CMC vs. Vassar

Colleges and Universities A-Z Claremont McKenna College
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<p>I've narrowed down my choices to both these universities, and the main reasons why I want or don't want either are:</p>

<p>CMC advantages over Vassar:
Larger undergraduate student population
Better weather
The Ath
The consortium (I will be able to have a good education in whatever I major, even if the subject I want to major in is not great at CMC) (Also, because of the consortium, it is less of a bubble than vassar)</p>

<p>Vassar advantages over CMC:
Campus much nicer
Closer to my country (I'm international, so it'll be both cheaper to get to and from my country, and will be easier i.e. more convenient)
Has a relatively better reputation, as it seems many don't know CMC (yes, Vassar is also relatively unknown, compared to the ivies, but because it was an ivy league sister school it is more well known than CMC)
Closer to my school friends, who are all going to either boston, new york or pennsylvania</p>

<p>What do you think? What should I choose?</p>

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<p>Hi MoEtufts</p>

<p>I have no pearls of wisdom for you, but surely you recognize that by posting on both the CMC and Vassar forums, you will most likely have people from the respective forums telling you why you should go to their schools. Have you visited both schools? This is such a subjective decision that I think any decision, without first-hand experience of the schools, will be only a guess. The only thing I can say to make this decision easier for you is that you will undoubtedly receive a great education at either school.</p>

<p>I would quibble a little bit with your observation that CMC is less well-known. As many people have said on these boards, CMC is very known to the people who matter, such as employers and graduate schools.</p>

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<p>Exactly the point of posting on both, rather than just one…</p>

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<p>I actually have not visited either college. After applying, I went to the US and went to all my first choices, and thought “I must get in one of them”, and when I didn’t, I was left with Vassar, CMC and two other universities I never visited. That is why it is fairly difficult to make this choice. </p>

<p>And about CMC being less known; I know that, but the main issue, is that if i don’t go to graduate university, and decide to look for employment in my home country, I’m afraid when they see my university they will not know it, because the only well known west coast universities her are berkely, ucla and stanford.</p>

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<p>Out of curiosity, what country are you from? One thing you didn’t mention in your post is what you would like to study or major in. As you probably know, CMC is particularly strong in economics, finance, government and international relations. The school has a pre-professional focus and stresses internships, leadership activities and getting practical experience to prepare you for a career after college. Although the aforementioned majors are very popular at CMC, the English lit, Philosophy, Asian and Arabic studies, Psychology, Religious Studies and Joint Sciences with the other Claremont schools are all strong programs. If you are interested in majors like art history or music, you may want to consider Vassar. In this respect, the two schools may be quite different, and you may want to factor this in your decision-making process.</p>

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<p>I am from Jordan. I hope to major either in biochemsitry, or double major econ-political science. I know, i’m still very skeptical!! So i guess CMC would be better for the econ-political science, and although it’s biochemistry is not the best, i can still take classes at pomona where it should be better!</p>

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<p>I hear that the Joint Science Dept. at CMC is very good and the admission rate to medical school is very high.</p>

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<p>I don’t mean to digress, but I find it interesting that you are from Jordan. What’s your take on the demonstrations and protests throughout the Middle East, including Jordan. The media in the US reports it as a great democratization movement. Is that your reading of it? Don’t feel compelled to answer this; I am just curious if people from the region perceive it similarly to many in the US.</p>

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<p>the protests, in my opinion are great, because their getting any contempt all arab people have for their governments out, so basically, the spark that started in tunisia, influenced all other countries to actually start protesting, as you probably know. and now, all the contempt people feel is getting out, so hopefully, it should lead, as u say to a final great democratization. so basically that first spark, is leading to all the poison in arab countries being removed, and which should hopefully lead to more improvement. now, in jordan, the protest aren’t major, because most people love the king and there are only a few policies that they hope to see changed, which the king seems to be dealing with well. in countries such as egypt, although they’re going to be affected with hosni mubarak’s actions for a while, i think, and many others think, that in the end it should lead to a greater improvement, because the corruption is sinking out of the country, and hopefully, their next president will do a better job, and not be corrupted by the money. but all in all, in the long run, it should lead to better unification of arab countries, which was impossible before when each arab leader only looked out for himself. sorry if any of that didn’t make sense, i tend to over-ramble, but as a summarization, in my opinion, i do think it is a democratization movement, but if you think by democratization i mean transition from a monarchy to their being a president, then no, that is not happening, but all in all the people’s voices are being heard now in other arab countries where it was overlooked before (but luckily in jordan, the people have a good representation in the parliament, and they are better heard). hope that made sense to u, and if u don’t understand anything, feel free to ask.</p>

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<p>Thank you for the informative response. It’s great to see the Arab people holding their leaders accountable and standing up for their rights. It should be interesting to see how this all works out.</p>

<p>Are you aware of the Arabic Studies Dept. at CMC. I have heard great stuff about the dept and the course offerings.</p>

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<p>yeah i have heard of it… but i’m hoping to become immersed in another culture, but it’s great to know if i ever feel lost culture wise, i can take a course to remind me of everything</p>

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<p>MoEtufts-</p>

<p>I just did a meagpost which was somehow lost. Anyway, parent57 is giving good advice, as always. I am also a CMC parent.</p>

