Inside DiscoTech: Admitted Students Explore Caltech

A rainy Sunday morning gave way to clear skies just in time to welcome more than 290 admitted students and their guests to campus for Caltech's annual Discover Caltech program, known as DiscoTech.

Over four days, from April 12 to April 15, attendees explored the Institute's academic offerings, campus traditions, and community—while weighing one of the biggest decisions ahead of them: where to spend the next four years of their lives.

In his welcome keynote to DiscoTech attendees, Kevin Noertker (BS '09), the co-founder and CEO of hybrid-electric aircraft company Ampaire, encouraged students to rethink how they approach that decision.

"Definitely don't try to draw a map of where your future is headed," Noertker said. "I used to think I was a mapmaker, ...but the reality is life is not something you can generally map out. Treat it like a compass. Like orienteering into the wilderness, set your compass on good principles, run in that direction, lift your head up, look around, reorient, and then continue moving. You can find your way through the unknown really fast and efficiently that way."

That mindset carried into the days that followed, as students split their time between academic programming and campus life. Attendees toured labs, spoke with faculty, and visited the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which Caltech manages for NASA, and Griffith Observatory, while also experiencing Caltech's residential system and student culture firsthand.

For many, it was the smaller unscripted moments that stood out most.

Cynthia Tian, an admitted student from Amherst, Massachusetts, recalled overhearing a conversation between a professor and a student at the Red Door Marketplace.

"It felt so friendly. The professor felt super approachable," Tian said. "When they sat down, the professor said to the student, ‘Thank you for meeting me,' instead of the other way around. It just really showed how much of a priority students are here."

Another admitted student, Anjali Sharma-Tiwari from San Jose, California, pointed to Caltech's house system as a defining part of her DiscoTech experience.

"The house rotation is something you're not going to experience anywhere else. Every house truly has its own identity," Sharma-Tiwari said. "I'm staying at Bechtel, which has a very calm atmosphere. Through house rotation, I was able to go to Fleming, which held a s'mores event and had a more sporty culture, which I loved. Every place has its own vibe."

The DiscoTech program culminated with Caltech's traditional egg drop competition, where student teams had 45 minutes to use scraps of cardboard and plastic to build containers designed to protect an egg dropped from the top of Caltech Hall. In the warm afternoon sun, students and guests gathered to watch as each design was put to the test—some ending in clean landings, others in dramatic splatters. Regardless of the outcome, the energy was celebratory, marking a shared final experience for many attendees.

By the final day, some students said the visit had already reshaped their perceptions of Caltech.

Rice Tipps, a committed QuestBridge Scholar from San Marcos, Texas, said the experience made the Institute feel more welcoming than he had expected.

"Before I applied, I imagined Caltech as this place full of incredibly intelligent people that might feel intimidating or even cutthroat," Tipps said. "But the people here are so incredibly nice and kind. It's a nice place to be—not just academically but socially too."

As DiscoTech came to a close, the admitted students turned to the decision ahead. They have until May 1 to choose whether to enroll at Caltech.