<p>I have stats that would give me a good chance at admission. However, I live in a wealthy part of Los Angeles. Due to a lack of socioeconomic and geographic diversity at CMC and all the Claremonts, would this make it harder to get in? I asked an admissions officer and he acted like it was a preposterous question, but I wonder if he was just flat out lying. </p>
<p>What a terrible throw away question to waste on an admissions officer. You are more interested in how they build the class than the school itself? Either you are applying or not and your application will be reviewed along with the majority of affluent people who apply and get admitted to such schools. Are you kidding?</p>
<p>@BrownParent I had been to CMC before and know a lot about the school since my brother goes to Pitzer, so I figured it was a question worth asking. My counselor kept repeating that I wouldn’t get in because I live in LA and I was just wondering how valid that statement is. </p>
<p>BrownParent, my son was also told (although not by a CMC representative) that being from Socal was a negative from an admissions perspective. The school admits only 20% of its freshman class from the area despite it being the largest source of applicants. </p>
<p>All colleges strive for diversity in their student body, but not at the expense of denying entrance to a qualified applicant. I see the question by ebrook as a challenge to the CMC admission staff that they might value diversity over aptitude. Frankly, that might not go over too well. I think the counselor’s statement that living in L.A. hurts ones chances is completely inaccurate and shows he/she doesn’t know much about the Claremont Colleges. There are over 15 million people living within 60 miles of CMC. Of course the applicants will skew in that direction. They are all great schools and they are relatively close. That fact alone likely prompts many marginally qualified (or less) to apply when that same applicant would never think of applying to Williams, Swarthmore, or Amherst. I bet if you break down the SoCal applicants by GPA and test scores, the acceptance rate will mirror that from other parts of the country. </p>