personalized learning this student chose to address. Get your reader engaged in your curiosity by describing the impact of the problem or what it would mean if you could resolve it. Then dive into talking about a project or experience that allowed you to explore that issue. Bonus points if you can describe an outcome you’ve already achieved.
Show initiative. This student got curious about personalized learning and then taught themselves the skills needed to build the learning system they envisioned. This is the kind of self-starting innovation we believe Caltech is looking for. How have you pursued the subjects that pique your curiosity?
Use an extracurricular: We love how this student used this essay as an opportunity to elaborate on an extracurricular: building a chemistry practice website. If this prompt stumps you, look to your Activities List for inspiration!
Focus on the future: What takes this essay to the next level is the final paragraph. The student is doing two things: 1) transforming the issue (impersonal education) into a learning goal (“how the brain solidifies connections and recalls information”) and an action item (“[creating] a model of a how a person learns based on different stimuli, and recommend different lessons based on the stimuli”), and 2) stating a professional goal—make a “powerful impact on the education of students around the world.” This is a high-level maneuver and an inspiring way to stick the landing.
Here’s a bonus essay we love, written for another school (and a longer word count), but a great example of how to repurpose other essays to fit multiple prompts.
Example:
I am fascinated by patterns. Learning the art of writing Chinese characters taught me to pay attention to a pattern’s reference points, where deeper meaning lies. My favorite character, XIAO, from the word XIAOSHUN, visualizes a central tenet of Confucianism: the lifelong supporting relationship between parent and child. The top part, LAO, means old. The bottom part, ZI, means son. Mandarin, like many other ancient languages, provides a code of behavior.
During quarantine, I enrolled in IBM's AI For Everyone and Harvard's CS50 on edX and traveled down a TED rabbit hole. While intriguing to learn that each emoji is made up of patterns like this: 11111011000000010, I was captured by the human applications technology like AI provides. With AI’s pending impacts worldwide, I feel driven to ensure society doesn't experience potentially harmful implications of technology.
How do we embed universally ethical reference points in algorithms for AI to exhibit empathy, recognizing XIAO encourages a relationship of support?
Humans and machines have processing limitations. In his research paper, Linguistics Professor John Whitman taught me that grammar, typically regionally similar, immensely influences humans’ cognition abilities. AI’s applications will be universal, so likewise, its grammar or code must be universal. By learning how people segment information and optimizing this cross-cultural data in a beneficial way, algorithms’ limitations will be reduced. If ethically structured, AI will inherently learn to reflect moral behaviors.
While it’s a big task to construct an ethical and empathetic AI, I believe I will find the tools at Stanford. (250 words)
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And here’s another example, though it would need to be significantly shortened.
Example:
Artificial Intelligence fascinates me as a technology and a tool. Although AI relies on underlying algorithms and a defined goal, when fed data within those constraints, it can produce unexpected, unpredictable outcomes. AI forms uncommon connections within large datasets, making it seem like the technology itself is thinking outside the box. In reality, this is a result of AI continually making data-based complex, unbiased decisions based on data without fatigue. This capability of AI most intrigues me.
Spotify’s music recommendations and Instagram’s user-specific posts feed are examples of how widely applicable AI is. My personal first hands-on exposure to AI was through Columbia University’s Summer Intensive Program, where I took Big Data, Machine Learning, and Their Real-World Uses. I learned about analyzing and modeling data, creating algorithms, regressions, trees, and neural nets, all while continually applying what I learned on my own and with others in projects and workshops. By the end of the class after a large group project that used AI to analyze climate change, I found I was deeply impressed by the potential for this technology in real-world applications.
With my long-standing interest in music, I decided to apply the skills I learned from this course to the music industry. My idea was to give Spotify users the ability to view their top songs, artists, genres, and albums on-demand by utilizing Spotify’s API. Although the goal of my project was to present data efficiently using programming, I learned how Spotify handles streaming data and gained a newfound appreciation for Spotify's underlying algorithms and AI systems.
