<p>Since both of the schools are among the Claremount Consortium and both are located at my favorite California with little distance from each other, I'm really curious about their differences. What's their specialties? Which one may be more suitable for me, a Chinese girl?</p>
<p>Here’s a [url=<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14611932-post2.html]post[/url”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14611932-post2.html]post[/url</a>] I made in the Pomona forum awhile bac (#6 of my post).</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s very useful to compare Pomona and CMC directly, but I would have to say the biggest difference is the divide between the students’ goals. Pomona students tend to be more interested in academia and “learning for learning’s sake,” whereas CMC students tend to be more practically-oriented.</p>
<p>CMC specializes in business, economics, and related fields, though that isn’t to say you won’t find good opportunities in other places (like in the Joint Science Department between CMC, Scripps, and Pitzer). I wouldn’t really say Pomona has a particular specialty, but some of the most popular majors (and strongest departments) are math, neuroscience, and economics. Pomona’s CS and math departments (while strong on their own) are closely tied with Harvey Mudd’s.</p>
<p>You gave perhaps the worst qualifiers for determining a school’s fit; your race and gender won’t make either CMC or Pomona a better or worse fit for you (except maybe Scripps…they don’t tend to accept very many guys). The schools are very similar in some ways, but very different in others (I would say they have very different personalities).</p>
<p>If you can, visit and decide which one fits you better.</p>
<p>@zrathustra:
Thanks! As you can see I’m both considering CMC and Pomona, so can you tell me something interesting about Pomona? What interested you most when you was still an applicant, and what interests you now as a student?</p>
<p>Hmmm, that’s really a difficult question for me. Pomona never really “stood out” to me based on one particular attribute (no other school I wanted to go to did either). I have a brother about to be a senior there, and have a number of other friends at Pomona/CMC/HMC so I was always pretty knowledgable about what the 5Cs has to offer. Pomona, for me, offered the “whole package.” It provided excellent faculty, great relationships with those faculty (they’ll call you to make sure you’re OK if you miss class…another time my brother’s professor was kind enough to relay the class discussion in real-time over instant messaging, and share with the class John’s thoughts about everything), sports (not too competitive, but not too shabby either), people (amazing people that are also super intelligent), great campus/facilities (loved the place as soon as I first went), the consortium (I can take lots of math and CS classes at Mudd, my second choice, for example!), study abroad opportunities, sponsor groups, etc, etc, etc. Pomona just seemed to offer it all, and I have yet to find a way where I’ve been particularly disappointed by it.</p>
<p>Also, Pomona really takes care of its students outside of academics. They really want their students to have as many opportunities outside of the classroom that they can. They have a list of “47 Things” that all students should do before they graduate, and many of them are subsidized (for example, Pomona will be selling discounted tickets to a famous play, the Book of Mormon). If I had to point to any particular attribute, this would be it. At Pomona, you’re receiving much more than an education.</p>
<p>Thanks for your thoughts – can I ask if you’ve had any experiences with the language departments at either school? Or how hard it is to take languages classes offered at one of the two if you are a student at the other? Really appreciate all your info!</p>
<p>I haven’t had much experience. As for taking different languages at the different colleges, it’s as easy as signing up for a class at your home college. Pomona, for example, doesn’t offer Arabic, so you can easily take it at CMC. It’s a major plus of being in the 5Cs.</p>
<p>Thank you again! May I ask did you apply to CMC last year?</p>
<p>I was planning on it. I interviewed and everything but then decided against it in the end.</p>
<p>Having worked at both schools, I know them pretty well. It would be easier to answer your questions if we knew what you were interested in. Both schools are extraordinary, and some students would be happy at either. But the schools “feel” different, and they have different styles - enough that brilliant philosophy professor Paul Hurley moved from Pomona to CMC.</p>
<p>On paper I was drawn to one more, but when I visited both, the other really grabbed me, so I totally agree with the “feel” being different (although I’d love to attend either!!). Just to make it harder, the two majors I want are each offered at a different school - ack. If only I have to choose!! ;)</p>
<p>@Collegebuff:
I’m currently thinking of majoring in Psychology.</p>
<p>CMC has one past APA president, Diana Helpurn, as one of their profs and they have plenty of research opps</p>