Hi everybody,
I am a high school senior at a top boarding school in Massachusetts (think Deerfield, Milton Academy). I am a caucasian guy and have good grades and test scores. I scored a 32 on my ACT and have an unweighted 3.72 GPA. I intend on going to law school after I graduate so a liberal arts major is what I am thinking at this point but I am not certain yet on the particular one. International relations or political science really interests me.
Extracurriculars:
-DECA Club President
-Varsity Tennis Captain
-Young Democrats / Hillary Clinton Campaign Internship
I am torn between Claremont McKenna, Occidental, Stanford and CU Boulder. I want to leave the east coast and head west even though my family is here in Mass.
I have only been accepted to CU Boulder, which I’m excited about and expected. I applied RD for CMC, RD Oxy, and RD Stanford. The crux of the issue is that I am not sure I will be admitted to Stanford. Stanford is too good to pass up if I’m admitted which I know is an uncertainty. So, I am trying to leave behind the idea of Stanford as my dream school and chart a new course for the time being while I wait. I anticipate being accepted to Oxy and think I am a likely at CMC.
Taken together, I love CU Boulder, Oxy, and CMC. They all have a down to earth, intellectual and friendly vibe. The students I met at all three were bright and kind. That is what I am looking for. I really love Boulder as a college town and the more liberal atmosphere is a plus. Colorado is just amazing with the mountains and all the stuff you can do. I think their academics are very good but maybe not quite as good as CMC or Oxy for law school. I know the school has an engineering / business focus…
I liked CMC when I visited there. The students and faculty seem to be super smart! But I found the environment somewhat stuck up and conservative, and I don’t know if I want to be around crazy smart people all the time. Oxy seems like a good balance of the two. I really like the history of the college. I think CU Boulder and Oxy are on about the same academic level so it might be hard to choose between them.
Just looking for some feedback! This whole college decision process is going to kill me!
You are wise to forget about Stanford. If you get in, it’ll be a nice surprise, but you should not focus on it. CMC is an excellent choice for your major. However, it is small. My sons went to private school as well and wanted a large student body for college. If you get in though, you should definitely consider it.
When it comes down to Oxy and CU Boulder, you just need to consider if you want a large university with all the options that gives you, or a smaller campus. Oxy is a great school and would probably be a good choice for your major. Regarding history, I’m sure you know that Obama went there for a while. Both campuses are located in areas that provide good options for going out and doing things.
Just offering a second opinion for you, in case you’re still struggling to decide. Stanford is ridiculously competitive, so don’t beat yourself up if you don’t get in.
CMC may be a good choice because it’s part of the Claremont Consortium, so you will have the opportunity to take classes at Pomona, Harvey Mudd, etc. The fact that you enjoyed CMC when you visited is also a good sign! Ask yourself if the perks outweigh the negatives - for instance, with CMC, is a more conservative environment a dealbreaker? Or a drawback?
I can weigh in a bit on living in Denver/the CU system. One of the biggest mistakes I made choosing a college years ago was not factoring in environment and cost of living. 3 years later, I imagine the traffic and cost of living have gotten worse. It felt a bit isolated to me, as the nearest big city was Phoenix. Also, I can’t comment on CU Boulder’s academics, but I did not personally find CU Denver exceptional or challenging, and I felt I was paying a lot as an out-of-state student for little return. The Anschutz campus is great (albeit in a poor spot), and I would recommend it for someone who loves CO and wants to major in the sciences. However, I wouldn’t recommend CU for liberal arts majors. Perhaps I’m a traditionalist, but I feel like liberal arts majors should stick to smaller LACs.
I can’t imagine college life living in the hoods of LA. CU hands down, no question.
Do you want to get into a top law school? Then go to the top LAC you can get into. A degree from CU will be OK to get into Colorado law schools and some others though. If you do really well on LSAT, that will open up more law schools, no matter what undergraduate school you attend. CU Boulder has the weakest students and less rigorous writing programs of the schools you mention. CU Boulder is much better known and ranked in physics, chemistry, engineering and instrumental music over the humanities and social sciences. The criteria to get into CU Boulder Arts and Sciences is much lower than the Business college, Engineeering college or College of Music at CU Boulder. If you want to eventually study patent law, then CU Boulder would be very good though, but you have to get an undergraduate degree in EE, ME, physics etc.
There are a fair amount of conservatives at CMC, but the majority, according to my son, are liberal in their politics. Couple that with Pomona and Pitzer, overall the consortium leans very liberal. My son is definitely to the left, and he has had a wonderful experience at CMC for three years now. Don’t let generalizations that may be outdated sway your decision-making.
I think happiness correlates to academic success. Recharging the battery is severely underrated. If you think you can brute force a degree, regardless of the environment, then keep the search going. If your environment matters, Boulder is the place.
Your professors will be world class climbers, bikers and ultra-distance runners. Everything is designed around a healthy lifestyle, even before you leave city limits. The dining hall, the clubs, the activities right outside your dorm room window – everything and everyone are finely tuned.
Place matters a lot. The support system around you will be second to none. Just a few thoughts…
@mancityislife CU Boulder is very focused on meteorology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, and engineering research and its not as much a place to learn to read, write and argue and debate your position, which is what an attorney needs to do.
Claremont is very similar to Boulder, about 100,000 residents near the mountains.
The lifestyle in Claremont CA is about the same as Boulder CO for healthy living, but CMC will give you a much better education for law school, because its so much smaller and more focused on seminar style discussions. You will not get a lot of that intense debate in large English and history classes at CU, unfortunately. CU is excellent though for the sciences, the labs and research are top notch in Boulder, and the music conservatory, and for K-12 teacher education, a real strength at CU, thus our Colorado schools have excellent teachers. CU Boulder also offers strong theatre, dance, fine arts and ceramics programs and a college of business, and a law school thats solid. But somehow prelaw is lacking so far, stay tuned though, things change over time.
@stc9991 Claremont CA is not a neighborhood of Los Angeles. Its 35 miles east, of central LA and more like 60 miles east of the coastline, and a world away from LA, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, so about the same distance as Denver to Boulder. Claremont reminds me of Boulder, but not four season weather, until you get to the ski resorts up high above Claremont. Its a great college town often compared to Boulder for amenities and healthy lifestyles.
Ok. Correct, Claremont is not LA but it’s going to feel the same. I’m from So Cal and the San Gabriel mountains occasionally cannot be seen due to smog. If you ever went skiing in So Cal you’d know it’s similar to ice skating on skis. I can’t speak to the education you’re going to get in Claremont but it’s nothing compared to Boulder when discussing experiences.
@Coloradomama and others, I can see why someone might not leap to traditional Arts & Sciences at Boulder over what can be achieved at LACs, however, what about College of Comm? Faculty looks pretty credentialed…do people think critical thinking and writing skills could be honed in this College?
I know less about the College of Media and Communication. It used to be our Journalism College and reformed under the new name. I think students can learn to write at CU Boulder, but they have to choose hard classes and demanding teachers in either Arts and Sciences or maybe College of Media. Sorry I do know three grads from the old school of Journalism and that was well respected, I know less about this newer department. I think the requirements in the College of Media may not suit a prelaw student so much, but I have not looked into it in detail. It may be better to stay in Arts and Sciences for a prelaw student. Boulder does have a very fine Law Library and Law school, but I just believe LACs are more focused on discussion, reading and writing skills.