<p>D only applied to one liberal arts college outside of the Claremont colleges because she was worried about lack of diversity/academic opportunities. As I recall, you preferred the mid-sized universities? CMC and the Claremont colleges give you that size with the social and academic resources.</p>

<p>Are you thinking premed? D was originally looking at CMC for that reason. They had nearly perfect medschool placement and there grads were getting into their #! and 2 choices, which was/is a big draw. Joint Sciences is very strong and CMC is attracting more science students all the time. Check out the prof’s credentials in the back of the catalog and look them up to see their accomplishments. JS also has some classes that are joint with Pomona and Harvey Mudd and it is possible to register for others with the ok of your advisor.</p>

<p>Econ is top notch at CMC. It is the most popular major and even with the small size there are twice as many CMC econ majors as there are at Vassar. Government and International Relations are usually #2 and 3 by the numbers (but last year bio was #3. I think it has the 5th or 6th most majors this year.) There are so many great speakers at the ath. My D often says she can’t believe the people she gets to have class discussions with and sit with at dinner(and she isn’t referring to the students, although they are wonderful too.) She also says even she underestimated how fabulous the CA weather is year-round!</p>

<p>As far as the campus, yes it is small, but for 1/2 the student population of Vassar. And it doesn’t feel small because of the consortium. D likes the look of the campus. It is modern, but it was built in the '40s. Across the street is Scripps, which is gorgeous, and the other direction is Pomona, which is also a beautiful, more traditional campus. Taking that into account, I wouldn’t say that Vassar is “much nicer”. (Full, disclosure…I have never done a campus tour of Vassar. I have only been there, passing through. It looks very nice, though.)</p>

<p>As far as reputation, CMC consistently ranks at the top of lists for career services, academic quality/value, quality of life and happiest students. It has a much better selectivity rank due to a much lower acceptance rate, and stronger academic indicators for the incoming class (if those things matter to you). The alumni giving rate (which is an indicator of graduate satisfaction) is also higher at CMC. Career services helps out alums after graduation as well and has alum contacts all over the world. They excel at placing students in prestigious internships, grad schools and jobs.</p>

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<p>To continue-</p>

<p>On a personal note, my older D has a friend that is graduating from Vassar this spring. She went there for the English/writing program and she has stuck it out but she does not like it there. She says that the kids from the NE are not accepting and are cliquish. She also says that there are a lot of girls, which she knew going in, but many of of the guys are gay (which is a problem for many girls looking to date. This may or may not be a plus for you.) She says that the most popular majors are the fine arts and English, followed by the other humanities. Poughkeepsie has not been a strong point, and she is disappointed that it is not too practical to get into NYC…that it is not done often. She says that the students are artsy/edgy/very liberal (which she is and likes) but she does not like that most everyone is the same. Very homogenous in outlook.</p>

<p>My best friend and her husband (who coincidentally is a prof at one of the schools that was a top choice of yours, I believe) visited Vassar with their son. They thought it would be a great fit, but he crossed it off of his list for many of the reasons above. To be honest, they thought that the students gave off a weird vibe. They are from New England (and met at Harvard). They preferred the Claremont Colleges. (My friend’s sister is a Scripps grad.) They and other family and friends that we know that have attended/are attending good schools in the NE say that the colleges that were sister schools lost much of their prestige if/when they went coed. I have been told that there is a certain ‘stigma’ or stereotype, if you will, to being a male student at one of those schools. Again, this is only what I have read and been told. As far as overall prestige is concerned , remember that Vassar has been around longer. It is amazing how far CMC has come in such a short time!</p>

<p>What really matters is what you and your parents think. You will probably not see much of your friends if you go to Vassar, and you will be building new relationships anyway. How much of a problem is the longer trip home and how often would you go home? My D tells prospective students that Claremont becomes their second home. With technology it is easy to stay in touch. She often calls as she is walking to another campus for a class or activity or on her way to work.</p>

<p>If you were my son, I would give you all of the info above and hope you would make a happy decision. Obviously, with your circumstances, I believe that CMC would be the better match for you. In the end, go where you would fit the best and be the happiest. That is where you will get the best grades and recommendations and in turn have the best shot at the top grad schools and jobs. Both are fine schools with strong academics. For your combo of majors, weather, resources, internships, job and grad school placement, I don’t think CMC can be beat by Vassar. </p>

<p>Also, there is the question of finances. CMC is one of the top schools in the country and there are so few out of pocket expenses as well. D has gone to retreats for nothing, there are very low cost excursions into LA and the area, zip cars are cheap to rent, snacks are free…and D loves walking to the village or choosing from all of the social events at the 5cs.</p>

<p>Anyway, I hope this helps. You must be very proud of your accomplishments. CMC does not admit by stats only. With a ridiculous 13.8% acceptance rate this year, they must have seen something very special. Congratulations and good luck with your decision!</p>

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<p>Thank you critter! that’s great :slight_smile:
and i thought you’d like to know that i have chosen claremont, and am paying my deposit tomorrow… you just made my decision feel even better :)</p>

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<p>That’s great MoEtufts! Have a wonderful 4 years.</p>

<p>Hopefully you are talking to the CMC class of '15 on Facebook (and some of the class of '14 as well). Also, D says to be sure and sign up for a WOA trip…great way to get acquainted before orientation in August (and lots of fun).</p>