<p>Hi. Im a senior and just got accepted to all three. heres what im thinking</p>
<li><p>money is not an issue, we make plenty, but i dont want to spend the extra 15k per year at claremont (as opposed to austin and madison) if its not really worth it… but really, its not that big of a deal</p></li>
<li><p>sports are a pretty big deal to me… madison and austin have a leg up, but claremont does actually have some good rivalries and lots of competitive intramural stuff</p></li>
<li><p>social life… i dont want to go to college just to party and drink but having an active social life/good dorm life and whatnot is important</p></li>
<li><p>weather. id prefer colder weather to warmer weather usually, but id take warmer weather over too cold weather, but colder weather over too warm weather… basically im worried that UT will be too hot and UW too cold… but i think claremont, weather wise is just right</p></li>
<li><p>academics</p></li>
<li><p>prestige</p></li>
<li><p>i know there are huge difference between austin/madison and Claremont. But, the thing is that Claremont isnt the typical LAC. Its part of a consortium, so not only do i get to take classes at claremont but i get to take them at harvey mudd, pomona, pitzer and scripps. So i get the class offerings/student pop of a mid-large uni, but the class size of a smaller LAC. also, claremont was voted by Princeton review in like, the top 20 for quality of life, food, dorms, happiest students etc.</p></li>
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<p>interested in majoring in a humanities related direction - history, english, journalism, politcs, international relations… i really dont know, but strong humanities</p>
<p>thanks for any help and any opinions</p>
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<li><p>Money is not the issue - then fortunately you can make your decision based on other factors.</p></li>
<li><p>Sports - You simply will not get that "Dot the i with the Tuba" experience at CMC if that's important to you. The athletic facilities are actually pretty nice, but getting a seat at sports events will not be a problem. You may even feel lonely.</p></li>
<li><p>Social Life - CMC has a rather enlightened (some would say debauched) attitude about drinking and partying. They accommodate it in order to keep it on campus and off the streets. Most we've spoken to seem to believe it actually minimizes binge drinking and the attendant problems. CMC has an active social scene which is only enhanced by the other colleges in the consortium.</p></li>
<li><p>Weather - By non SoCal standards it's going to be warm pretty much year round, and probably quite hot in the summer if you happen to be there. But is this a problem?</p></li>
<li><p>Academics - hot and getting hotter. CMC's selectivity, class sizes, faculty, cross-registration opportunities and speaker programs like the Athenaeum provide an exciting academic environment for motivated students.</p></li>
<li><p>Prestige - always a tough one to measure. Is there more prestige to a larger University with a similar academic reputation? Perhaps. But here on the west coast CMC grads are highly sought after. The WSJ list of colleges that successfully place their students at top grad schools had CMC 22nd I believe, ahead of many far better known schools.</p></li>
<li><p>Two visits to CMC confirmed for us that CMC students are extremely happy. The consortium seems to work well on almost every level with little downside. Again, the biggest knock I can think of against CMC is that you will not get the big D1 experience and all the hoopla that goes along with it. That can be important to certain kinds of students so you need to think carefully about it. Any chance of a visit?</p></li>
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