Caltech Admission Requirements for International Students 2027: Acceptance Rate, Tuition, Scholarships and Deadlines

Caltech admission requirements for international students are strict on academics and simple on paperwork. You apply through the Common App or QuestBridge, send SAT or ACT scores, prove English ability with IELTS, TOEFL or Duolingo if English is not your first language or your school’s language, show calculus, physics and chemistry on your transcript, and write a set of short STEM essays. The fee is $75, or a waiver if you are applying for aid. Caltech is need-aware for international students, but it meets the full demonstrated need of every student it admits.

For fall 2027 entry, the Restrictive Early Action deadline is 1 November 2026 and the Regular Decision deadline is 4 January 2027. Caltech admitted 2.6% of first-year applicants in its 2024-25 Common Data Set, and its 2026-27 on-campus budget comes to $98,622 before health insurance and travel. I checked everything below on Caltech’s admissions, catalog and financial aid pages on 29 October 2026.

Caltech admission requirements for international students: key facts

1. Application: Common App or the QuestBridge application, plus Caltech’s supplemental essays.
2. Fee: $75, non-refundable. Waivers are available if you are applying for financial aid and the fee is a hardship.
3. Tests: SAT or ACT required. Caltech looks at individual section scores, not the composite. AP or IB scores are also requested if you took those exams.
4. English test: required unless English is your native language or the main language of teaching at your secondary school. IELTS 7, Duolingo 130 or TOEFL 100 (older format) are the minimums.
5. Required subjects: four years of maths including calculus, one year each of physics and chemistry, four years of English and two years of history or social science. IB students need Higher Level Maths; A-Level students need A-Level Maths.
6. Letters: one STEM teacher, one humanities or social science teacher, and a school report from your counsellor.
7. Aid policy: need-aware for international citizens; full demonstrated need met for those admitted.
8. Aid form: CSS Profile, Caltech school code 4034.
9. Apply for aid now or never: international students who do not apply for aid in their first year cannot get it later. Caltech says this rule cannot be appealed.

Caltech ranking

Caltech is ranked #5 among National Universities in the U.S. News 2027 edition, released on 22 September 2026, tied with Stanford. MIT was first, Princeton second, Harvard third and Yale fourth. For a university with roughly a thousand undergraduates, that places it level with institutions many times its size.

Rankings say little about the thing that makes Caltech different, which is its size. CollegeData reports 971 undergraduates for 2024-25, about 15.9% of them international. With so few students, classes are small and professors are close at hand.

Caltech acceptance rate and class profile

Caltech is one of the most selective universities in the US. Its 2024-25 Common Data Set, for students who started in fall 2024, reports 13,856 applicants and 356 admitted, an acceptance rate of about 2.6%. Caltech does not publish a separate admit rate for international applicants.

Measure	Figure	Source
Applicants (fall 2024 entry)	13,856	Caltech Common Data Set 2024-25
Admitted	356 (about 2.6%)	Caltech Common Data Set 2024-25
Admitted for fall 2026 (Class of 2030)	428, from 43 US states and 23 countries	Caltech news, 24 March 2026
Faculty reading first-year applications	25 professors	Caltech news, 24 March 2026
Undergraduates	971, about 15.9% international	CollegeData, 2024-25
SAT or ACT middle 50%	Not published for recent classes	Caltech was test-free until the fall 2026 cycle

The test score range is missing because Caltech did not consider SAT or ACT results for several years and reinstated the requirement for students applying for fall 2026. A strong score still matters, and Caltech reads the maths section most closely, but there is no recent published range to aim for.

Caltech tuition for international students in 2026-27

International students pay the same tuition as US students. The figures below are Caltech’s 2026-27 estimates for a full-time undergraduate living in Caltech housing, taken from the 2026-27 Caltech catalog.

Cost item (2026-27, on campus)	Amount
Tuition	$68,574
Fees	$2,655
Housing	$12,711
Food (board)	$9,285
Books, supplies and equipment	$1,428
Personal expenses	$3,969
Total	$98,622
Student health insurance (billed separately)	$5,388 a year
Orientation fee, new students only	$600
General deposit	$100

Health insurance is not in the total. Caltech’s plan costs $5,388 for the year, and you only avoid it if you hold comparable cover. Off-campus living raises the budget, since housing is estimated at $16,677 and personal expenses at $5,706.