I plan to continue my pursuit of computer science at Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering. Courses like Intro Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning will equip me with the knowledge to understand how AI systems are created and optimized and give me the tools to later expand the scope and depth of AI usage. Additionally, I would love to pursue internships and participate in undergraduate research in Professor Jim Kyung-Soo Liew’s study of big data machine learning. At JHU I hope to follow an interdisciplinary path, focusing on CS and also branching out to business in order to foster my ability to create and come up with new ideas that have practical applications for the tech industry. (376 words)
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how to write Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #4
The creativity, inventiveness, and innovation of Caltech's students, faculty, and researchers have won Nobel Prizes and put rovers on Mars. But Techers also imagine smaller-scale innovations every day, from new ways to design solar cells to how to 3D-print dorm decor to experimenting in the kitchen. How have you been a creator, inventor, or innovator in your own life? (Min: 100 / Max: 200 words)
You don't aspire to attend Caltech if you don't have big ideas and the nerve to test them out. What have you created, invented, or innovated? What have you come up with that no one else has, whether it’s an actual invention, an idea, a process, or something else? It might be that gadget you dreamed up and hacked out the prototype for late one night. Or the improved method you developed for your team to document and share its collaborative research. Or maybe it was the summer you decided to teach yourself a new skill for each of 67 days. Think of a time you didn't just build code in CS or work on a team in robotics, but you actually innovated—changed something for the better or brought something new into the world.
Keeping with the novelty theme, be sure to save this experience for this prompt only and not mention it in your answers to other prompts.
Whatever it is, this is where you get to show off a bit. They’re talking not just Nobel Prizes and Mars rovers, but smaller-scale everyday innovations like techie room decor. If you have a rockstar achievement, this is your time to bring it out and play it loud. But if you don’t, that’s not a problem for Caltech, as the prompt signals that quieter inventions are just as interesting. The question is how you’ve innovated in your own life. As we see in this example (written for a previous prompt with a longer word count), this author paved the way for herself and other young women to excel in STEM.
Note that this example was written for an older version of the prompt with a larger word count.
Example:
Why are Siri, Alexa, Cortana, and Google Assistant all female? Because women are often just seen as “assistants”. Society has made some progress, but women still make up only 25 percent of STEM workers.
Last year I was chosen as my school’s delegate to California Girls State. Among other things, the program brought to light to me how big the gender gap really is. Women are underrepresented at every level in STEM--and the higher you go, the greater the gap. Like myself, many of the other delegates are pursuing careers in STEM, and we helped each other understand the importance of having a supportive community of intelligent, empowered young women.
Inspired by Girls State, I’ve become more proactive in my school and community. As Vice President of the Angel Heart Club this year, I’ve worked to recruit new members, helped organize and run meetings, and guided others on how to craft the cards we make to send to children with congenital heart disease in China. I also continue to volunteer at the hospital, helping to discharge patients, deliver food, and transport x-rays from radiology to the ER. But since Girls State, I’ve begun to take greater initiative, volunteering to cover other people’s shifts and taking on tasks that others are reluctant to, like running the tea cart to support nurses and doctors.
At Caltech, I would like to join Women in Physics, Math and Astronomy (WiPMA), which offers a similar supportive community. There, I will listen and interact with female scientist guest speakers, and build confidence and skills alongside my female peers. I hope to join Engineers Without Borders because I am interested in designing and implementing sustainable engineering projects. After working with the H20 for Life Club, I am aware of the global water crisis and would love to get involved in the current project of establishing a spring water source protection system that will help provide clean water for about 300 households in the surrounding Ilam District of Nepal.
I would also like to get involved in Caltech Chemistry Club, demonstrating my love of chemistry and inspiring young children about the wonders of science. I would also like to listen to faculty members discuss career options in the field of chemistry and the yearly guest speaker talk about current innovative chemical research.
