California Institute of Technology Admissions 2026-27: Application Deadline, Eligibility & Acceptance Rate

California Institute of Technology Application Deadlines for Fall 2027

All Fall 2027 admission windows are live now, per the Caltech Undergraduate Admissions deadlines page and the Graduate Studies Office.

• Caltech runs a single primary intake in the Fall; Spring or off-cycle graduate starts are not offered for most programs.
• The table below lists the operative Fall 2027 dates for Indian applicants.
• Caltech’s primary intake for Indian students is Fall (August) 2027 — every UG option and every PhD programme opens here.

California Institute of Technology Eligibility for Indian Students

Caltech evaluates applications holistically and does not publish a minimum GPA or single cut-off, but successful Indian applicants cluster near the top of Indian board and university ranks. Academic thresholds and English-test floors are separated from paperwork; documents live in the Documents Required section below.

California Institute of Technology Bachelor’s Entry Requirements

• Class XII (recommended): CBSE, ISC, or state board with 90%-plus aggregate, or IB Diploma 40+.
• Academic preparation: Applicants should complete 4 years of Mathematics, including 1 year of Calculus, 1 year of Physics, and 1 year of Chemistry. Biology is recommended.
• Standardised tests: SAT or ACT is required for Fall 2027 first-year applicants. Applicants who have taken AP or IB examinations must also submit those scores.
• English proficiency: IELTS 7.0 in each area, TOEFL 100.

California Institute of Technology PG Programs and English Scores

For 2026–27, Caltech’s annual graduate tuition is $68,574 (₹65.49 Lakhs); mandatory fees are $2,448 (₹2.34 Lakhs), bringing the total annual tuition and mandatory fees to $71,022 (₹67.83 Lakhs). See the course-wise fees breakdown for the full list.

California Institute of Technology UG Options for Indian Students

Every UG Degree at Caltech shares the same admissions bar and the same four-year duration; the choice does not affect entry requirements.

California Institute of Technology Application Process and Fee

UG and PhD applications run on different platforms. Every step below is done online — no paper submission. Set an IST calendar with each step at least four weeks before the deadline, since Indian document apostilles and score reporting take that long.

1. Create your account. UG applicants open a Common App account, which launched for the 2026-27 cycle on 1 August 2026. 
2. Fill out the profile and essays. UG Common App essays plus Caltech’s supplemental short-answers; PhD statement of purpose (1,000 to 1,500 words) plus a personal statement.
3. Send test scores. Report SAT or ACT (UG) and TOEFL or IELTS (all) directly from the testing agency to Caltech’s institution codes.
4. Request recommendations. Students need two teacher LORs plus one counsellor form. 
5. Upload transcripts. Unofficial scans are accepted at application; official transcripts are required only before enrolment.
6. Pay the application fee. Pay the application fee of USD 85 (around INR 8,033) for UG on the Common App or USD 100 (around INR 9,450) for PhD on the Caltech Graduate Studies portal. Fee waivers exist for documented financial need.
7. Submit before your programme’s deadline. The application system closes at 12:01 am Pacific Time the day after the posted deadline — build in a full day of buffer.

California Institute of Technology Admission Decisions Timeline

Decision timing depends on the track. UG Restrictive Early Action decisions are non-binding, so an admitted student may still apply elsewhere in Regular Decision. PhD offers are conditional on completion of the bachelor’s degree with the stated grade and on F-1 visa clearance.

• UG REA notification: Mid-December 2026 — admit, defer, or deny.
• UG Regular Decision notification: Mid-March 2027; enrolment deposit due 1 May 2027.
• PhD notification: Rolling from late January to early April 2027 as departments complete interviews.
• Deferral policy: UG admits may request a one-year deferral for approved reasons; PhD deferrals are decided by the admitting programme case-by-case.

California Institute of Technology Documents Required for Indian Applicants

Every document is uploaded to the application portal in PDF; originals in Hindi or regional languages need an English translation attached. This list is paperwork only — academic scores and English cut-offs sit in the Eligibility section above.

• Passport bio-page scan valid through Fall 2027.
• Class IX, X, and XI marksheets plus Class XII predicted or first-term results.
• Common App essay plus Caltech supplemental short answers.
• Counsellor recommendation and two teacher LORs from science or math faculty.
• Official SAT or ACT score report; AP or IB scores if attempted.
• TOEFL, IELTS, PTE Academic, or Duolingo English Test score report.
• International Financial Aid Statement of Intent.
• Certified translations for any non-English document.

See the US F-1 student visa guide

California Institute of Technology Acceptance Rate for Indian Students

Caltech reports an overall acceptance rate of 2.6%, one of the lowest among US universities and lower than every Ivy except Harvard and MIT. Indian-applicant acceptance is not published separately but is estimated at 1 to 2%, based on historical yield patterns at the institute where a small share of the international admits are Indian. Caltech does not publish an official Indian-only figure.

California Institute of Technology Undergraduate Acceptance Odds

For the Fall 2025 entering class, Caltech admitted roughly 300 first-year students from about 13,000 applicants; the yield rate is above 50%. Indian applicants generally submit SAT scores above 1550 or ACT above 35, and often carry an international olympiad medal, published research, or an Intel/ISEF-level project.

California Institute of Technology PhD Acceptance Odds

PhD acceptance runs option-by-option; the most competitive tracks (Physics, CS, EE) admit at roughly 5 to 8%, while smaller options can be even tighter. Caltech’s competitive standing is reflected in its ranking band, sitting at QS World 7 and THE 7 in the latest cycles.

Insider note: Faculty fit matters more at Caltech than at any peer school in your list. If two named faculty in your target department have no funding room in Fall 2027, the admissions committee will pass — even on a very strong file. Email faculty two months before the deadline to test fit.

Caltech admissions reward specificity, research fit, and technical depth over polish. Indian students who apply with a clear lab shortlist, verified English waivers where they qualify, and every deadline logged in an IST calendar convert offers at a materially higher rate than those who apply on broad interest alone.