Caltech scholarships for international students: how aid works

Caltech’s aid for undergraduates is need-based. Its admissions and aid pages describe no merit scholarship for incoming first-years, so a top score alone will not earn you money. What Caltech does promise is to meet the full demonstrated need of every admitted student, and it says the award covers the whole cost of attendance: tuition, housing, dining, books, fees and personal costs.

Being need-aware means your aid request can count against you when the international aid budget is tight. Caltech is need-blind for US citizens and permanent residents but not for other nationals. If you are admitted without aid, you must be able to pay the full cost before you enrol, although Caltech may exempt citizens of Canada and Mexico.

• You confirm your understanding of the aid policy through questions on the admission application. There is no separate statement to upload.
• International students who do not receive first-year aid cannot receive need-based aid in any later year.
• Students who get first-year aid must reapply every year.
• Transfer and 3/2 applicants from outside the US are not eligible for aid.
• International students cannot receive US federal aid such as Pell Grants or federal loans.

Need-aware does not mean you should hide your need. If you leave aid off the application and get in, you will never be able to ask for it. If a large aid package is essential, pair Caltech with universities that ignore aid requests in admission, such as MIT and Yale, and read our list of the best American scholarships for international students.

Aid forms and deadlines for fall 2027

Aid step	Deadline
Tell Caltech you are applying for aid	On the admission application (1 Nov 2026 REA or 4 Jan 2027 RD)
CSS Profile (code 4034), Regular Decision	15 February 2027
Parents’ Non-Tax Filer’s Statement (if your parents do not file taxes)	16 March 2027
Parents’ 2025 national tax return	15 July 2027, after you enrol
Caltech Scholarship Data Form and Addendum	15 July 2027, after you enrol

These are Caltech’s published dates for international Regular Decision applicants. Restrictive Early Action applicants have a separate checklist on the financial aid site; check it as soon as you submit. For international applicants, Caltech decides who gets a CSS Profile fee payment code and sends codes before decisions are released, so you do not need to pay the fee upfront if you qualify.

Testing policy for fall 2027

Caltech requires the SAT or ACT. It looks at individual section scores rather than the composite, so a 790 in SAT Maths matters more than the total. The ACT Writing and Science sections are not required. If you have taken AP or IB exams, report those results too.

Plan	Testing must be completed by
Restrictive Early Action	30 November 2026
Regular Decision	31 December 2026

If the SAT or ACT was not available in your country, or you had technical problems on test day, explain it in the Caltech section of the application. Do not leave the gap unexplained.

English requirements: IELTS, TOEFL and Duolingo

You need an English test unless English is your native language or the main language of teaching at your secondary school. Caltech strongly encourages a score even from non-native speakers at English-medium schools. The test must be taken before the application deadline.

Test	Minimum total	Minimum in each section
IELTS Academic	7	7
TOEFL iBT taken before 21 January 2026	100	25
TOEFL iBT taken on or after 21 January 2026 (new 1 to 6 scale)	5	5
Duolingo English Test	130	130

Caltech also encourages international applicants to complete an InitialView conversation and writing sample, with fee waivers available. Many students in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya study in English-medium schools and may be exempt, but a strong score still helps readers who do not know your school.

Academic requirements: calculus, physics and chemistry

This is where many international applicants fall short. Caltech requires a year of calculus, a year of physics and a year of chemistry before you enrol, and the catalog says there are no exceptions beyond the approved substitutes.

• Maths: four years, including calculus. IB students need Maths HL; A-Level students need A-Level Maths.
• Physics and chemistry: one year of each.
• Biology: one year recommended.
• English and humanities: four years of English and two years of history or social science. A-Level students who take only STEM subjects in their last two years need two English and two social studies classes in the first two years of secondary school.
• India: both Year X and Year XII board exams.
• If your school does not offer a subject: an AP score of 5, an IB score of 6 or 7 at the right level, or a Schoolhouse.world certificate can substitute, but only with documentation from you and your counsellor showing the course was unavailable or impossible to fit.

If you are in a WAEC or national system without a formal calculus course, plan this early. Self-study plus an approved certification is the only route, and it needs your counsellor’s support.

Application parts

1. Common App or QuestBridge application with your personal essay and activities.
2. Caltech supplemental essays (see below).
3. Two teacher letters: one STEM teacher (calculus or beyond, chemistry, physics or biology) and one humanities or social science teacher (English, history, government or economics).
4. School Report from your counsellor, who may also add a letter.
5. Transcripts for the equivalent of grades 9 to 11, sent by your school, with predicted grades where relevant, plus a mid-year report.
6. SAT or ACT scores, and AP or IB scores if you have them.
7. English test score if required.
8. Optional extras: research papers, publications and STEM or non-STEM portfolios, sent through Caltech’s Beaver Breakroom portal after the deadline.