I want to be the boss, not just an assistant. I believe Caltech can help. (399 words)
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Tips + Analysis
Grab ’em at the start and pull ’em right along. This example has a pretty rad hook. It provokes with an engaging query and sets up the theme of the essay—empowering women in STEM. Then the clear topic sentences guide the reader through the main points. It’s possible, perhaps likely, that your reader will be reading quickly to the point of skimming. Because of this, structural elements like clear topic sentences help ensure the reader doesn’t miss anything important or feel lost. This student also does a nice job bookending the final lines.
Get specific. The author details each of the ways she created more opportunities for herself and others, from representing her school at Girls State and gaining new skills at the hospital to recruiting new members to the community organization she leads. Describe your role and actions in detail.
Show why it matters. In every essay, you want to answer the question, “So what?” Why were you moved to create in this way? What problem did you want to solve, or who did you want to affect and how? How is the world a better place thanks to your inventiveness? Now that you’ve done this thing, what’s the impact? When your reader is invested in your intention, they’ll celebrate your accomplishment. And you for sure want them cheering for you.
Make the match. Because the previous prompt additionally asked students to identify how they hoped to innovate with their Caltech peers, this author described the campus clubs she hoped to get involved with. But it never hurts to smuggle in a few “Why us?” elements into your essays, establishing why your interests and abilities are a perfect fit for Caltech. Naming specific courses, programs, activities, or professors’ work you’re interested in exploring shows you’ve done your research and discovered how the school specifically offers what you want in an education. While it isn’t necessary for this prompt, if you want to level-up in this way, you can read more about how to do it at the link above.
how to write Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #5
Now it’s time for a little fun! You have 250 words total to answer two of the four questions below.
It’s up to you how you use your 250 words, whether that means you use exactly 125 words for each answer or you tell us about a niche interest in 30 words so you can spend 200 telling us about a core piece of your identity.
There is no ‘right’ way to choose which question to answer. If you’re all STEMmed out, feel free to tell us about a creative hobby. Or if you just can’t get enough math, tell us about a concept you can barely wrap your head around.
Just remember the Caltech Honor Code and stick to 250 words total.
– Hobby: What is an interest or hobby you do for fun, and why does it bring you joy?
– Teach: If you could teach a class on any topic or concept, what would it be and why?
– Identity: What is a core piece of your identity or being that shapes how you view and/or interact with the world?
– Concept: What is a concept that blew your mind or baffled you when you first encountered it?
(Two Essay Boxes, each with Min:1 Max: 201 words)
Like they said, there’s no “right” way to go here. Caltech loves STEM, but they also specify that when they read applications, they’re looking to see if students have an outlet—colleges in general value an understanding of self-care, but Caltech is pretty explicit about it.
That doesn’t mean you have to dive in with the “Hobby” option. We just want it to be clear that you’re totally good focusing on ways you find joy if that’s what you want to do here. (In fact, Caltech used to have prompts explicitly about how you find joy.)
As far as how to narrow down options and topics:
Scan your personal statement and the other Caltech supp essays—what’s a side of you or some core values or ideas or aspects of identity that you aren’t really covering yet?
Remember that you can split your word count however you want—below, we’ll offer some examples (some written for other schools) that can show a range of how you can divvy things up here.
And keep in mind that you might already be writing something similar for another college (like for Brown’s 100 word “what class would you teach” prompt or Brown or Princeton’s “joy” prompts)—this could be a nice opportunity to repurpose some writing you already have.
For the “Hobby/joy” prompt:
Choose something that actually brings you joy.
In a bunch of other essays, you’ve already bragged about your accomplishments and submitted your resume in paragraph form. You don’t have to sound serious or perfect here. What are you really into?
Note that you can explore something related to STEM here, but you can dive in any direction.
Don’t mislead or exaggerate! If you truly love doing this thing, it’ll show. And that in turn will tell something interesting and important about you. Take a look at your brainstorming work and see whether there are any random/odd/fun parts of you that haven’t yet made their way into your application.
For the “Teach” prompt:
This prompt gives you the perfect opportunity to talk about what really lights you up.
