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Transferring to Caltech: your chances, deadlines and credits

2027 application cycle. Last updated . By The founders of Stairly

Caltech transfer acceptance rate

Caltech's transfer acceptance rate for fall 2025 was 6.2%. 9 transfer students enrolled. The first-year rate the same year was 3.8%.

Source: Official school data report, section D, 2025-2026

Transfer applicants, fall 2025
  • Applied162
  • Admitted10
  • Enrolled9
Share admitted, same year
  • Transfer applicants6.2%
  • First-year applicants3.8%

The Common Data Set is the official data report colleges publish each year.

Transfer and first-year applicants are different groups. Use the first-year rate as context only.

A rate this low tells you how few seats exist. It says nothing about you. No GPA makes this safe.

What Caltech looks for

There are two exams, math and physics, with a 4-hour limit each. No calculators, notes or textbooks. You take them on your honor under Caltech's Honor Code and upload your work. Reviewers say they want to see how you think, not only whether the answer is right.

Source: Caltech entrance exams and academic preparation, 2026-2027

Caltech also looks at AP and advanced STEM coursework from high school, and at STEM coursework you have taken or plan to take at your current school.

Source: Caltech transfer applicants, undated page

You need two recommendations from college faculty in math, science or engineering. You enter their names and Caltech contacts them. You may add one more letter from a coach, mentor or employer if it gives a meaningfully different view of you.

Source: Caltech transfer application requirements, 2026-2027

You may not transfer during or for your senior year of college. Anyone who already holds a bachelor's degree in any subject is not eligible. Caltech does not admit transfers for winter or spring.

Source: Caltech transfer applicants, undated page; Caltech transfer deadlines, 2026-2027

What GPA do you need?

Caltech lists no required courses and no GPA line. Its own entrance exams measure calculus of one and several variables, linear algebra, classical mechanics, electromagnetism and statistical physics, and special relativity. It calls these the first-year core courses transfer applicants are expected to have mastered.

Source: Caltech transfer applicants, undated page; Caltech entrance exams and academic preparation, 2026-2027

Our read: No GPA makes this safe. The exams are the part you cannot talk your way through. If you have not finished multivariable calculus, linear algebra and a calculus-based mechanics and electromagnetism sequence, the exams will show it. Start with the sample questions and the textbook list Caltech links.

Transfer essays and supplements

  • STEM academic interest, 150 to 200 words

    If you had to choose an area of interest or two today, what would you choose? Why did you choose your proposed area of interest?

    Source: Caltech supplemental transfer application essays, 2026-2027

  • Scholarly character, choose one, 200 words max

    How do you learn when the answer is hard to find? Option 1: tell us about a time your learning in STEM was shaped by another person or group, and what it taught you about learning and working with others. Option 2: tell us about a time your approach to a STEM problem, concept or project mattered as much as the outcome, and how you worked through uncertainty.

    Source: Caltech supplemental transfer application essays, 2026-2027

  • Scientific drive, choose two, 200 words max each

    How does STEM come alive in your life through learning, pursuing, or making? Option 1: a STEM rabbit hole you have fallen into. Option 2: a STEM question, problem, idea or project that has held your attention over time, ending with what you still want to understand. Option 3: something you created, tested, repaired, modeled, coded, built or redesigned, the problem you were solving and what the process revealed.

    Source: Caltech supplemental transfer application essays, 2026-2027

  • Fun question, 100 to 150 words

    What is something you would be excited to do, share, teach, make, start, or contribute as part of the Caltech community?

    Source: Caltech supplemental transfer application essays, 2026-2027

  • Optional academic short answer

    Is there anything about your academic preparation, coursework, school context, or learning experiences that would help us better understand your readiness for Caltech?

    Source: Caltech supplemental transfer application essays, 2026-2027

Our read: None of these prompts asks why you are leaving your school. Do not force it in. Use the space for specific STEM work you have done: a problem, a project, a course that changed how you think.

Our read: The optional question is the place to explain a thin STEM record, a school with few advanced courses, or a gap. Keep it factual.

