<p>My daughter is a rising senior at Scripps. She is very happy with her choice and just finished a fantastic semester abroad (Scripps uses IES Abroad for its foreign study programs) As a parent, wanted to give incoming students and upcoming applicants some feedback:
(1) Scripps flaunts its "affordability" ranking, and while it may give out a lot of financial aid to some students, if you are middle income or better, you will receive <em>nothing</em> in the way of financial aid and the "rack rate" is EXPENSIVE. Not made any better by charging regular Scripps tuition for semesters abroad which is $12k PER SEMESTER more than the IES charge. Kind of a lot for overhead. We had saved a substantial amount toward college but at $60k per year it's gone. Plus, if you don't get financial aid, you don't get work/study, and there are few campus jobs for non work study students.
(2) Likewise the touted Scripps summer fellowships for internships or research seem to be reserved for needy students. So again a paradox, need paid student work since no aid, but much more difficult to find work if not receiving aid.
(3) The Core was a big selling point for me. However my daughter found the three semester core requirement very disappointing, including one professor (who has since received tenure) who was quite open about his low opinion of Scripps students' intellectual abilities. I had hoped she would be inspired by Core in choosing her major but she was not.
(4) Cross registration for courses at other 5C campuses is impossible as a practical matter unless you have a major not offered by Scripps. My daughter has tried for four semester to enroll in a CMC econ class, ANY CMC econ class, without success.
(5) The feasibility of double majoring is lower than the official line would have you believe, and the English department actually attempted, and may have succeeded, in eliminating writing as a major or minor.
(6) With rising yield and enrollment, there is a housing crisis at Scripps. Those beautiful dorms and dorm rooms are only luck of the draw. My daughter had a double created from a smallish single room thanks to putting the beds on platforms. Somehow two girls managed to share a 30" wide closet. Last year (junior year) some students had to room at a Pomona dorm. Now in her senior year, my daughter considers herself fortunate to have gotten a single the same size and on the very same hallway as her freshman "double." Forget about the beautiful suites and rooms with balconies.
Scripps: A beautiful school with wonderful, amazing, talented fellow students, but you should be aware of what you are really getting and paying.</p>
<p>Thanks for the detailed review – it’s very helpful. My D is thinking about applying to Scripps.</p>
<p>It is a wonderful school overall, don’t get me wrong, and was a good fit for my daughter (who didn’t want an all women’s college, but since Scripps is part of 5Cs she does have guys as friends and in joint activities. I think it is best of both worlds.) Also increasingly popular, thus the housing crunch. Just want people to know what they should realistically expect.</p>
<p>Alright, as a recent graduate I’ll respond to CAorBust’s points:</p>
<p>1) Yes Scripps is very expensive. It’s ridiculous. No argument here.
2) I actually know lots of people without financial need who got summer funding. Money isn’t available for all students, but Scripps recently upped the number of fellowships. Also, in my opinion the low income students for whom internships would be an absolute impossibility without funding should have greater access to the fellowships.
3) Core is controversial. Some people love it, others hate it. For what it’s worth, I liked Core I and loved my Core II and Core III. My interest in one of the lectures led me to take an intro class with the professor the next semester, which was how I found my major. It doesn’t work out that way for everyone, but it happens for some people. Also, Core runs on a three year cycle, and the new curriculum that was introduced last year was a lot more popular with first years than the one your daughter and I took.
4) This is actually the point that prompted me to post here, as I was able to get into every class I wanted for my entire four years in Claremont, and somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 were off-campus. I’m really sorry your daughter has had such a tough time getting classes - I know CMC Econ classes are really hard to get into. I would say the norm is somewhere between your daughter and me, and it definitely depends on the major, but most people can get the classes they want eventually.
5) Yeah, double majoring can be tricky, although I know quite a few people who did it. And yes, much to the chagrin of many students and about half of the English department, it is now nearly impossible to be a writing major at Scripps.
