California Institute
of Technology
Private Research University in Pasadena, CA. Six-year graduation rate 94%. Median 10-year earnings $128,566.
Students who entered California Institute of Technology reach a median of $128,566 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. Completion is a strength: 94% of students finish within six years. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 3.2% of students move from the bottom income quintile to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Graduation rate 94% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Admit rate 3% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots
Admissions
This is a highly selective admit: 3% of applicants receive an offer. With 13,856 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. 61% of admitted students actually enroll, which is a high yield by national standards.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at California Institute of Technology →Academics
A 94% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. First-year retention of 97% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. A 3:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. The undergraduate body is just 1,023, which shapes everything from class size to how often a required course is offered.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,023 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $14,513 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $-2,133 at the $0–30k band to $54,157 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 59% of students at an average of $58,526. 4% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 266 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $-2,133 |
| $30–48k | $-2,886 |
| $48–75k | $431 |
| $75–110k | $18,753 |
| $110k+ | $54,157 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 44 of these 1,023 students, totalling $273,325 — an average of $6,212 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Los Angeles County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)