Caltech Congratulates 315 Admitted Students

On Saturday, March 9, Caltech released its final round of undergraduate admissions letters, bringing the total number of admitted applicants to 315. Among the group of stellar students are individuals with remarkable stories, lived experiences, and accomplishments. There are scuba-certified biologists, speedcubers, NaNoWriMo participants, musicians, athletes, and STEM competition winners, among others. Not surprisingly, these admitted students share two unifying traits: a passion for science and an eagerness to experience everything Caltech offers.

“Getting to know these young people over the course of the admissions process is both an inspiration and a delight,” says Caltech’s executive director of undergraduate admissions Ashley Pallie. “Students invited us into their lives and told us the stories of their triumphs and failures, showcasing depths of creativity and tenacity that we know will help them succeed at Caltech. I’m thrilled for who these scientists and engineers will become and the impact their research will have on Caltech and the world.”

Meet the Admitted Students

Kate Mygushchenko is one admitted student who has already committed to attending Caltech. A refugee from Kharkiv, Ukraine, Mygushchenko relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in eleventh grade due to the war in her home country.

“It’s really hard to adapt to America, especially when you move as a teenager,” Mygushchenko says. That’s why, she says, she was surprised by how easy it was to make connections during Caltech Up Close, the fall fly-in program she attended in 2023. “I made a lot of friends when visiting Caltech, many more than I made in my high school. I feel like Caltech is a really warm atmosphere and already feels like home; I feel like I belong there.”

Mygushchenko was admitted through the QuestBridge National College Match program, which matches outstanding low-income students to their top-choice school with a full four-year scholarship. In addition to conducting research on signal processing, Mygushchenko is a member of her school’s robotics team. She says she hopes to study electrical engineering and join Caltech’s volleyball team.

Another admitted member of the incoming class is Alex Xu, a student from San Diego, California. Inspired by chemistry YouTuber NileRed and his own desire to perform chemistry experiments “just for fun,” Xu built a laboratory setup and fume hood from scratch in his garage and shared a video (below) of the project in his application to Caltech.

“Caltech has been my dream school since sixth grade,” Xu says, recounting his first exposure to the Institute while attending the Southern California Science Olympiad State Tournament, which Caltech hosts annually. “Being on campus as a sixth grader, I was enamored. I actually snuck into one of the labs in between my events and looked around. It was so amazing! That experience is burned into my memory.”

Xu says that, in addition to participating in Caltech’s cutting-edge research, he is looking forward to taking a film class and connecting with other students who are interested in birding.

“Based on the Discord chat for admitted students, it looks there’s a pretty good group of people in this class who like birds,” Xu says. “There was talk of starting a birding club at Caltech, which would be super cool.”

Alexander Abeiku Abakah from Agona Swedru, Ghana, was the first admitted international student to commit to attending Caltech. During a gap period after graduating high school, Abakah served as ambassador for Ghana in the International Youth Math Challenge and conducted research in computational mathematics, which he recently presented at the 1st Annual Engineering Conference at the University of Ghana.

Abakah says he was driven to pursue research with medical applications after his mother passed away during his final year of high school.

“After my mother’s death, I saw it very necessary to spend my scientific career delving into computational biology research to ensure that I’ll be able to come up with algorithms and mathematical models to optimize drug dosages, assist in tailoring treatments, and support health professionals’ informed decisions,” Abakah says. “Now, I want to leverage knowledge and skills in quantum computing and artificial intelligence towards drug discovery and disease modeling.”

Abakah says he was inspired to apply to Caltech after seeing the AI-driven drug discovery work of Anima Anandkumar, Bren Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, and looks forward to participating in high-impact research that tackles challenging societal issues.