The institution behind the standard.
The initiative's coalition network began with Caltech alumni. Caltech is a singular institution, and its character explains the fact-based, scientific ethos this foundation holds itself to. The record follows.
Top ranked, and more selective still.
Caltech ranks #4 among top universities in the world, with MIT, Stanford, and Harvard, then Oxford (5) and Cambridge (6). The next highest U.S. institutions are the University of Chicago (9), Princeton (13), Cornell (14), and Yale (15). (2019-2020 QS World University Rankings)
Of the six top-ranked, Caltech is the most restrictive, admitting 230 to a student body of 950 undergraduates. (2018 school data, rounded)
| 230 | admitted at Caltech, to a student body of 950 | 2018 data |
| 1,500 | admitted at MIT, to a student body of 4,500 | 2018 data |
| 2,100 | admitted at Stanford, to a student body of 7,000 | 2018 data |
| 2,000 | admitted at Harvard, to a student body of 7,000 | 2018 data |
| 3,200 | admitted at Oxford, to a student body of 12,000 | 2018 data |
| 3,500 | admitted at Cambridge, to a student body of 12,000 | 2018 data |
| 39 | Nobel Prizes earned by Caltech faculty and alumni, despite its size |
| 3:1 | student-faculty ratio, with 1,200 graduate students and 300 professorial faculty |
| 95% | of undergraduates participate in research projects |
| #8 | globally as the most richly-endowed university in the world, per student |
Merit, excellence, and reach.
A meritocracy
Students are admitted based on individual scholastic and personal achievements: no family legacy, no wealth, no donor considerations. Beyond scholarship merit awards, once accepted, every student then receives 100% of whatever financial aid is needed to attend, no matter economic circumstance.
Academic excellence
The entering class ranks #1 in scholastic achievement globally (2018 median SAT = 1,557, ACT = 34-36).
Diversity & opportunity
Of all world universities, Caltech ranks in the top 5% for an "extremely diverse" student body. The male/female student ratio is 55/45%, faculty 59/41%. Caltech ranks in the top 1% for granting financial aid to its students.
Outsize influence
Visiting scholars have included Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, alongside the 39 Nobel Prizes earned by faculty and alumni.
JPL & NASA
Caltech's nearby Jet Propulsion Laboratory division (JPL) runs nineteen spacecraft and eight instruments for NASA, with five NASA facilities on campus.
Exploring the solar system
Founded by Caltech faculty, JPL missions explore the solar system and Cosmos, including the Mars Rovers and InSight, currently drilling into the Martian crust to search for evidence of life forms.
The standard explains the method.
Return to the initiative this network built, or see how its referendum machinery works in practice.