<p>Been lurking for many months, but now that crunch time is here I?ve decided to post and ask for input. My choice has narrowed down to Boston College or Claremont McKenna. And it?s fairly obvious that they couldn?t be more different. I have visited both.</p>
<p>Big east coast city University vs. suburban west coast LAC. Major D1 athletics and all the attendant hoopla vs. a more casual DIII environment.</p>
<p>Costs are similar though Claremont has offered a little more assistance. Both seem to have excellent academics, with Claremont probably having the edge in terms of reputation.</p>
<p>I should mention that I live in Los Angeles, so Boston College would represent a new adventure while Claremont is fairly close to home. Also, I will be participating in track and field, and have been recruited to do so at both schools.</p>
<p>I?m interested in studying bio-medicine, and most likely attending medical school post-graduate. </p>
<p>As I say, I know how different the two schools are, and that much of this depends on where I will feel more comfortable. But I suspect there are issues that may not have occurred to me, and I would love to hear from anyone with any thoughts at all. Thanks in advance for your feedback.</p>
<p>I'm sure you know that CMC is really known for government/econ/IR/etc., so the majority of campus speakers, events, and facilities cater to that. If it's not your passion in life, you can still be perfectly happy at CMC. You should definitely have an interest/high tolerance, though, if only for general ed and common interest purposes.</p>
<p>I think BC would be the better choice for a prospective bio major/premed , CMC has Keck joint medical center, which does not have as many resources as a larger university like BC has. I dont believe there are more than 10-15 bio profs. CMC is highly focused on economics/ir/gov/policsci, and it looks like your interested more in medicine. </p>
<p>Wow, wait your recruited at both schools...? D1 v D3. Wow. Still BC, for bio I'd say unless you have some other choices? I'm not sure if you do field, distance, or sprints, but to get recruited by DI is pretty good.</p>
<p>well, BC track might be d1 in name, but as anyone knows northeast track programs arent exactly known to dominate anyone. In any case, I think I would choose BC for premed</p>
<p>CMC is strong for poli/gvt/IR and econ, but not so much for sciences, as it doesn't have its own science department. That isn't to say that you would have any trouble as a pre-med, but just something to take into consideration.</p>
<p>Without knowing anything about BC and without going into detail, the fact that CMC doesn't have its own science department has nothing to do with whether or not it's strong for science. It shares a department with two other schools, and so is much larger and stronger than it might be if it "belonged" to CMC alone. Joint Science belongs to no single school, so it's funds and resources are CMC's just as much as they are anyone else's. For that matter, class seats are generally divided in proportion to Pitzer, Scripps, and CMC's sizes, which is good for CMC, as the largest of the three schools. Furthermore, it has excellent research opps and excellent med school placement.</p>
<p>Again, I'm making no comparisons to BC, just clarifying above posts.</p>
<p>I'm a current BC student and can say with certainty that I've loved every minute of my BC experience. Boston definitely is a huge draw, but with that being said, the school is definitely garnering more and more prestige with each coming year. With top-notch academics, sports, and location, I couldn't turn it down... feel free to message me with any specific questions</p>
<p>CMC is definitely better academically and it doesn't matter whether or not they lean towards sciences, because the other Claremont colleges will cover what CMC does not have, and Pomona in particular has an outstanding reputation. BC is a bit overrated and the only diversity you will get there is being in the Northeast. The disproportionate number of Catholics at BC makes the student body a little homogeneous. The Claremont colleges offer more diversity, both with the colleges themselves and with the students who attend. If you want to see the Northeast, take a vacation here. Otherwise, stick with the better quality, even if it means staying closer to home.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who has responded. A lot of good information and some interesting opinions. I'm not sure my choice will be any easier, but I know it will be more informed. And additional input is always welcome.</p>
<p>My guess is that part of the prestige factor is geographic. Call it coastal bias. This isn't at all to say or suggest that CMC won't serve you well on the east coast, or vice versa for BC. It's just a possible explanation for the variance in opinions.</p>