Regardless of the topic you choose, this is your chance to show what kind of thinker and planner you are and what new, unique, and exciting perspectives you’re going to bring to Caltech. If you want to go into an even deeper dive on this essay topic, check out our longer guide at this link, but here are some basics:
Think of this prompt as having two parts:
The first, sharing the details of your class, will capture what you know.
The second, explaining your “Why?”, will capture what you care about.
Bring the class to life. Sharing details about the class will showcase the kind of thinker you are and get the reader more invested in your idea. You can also name specific texts that would be read before or during your course.
Prioritize your “Why?” First off, prompts usually explicitly ask for it. But, more than that, explaining your “Why?” is a chance to share your values and insight.
Ways to play with upleveling:
A class title that puts two surprising texts in conversation on a certain topic. Maybe “Hermione Granger and The Salem Witches—How a history of persecution has crafted the modern magic woman.” This approach can demonstrate that you’re capable of interdisciplinary thinking.
A class that applies a distinct lens to a text you cherish. Perhaps a reading of The Lord of the Rings through the lens of Consumerism. Or a feminist viewing of Frozen 2. This approach will demonstrate that you are able to place texts in the context of philosophy and academic theory.
A course that might bring awareness to a topic you know well and that would benefit those who attended. Perhaps “How to use the principles of Tae Kwon Do to lead a more centered life.”
For the “Identity” prompt:
If you read this prompt and think, “Oh, I can totally write about _____________!” jump right down to “Example # 1: Top-of-mind Identity.”
If nothing immediately comes to mind (as a straight, white cis male, I get that), don’t despair! Identity frequently overlaps in some way with a “community you belong to,” which leaves the door open for you to write about almost anything.
Two general approaches that might work:
Go broad, with an identity that lets you highlight a few different activities/experiences.
Brainstorm some shared values you have with your family (“I come from a community/family of _____________.”)
Consider if any of these shared values have connections to activities you do.
For example:
Creators → Film makers club, stage crew, knitting
Storytellers → Theater, young historians, Sunday school teacher
Educators → Tutoring, student council, babysitting
Skeptics → Debate team, student representative in local government
Optimists → Environmental club, neuroscience research
2. Go super specific and make it a more focused community/extracurricular essay.
Make a list of clubs or activities you’re involved in that have a sense of purpose. Spoiler alert: Almost any club or activity can fit this description.
Identify one or two that have a strong sense of community (Stereotypically: theater kids. But we’ve also heard of close-knit Science Olympiad teams, political clubs, etc.)
Some examples (but again, almost any can work):
Progressive Students Council
Wikipedia editors
Community Beautification Club
Model UN
Still struggling to come up with different communities you’re a part of? Check out this longer post on How to Write the Community Essay.
For the “Concept” prompt:
Get really specific with what the idea is. (In our experience, a very particular idea tends to work better than an experience.)
If possible, clarify what the idea is in the first 50 words (some students wait too long to clarify and the essay feels vague as a result, as we’re not sure what to focus on).
Consider using this as an opportunity for sharing some side of yourself you haven’t already shared elsewhere.
Connect the idea, if you can, back to you. Many students keep the essay focused outwardly (on ideas) and as a result the essay feels abstract and swimmy. (Yes, that’s a technical term.)
If you need some inspiration, check out this Excel document with almost every single TEDTalk ever given.
Here are a bunch of example essays that could fit the various options above, some written for similar prompts for other schools (and thus with longer word counts), some with analysis, some without:
Hobby/Joy Example:
Whispers and giggles in the dark. I step on a knee and climb up to the blue awnings above the elementary school playground. Lying flat on our backs with eyes pointed to the sky, we are eager for a glimpse of the twinkling lights above. Surrounded by my best friends, my squad, my people, my family—I never feel more at home. Free from the world below, nothing is off-limits. Our hopes, dreams, and fears are shared as the stars reflect off our eyes.
