<p>What are the strengths and weaknesses of Claremont, Santa Clara, and Occidental? Which college offers the most well rounded college experience (athletics, academics, social life, extracurriculars, career opportunities)? Which is the most diverse?</p>
<p>I think Claremont is considered the most prestigious, but aside from that are there qualitative differences between the three?</p>
<p>One does not simply compare CMC to Occidental and SCU</p>
<p>^^^^^^^^^</p>
<p>I was thinking it too, but did not want to say it. :-)</p>
<p>Mother of CMC alum here - I think there are quite a few similarities between the three schools - and in some areas Occidental and Santa Clara may be stronger. I think you’re being a bit dismissive here. My son also applied to Occidental and I would have been happy if he’d chosen it, and believe he would have received as good an education. He would actually have liked the location better as it’s closer to LA. One difference, of course, between CMC and Occidental is the Consortium - one just has access to many more resources through the 5C’s, and there are more students around for both social and intellectual stimulation. Santa Clara is quite a different sort of university - with grad students, and a religious underpinning. And its Northern California Silicon Valley location gives it a different feel.</p>
<p>Well, it depends. My sister chose Oxy over the Claremont colleges she was considering (there were a couple) because she felt it provided better opportunities in what she was interested in (social services). She might have done just as well at CMC, but she had a couple of great internships in downtown LA, got her MA at Columbia and rose quickly in a major NYC SS agency, so Oxy worked out for her (except that I still kid her about going to “Accidental College”). Don’t know much about SCU, except that we know a very good soccer player who says she loves it there!</p>
<p>I think the differences between CMC and Occidental are greater than what you portrayed. If you are interested in majoring in economics, accounting, finance, govt, international relations, the programs at CMC are more diverse and have far greater resources than what is available at Occidental. CMC has the research institutes, the PPE program, the Athenaeum and an excellent intern program that is far more extensive than what is offered at Occidental. Furthermore, the CMC career office is one of the best in the country and the companies in the investment banking, finance, consulting and in the corporate world generally that recruit on campus are not going to be available at Occidental. There is a pre-professional focus at CMC that is quite different than what you would see at Occidental. if you desire a career in business, finance or in the public sector, I think CMC would be a better fit. To be honest, Occidental is closer to Pomona than CMC.</p>
<p>Also, Occidental is very liberal and CMC is far more politically balanced.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your input. What about the qualitative differences between CMC and SCU? SCU is in Silicon Valley. I am guessing students there have a lot of internship and job opportunities as well. </p>
<p>On the east coast, no one has ever heard of either school, so I am wondering how west coast employers and grad schools view the schools. Is CMC considered that much better than SCU?</p>
<p>It does have the hottest girls though (SCU)</p>
<p>^^^^^
That statement will get you into a lot of trouble in CC land. :-)</p>
<p>Why? The way I see it, its a compliment :)</p>
<p>Parent57 my son was not interested in econ/gov/acct/IR - there are other reasons to go to CMC. (I have heard, btw., that Occidental is really strong in IR.) He also did not want to be an investment banker and the Career Center has been of little use so far. (He’s one of those poor '08 grads.) On the other hand, he got a solid education had some great internships, wonderful financial aid, and a good experience with study abroad and athletics. And made some great friends.</p>
<p>Hi Spiritmanager, all in all, it sounds like it worked out well for him</p>
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<p>Well, Oxy, at least, has a lot of respect for you guys. Their school paper’s one foray into the SAT scandal was one of the most generous I have seen in two weeks (including Claremont McKenna’s):
</p>
<p>The article also reveals, for the first time, that Princeton Review will not be dropping Claremont McKenna from its annual survey. That’s something even the CMC papers haven’t mentioned:
[CMC</a> scandal exposes flaws - News - The Occidental Weekly](<a href=“oxyweekly.com - oxyweekly Resources and Information.”>oxyweekly.com - oxyweekly Resources and Information.)</p>