California Institute of Technology
CA · Private · West · National university · Top 10 tier · 971 undergraduates (small)
Admission rates
Latest admit rates
† Not reported by round: this school publishes an overall admit rate but not applicant and admit counts for each round, so early and regular rates can’t be shown.
Trends, Fall 2019–Fall 2025
Admission rates
Early plans
Fall 2027 applicants
Testing
Testing policy
Superscoring
What this means:
- SAT
- Superscores
- ACT
- Superscores
Source ↗ · checked Nov 3, 2026
Required. Applicants are asked to submit ALL test scores and report all official sittings (including future ones); do not report a superscore as a single sitting.
How to send scores
Self-report accepted; official scores only after admission/enrollment
Send all scores? Required
Asks for all scores so Caltech can build the superscore itself.
School’s words: “Only students who matriculate to Caltech are required to submit official exam scores. ... When a student applies, they will be asked to submit all of their test scores, at which point Caltech will create a superscore to review the applicant.”
Source ↗ · checked Nov 3, 2026
Students submitting scores
‡ Est. % submitting scores adds the share of enrolled first-years who submitted the SAT to the share who submitted the ACT.
Score ranges (middle 50%)
Enrolled first-years who submitted scores, Fall 2025. A quarter scored below the range and a quarter above.
Trends, Fall 2019–Fall 2025
Share of enrolled students submitting scores
SAT composite, middle 50%
ACT composite, middle 50%
Year-by-year data, Fall 2019–Fall 2025
| CDS year | Admitted | Admit rate | ED rate | Est. % submitting | % SAT | % ACT | SAT mid-50 | ACT mid-50 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 537 | 6.4% | Not reported | 100% | 79% | 42% | 1530-1570 | 35-36 | |
| 2020-21 | 536 | 6.7% | Not reported | 79% | 45% | 34% | 1510-1570 | 35-36 | |
| 2021-22 | 510 | 3.9% | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Test-free: scores not used | Not reported | |
| 2022-23 | 448 | 2.7% | Not reported | Not reported (test-free that year; required by Fall 2025) | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | |
| 2023-24 | 412 | 3.1% | Not reported | Not reported (test-free that year; required by Fall 2025) | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | |
| 2024-25 | 356 | 2.6% | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | |
| 2025-26 | 428 | 3.8% | Not reported | 100% | 78% | 22% | ERW 760-780, Math 790-800 | 35-36 |
Waitlist admit rate
Share of students who stayed on the waitlist and were later admitted, by entering class.
- 2025: 0.5%
- 2024: 24%
- 2023: 0%
- 2022: 0.6%
- 2021: 0%
Test policy in each Common Data Set
History only. The current policy is under Testing above.
- Fall 2027 Required2025-26 CDS
- Fall 2026 Required2024-25 CDS
- Fall 2025 Required2023-24 CDS
- Fall 2024 Not reported2022-23 CDSThis form’s own wording says Fall 2023; every CDS here is read as covering the fall two years after its first year.
- Fall 2023 Test-free2021-22 CDS
- Fall 2022 Test-free2020-21 CDS
- Fall 2021 Required2019-20 CDS