<p>I have been accepted at quite a few good schools and have narrowed my choices to USC, Occidential and Claremont McKenna. My preference is to be in an urban environment, but am very aware a small liberal arts college will suit my learning style and personal style much better. At this point, I am thinking of a dual major in psychology and literature--but honestly understand that may change! It would be tremendously helpful to get input from others.</p>
<p>Well, I can’t really help you decide between USC and CMC, but CMC is just in another league compared to Occidental. This year CMC has an acceptance rate of 12.4, which makes it one of if not the most selective LAC in the USA. It has a perfect balance of academics and social life, and even though it’s most known for economics and government, all other departments are also great. Plus you can take classes at Pomona, which is probably #1 for humanities. The only think that USC has and CMC doesn’t is an urban setting, but CMC is 30 minutes from LA, so it shouldn’t worry you too much. And also if you are going to go to grad school, CMC is one of the top feeders for elite grad schools like Stanford or Harvard,whereas USC is not even in top 50.
But whatever you choose, you won’t go wrong!</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>From my perspective this seems like a tough choice (if financial aid isn’t a consideration). Definitely visit and make sure to spend the night at CMC. There is a particular vibe at CMC that works for some- but not all- students. Although CMC is a top school and has solid programs in psychology and literature, the general student body does not reflect this interest. While consortia coursework at Pomona, Scripps, and Pitzer would be a real advantage for someone with psychology and literature interests, CMC has fairly extensive general education requirements that could make a dual major tricky (so plan courses carefully). Given your desire to attend a small LAC in an urban setting and possibly complete a double major Occidental could be a nice fit. </p>
<p>If a small LAC works best for your learning style then you might consider dropping USC from consideration.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Dual majors are definitely not difficult at CMC - I’m dual majoring and don’t know more than a few kids who aren’t. I actually know a few Psych/Lit dual majors. While we do have a set of General Education requirements, they certainly don’t prevent anyone from dual/double majoring.</p>
<p>it’s funny because my sister went to CMC and her boyfriend went to Occidental. Academic wise, CMC is hands down the best choice. Occidental is an arguably nicer campus, and it’s closer to LA, but that’s all it has the upper hand with.</p>
<p>Oxy may have a prettier campus, but CMC’s has so much more to offer- there are four other schools right there, and you have access to all their resources as well your own school’s.</p>
<p>To the OP: given your choices, USC seems like the logical first choice. CMC is not urban. I like the town, but, as some students will tell you, you get the worst of both worlds. None of the space or nature of a truly rural setting without any of the amenities of an urban area. </p>
<p>Also, like any small school, the number of courses available in the discipline you want is going to be limited in any given term, so dual majoring is going to be a little more difficult, practically speaking, than it will at a larger school. I know that CMC specifically states that some of their students do dual major, but the reality is that you might not get the selection of courses in any given term that you would at a larger school.</p>
<p>Some of this information about dual majoring at CMC is simply not true… I only have a few friends at CMC who AREN’T dual-majoring. I’m a dual major myself and will be completing both majors, along with all of my GEs PLUS an additional four-course certificate program through Scripps, before my senior spring semester. It is not only do-able, but very common.
Course selection is inherently not limited because of the consortium… any given department at CMC will offer a pretty wide range of courses each semester, but if none of them suit your interests, I can almost guarantee there will be a class on one of the other campuses that will.</p>
<p>If you are thinking about USC, there is the Thematic Option program. It is for students with high reading SAT scores (over 700). The classes are small seminars and are similar to those found in a LAC. The highest scoring students admitted are invited to enroll but others can submit an application. My S and D loved these courses. Both of them came from a humanities/writing background.
I sat in at a class at CMC. The professor was quite engaging and the info he presented was very cutting edge. He was discussing how Congressional members had voted on issues that came up during the week we were there. The discussion was very stimulating, the likes of which I have not read in the NY Times or Wash Post. The Claremont Colleges are definitely a bubble, a quiet little oasis. You can catch the train into downtown LA right from Claremont and the mountains and desert are close by. The food at CMC is some of the best I have run into at any college.