Other times I contemplate the stars in solitude. My mind quiets, the wheels stop churning, and I am alone with my thoughts. Staring up at the night sky filled with balls of burning gas, I realize those stars are a window into the past—millions of years ago. My brain immediately wanders to what Earth was like when those stars were still burning. Humans weren’t roaming. The ideas I love to analyze were not yet conceived. The history books I love to read weren’t written. Human history, our history, hadn’t even started.
For that magical moment, lying there and gazing up at those stars, I can catch my breath. I escape from a world that only seems to get busier and more stressful every day. Looking up in wonder, I feel nothing but peace. Stargazing brings me joy. (220 words)
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Tips + Analysis
Sprinkle in details that show more values. This student does a great job of sprinkling in details that illustrate even more values beyond what they might’ve already shared. They write about stargazing in relation to being surrounded by loved ones (values: maybe close connections, family, friendship, or community), but also in solitude, the ability to wonder and contemplate while alone—showing yet more sides of them that may have not been as apparent in other areas of their application.
Sneak in other interests. While stargazing is the main focus of this essay, this student finds a way to connect this topic to the history books they love to read, signaling yet another non-STEM related interest. Mentioning this shows not only their intellectual curiosity, but well-roundedness (though again, for Caltech, STEM is first and foremost).
Experiment with structure. You might notice that this student doesn’t directly name “stargazing” as what brings them joy until the very end. In fact, they only use the word once in the entire essay! The key to making this work is leaving enough clues early on so that the reader can pinpoint the activity pretty quickly (they talk about looking up at the sky, the stars, balls of burning gas). Whether you decide to name the topic at the very beginning like the other example essays, or at the end like this one, or maybe even in the middle, try experimenting with structure to see what works for you. You might surprise yourself.
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Hobby/Joy Example:
Hirigana’s grace, katakana’s vigor, kanji’s wisdom.
Hand-lettering these Japanese scripts in a Kyoto calligraphy class showed me typography’s power to elicit emotion. I found thrilling nuance in the tiniest details, from the precision spacing of raised ink onto washi to the personality injected through stylized kamon. This glimpse sparked my obsession with how fonts can subconsciously shape our perceptions and decisions.
I started noticing typography’s silent hand everywhere—in PowerPoint’s default Calibri telegraphing monotony; in my favorite book covers’ fluid hand-lettering whispering imagination. Diving into research papers and TED talks on font psychology, I learned how our split-second reactions to typefaces are informed by biases like the availability heuristic—judging a font’s meaning by the ease of associating it with past experiences (hence why I feel like a 5-year-old when reading something in Comic Sans).
Soon I was conducting my own experiments, probing into how design choices engage audiences. While refining Codin’s app interface, I was eager to iteratively A/B test not just layouts but subtle typographic elements—provoking amused head shakes from my team when I insisted on quantitatively evaluating the "spark joy" levels of various fonts. I also began leveraging typefaces to craft the narrative of my videos—using modern serifs to connote progress in how-to tutorials and whimsical scripts to evoke wanderlust in travelogues.
And now, the detective-like thrill of uncovering the hidden messages conveyed in the typefaces all around us—from highway billboards to restaurant menus—has trained my mind to find joy in the subtle details. (246 words)
Tips + Analysis
Continue to “nerd out”. Just because you’re not talking about the STEM subject you’re passionate about doesn’t mean you can’t continue to nerd out. This student mentions diving into research papers, listening to TED talks, and conducting their own experiments. This not only showcases the student’s excitement, but also shows us the level of dedication to something they’re deeply interested in.
Weave in your experiences. This student works in a variety of their previous experiences, from a Kyoto calligraphy class, to A/B testing, to video creation. While some of these may have shown up in their activities list or additional information section (or maybe even none at all), weaving in relevant experiences could either give readers a glimpse into a new side of your life, or at least gives readers the backstory for how some of these more unique activities came to be and how they mesh together.
