<p>Okay, could people give me a rundown of a few of the Claremonts--I like the idea behind this consortium but I am not sure what the differences are between the schools.</p>
<p>Specifically:
Pitzer
Pomona
McKenna</p>
<p>What are the advantages, characteristics, or ups/downs of each school?</p>
<p>Thanks a TON! :)</p>
<p>Pitzer is for female, not for you.</p>
<p>I thought Scripps was women only.</p>
<p>Well I'm applying to Claremont McKenna. Both CMC and Pomona have a focus in International Relations/PoliSci, but CMC in my opinion is a little stronger with it. (Pomona's focus inside of IR leans towards environment, while CMC's leans towards economics). Both are strong schools though, it just depends on what your interests are.</p>
<p>And as far as Pitzer goes..they are very..radical students, haha. I don't know how to say it exactly, but if you look at other posts on here/other sites, you might get an idea.</p>
<p>One feature that CMC has that I find amazing is the Ath. Look more into it, but basically four days a week they have speakers come (some smaller, some big names like Bill Clinton, Bono, etc).</p>
<p>Pomona has the prettiest campus (architecture etc) out of the three.
I can't say I know much about Pitzer though, so look that up.</p>
<p>(I visited CMC this fall, and walked around Pomona a little, and have friends at CMC and Pomona, so if you have more questions, write back)</p>
<p>and yes, Scripps is the female only, not Pitzer</p>
<p>Pitzer is co-ed, Scripps is all-women's.</p>
<p>Ranked from top to bottom, just from what I've heard/read:
Pomona: hardest to get into, ranked really high, dunno much else
Harvey Mudd: engineering, science, math, etc. focus
CMC: very good gov't/politics program, known for awesome FA packages
Scripps: women's school, leans more towards the humanities, I think
Pitzer: easiest to get into, but becoming more selective, that's all I know</p>
<p>All: you can take courses at any of the other colleges, join their clubs, eat in their dining hall, go to their parties, etc.</p>
<p>Okay, here is a somewhat biased view of the Claremont colleges, particularly the CMC/Pomona debate. I can also give you my two cents on Pitzer, Harvey, and Scripps, despite knowing less about those.</p>
<p>Pomona is sometimes considered the most "traditional," or arguably the most "elite" of the Claremont schools because it is the oldest, highest ranked, largest, and kind of the "foundation" (straight up quote from a Pomona rep at a college fair) of the Claremont schools. It is known to be a bit harder to get into than CMC, and might have a marginally better rep. And thus, the stereotype of "snobby" Pomona students is born: my good friend (a frosh at CMC) says that Pomona students are much less laid-back than other Claremont students, more concerned about school, have elitist attitudes sometimes, and don't throw as good parties as the other schools.</p>
<p>Additionally I have heard that more Pomona students go to grad school, whereas CMC students tend to go straight into the business world. Again, this stereotype is probably broken a thousand times each year, but this is what I've heard. Apparently CMC is "on the rise" in the Claremont schools (though all 5 are getting more and more exclusive each year), with its acceptance rate shrinking and its reputation becoming more and more renowned. Again... don't quote me on this! It's all word of mouth.</p>
<p>My boyfriend's brother is a senior at Pitzer, and loves it. I haven't heard nearly as much about it, but as far as I know Pitzer is a bit easier to get into, and has a very "change-the-world" tone on its campus... generalizing again here, but I've heard "hippie-ish" thrown around to describe Pitzer quite a few times (not in a derogatory tone)—very liberal. For the record, my boyfriend's brother has a mohawk and is a bit of a pothead. HOWEVER, there are these types at every college, I'm sure at least a couple at each of the Claremonts at well. </p>
<p>I don't know if you've heard these before, but there was a Scooby Doo stereotype assigned to each school. If you're curious about these, or just for a lot of better-informed info about the schools haha, check out this discussion: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pomona-college/1453-relations-other-claremont-colleges.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pomona-college/1453-relations-other-claremont-colleges.html</a></p>
<p>All I know about Harvey Mudd is that it's really science/math based, and comes with an excellent education. I've heard also that it's kind of like Caltech but less intense, with people interested in engineering/the sciences but who also like to party (perfectly fits my best friend's brother who applied ED for class of '12). Scripps is also an excellent school, seems to be a bit like Pitzer from what I heard, with feminist undertones AND easy access to guys through other Claremont colleges. A bit easier to get into than CMC/Pomona, but honestly all 5 offer great academics from what I've heard.</p>
