Compare Caltech vs Princeton for studies in USA

California Institute of Technology vs Princeton University

Overview Comparison
California Institute of TechnologyPrinceton University
Collegedunia Score8.3 Out of 108.3 Out of 10
ranking (overall)# 7 Times Higher Education 2024
# 7 US News 2024
# 15 QS World University 2024
# 1 US News 2024
# 6 Times Higher Education 2024
# 17 QS World University 2024
Subject Strength# 7 for Engineering by Times Higher Education 2024
# 185 for Medicine by QS World University 2023
# 8 for Engineering by Times Higher Education 2024
# 154 for Medicine by QS World University 2023
# 51 for Law by Academy Ranking of World Universities 2021
ProgramsUG Programs -27
PG Programs -13
Doctorate Programs -16
UG Programs -18
PG Programs -13
Doctorate Programs -6
Acceptance Rate8.8 %6.5 %
Exam ScoreSAT - 1530
GRE updated - 308
IELTS - 7
SAT - 1460
TOEFL - 100
Cost to StudyAverage Tuition Fees   56364
[For UG Program]
Average Tuition Fees  56364
[For PG Program]
Hostel + Meal - 32373 Per Year
Average Tuition Fees   49450
[For UG Program]
Average Tuition Fees  54070
[For PG Program]
Hostel + Meal - 18630 Per Year
placement (average package)

Annual salary offered is 111,000 USD per annum and ROI is 7.9%. Top recruiters are Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Apple Computer Inc, etc. Graduate Employability Rankings (2020): #74. Doctorate students were the highest-paid ($138,000-154,000). 


Hiring Companies are Amazon, IBM Corporation, Goldman Sachs Group, Raytheon Co., Microsoft, etc.
Graduate Employability ranks (2023): #15

Princeton University is one of the top private universities in Princeton, United States. It is ranked #=16 in QS World University Rankings 2023.

Degree                       Average Salary

Masters in Science       $248,000 

Doctorate                      $175,000 

MBA                             $173,000 

PhD                               $135,000 

Bachelor of Science       $110,000 

Masters in Finance         $107,000 


application requirements

International students can apply through Common App and Coalition Application. When applying through the latter, you need to provide additional CalTech questions. Teacher evaluations are mandatory. 

Freshman need 3.87 GPA on a scale of 4.0 (A- grade or 90 to 92%). 
Supplementary applications are also required. 

CollegeDunia Reviews7.8/10 Read 2 reviews8.3/10 Read 1 reviews
General Facts Comparison
General FactsCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPrinceton University
Type of UniversityUniversity
University
Established1920
1746
Student:Faculty Ratio3:1
8:1
Male:Female54% Male, 46% Female71% Male, 29% Female
Location Facts

124-acre campus located in Pasadena, California. The campus lies on the northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is at a walking distance from Pasadena Playhouse District and Old Town Pasadena.  


500-acre campus located in central New Jersey; Philadelphia and New York are just 55 miles away which is an hour drive. The southern edge of the university has an artificial lake 


Library

Has Sherman Fairchild Library; Includes print collections on Applied Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, etc. These six libraries together offer 412,217 records and collections to explore from. As per the library catalogs, you can access up to 412,271 resources. 


University has 14 libraries; Firestone Library is the main library having more than 11 million holdings in 12 buildings throughout the campus. It houses 3000 ebooks; 50,000 graphic arts collection; 100,000 coins collection; 1,244,911 paper of Princeton; 250,000 rare books collection; 10,000 archives and more


Campus Life

It is Pasadena’s largest employer; Has Caltech Today and Caltech Matters to update students about events of the university; Has Diversity Centre, Wellness Centre, Performing and Visual Arts Centre etc. You can enjoy or indulge in 20 varsity sports and various theatre, music, art groups. 80% of students (UG) are a part of athletic teams and 65% play a musical instrument.  


300 student organizations, 36 sport clubs, 17 chaplaincies and some of the campus life units such as Athletics and Campus Recreations; Center for Career Development; Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center; etc.


Hostel#Off campus (not with family) - $13293
#On campus - $14796
#Off campus (with family) - $4284
#Room - $10960
Famous Alumni

Over 22 Nobel Laureattes, 6 Turing Award winners; Edwin McMillan (synthesized first transuranium element), Donald Knuth (father of the analysis of algorithms), Harrison Schmitt (Astronaut), Arnold Beckman (invented the pH meter), William Shockley (father of Silicon Valley), etc.


Michelle Obama (former First Lady of US); James Madison and Woodrow Wilson (former US Presidents); Jeff Bezos (Amazon CEO and founder); Jimmy Stewart (actor); Alan Turing (father of theoretical computer science)


City Life

Pasadena is located 15 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. Some of the top companies in Pasadena are Jacob’s Engineering Group, Green dot corporation, Tetra Tech, Wesco Financial, etc. It has a wide variety of comedy clubs, outdoor cafes, night clubs, etc.  You can shop around Rose Bowl Flea market. Unemployment rate of Pasadena for July 2020 is 16.80%


The city of Princeton is located in the center of New Jersey, which is located in the Mid-Atlantic region of Northeastern USA. The cosmopolitan communities residing in the city offer students with multi-cuisine dining. You can shop around in downtown Princeton. The city also has a theatre, museum, and gardens. The unemployment rate is 3.6% .


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