the incoming class, 83, or 35.3 percent, are women–the highest in Caltech’s history in both number and percentage, according to Charlene Liebau, director of admissions.

"We had the largest female applicant pool ever, and with the highest level of preparation and active involvement in the sciences," Liebau says. "This reflects recent efforts in the high schools to encourage young women in math and science, and we’re now seeing the benefits."

The class also achieved the highest mean SAT scores in recent history: 1500 combined (770 in math and 730 verbal). Several students skipped a grade or more, or graduated early, and will arrive for fall quarter at the tender age of 15 or 16. One student took advanced-placement calculus in the ninth grade; others took college-level courses after exhausting the math and science options at their schools.

The varied array of backgrounds and personal interests among the students is sure to lend breadth and perspective to their academic life. Included in the group are four Eagle Scouts; a young woman who kayaked through the Florida everglades, observing environmental degradation; a young man who was in charge of his school’s technological facilities and got to demonstrate them to President Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair; a Rose Princess finalist; and a young man who trained to be a Buddhist monk in Thailand. Many are musical, including classical, jazz, and rock musicians, a harpist, a taiko drummer, several bell choir members, and the founder of a punk band. Others participate in a variety of sports ranging from rock climbing to roller hockey to competitive swing dancing.

About 30 percent of the incoming students are from California, among the lowest percentage in recent years. The trend toward fewer homegrown students and increasing out-of-state enrollments has resulted from more aggressive national recruiting efforts by Caltech admissions staff, says Liebau. In terms of diversity, the class is 22 percent Asian, 6 percent Latino, and 51 percent Caucasian; 6 percent are international students. Twenty percent of the students declined to identify their ethnic origins, a sharp increase from previous years. Liebau says this is a nationwide trend: "Students want to be admitted on their merits rather than because of ethnicity."

Although the Institute received more applications from African American students and admitted a number, they accepted other offers. And of course, competition in attracting top students is intense. Liebau notes that "of the students who choose to go elsewhere, 83 percent pick MIT, Stanford, Harvard, or Berkeley"–showing that some very worthy rivals lured away the rest of the 520 students who received Caltech acceptance letters.