6) Yup. Too many people, not enough rooms. It’s cramped. </p>
<p>I’m really glad I went to Scripps. It was by no means a perfect college experience, but my education did and is doing amazing things for me. Also, I’m pretty happy and well adjusted. That seems important.</p>
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<p>I also wanted to post on this point. My D is a Mudder, and there are MANY students from the other 5Cs in the Comp Sci classes at Mudd (too many, in my opinion, the intro classes are very large…). My D has registered for a philosophy class at Pomona next fall, and is waitlisted for a psych class she is interested in at CMC. Possibly the common thread here is CMC classes?? Not sure…</p>
<p>I think any school will have its fair share of negatives. I don’t think anything mentioned in this thread should deter anybody from applying. Scripps is still a wonderful school. </p>
<p>“Fit” should be used to describe how well a student can balance the pros/cons of an institution.</p>
<p>As a current Scripps student, I wanted to share a different opinion. As students, we tend to call home and talk to our mothers about things that upset us (the problems) and spend a lot less time gushing to our mothers about all the little things that make us happy (not to say we don’t do that too).
- Financial Aid is a messy business and the rising cost of higher education is a national problem. Only really knowing my situation, I won’t comment on financial aid for all Scripps students. I will mention that Scripps, unlike many other colleges, still offers merit aid for high-achieving students. The James E. Scripps scholarship is one of them.
- Scripps gave out over 100 internship grants this summer. Considering that number is around 10% of the total school population and certainly an even larger portion of those who wanted to pursue unpaid internships, I would say that the availability of internship grants has certainly increased.
- I’m a science major, and I certainly didn’t get that from Core (I did get it from AISS, which is an incredible interdisciplinary science course), but as hopefullyhelpful says above, Core is controversial. Some love it. Some don’t. I loved Writing50. Again, some do, some don’t.
- While getting into a CMC Econ course is exceptionally difficult, I would say that about half of my courses so far, and 3/4 of my classes next semester are on another campus (neither Scripps nor Keck Science). There is occasionally an extra hoop to jump through, but cross-registration is still a significant asset of the Claremont Consortium.
- Double majoring involves writing two thesies. Many students are dual majors. If students with some of the most demanding science majors can be dual majors, almost anyone can with enough planning.
- Yes, Scripps does have a housing crisis. There are still people living in those beautiful, incredible rooms; they have not disappeared as you seem to imply. Scripps has had the option for students to live at Pomona for some time now.</p>
<p>I do not believe that Scripps is perfect. I do, however, believe that Scripps was the right fit for me and many of my classmates. </p>
<p>My daughter is a freshman at Scripps. After reading this thread, I was worried about her dorm room assignment. I I did not have anything to worry about. Her dorm room is a double. We heard that she was one of the lucky ones. I have to say her room is great - walk in closet, sink, counter space, mirrored medicine cabinet for each student. The beds are lofted and it makes the room more spacious. </p>
<p>While she may be in the minority, she is very satisfied with her housing assignment. Even if she had been in a forced triple, the common rooms in the dorms are very nice. I think the housing situation at Scripps is far better than in many other colleges.</p>
<p>Thank you to those of you who have been kind enough to post about your experiences at Scripps. I’m interested in your reports that 1/3-1/2 of your classes have been taken off campus. Isn’t there a requirement that a certain percentage of classes must be taken at Scripps? Have you found that limiting? </p>
<p>I’m also interested in how an off campus major works. Does the student write a thesis in that major and is it supervised by a Scripps prof or by a prof where the major is housed? How easy is this to do and how many Scripps students pursue that option?</p>
<p>In response to the posters who have rushed to the defense of Scripps: I DO think Scripps is a wonderful school! At the same time I have been disappointed in some facets, so I want other similarly naive parents and applicants to be forewarned. I do think that on campus jobs and summer internships should be at least as available for non work study students and those not receiving grant aid, since our students MUST earn some money due to not getting grants. I think it is out of balance, since why would my daughter be awarded a competitive grant from a national foundation for her summer work and somehow not be qualified to receive one of the hundred Scripps fellowships (for a student body of less than 300!) Also when so many campus jobs are subsidized by work study, a non work study student is at a serious disadvantage when it is even more imperative for her to be able to earn something. And yes, those beautiful rooms and suites still exist, but only for the relatively lucky few. However even the small forced double had beautiful French doors looking out onto green lawns…so housing is still so much nicer and more charming than other schools, and the common areas and kitchens are great. I only wanted to provide some balance to give a more realistic set of expectations for applicants.</p>
