I was accepted to both under RD, and have the tough decision on deciding between the two schools. I plan on majoring in Economics (but am not 100% sure). If anyone is familiar with either of the two schools and can speak to the academic flexibility if I decide not to major in Economics(from what I understand, CMC is very centric on Economics and Government), the alumni network, and the career placement/reputation of the schools, along with any other information you think would be useful, it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Claremont McKenna - although it has a very strong economics department, has many other strong departments, as well - and plenty of students interested in other subjects. It also has its connection to the other 5C’s in the Consortium - and it is possible to major in a subject not even taught at CMC but at one of the other colleges.
The environment will be much smaller than Northwestern - and have less of a traditional college feel - no fraternities/sororities, no Division 1 athletics, and very few graduate students anywhere. The differences between a liberal arts college and a university certainly apply when comparing the two institutions. Although the smallness of CMC is offset by the student body and resources of the entire consortium. And, then, there’s the weather and location. Although both in a somewhat suburban city near a huge urban area - LA and Chicago are pretty darned different.
You are comparing apples and oranges here. The schools have a few similarities, but their differences are tremendous. Do you want a medium school (NU) or small school (CMC), four seasons or one season, numerous other options for a major or less options, large athletic program or small athletic program, midwest or west coast, one university with many colleges or a group of different but intermingling colleges, a quarter system or semester system. The differences are many, both academically and socially. And while it’s not written in stone, do you want to wind up on the west coast after college or mid-west/east coast after college? Your college choice increases the likelihood of where you spend the first few years after graduation.
Good luck!
Also, while they are both in suburbs, Evanston is an inner suburb and you can easily get to most of the places you’d want to get to in Chicago without a car while Claremont is an outer suburb that is as close to LA as Naperville/Aurora are to Chicago (and where you’ll need a car to go anywhere).
You can get to central LA by train from CMC, but it’s true that you really need a car to master the city. There are ZIPcars on campus, though, and many students have their own, so this is really a phony distinction. I’ve lived in Claremont (worked as an administrator at three of the colleges and as a faculty member at one) and did my PhD at NU, and Chicago and LA are equally accessible. But that’s really not the point: you’re going to be a college student, not a vacationer, and you’re going to spend most of your time on or near campus. You should talk to students who go to both places, better yet talk to those students while you’re on their campuses. They are both great schools, and they’re equally good choices; both have great alumni networks, and CMC sports one of the most highly ranked career centers in the country (can’t speak to that aspect of NU, as I left too many years ago). If I were choosing, I’d choose CMC, but I love liberal arts colleges and what they provide - always have loved them.