<p>She attends a top NE boarding school has mid range grades, 700's on SATIIs, prob. low 700s on SATI, spent last year abroad, learning the culture and language of a European country. She wants to study languages, cultural anthropology, and film. She is multilingual (if Latin counts!!??) and is starting to pick up another language this summer. She is a humanities person and just gets through math and science. She is a visual/spatial person all the way ... very creative and determined. She is eager to go abroad again. She loved the quiet intensity of Pomona, the unique format/approach at Pitzer and wants a second visit at Scripps because it was deserted when we were there and she did not get a sense of the school. I think all three would work for different reasons and the consortium would be fabulous.</p>
<p>CMC and HM do not seem to be a good match.</p>
<p>Any thoughts about how to approach the group so that she actually gets in to at least one of them!</p>
<p>Well I'll reply here anyway because we're looking at the Claremonts as well. Harvey Mudd and Pomona are the most selective, followed closely by CMC. Actually of the three Harvey Mudd has the highest admit rate but also the highest median SAT scores, probably because its applicant pool is a self-selecting group of high-achieving math-science-engineering types. Of those three Pomona is clearly the strongest in humanities but with an 18% admit rate and 1370-1520 middle 50% SATs, that's your "reach." Scripps is known primarily as a humanities school and with a 45% admit rate and 1250-1430 middle 50% SATs may be more in the "match" range for your D. Pitzer's admit rate is actually a little lower at 37% but its mid-range SATs are also a little lower, 1130-1320. Pitzer is SAT optional which usually means only the applicants with relatively high scores report their SATs, so the overall class might actually have slightly lower SATs than the reported medians. But the relatively low admit rate suggests they may not really care all that much about SATs and instead are looking for the best fit.</p>
<p>If your D really wants to maximize her chances of getting into ONE of the Claremont Colleges and doesn't feel strongly about which one, I'd suggest she consider applying Early Decision (ED) to Pitzer and Scripps. Pitzer admits over 50% of its ED applicants (apply by Nov 15, binding decision by Dec 19); and if that doesn't work, she can have a second bite at the apple by applying ED 2 at Scripps (Jan 1 application deadline, binding decision by Feb 15). She can also apply regular decision at Pomona, but would need to withdraw if she's accepted ED at either Pitzer or Scripps. Strictly by the stats she should have a >50% chance of being admitted to either school applying ED, especially since she's within the range of what they're looking for.</p>
<p>If she has a strong preference for one of the colleges, she's probably better off making that her ED 1 school, and looking to do ED 2 at another Claremont college as her backup. </p>
<p>It looks like both Pomona and Scripps have ED 1 and ED 2; as best I can tell, Pitzer has only ED 1. Pomona may still be a "reach" applying ED, but if that's what she wants, she should go for it. She'll still have ED 2 at Scripps and regular decision at Pitzer as backups, so her odds of getting to Claremont still look pretty good.</p>
<p>WOW thank you. It is so wonderful to have an objective opinion!</p>
<p>I was only thinking ED2 because she is returning to her BS for her senior year and needs to cement her academic record but I see your perspective.</p>
<p>^ Yep. Classics, modern languages (mostly Romance languages, French & a little Portuguese so far but she really wants to add Hindi), literature (English and world), a little philosophy, theater. Oh, and poli sci, a social science but close enough. And maybe linguistics which intrigues her. Math/science: not so much. Scripps and Pomona seem like possible fits, but right now Haverford and Bryn Mawr are tops on her list because that consortium gives her access to Penn (Hindi and Portuguese) while still keeping her primarily in a small college environment. Eventually she'll need to focus but IMO it's not bad to have this breadth of academic interests at the pre-college stage. She's a rising HS junior.</p>
<p>I think our girls would be friends if they end up the same campus! My Ds best friend starts BM next year and thrilled with it. Good for you for starting the process now.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that ED is binding. If your D ends up with Pomona as her clear first choice and FA isn't a major issue, it would be better to ED there despite the lower chances of admission.</p>
<p>Since joining CC I feel like I've been a shameless Claremont booster. I promise to stop soon. But here goes.</p>
<p>I agree with the poster who said your daughter should consider ED to Pomona. Their admissions are tough, but much more holistic than at a larger university--the adcom looks for a personality match in addition to GPA, test scores, etc. She might really like Scripps or Pitzer, but I think she has a good shot of getting into both of them RD. </p>
<p>On a sidenote: I also came to Claremont from an east coast boarding school, and absolutely loved the experience, not only for the academics, but for the laid-back friendly attitudes of the students and the non-competitive, collaborative feel of the place.</p>
<p>My DD is from CA so I think she feels at home at the Claremonts ... more so than her BS because of the ... "laid-back friendly attitudes of the students and the non-competitive, collaborative feel of the place." ....</p>
<p>I just read to her your post ... her face lit up and she said it was the place for her! THX for the confirmation.</p>
<p>bclintonk - That 37% admit rate was for 2006. Last year it was 26%; this year it was 22%. Regarding test scores I think the opposite is true. From their website: "Pitzer will exempt students graduating in the top 10% of their class, or those who have an unweighted cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 or higher in academic subjects (i.e., courses in the humanities, mathematics, sciences and social sciences) from having to submit any standardized tests (i.e., ACT or SAT)". So, actually their "best" applicants don't have to submit test scores, but those failing to meet the aforementioned criteria must do so. See Pitzer</a> College - Claremont, California</p>
<p>^ Interesting. Big change in the admit rate. </p>
<p>I'm not persuaded on the ACT/SAT scores, however. As I read the criteria set out in the Pitzer College website, ACT/SAT scores are not mandatory for anyone. If you graduate in the top 10% of your class or have a 3.50+ GPA, you don't need to submit any standardized test scores---but you can, and if your ACT or SAT scores are high it will presumably only increase your chances of admission. If you don't meet those class rank or GPA cutoffs you still don't need to submit ACT or SAT; you can can choose between (1) ACT, or (2) SAT, or (3) two AP scores of 4 or greater, or (4) two IB exams, or (5) two graded HS exams with teacher comments. So it seems that whether you're above or below the cutoffs for submitting test scores of some kind, you're likely to submit your ACT or SAT scores if you think they're strong enough to boost your application, and you won't submit them if they're weak. Just as at any other ACT/SAT-optional school, this should systematically bias reported ACT/SAT scores upward because the low scorers won't report them, opting instead for something less harmful to their prospects (like their two best HS exams).</p>
<p>
[quote]
Interesting. Big change in the admit rate.
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</p>
<p>For the Class of 2010, Pitzer admitted 1,263 (37%) of 3,437 applicants and<br>
229 (18%) students enrolled. </p>
<p>For the Class of 2011, the application increased to 3748 but the schools only accepted 983 students, out of which 243 enrolled. Also, the school did not accept anyone from its wait list.</p>
<p>bclintonk - Upon further review, I have to agree with you regarding the standardized test scores at Pitzer. My D met the criteria (top 10% and > 3.5 gpa), but submitted her test scores anyway (SAT 2170, ACT 31), because she believed they would enhance her chances of being admitted. For whatever reason - grades, scores, rec's, essays, ec's, or more than likely some combination of everything - they accepted her and she's going.</p>
<p>Early Decision<br>
Number of applicants: 94<br>
Number offered admission: 51
Number denied: 7
Number deferred to Regular Action pool: 36
Number admitted from those deferred: 11 </p>