<p>3Girls3Cats: I think that majoring at another 5C is possible only if that major is not offered at Scripps. For the Mudder, I think Scripps does not offer computer science, so perhaps the CS classes are more crowded at Mudd. And since the only class my daughter wanted to cross register for was the CMC econ class, and she has repeatedly been shut out of it, that is the extent of our cross-registering experience. Perhaps less popular classes have more room, but I have looked at spaces available during registration and space seems pretty tight overall for all 5cs schools.</p>
<p>@CAorBust – when you talk about summer internships, is the problem not getting a paid internship for a non-work-study student, or not being able to get an internship at all? I kind of understand about the campus jobs, but not being able to get a campus internship could really have an effect on a student’s future opportunities.</p>
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<p>Not entirely the topic of this thread, but I heard this week that next year the intro CS class that students from other Clarement college like to take at Mudd will only be open to Mudd students in the fall (when all Mudd frosh are required to take it for core), but they will offer it 2nd semester a well to accommodate any students from the other campuses who want to take it (or I suppose for any Mudder who failed 1st semester, they HAVE to pass all core courses eventually). :)</p>
<p>@intparent I am a Scripps student '18 and yes Mudd students aren’t allowed to take the spring CS. It has over a hundred spots total and it is VERY popular. My roommate and many of my friends are interested in taking it. However as first-years… we register last. :P</p>
<p>To answer to the dorm dilemma above, I am in a “forced” triple (it was a double four years ago) and it is nice and spacious. My bed is bunked. I have my own closet. I am happy. All the rooms vary because some of them weren’t always rooms when the college was young. The people who live at Smiley on Pomona campus do it because they want singles, I’ve heard (one of my upperclass friends lives in one) but since Pomona is on a housing crunch, it won’t happen next year. They’re trying to complete the 10th residence hall by 2016, and we recently got a donation to make that start happening soon, so hopefully I’ll be able to live in it…</p>
<p>Cross registration is not as difficult as it seems. Permission to enroll is usually approved (I’ve been told) if you show up to the first day of classes and are persistent.</p>
<p>And yes, this year’s core is wonderful. They switch it out every three years. Upperclass girls did not seem to like theirs, but me and other sophomores do, in general, like Core I. And are looking forward to Core II.</p>
<p>I guess I would be surprised if the Mudders are truly blocked from the spring semester. It is a core course and every Mudder attempts it fall of freshman year. But if for some reason they fail or withdraw or whatever, I think they are required to take it the first semester it is offered again. So I bet you get a smattering of them in the spring, but not very many. It is one of the easier core classes, don’t recall my D saying any of her friends were in trouble in it. And they sure had some other troublesome classes. :)</p>
<p>mamabear16: I don’t understand the difference you seem to make between campus “jobs” and campus “internships.” My daughter is working unpaid in a professor’s lab; I think if she had work study she would be paid. My only point is that students not getting any other aid (except offers of market rate undeferred loans!) need some way of making money in the summer and during the school year. Right now they are disadvantaged in getting paid work since subsidized work study students come first for both jobs and internships.</p>
<p>Thanks for clarifying that. It’s ine thing to not get paid for an internship and another to not be able to get one at all. I wasn’t sure what you meant earlier but now I understand. I also realize that just because a kid doesn’t haven’t work study it doesn’t mean that they don’t need a job. I’m sorry that this has been an issue for your daughter. </p>
I feel I need to discuss my daughter’s experience at Scripps. She is a freshman at Scripps. She is loving it.
My daughter does not get financial aid and she has a merit scholarship. She worked last semester as a note taker but those jobs are rare. She was taking the right class at the right time. She is working as a volunteer on a research project at Keck. She was informed today that she has been granted a summer research fellowship ($$) by the Keck faculty to continue working on that research project.
It is possible for a student receiving no financial aid to be awarded a summer fellowship. Her merit scholarship precluded her from applying for a Scripps College Internship Grant but she did her homework and found a program that would fund her for the summer.
She is one data point but she shows that it is possible for a student with no financial aid to get summer funding at Scripps.