Tie the joy to another quality or skill. The student centers a majority of their essay on their interest in typography, giving us examples for how they’ve explored the topic. However, this student concludes their example with this line: “…uncovering the hidden messages conveyed in the typefaces all around us… has trained my mind to find joy in the subtle details.” By writing about this interest and sprinkling hints throughout (e.g. “thrilling nuance in the tiniest details”, “typography’s silent hand”, “detective-like thrill of uncovering hidden messages”), they have also been able to call attention to their skill of being detail-oriented.
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Hobby/Joy Example:
In climbing, if you’re trying hard, you spend a lot more time falling down than actually going up; more time at the bottom looking up than at the top looking down. It’s a sport that requires patience and perseverance, and where failure means you’re pushing yourself. Apart from incredible physical strength, climbing requires technique and being able to quickly solve puzzles--reading routes. I suppose that is why I love it. Everything I do, I go full-throttle. Climbing pushes me to break down mental and physical barriers. I enjoy finding solutions to problems, putting the puzzle pieces together, reading the moves on a climb. I can work on something hard for weeks, months even, to finally see it come together perfectly. I read the route, try the beta, fall often, reevaluate, and try a different approach. The only way I get better is by trying routes so hard that I fall. (150 words)
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And here’s an example written for Princeton’s 50 word “joy” prompt, that could be adapted (and probably kept pretty short) here:
Six-word stories; poems by Jorge Luis Borges; the state of peace from doing yoga; immersing myself in history fictions before bed; Friends; holding my mom’s hand on our walks; the breathtaking sunset of Mount Hermon; talking and laughing across from a dear friend selfishly wishing the moment could last forever.
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Class Example:
The Exalted Power of Music: How Our Ears Inspire Our Eyes
Course Description: Music dominates our society–pop songs and singers are hugely influential in today’s time. But where else in our lives does the enchanting power of music hold influence? As we investigate and unravel the techniques of modern artists through a diverse slate of plays, cartoons, and films, we will discover the vital role of music in enhancing benchmark works of visual fiction. Simultaneously, through philosophical readings of Walton and Nietzsche, we will analyze the emotional and physiological effects of music, examining the dynamic interplay of visual and auditory elements. Finally, students will synthesize their research to create a short film or multimedia piece that displays their knowledge of visual aspects, music's attributes, and their combined impact on a universal audience.
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Tips & Analysis:
Remember the “or otherwise” part of the prompt. It’s tempting to go super-academic in response to this prompt, and that can definitely work well, but just remember they’re holding space here for you to show your creative, fun side, too. In the sample above, personal interests shine brightly through the “Exalted Power of Music” topic as the student dives deeply into fascinating (to our minds) aspects of what they’d explore.
Demonstrate your expertise. Regardless of what direction you take your response in, highlight your knowledge. Mentioning required readings (like the author does in the first example) positions you as a curious expert. Bonus: Finding pieces that are slightly off-topic from your course can be a great way to make uncommon connections and help your response stand out.
Ask questions. Even simply asking smart questions can demonstrate your out-of-the-box thinking. Not only do they illustrate the deeper topics that get your brain humming, but they also show the critical thinking that Brown expects (and hopes to cultivate) on campus. The example above doesn’t have to do this, but keep in mind that a complex, intriguing question can often be more interesting than an answer.
And here’s a different example, again written for a different school’s prompt (that focuses on a single seminar, rather than a course), that illustrates a different possible approach:
Whenever I received birthday money from family or friends as a small child, my father, being a frugal man, would deposit it into my bank account. This became a running joke in the family, with my mom’s step-dad affectionately calling him “jingles.” Despite my complaints, I always assumed my father was ultimately right, doing something that would benefit me financially in the long run.
Then I read John Maynard Keynes’ “Paradox of Thrift.” According to Keynes, we might have been wrong. Keynes asserts individual saving is bad for the overall health of the economy, negatively affecting the individual. For instance, say my grandmother gives me $20. If I save it, aggregate consumption decreases by $20, reducing firms’ planned investment, expecting $20 less to be spent on their goods. As a result, they need less labor, either causing layoffs or wage cuts which could adversely affect my grandmother, preventing her from giving me money on my next birthday and causing me to save less. Keynes’ theory demonstrates that saving can actually reduce saving, hence the “paradox.”