Applicants must read Caltech's AI guidelines before submitting the essays. Allowed: grammar and spelling tools on finished essays, AI-generated brainstorming exercises, and research on the application process. Not allowed: pasting from an AI generator, relying on AI to outline or draft an essay, replacing your own voice, or translating an essay written in another language. Breaking the rules may lead to admission being rescinded.

Source: Caltech ethical use of AI guidelines for fall applicants, 2026-2027

Your grades are mostly set. Your essay is not. Get a free review against the six things a transfer essay has to do.

AI models process your essay. See how we handle it.

Transfer requirements

Caltech requires an essay and recommendation letters.

  • EssayRequired

    5 prompts are quoted in the essay section.

    Source, 2026-2027

  • Recommendation lettersRequired

    Caltech requires two recommendations from college faculty in math, science, or engineering.

    Source, 2026-2027

The fee is $85, or a fee waiver. Send official transcripts from every college and official high school transcripts for grades 9 to 12, both sent electronically by a school official.

Source: Caltech transfer application requirements, 2026-2027

You may add research papers or a STEM or non-STEM portfolio. They are optional. Caltech may check submitted materials after admission, and a falsified item can lead to admission being rescinded.

Source: Caltech transfer application requirements, 2026-2027

Caltech has no financial aid for transfer students who are neither US citizens nor permanent residents. That includes undocumented and DACA students who graduated from a US high school.

Source: Caltech transfer application requirements, 2026-2027

Transfer deadlines for fall 2027

For fall 2027 entry, the application deadline is February 1, 2027.

Source: California Institute of Technology transfer information, 2026-2027

  • You send or do something
  • The school answers
  1. February

    February 1, 2027

    Application deadline

    Source, 2026-2027

  2. February 15, 2027

    Transfer exams due

    Source, 2026-2027
  3. April

    Mid-April 2027

    Notifications

    Source, 2026-2027
  4. June

    June 1, 2027

    Admit reply deadline

    Source, 2026-2027

The exams have their own date. The application is due February 1, 2027 and the exams are due February 15, 2027. The requirements page is labeled for Fall 2026 applicants and says Fall 2027 details come in late fall, so check it again.

Source: Caltech transfer deadlines, 2026-2027; Caltech transfer application requirements, 2026-2027

Our read: You get two weeks between the application and the exams. Do the exam prep before you submit, not after.

Will your credits transfer?

The requirements page says you get a pre-evaluation estimate of your class standing, second or third year. The exams page says class standing is not pre-evaluated and is set after admission.

Source: Caltech transfer application requirements, 2026-2027; Caltech entrance exams and academic preparation, 2026-2027

After you enroll, the registrar and faculty review your transcripts and syllabi and award credit course by course. Caltech cannot say in advance whether outside coursework will be accepted. If a course's standard is unclear, extra exams may be required.

Source: Caltech transfer application requirements, 2026-2027; Caltech entrance exams and academic preparation, 2026-2027

Our read: Treat any estimate as an estimate. Keep the syllabus for every math, physics and engineering course you finish.

Build a full list

Caltech's own exams are not part of any other school's application. The prep for them does not carry over to a Common App list.

Source: Caltech entrance exams and academic preparation, 2026-2027

Our read: Keep your other applications moving while you prepare for the exams. Do not let exam prep be the reason another application goes in late.

  • Apply to schools across more than one tier. Do not build the list around one long shot.
  • Keep your grades up this term. Most transfer readers see your latest work.
  • Decide now what you do if every answer is no. Staying and finishing strong is a real plan.

Questions students ask

Do I need the SAT or ACT?

The requirements page lists Caltech's math and physics entrance exams. It does not state an SAT or ACT policy.

Source: Caltech transfer application requirements, 2026-2027

Can I apply as a senior?

No. Students may not transfer during or for their senior year of college.

Source: Caltech transfer applicants, undated page

Who has to write my letters?

Two college faculty in math, science or engineering.

Source: Caltech transfer application requirements, 2026-2027

Can I start in winter or spring?

No. Caltech does not admit transfer students for winter or spring terms.

Source: Caltech transfer deadlines, 2026-2027

Sources

Numbers come from official reports, read by our tools and checked. Notes were drafted with AI tools from the official pages linked beside them. A person has not reviewed this guide yet. Admission decisions belong to each college, and no one can promise one.

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