Everything must be in English. Send the original and an English translation by a teacher or school official for anything in another language. Caltech will not review an application with untranslated parts, and it does not need your grades converted to the US scale.

Caltech supplemental essays for fall 2027

• STEM academic interest (150 to 200 words): name one or two academic areas that interest you and why.
• Scholarly character (up to 200 words), choose one: a time someone else shaped your STEM learning, or a time your approach to a STEM problem mattered as much as the result.
• Scientific drive (two essays, up to 200 words each), choose two of three: a STEM rabbit hole you fell into; a STEM question or project that has held your attention; something you created, tested, repaired, modelled, coded or built.
• Fun question (100 to 150 words): something you would be excited to do, share, teach, make or start at Caltech.
• Optional academic short answer: anything about your preparation or school context that shows you are ready.

How to write the Caltech supplemental essays

Caltech says plainly that faculty review the files of the most competitive applicants and can follow technical writing. Write for a scientist. Do not simplify your work for a general reader.

• Be specific about the science. Name the equation, the bug, the reagent or the failed prototype. Vague enthusiasm reads as weak.
• Show the process. The scholarly character options ask how you think. Describe what you tried first, why it failed and what you changed.
• Use different stories for the two scientific drive essays. One could be reading and wondering, the other building or fixing.
• Make the fun question personal. A weekly jollof night, a chess club or teaching younger students to solder all work if you mean it.
• Use the optional answer for context. If your school had no physics lab or calculus class, explain how you learned anyway.
• Follow Caltech’s AI rules. All fall 2027 applicants must read Caltech’s ethical AI use guidelines before submitting.

A scientific drive opening, written for illustration only:

“The first solar charger I built in our compound in Kano melted its own regulator by noon, which is how I learned what thermal derating means.”

The line shows a real build, a real failure and a technical idea in one sentence. The rest of the essay should explain how the second version worked and what is still unsolved.

Fall 2027 application deadlines

Plan	Application deadline	Other materials by	Decision	Reply by
QuestBridge National College Match	End of September 2026 (passed)	QuestBridge timeline	Match results 1 December 2026	QuestBridge timeline
Restrictive Early Action	1 November 2026	6 November 2026	Mid-December 2026	1 May 2027
Regular Decision	4 January 2027	10 January 2027	Mid-March 2027	1 May 2027

Restrictive Early Action is non-binding, but you may not apply Early Action or Early Decision to other colleges at the same time, except for the exceptions Caltech lists. REA applicants hear in mid-December: admitted, deferred or denied. Deferred students get a final yes or no in mid-March, with no waitlist.

What happens after you apply

1. Materials check: send any missing items by 6 November (REA) or 10 January (RD).
2. Supplemental materials: if you have research or a portfolio, Caltech sends Beaver Breakroom instructions after the deadline.
3. Review: admissions officers read every file, and Caltech faculty review the strongest ones.
4. Decision: mid-December for REA and mid-March for RD. Waitlisted students must opt in by mid-April, and waitlist activity ends by mid-July.
5. Aid offer: sent to admitted aid applicants who completed the CSS Profile on time.
6. Reply: by 1 May 2027.
7. Verification: Caltech may check your documents after admission. Discrepancies can lead to a cancelled offer.
8. Visa: once you enrol, Caltech issues the I-20 for your F-1 student visa. Book your embassy interview early, since waits can be long in Lagos, Abuja, Accra and Nairobi.

Majors and academic strengths

Caltech is organised into six academic divisions covering biology and biological engineering; chemistry and chemical engineering; engineering and applied science; geological and planetary sciences; humanities and social sciences; and physics, mathematics and astronomy. Undergraduates choose an option (Caltech’s word for a major) after the first year.

Every student takes the Core Curriculum of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and humanities, whatever their option. Caltech also manages NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, so space science and planetary research opportunities are unusually close. Physics, computer science, engineering and chemistry are among its best-known fields.

Campus and city

Caltech’s campus is in Pasadena, a city in the Los Angeles area of Southern California. The weather is warm and dry for most of the year. Undergraduates live in a house system, and student life runs under the Caltech Honor Code.

Los Angeles is expensive, which is why Caltech’s off-campus budget is higher. Most first-years live on campus, where housing and food together are budgeted at $21,996 for 2026-27.