My Flash Seminar would address Keynes’ theory, specifically how we forget to consider the aggregate impacts of our actions. From spending birthday money to taking shorter showers to bringing a reusable water bottle to school, Keynes’ theory illustrates how seemingly insignificant choices have large cumulative effects, something I’d want to pass along to my audience with the hope of persuading them to think less about themselves and more about the whole.
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For the “Identity” prompt:
I grew up in a society where discussing sexuality was taboo. Teachers deliberately skipped the chapter on genitalia and childbirth in biology class. So I’d secretly educated myself about sexual health, tiptoeing to fetch my laptop after bedtime and watching YouTube videos under my blanket. Becoming knowledgeable about sexuality and health both excited and humiliated me. Though I knew such education was essential, I often felt like an outcast.
My struggle to find belonging escalated when I perceived my queerness. In China, employees can be legitimately fired for their sexual orientation and gender identity. Scared of being expelled from school, I forced myself into conversations about attractive actors and pretended to admire the opposite, sex just like everyone else. But I was lonely.
It was first watching the feminist play The Vagina Monologues in high school that provided me comfort and widened my perspective. Knowing that female sexuality can be discussed – even championed – in public productions amazed me. I came to realize that I was, after all, not alone in the journey of self-exploration.
More importantly, The Vagina Monologues opened the door to a wide range of queer media and organizations that offered me a sense of belonging. I finally found my home volunteering at the Beijing LGBT Center. It was the only place I’d seen in China where rainbow flags are hung high and proud, where the house pet is a cat named Duo Yuan (“diversity”), and where the usual response to “I am queer” is “that’s awesome.” From watching Call Me By Your Name with my co-workers to pulling all-nighters collaborating on an interview project to fight stereotypes, I had found my “politically incorrect” salvation.
Using free time to navigate online queer resources and explore my identity, I did not let this challenge impact my academic achievement, but rather to inspire it. The Vagina Monologues and my work at the Center spurred my interest in Gender Studies, altering the direction of my later academic career.
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And here’s one more “Identity” example.
As a light-skinned, soft-spoken, empathetic, and analytical Black woman, a lot of times I have felt that I am not a part of my own community. Many of my family members ask me why I relate so much to the East Asian community and culture. This, of course, has led me to question whether or not community is only skin deep.
I became engrossed in the East Asian community at a young age. My dad, an international pilot, often brought movies home from China. One day he brought home Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki. He described it as something similar to Alice in Wonderland. I could truly see myself in the Miyazaki’s heroines: from how they transcended their roles in life to how they met obstacles with resilience and bravery, these heroines helped me feel less alone.
I evolved from watching Miyazaki movies to joining anime clubs, to reading East Asian philosophy, and eventually studying the works of Japanese author Haruki Murakami. This culminated in a trip to Japan last summer as a People to People: Student Ambassador. Immersed in the culture, I visited a Japanese high school, hiked Mt. Fuji, soaked in an onsen, and experienced a deep connection with my homestay family, the Mishimas.
Through being a part of the East Asian community, I have explored answers to metaphysical questions, prayed at a Shinto shrine, and realized that community is a state of mind, much more than skin deep.
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For the “Concept” prompt:
What’s more probable: dying from a shark attack, or dying from falling airplane parts? Surprisingly, the answer is falling airplane parts. But why does our intuition point us towards shark attacks?
The answer lies in the availability heuristic, or the WYSIATI (“what you see is all there is”) rule, which describes how our minds evaluate decisions based on how easily we can think of examples to support both sides. From Jaws to YouTube surfer videos, we have all likely heard of a horrific shark attack, and by WYSIATI, the ease with which we conjure up that memory leads us to assign greater probability.
Learning about WYSIATI evolved the way I communicate my ideas. When I first started debate, I over-focused on comparing statistics at the expense of clearly communicating larger arguments. WYSIATI taught me that a more effective approach involves weaving in memorable images like that of a horrific shark attack.
