All vacations have their price
global  

All vacations have their price

By Sarah

And the price of going to Hawaii for a week was that I fell a little behind on classwork.

I’d like to use this post to remind you that Caltech is hard. If you want to go here, you should know what you’re getting into. Sure, all the prestigious schools to which you have applied are also hard– but in my opinion, Caltech is in a league of its own. A large portion of Techers spend upwards of 40 hours a week on classwork. Even Caltech humanities majors (a non-existent breed) must take Caltech’s core, which apparently constitutes a physics and/or math major at a state university.

Don’t get me wrong: I love Caltechbecauseit’s so hard. I chose Caltech over Harvard and MIT because I wanted to be hit with a fire hose of knowledge! However, fire hoses sometimes send you flying across the room.

For example, since I returned from Hawaii 1.5 weeks ago, I have completed three midterms and six sets! That’s not easy to do over Valentine’s Day/Chinese New Year weekend….

Above: On Single’s Awareness Day, the boys in our House delivered roses to every girl in the House and cooked a delicious brunch for all the girls– omelettes cooked to order, pancakes cooked in any shape we wanted, waffles, Eggs Benedict, bacon, sausage, biscuits, and donuts and cupcakes. Yum! I’m turned sideways, in a black dress, in the middle of the picture.

Also on Single’s Awareness Day, I had a hot date with… my roommate.

Recommended Articles

Keeping in Touch with Friends from Home
global

Keeping in Touch with Friends from Home

Starting college can be a big transition. You’re moving to a new place, starting a new school and classes, and faced with making new friends in an unfamiliar environment. And, of course, there’s that whole “becoming an adult” thing. But, you’re also leaving a lot behind. Every new beginning means that an old chapter must come to an end. Leaving behind our friends at home may seem difficult, especially if they’re going to be a long distance away from you during the school year. Something I made sure to do was to spend a lot of time with them during the summer after high school. Of course, going to college doesn’t mean you’ll never see your friends again, or that you will no longer be friends with them. Good friendships will last if you put effort into them. It may seem hard initially. Coming into Caltech, it’s a sharp adjustment and many are caught up in the excitement of Orientation, Rotation, and starting classes. It may be hard to remember to check your phone frequently and to make time for phone calls and such. Rest assured that if you have other friends going to college, they’re probably going to go through similar things you will. In this transition period, it can feel like you’re going to immediately lose touch with people that mean a lot to you.

By
American Units of Measurement (As an International Student)
culture global

American Units of Measurement (As an International Student)

Let’s face it: the US loves being just a little different from everyone else. The obvious example? Units of measurement. As an international student from Canada, even I have no clue what’s going on half the time when my friends talk to me and use these weird nonsensical units. And I’ve literally lived on the border between Canada and the States for all my life. After a year here, I’ve finally got a sense of how the two systems of measurement compare and how you can more easily get your bearings with these weird units.

By
Abroad with the Scots
study abroad global

Abroad with the Scots

After a year spent in “soft-lockdown” at home in Atlanta, and as Caltech students prepared to finally return to campus, I was aboard an eight hour flight towards Edinburgh, Scotland. Since my junior year plans were interrupted by the virus who shall not be named, I’m spending my first term of senior year studying abroad through the Caltech - Edinburgh University International Exchange program. I’ve only been here just over a week yet have been exposed to so many new people, perspectives, foods, and classes.

By
Online School.. on Mars
global academics

Online School.. on Mars

When the announcement was first made that fall term was going to be online, I started talking to friends and looking for places to live. We were debating locations around the country: California, Florida, New York, etc.. there were plenty of options. Then it suddenly hit me, what is stopping us from going to Hawaii, covid numbers were better and a two week quarentine would ensure that numbers stayed down… I proposed this to my friend and we agreed it would be an amazing experience, but we didn’t want to get out hopes up. A month or so later we still haven’t decided where to live, Hawaii seemed too far and too difficult to plan. But we couldn’t get the idea out of our heads. We spent some time looking into plane tickets, places to stay, etc… and it actually didn’t seem so impossible after all. A couple weeks later and we were arriving here on the big island!

By