I heard from a 2011 graduate that the Psych department at Oxy is fantastic. She came from Canada to attend Oxy at the suggestion of a family friend who is familiar with the psych faculty.
These are 3 excellent choices. You have to follow your heart and go where the finances work out the best for you and your family.</p>
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<p>The train leaves you at Union Station which is, basically, in the middle of nowhere. Occidental is in a much more interesting part of the city.</p>
<p>Union Station is the hub of the regional (and expanding) rail system - Commuter Rail (Metrolink) and Light Rail/Subway (Metrorail) lines(<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Station_(Los_Angeles[/url])”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Station_(Los_Angeles)</a>. From Union Station you can take the Metrorail to are many interesting places - DTLA, Hollywood, Universal City, Pasadena. From Union Station you can also walk or take shuttles to China Town, Little Tokyo, Bunker Hill, the Civic Center, and the Historic District, all worth exploring. My favorite within a couple of blocks is Phillipe’s, the proudly self proclaimed home of the French Dip ([Philippe</a> the Original | Home of the French Dip Sandwich](<a href=“http://www.philippes.com/]Philippe”>http://www.philippes.com/)). There is also a free shuttle from Union Station to Dodger Stadium a mile away - saves the $15 stadium parking charge.</p>
<p>Oxy is located in a residential community about 10 minutes from DTLA and has some great spots to explore/eat along Eagle Rock Blvd (Auntie Em’s!) and Colorado (Casa Bianca!). A car would be very helpful to access the more interesting areas in LA. Even though both Eagle Rock and Claremont are residential, Oxy will definitely have a more urban feel…and USC is by far the most urban location of them all!</p>
<p>Tut tut JohnWesley. Since when has downtown LA been the middle of nowhere? My s may be headed to Wes, but I must stand up for my town. True the train station, it is a corner of downtown, and true downtown LA is probably not the most interesting place for college kids (Staples Center aside), still, in the middle of nowhere is certainly not true.</p>
<p>To the OP, USC is a very different environment than the other two on your list which are liberal arts colleges. You need to decide what you want – smaller classes, with a more intimate educational experience, or a larger university with D1 sports and a 9very0 big greek scene. If you decide on smaller, I’d have to agree with the poster that CMC has the stronger reputation.</p>
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<p>I’m assuming you mean that facetiously. I love L.A. as much as any Jackie Robinson fan possibly can, but, calling Union Station part of downtown Los Angeles is like calling Flushing, Queens part of Midtown-Manhattan. Pardon me for my eastern provincialism, but, to my mind, if you can’t walk there, it’s not really fair to call it part of the same downtown.</p>
<p>I’d just like to state that while you may think that you want a super urban environment, my experience with LA is that the more urban areas are not that pleasant. To be fair, I know very little about Occidental; I’d never heard of it until I got to California. However, I looked extensively at USC and may actually end up going there for my final two years of college (I could potentially go there for my two years of engineering for my Economics and Engineering degree). USC is a great school and offers things that CMC cannot, such as Saturday games in a packed stadium and a really urban setting. That said, it is located in an area of town that isn’t the best; just outside the school’s boundaries are poor areas of LA. Claremont is really nice in that the area around it is gorgeous and the people are much more friendly than the people in downtown LA. Furthermore, if you don’t like the food at the dining hall nearest you, it’s a long walk to another one. If I remember correctly, there are only two dining halls spread across the huge campus; at CMC, if you do not like a dining hall, there are 5 others you can choose from, all within a 10 minute walk or so.<br>
To be honest, you really shouldn’t need to go off campus frequently; there are so many things to be offered on campus that are completely free. I have to disagree with anonymoustransfe in that Claremont offers the worst of both worlds. I, personally, like waking up to a mountain view and breathing in unpolluted air.
It looks like you have a lot of great choices, and you won’t go wrong wherever you end up going. Good luck in your decision process!</p>
<p>Here’s a pretty good description of what constitutes Downtown Los Angeles
[Downtown</a> Los Angeles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Los_Angeles]Downtown”>Downtown Los Angeles - Wikipedia)
In any case, no matter where you go to school in the Los Angeles area, the neighborhoods of Downtown LA are well worth exploring. That would have been tough to say 10 years ago.</p>