Trying to find advice on the web for the BOHS Alumni night I participated in, I ran across Robert Enright's opinion of Caltech. It's the piece of writing that most closely approximates my feelings about the four years I spent there, so I quote it here:

Not too long ago, I graduated from Caltech. While I was there I was bitterly unhappy and largely resentful about having chosen to go there in the first place. However, now that it's over, I've begun to see the bigger picture and have developed a slightly more balanced view on my years there. To be honest, practically every day of my life there just plain sucked and I was nearly always on the edge of despair. But every once in a while I'd have a very fun, special, or memorable moment that I will now treasure forever. Nevertheless, my life is presently a bit unsatisfying and it seems clear that my experience at Caltech is mostly to blame.