California Institute of Technology popularly known as CalTech is a well-renowned research institute for Science and Engineering. It is one of the hardest institutions to gain admission in USA.has achieved the #1 position in education subcategory of America’s best employers according to Forbes, 2022. The university provides extensive career support to its students through the Career Development Center.Harvard University is the oldest higher education institution in USA. It one of the highest selective universities in the world. Students can choose from undergraduate programs across 58 areas of study.
| California Institute of Technology | Harvard University | |
|---|---|---|
| Collegedunia Score | 8.3 Out of 10 | 10 Out of 10 |
| ranking (overall) | # 10 QS World University 2026 # 7 Times Higher Education 2025 # 10 QS World University 2025 | # 5 QS World University 2026 # 1 Center for World University Rankings 2025 # 3 Times Higher Education 2025 |
| Subject Strength | # 5 for Engineering by US News 2025 # 34 for Data Science and Analytics by QS World University 2025 # 140 for Medicine by QS World University 2024 | # 1 for Engineering by Times Higher Education 2025 # 6 for Data Science and Analytics by QS World University 2025 # 1 for Medicine by QS World University 2025 |
| Programs | UG Programs -27 PG Programs -13 Doctorate Programs -16 | UG Programs -40 PG Programs -52 Doctorate Programs -9 |
| Acceptance Rate | 3.0 % | 7.0 % |
| Exam Score | Duolingo-130 IELTS-7 SAT-1530 TOEFL-100 | GMAT-620 GRE-300 IELTS-7 SAT-1470 TOEFL-80 |
| Cost to Study | Average Tuition Fees 56364 [For UG Program] Average Tuition Fees 56364 [For PG Program] Hostel + Meal - 27636 Per Year | Average Tuition Fees 55656 [For PG Program] Hostel + Meal - 32724 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). | Harvard University is one of the top private universities in Cambridge, United States. It is ranked #5 in QS World University Rankings 2023 and ranked #1 in US UNI.
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| 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. | Teacher Evaluation forms (as additional LORs); Sample of academic work, potfolio, music recordings, art work, etc (supplementary documents); IELTS/TOEFL; Standardized test scores |
| Campuses and B-Schools | NA | Harvard Law School Harvard Extension School Harvard Kennedy School Harvard Business School |
| CollegeDunia Reviews | 7.9/10 Read 3 reviews | 7.1/10 Read 5 reviews |
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| General Facts | California Institute of Technology | Harvard University |
|---|---|---|
| Type of University | University | University |
| Established | 1920 | 1636 |
| Student:Faculty Ratio | 3:1 | 7:1 |
| Male:Female | 54% Male, 46% Female | 52% Male, 48% 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. | Harvard Yard: Campus’s historic hub, Harvard Square: Campus’s personal hagout destination with restaurants, cafe, bookstores, theater, shops. Well connected to the local neighborhood of Boston by public transport, the campus traverses the Charles River to near by Allston. |
| 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. | Largest academic library in the world. 20.4 million volumes, 400 million manuscript items, 180,000 serial titles. The library offers various grants and fellowships for both students and faculty. |
| 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. | Students from over 50 states and 80 countries are offered assistance by over 400 official student organization. The campus has its own museum, radio station, magazine and newspaper. Along with student clubs for Aikikai, archery, dance, theatre/drama, music, etc, campus also offers cultural & racial initiatives, asian student centric-projects, etc. Varsity sports, crimson pride and various atheletic teams. |
| Hostel | #Housing/Room - $11697 #Food/Meals - $7353 | #Medium Single - $10719 #Large Single - $13644 #Standard Single - $8361 |
| 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. | Eight US Presidents, 62 living billionaires, 242 Marshall Scholars, 359 Rhodes scholars. Barak Obama (ex-president of USA), Michelle Obama (Former First Lady of USA), Mark Zuckerberg, Natalie Portman (Actress), Bill Gates, Conan O’ Brien (comedian writer), Al Gore (Winner-Peace Prize), Matt Damon (Actor), Helen Keller, Subramaniam Swami (Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha) |
| 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% | Cambridge- city in Massachusetts; home to a huge student community; city offers a great nightlife with gastropubs, live music, and cocktail bars. Boston’s cosmopolitan excitement is bus-ride away. Average salaries offered within the state are up to 97,5000 USD; Famous tourist attractions: Charles River, Harvard Square, Mount Auburn Cemetery, MIT Museum, CambrdgeSide, John Harvard Statue, Sanders Theatre; Unemployment rate- 3.2% |
| Weather |
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