<p>Which school would be best for a student looking to take this route as an undergrad. Both schools offer the program but I am still contemplating which would be best for me. If I am not mistaken, Claremont seems to be stronger in the social sciences, which is the route that I hope to take. Any input, alumni?</p>
<p>You need to visit both schools, interview with both, and apply to both. What do you hope to do with your degree? I don’t think you would find many Pomona students who would agree with you that the PP&E major is better at CMC, nor would CMC students give Pomona that nod.
Each school has a slightly different culture and “feel.” Research is fine, but visiting is better. There is no downside to applying to both schools and making a decision after acceptance.</p>
<p>My personal opinion is that Pomona is better (especially at humanities, except for maybe econ). But they’re both excellent institutions, and the more important factor is which school is a better fit for your social and academic personalities. They are very different schools and different people will be happier at both.</p>
<p>CMC specializes in government and finance. Note that they don’t specialize in politics or economics, although their programs in these areas are incredibly strong. The point I’m making is that CMC is really an applied, real world oriented institution, while Pomona is an intellectual one. CMC is still a liberal arts school, so even finance and gov classes will be intellectual, but that’s really the deciding factor if you’re interested in PPE. Also, at CMC everyone is interested in PPE type stuff outside of classes.</p>
<p>Lastly, many say that PPE is not a major. It’s 3 minors. Just something to keep in mind.</p>
<p>Important: you need to apply to get into CMC’s PPE major, and word is the program is very selective. So you probably shouldn’t go to CMC expecting to be PPE.</p>
<p>^^ I agree with what bb54321 and lockn said. At Pomona, the PPE major is 4 classes each in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, with 6 classes in the area that you “specialize in.” Then there’s one class senior year that really combines all three. So it does feel more like 3 minors, though you have a decent amount of wiggle room to choose what particular classes to take. CMC’s I’ve heard is a lot more like the Oxford-style major and seems to bring the three disciplines together sooner. You do have to apply to it and it is very competitive, while at Pomona anyone can major in it.</p>