The most accurate AI grader for Caltech essays.

    Kolly was built and calibrated on hundreds of thousands of essays from students who actually got into California Institute of Technology and the rest of the T20.

    Caltech essay prompts for 2025-26

    Copy the prompt you are answering into the prompt field above, then paste your draft, so the readers grade the answer against the question it has to answer.

    These are the most recent Caltech prompts Kolly has verified, checked . Caltech may have updated them since, so check California Institute of Technology admissions before you submit.

    Proposed Area of Interest

    • Caltech has a rigorous core curriculum and students don't declare a major until the end of their first year. However, some students arrive knowing which academic fields and areas already most excite them, or which novel fields and areas they most want to explore. If you had to choose an area of interest or two today, what would you choose? Note that you are under no obligation to follow this choice if admitted. Why did you choose your proposed area of interest? If you selected 'other', what topics are you interested in pursuing?

      200 words max · Required

    Creator / Innovator

    • The creativity, inventiveness, and innovation of Caltech's students, faculty, and researchers have won Nobel Prizes and put rovers on Mars. But Techers also innovate in smaller-scale ways everyday, from imagining new ways to design solar cells or how to 3D-print dorm decor, to cooking up new recipes in the kitchen. How have you been a creator, inventor, or innovator in your own life?

      200 words max · Required

    STEM Passion (Option A)

    • Tell us how you initially found your interest and passion for science or for a particular STEM topic, and how you have pursued or developed your interest or passion over the last few years.

      200 words max · Required

    Short Take — Hobby (Option A)

    • What is an interest or hobby you do for fun, and why does it bring you joy?

      249 words max · Required

    Short Take — Mind-Blowing Concept (Option D)

    • What is a concept that blew your mind or baffled you when you first encountered it?

      249 words max · Required

    STEM Experience (Option B)

    • Tell us about a meaningful STEM-related experience from the last few years and share how and why it inspired your curiosity.

      200 words max · Required

    Short Take — Teach a Class (Option B)

    • If you could teach a class on any topic or concept, what would it be and why?

      249 words max · Required

    Short Take — Core Identity (Option C)

    • What is a core piece of your identity or being that shapes how you view and/or interact with the world?

      249 words max · Required

    STEM Experiences

    • Identify and describe two STEM-related experiences from your high school years that influenced your interest in pursuing STEM.

      200 words max · Required

    Fascination

    • Tell us in detail about something — anything — that you find fascinating, and explain why.

      200 words max · Required

    Honor Code

    • The Caltech Honor Code — 'No member of the Caltech community shall take unfair advantage of any other member of the Caltech community' — has provided a great deal of freedom and responsibility. How would you contribute to and benefit from such a system?

      200 words max · Required

    All Caltech supplemental essays, with word limits and the published source.

    How Kolly grades a Caltech essay

    The grade covers the same six dimensions as every Kolly read: hook, theme, detail, authenticity, reflection, and writing, each scored from 0 to 5. The big number is a percentile that shows where your draft lands among accepted essays of the same type from top US schools. Caltech readers, like their counterparts at peer schools, read fast and form an impression in the first paragraph. The verdict quotes the line that lands and names the weakest moment, so you know what to fix first.

    Why Kolly instead of a ChatGPT read

    ChatGPT and other general models grade against writing in general, which is not what Caltech readers do. Kolly grades against essays that got in, and four readers argue over the draft before they vote, so a polished answer that says nothing specific gets called out instead of praised. The quick read is free without an account. A free Kolly account adds the full review: a stronger scoring model, notes on each paragraph, and a fix-it plan.

    Grading your personal statement?

    Use the main college essay grader for a Common App essay that goes to every school on your list. For acceptance rates, test scores, and cost, see California Institute of Technology admissions.