Common mistakes international applicants make

• Applying without a year of calculus, physics or chemistry and hoping the essays will compensate.
• Skipping the English test because you attend a private school; check whether English is truly the main language of teaching.
• Leaving the aid box unticked to look stronger, then finding you can never apply for aid later.
• Applying Early Action or Early Decision elsewhere while applying REA to Caltech.
• Sending a document with untranslated sections, which stops review completely.
• Writing general essays about loving science instead of describing real problems you worked on.
• Missing the 30 November testing cut-off for REA.

Costs aid doesn’t cover

• SAT, ACT and English test fees, plus travel to a test centre.
• The CSS Profile fee, unless Caltech sends you a fee payment code.
• The US visa application fee and the SEVIS I-901 fee. Check current amounts on the US State Department and SEVP sites before paying.
• Flights to Los Angeles. Caltech’s catalog budget does not include travel, though a travel allowance may be added for eligible students.
• Health insurance if your aid award does not include it; the plan is $5,388 for 2026-27.
• The one-time orientation fee ($600) and general deposit ($100), which may or may not be built into your award. Check your aid offer.

Graduate admissions at Caltech

Graduate study at Caltech is mostly PhD research. Each option (department) runs its own admission, sets its own deadlines and decides funding, and the Graduate Studies Office handles policy. Most deadlines fall between December and January for the following autumn. Check your programme’s page for test and English requirements before you apply.

Caltech compared with peer universities

University	Aid policy for international applicants	Testing for fall 2027	Early round	Regular deadline	Our guide
Caltech	Need-aware; full need met for those admitted	SAT or ACT required	Restrictive Early Action, 1 Nov 2026	4 Jan 2027	This page
MIT	Need-blind; 100% of need met	SAT or ACT required	Early Action (non-binding), 1 Nov 2026	4 Jan 2027	MIT guide
Stanford	Need-aware; full need met for those admitted	SAT or ACT required	Restrictive Early Action, 1 Nov 2026	5 Jan 2027	Stanford guide
Harvard	Need-blind; full need met	SAT or ACT required (rare exceptions)	Restrictive Early Action, 1 Nov 2026	1 Jan 2027	Harvard guide

MIT is the closest match in subject focus and is need-blind for international students, so it is the safer bet if aid is your main concern. For a larger research university with a strong medical and engineering mix, see our Johns Hopkins admission guide.

Who should apply to Caltech

Apply if you are certain you want a science or engineering education, you have taken calculus, physics and chemistry, and you have already done real STEM work on your own, such as a project, an olympiad or research. Caltech suits students who want a very small, intense university where everyone takes the same hard Core.

If you are unsure about STEM, want a wide choice of non-science majors, or have no access to calculus and physics, I would look elsewhere. If you need a full aid package, apply, but include several need-blind universities on your list.

FAQs on Caltech admission for international students

What is Caltech’s acceptance rate for international students?

Caltech does not publish a separate figure. The overall rate was about 2.6% (356 of 13,856 applicants) in its 2024-25 Common Data Set, and need-aware review makes it harder for international aid applicants.

Does Caltech give full scholarships to international students?

Caltech meets the full demonstrated need of admitted students, which can mean a full-cost award for a low-income family. It offers no merit scholarships to first-years, and asking for aid is a factor in admission for international applicants.

What IELTS score does Caltech require?

IELTS 7 overall with at least 7 in each section. Caltech also accepts TOEFL (100, or 5 on the new scale) and Duolingo (130).

Is the SAT required for Caltech in 2027?

Yes. Caltech requires the SAT or ACT for fall 2027 applicants, with testing done by 30 November 2026 for REA or 31 December 2026 for Regular Decision.

Sources and updates

Requirements, deadlines, English minimums, the aid policy and academic requirements come from Caltech Undergraduate Admissions, including its international applicants page, its deadlines page and its supplemental essays page, and from the Caltech catalog for 2026-27. Costs are from the catalog’s undergraduate expenses page. Aid forms and dates are from Caltech’s financial aid office and its International Financial Aid Statement of Intent. The acceptance rate is from Caltech’s 2024-25 Common Data Set as reported by Esslo and College Transitions, the Class of 2030 figures from Caltech news, and undergraduate numbers from CollegeData. The ranking is from U.S. News Best Colleges, 2027 edition, as reported on 22 September 2026, because the U.S. News page could not be loaded. Checked on 29 October 2026.