California Institute of Technology

California Institute of Technology incoming freshman academic profile

Average high school GPA

Not reported

SAT composite middle score

Not reported

ACT composite middle score

Not reported

Average GPA of enrolled freshmen (scale may be weighted or unweighted). SAT/ACT are median scores of students who submitted them — not scholarship cutoffs.

Freshman financial need & merit gifts

2025-26 financial-aid profile · CollegeData source

Average freshman need met

100%

Average undergraduate need met

100%

These groups use different denominators and should not be added together. Need met is an average share of assessed financial need—not a share of tuition or an aid guarantee.

California Institute of Technology net price by family income

Historical average cost after all grants and scholarships — not need-based aid eligibility. 2024–25 academic year.

Families earning $150,000+ should not assume they'll get need-based grants; the "Over $110K" group mixes very different incomes.

At what family income does financial aid stop at California Institute of Technology?

There's no universal cutoff. Need-based aid depends on income, assets, family size and college rules; merit scholarships are based on grades and scores, so high income doesn't rule them out. Use California Institute of Technology's net price calculator for a personal estimate, and the federal aid estimator for federal aid.

Graduation, earnings & student debt

6-year graduation

89.8%Fall 2019 / 2019–20 entering cohort

First-year retention

97.4%Fall 2023 entering cohort; return in fall 2024

Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry

$166,6422011–12 and 2012–13 entering cohorts; earnings in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars

Median federal debt

$7,500Federal fiscal years 2024 and 2025, pooled

Historical group figures, not individual predictions. Debt excludes private and Parent PLUS loans. Source: College Scorecard (ID 110404).

Colleges with acceptance rates similar to California Institute of Technology

California Institute of Technology accepts about 4% of applicants. These colleges have the closest reported acceptance rates.

• Stanford University · Stanford, CA4% acceptance
• Columbia University in the City of New York · New York, NY4% acceptance
• Harvard University · Cambridge, MA4% acceptance
• Princeton University · Princeton, NJ4% acceptance
• University of Chicago · Chicago, IL4% acceptance
• Minerva University · San Francisco, CA3% acceptance
• Yale University · New Haven, CT5% acceptance
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology · Cambridge, MA5% acceptance
• Northeastern University · Boston, MA5% acceptance
• Northeastern University Professional Programs · Boston, MA5% acceptance

Colleges with merit aid similar to California Institute of Technology

California Institute of Technology reports average merit aid of $0 per year. These colleges report the closest average non-need-based awards.

• Amherst College · Amherst, MA$0 avg merit aid / yr
• Barnard College · New York, NY$0 avg merit aid / yr
• Colgate University · Hamilton, NY$0 avg merit aid / yr
• Haverford College · Haverford, PA$0 avg merit aid / yr
• Thomas Jefferson University · Philadelphia, PA$0 avg merit aid / yr
• University of the Incarnate Word · San Antonio, TX$0 avg merit aid / yr
• Vassar College · Poughkeepsie, NY$0 avg merit aid / yr
• University of Illinois Chicago · Chicago, IL$45 avg merit aid / yr
• Bowdoin College · Brunswick, ME$1,000 avg merit aid / yr
• California State University-Sacramento · Sacramento, CA$1,012.5 avg merit aid / yr