I’m thinking about applying to both Pitzer and Claremont Mckenna for the class of 2021. Im applying as a physics major and CMC is well known for the physical sciences but Pitzer on the other hand isn’t. Since I’m almost certainly going to grad school, would Pitzer look bad since it’s poorly ranked? My thought is that since I will most likely be taking my physics courses at either Scripps, Pamona, Mudd, or CMC that my graduate application will look good because I will have letters of rec from professors from those colleges and not Pitzer. Will graduate schools like the fact that I went to Pitzer because I took classes at more STEM-based schools like Mudd and CMC? Can I get letters of rec from professors from other colleges within the consortium?
It looks like, out of the five Claremont colleges, Pomona and Harvey Mudd have their own physics departments, while Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, and Scripps share a common science department that includes physics: http://www.kecksci.claremont.edu/majors/physics.asp . So the physics major content should be the same at each of the latter three, if you choose the same physics and math courses.
You may want to carefully compare the degree requirements (including general education requirements) at each of the schools to see if any of them are academically preferable to you.
ucbalumnus is correct. Scripps, Pitzer and CMC share the same science department. (They have their own math departments, though you might still end up going to the other campuses based on schedules etc.) Your rec letters will come from the Keck professors (which, by the way are great! my D is a physics major and loves it there). You might take classes at Mudd or Pomona but I don’t think they will be physics classes. I’d have to check with my D to answer that for sure, but I do know her major classes are at Keck (which I’m assuming is required at least to some degree), other classes are taken at any of the other schools.
Pitzer and CMC have a very different “vibe” (and presumably different core requirements) so do make sure you like both.
According to NCES data, physics is a small major at the three Keck-sharing schools. For 2014-2015, CMC graduated 3 physics majors, Pitzer 4, and Scripps 3. For comparison, Pomona graduated 6, and Harvey Mudd graduated 16.
The distribution of majors at the various schools does vary.
http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=112260#programs
http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=121257#programs
http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=123165#programs
http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=121345#programs
http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=115409#programs
How does social life work at the 5C’s? From what I’ve gathered outside of academic requirements and some classes being hard to enroll in the 5C’s basically act like one college. Like you will be in contact with people from the other 5C’s, you’ll go to parties with them, eat at the same places, and in general be surrounded by students from all 5 colleges. Is this true? I’m asking because the student enrollment at each of the colleges seem kinda low for me but I feel like the fact that they’re all in a consortium alleviates some of that. Also, I don’t really fit in with the Pitzer vibes and I think I’m much more suited for CMC. I’m only considering Pitzer for the possibility that I don’t get into CMC.
The social life is up to you. I’ve heard there are some kids who rarely leave their home campus, but most kids make lots of friends from other campuses. As a science major at CMC you will definitely be meeting students from Scripps and Pitzer in class. But you could also meet them in the dining halls (you can eat at any of them), at extra curricular activities you get involved in or at parties, for example. There is plenty of socializing across campuses.