This past summer, when debating whether labeling environmental activists as “eco-terrorists” is justified, my opponents cited dozens of crimes associated with activists from 1995-2002. With my knowledge of WYSIATI, I looked past the numbers and searched for more memorable, image-based examples and discovered that most of the so-called terrorist acts were actually “pie-ings”: environmental groups throwing pies to protest. So, instead of responding with only numbers, I declared that “the only thing that could make pie-ings terrorist acts is if the activists didn’t know how to make a good key lime pie!”
Much clearer. And perhaps, a little bit funnier.
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And one more “Concept” example:
During the first lockdown, I learnt the mathematical foundations of AI, inspired by how my middle-school friend created new Shakespearean plays via AI. My nagging curiosity propelled me to finish Professor Andrew Ng’s 5-month Stanford course in 3 weeks. As AI buzzwords—gradient descent, hyperparameter optimisation—became familiar, I became gripped by the realisation that AI was trial-and-error at hyper-speed: making AI take tests, backtracking to identify mistakes, and repeating a billion times.
Having grasped core concepts, I craved to see AI helping in real life. I asked the Stanford SKY professor I was already working with for econometrics projects using AI, and he appointed me as the lead intern of a breakthrough project to shorten IQ and EQ tests for babies without compromising test accuracy. Quicker tests are more humane and increase sample sizes threefold, making its statistical research more trustable—while costing less. I witnessed how AI could reform and accelerate the standards of social science research—marrying big data with socially-conscious academic research. I knew Big Tech’s flashy AI might fill fifty football stadiums of server space, but what for? Serving better ads for “boba tea”? Rural children just above the poverty line certainly aren’t in their profit-driven purview, but at SKY, while working with postdocs, I learnt to close this gap. This winter, I plan to keep harnessing AI to understand—through analysing thousand-hour audio—how parents’ verbal cues shape infant character development. I’ll keep myself starstruck with Stanford’s CS+Social Good community, as we explore how AI can impact the bottom line.
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Tips & Analysis:
Make sure you’re actually excited about the idea or experience you’re writing about. Essay readers read thousands of applications, so they’ve very good at recognizing when a student is writing about something they think will sound impressive, as opposed to something they’re genuinely excited and curious about. This writer’s excitement about the possibilities of AI jumps right off the page, and you want your response to do the same. Don’t worry about what readers think will look good; instead, use this space to geek out about the thing that lights you up and energizes you. If you are authentic and genuine, it will shine through!
Don’t just list your accomplishments. It would be very easy to use this prompt as a place to rattle off your academic achievements, but there are other places on the application reserved for just that purpose. Instead, explain why this idea or experience excites you and what you still hope to learn about it. This student has obviously learned a lot about AI, but the cool thing about this response is that he doesn’t just stop there. He also tells us how he hopes to move forward and continue to explore and discover. His response shows readers that he is still curious, and that’s what colleges are looking for in prospective students (not someone who thinks they’ve already learned it all)!
how to write Caltech Supplemental Essay Prompt #6
Optional: Have you had any extenuating circumstances (such as limited course selection or disruptions) that have affected your coursework, but that are not described elsewhere in your application? If so, tell us about them here. (Min: 0/Max: 150 words)
This is truly optional, so don’t feel obligated to write something here. And you may already be covering this in your additional info section.
This section exists so that your readers understand the full context of your application—so if you were impacted in ways they mention, help them to understand.
Generally, you can keep this informational in tone. You can probably even go with bullet points if you want.
Special thanks to Elica for contributing to this post.
Elica (she/her) is a college essay specialist who has a love of language in all forms; she has degrees in linguistics, has taught academic writing at the university level, and has been coaching students on their college and graduate school admissions essays for over 7 years. When she’s not working with students or writing, Elica can be found reading, printmaking, and exploring nature.
Top Values: Collaboration | Curiosity | Patience
