Caltech Welcomes Admitted Undergraduates at DiscoTech 2025
From April 13–16, Caltech welcomed 296 admitted students and their guests for its annual Discover Caltech (DiscoTech) program. The four-day event introduced students and their families to Caltech's community, academic programs, and campus culture. It offered parallel but distinct tracks for students and guests, balancing academic exploration, community building, and insights into campus life. DiscoTech 2025 was the largest so far, hosting a total of 673 students and guests from 40 US states and Washington, D.C., as well as nine countries.
Day 1: Sunday, April 13
During the welcome for all attendees, Ashley Pallie, Caltech's dean of undergraduate admissions, implored students to "ask the hard questions," "listen to the answers," and "explore things that are not as obvious" throughout their time at DiscoTech to figure out if Caltech can be their community for the next four years. Alum Mason Smith (BS '09) delivered a keynote address, discussing his experience of being admitted to and attending Caltech as well as the community he leveraged to succeed in a highly academic environment. He reminded students about Caltech's collaborative nature across academics and the house system, and ended his speech by discussing a conversation he had with his mother early in his time at Caltech. He recalled her saying, "‘Mason, it sounds like you've really found your people,'" and he added, "Everyone's Caltech journey will be different, but if you do take the plunge, I hope that you can challenge yourself and find your people."
As the students went to ice-breaker activities to get to know their classmates, the guests were treated to a special session titled "Raising Your Researcher" that included a panel featuring perspectives from current Caltech parents on how they support their students during their time at Caltech.
Toward the end of the day, admitted students attended a club fair to explore some of the student organizations and extracurricular opportunities Caltech offers through professional, affinity, and interest clubs. After the club fair, students were treated to boba during an evening community-building event hosted by the Caltech Center for Inclusion and Diversity (CCID).
Day 2: Monday, April 14
At the beginning of the second day, students got their first glimpse of the various academic divisions in the first of three division open houses. Each of Caltech's divisions held programming to enable admitted students to engage with current faculty and students while touring the facilities. Following the open house, all guests were treated to a second keynote address by Nobel Prize-winning chemist Frances Arnold, Caltech's Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry and director of the Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen Bioengineering Center.
That afternoon, students had the chance to leave campus for the first time to attend one of three field trips that included NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech, Mt. Wilson Observatory, and the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) International Observatory office in Pasadena, where students received a behind-the-scenes look at how a 30-meter telescope is built.
The second night ended with house dinners and rotations, which introduced students to Caltech's distinctive undergraduate house system.
While the students were on their field trips, their guests were able the get the "inside scoop" on Caltech. A session called "Caltech 101" provided an orientation to the Institute's history, mission, and educational philosophy while another session, "Unlocking the Black Box to Admissions," provided a behind-the-scenes look at Caltech's selection process for the class of 2029. The "Everyday Student Life: A Personalized Tour" session was a guided exploration of campus from a student's perspective. These sessions gave guests a deeper sense of Caltech's culture.
Day 3: Tuesday, April 15
On the third day, students had the chance to learn what research was all about at Caltech with the Student-Faculty Programs (SFP) office. Current Caltech students shared their experiences with the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) and additional research programs.
In the afternoon, mock lectures provided a taste of Caltech's academic rigor. A special surprise was in store, as there was a lecture that teased Caltech's new "Integrated Core," a pilot program for the incoming class of first years to test a new approach to Caltech's core course requirements. The integrated course will bring together perspectives from all six academic divisions, unified by the theme of energy as a way of understanding many problems and topics in science and engineering.
The final night for the students ended with an event called "Exploring L.A. & the Stars: An Evening at Griffith Observatory," where students visited the iconic landmark and heard a lecture from Mike Brown, the Richard and Barbara Rosenberg Professor of Planetary Astronomy; Terence D. Barr Leadership Chair and director of Center for Comparative Planetary Evolution. Some guests made their own way to the Griffith Observatory to capture a beautiful Los Angeles sunset and the Hollywood sign after a long day of guest programming that included sessions like "Caltech's Philosophy of Care" (an overview of student support systems and wellness resources); "First-Year Student Opportunities," where guests got a preview of programs designed for incoming students; "Current Techer Perspectives" (a panel discussion with current students); and a session with the Career Achievement, Leadership, and Exploration (CALE) office to hear about student outcomes after graduation.
Day 4: Wednesday, April 16
To conclude DiscoTech, students competed in the Egg Drop Competition, which the admissions team brought back after a one-year hiatus. More than 20 teams of students engineered contraptions using recycled materials that ranged from protective cardboard boxes with padding to drifting parachutes to protect eggs that were dropped 144 feet from the top of Caltech Hall. This admitted class was extraordinary in that many of the teams' eggs survived the fall. However, there could only be one winning team based a point system decided on by student judges. Members of the winning team each received an authentic DiscoTech 2025 baseball jersey.
Throughout the four days, DiscoTech 2025 provided a comprehensive introduction to Caltech through carefully coordinated programming that addressed the distinct needs and interests of both admitted students and their guests, facilitating informed college decisions while building connections within the Caltech community.
Admitted students have until May 1 to report their enrollment decision in the Beaver Breakroom application portal.