<p>Oh and also, I've heard CMC students mention how they don't really wear pajamas to class like Pomona students do (saying how they respect their class/teacher more..) but that's coming from current students with bias</p>
<p>I have a friend at Pomona. Pomona is the flagship LAC of the college consortium. CMC is considered second best and is a good school for gov/politics and other stuff. Pomona indisputably has a better rep.</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd is an intense science/math school, with majors in the natural sciences and engineering. The core curriculum consists of high level physics, math, and other sciences. There are no engineering concentrations, just a very broad engineering major. All seniors get to do some project in their major, and engineering and CS students get to work with big Silicon Valley companies. Cool stuff.</p>
<p>How competitive is Pitzer? And compared to CMC? I'm considered applying to one of the two, and I don't know which I should. I realize that Pitzer is easier getting into and I kind of want a private safety school (I've already applied to 2)</p>
<p>somni- Mostly true, but how would you explain the fact that my cousin is an electrical engineering major at Harvey Mudd?</p>
<p>Quick rundown:</p>
<p>Pomona is one of the nation's best LACs with strong departments across the board. A broad swath of students is to be found here with a wide diversity of interests and long term goals. The one common denominator: they're all tanned.</p>
<p>CMC seems filled with student body presidents. The admissions people will tell you they're looking for "leaders." Everyone seems to be majoring in econ/business, government/history, or psych - all very strong departments. A narrow swath of students with focused pre-professional long term goals - law school or business. If the shoe fits, great, if not, look elsewhere. </p>
<p>Pitzer is an academically strong though weaker sibling that is supposed to be primarily social science focused but you'll find all kinds of majors here. It's gotten stronger riding the coat tails of HMC and Pomona, in particular. Does its ego suffer being a weaker link academically in the chain? You'll hear different answers to this, but the freshman retention rate is generally much lower than its more notable sibs.</p>
<p>Sorry, after Pfitzer. I had a moment of relapse there. Scripps is what I was thinking of.
I thought Harvey Mudd is excellent for engineering so it must have engineering programs.</p>
<p>
[quote]
somni- Mostly true, but how would you explain the fact that my cousin is an electrical engineering major at Harvey Mudd?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>
[quote]
Why does Harvey Mudd only offer a general engineering major?
Harvey Mudd College believes that its broad engineering program is most likely to produce engineers capable of adapting a changing technology to expanding human needs. Within this context, an engineering major may choose to emphasize a particular engineering specialty by choosing appropriate elective courses and Engineering Clinic projects.</p>
<p>Can I still specialize in an area or engineering?
Yes. Through the elective courses and your Clinic project, you can focus on a specific area with in engineering. It is also possible to take courses above and beyond the requirements for graduation.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>jpark91 - Pitzer's acceptance rate for the class of 2012 was 22%.</p>
<p>I really only know about two of the schools. </p>
<p>Claremont McKenna Stags - very politically active school, more on the conservative side, athletic</p>
<p>Pomona College Sagehens - very liberal, intellectual</p>
<p>Country day [I'm assuming your MICDS by the way.. I used to go to P.West, but now am at Prin]</p>
<p>I wouldn't say CMC is more on the conservative side..at least not obviously. From admissions people, as well as current students I'm friends with, I hear it's --pretty evenly split-- between conservatives and liberals. It's notthing like going to Pepperdine or anything haha</p>
<p>drc09, yes I am from MICDS. It is nice seeing another St. Louisan on these boards.</p>
<p>CMC is more conservative for colleges. It may be an even split, but most colleges lean left. Therefore CMC would be considered a more conservative than your typical college.</p>
<p>Yeah, I've talked to one other, beignet from Clayton cause he's also looking at UNC [my others are CMC, W&L and a few safeties]. Where are you applying country day? </p>
<p>Yeah I just meant you're going to find a lot of people with your views whatever they are. At CMC they love to debate about the politics, but in a good way, and it's not too partial either way.</p>