As far as classes, she is taking 1 class at Scripps, 2 at Keck, and 1.75 at Pomona (1 full credit class, 1 half credit class and the 0.25 credit class is a PE class). She did have to ask for permission to take the full credit Pomona class but she did get in.
Hi! I’m a Scripps alum. I haven’t posted at CC in ages but happened to see this topic.
- Scripps is expensive. As is typical of women's colleges, they don't have the same endowment as comparably ranked co-ed schools. I wouldn't recommend anyone go who'd be graduating with massive student loan debt. Scripps does have a generous merit scholarship program and gives amazing fin aid to many. Studying abroad does save a little money because you don't have to pay Scripps' room and board. Tuition is still very pricey, but at least that's something.
- Without work study I had a harder time finding on-campus jobs, but I did get something. I believe anyone can work at phonathon, and a couple of of my friends got jobs off campus.
- Core is hit or miss. My friends' and my experiences varied dramatically based on which professors were leading their discussion section and later seminars. Those transferring in AP credits get an advantage, since they have first dibs on picking sections. As an alum I appreciate that core exposed me to a wide range of intellectual schools of thought.
- I found cross-registration to be a breeze. I took half my classes off-campus in any given semester. A few departments are hard to cross-register into- econ at CMC is one. In many cases you'll need special permission and a convincing reason to cross register if Scripps offers the identical class.
- I know many people who dual majored; it's relatively simple if you can combine both subjects into one thesis. It's more difficult if you need to double major and write a second thesis - ugh. I did end up dropping a possible second major to a minor because one of the departments' requirements made it impossible to write one thesis. A very motivated student absolutely could've done it, though.
- The days of Scrippsies having their own gorgeous rooms starting sophomore year have been over for a long time. I say this as someone who started my JUNIOR year in a forced double. First year forced triples often get the opportunity to de-triple, and upper level students in doubles can also get moved to singles. For sophomores, the best chance to get their own room is to attempt to draw into a Frankel/Routt suite or try their luck at applying to the Senior Routt Apartments. I had my own room in a suite sophomore year, and junior year I got moved from the forced double into a nice single room (one a senior would usually get) 2 weeks into fall semester. I ended up with great singles my final two years.
Even though supply of housing at Scripps isn’t like the old days, I still think it’s quite nice compared to your average college’s dorms. Like others have said, you still also get nice common areas and perks like a designated dorm computer.
Update: Seems like the original post generated a lot of discussion! Daughter is graduating in May and I think Scripps was a great choice and great fit for her.
I have been very impressed with the career preparation and support from Scripps Career Services. I think they have done a top-notch job in assisting the students with resumes, LinkedIn, interview prep, etc. On campus recruiting seems to have a respectable number of opportunities although it seems a sizeable number of students do graduate before landing a job (for those like my daughter who want to work before going to graduate school)
1.Would disagree with FishOutOfWater: study abroad does not save money because Scripps charges the same tuition and fees for a semester off campus, with small rebates for airfare allowance and meals not provided by the homestay. As far as merit scholarships, over half are given to students with financial need. That may be fair and necessary, but it would be nice if merit scholarships were entirely separate from need-based aid.
- My daughter did find on campus work, first and second year since she is a certified lifeguard and the pool always needs more guards. She did have to work unpaid for two semesters in order to do research with the professor she wanted, whereas I think work study funds would have paid if she were eligible. Junior faculty don't seem to have much funding of their own for undergraduates, but on the other hand her professors have been very supportive in getting outside grants and in quality of experience. Scripps did provide funding for my daughter to go to a psychology conference where the papers she co-authored were presented, since the assistant professor couldn't fund all her students' expenses. So it is possible to find meaningful work without work-study, it's just more difficult and a student may need to work unpaid to do research.
…6. The gorgeous new dorm looks like it will provide much needed “palatial” space and alleviate overcrowding. May not completely solve matters if the college expands its class size to (over)fill the new residential space! My daughter is very happy with the 4-student apartment she is in this year. It may be good news if Pomona is no longer offering dorm space to Scripps since students living down there, whether to get a single or whether forced, seem much less happy being isolated.