Has anyone seen ALL of these California LACs?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Has anyone been to the campuses of all of these LACs: Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, and Occidental?</p>

<p>If so could you briefly give me your impressions, what the campuses look like, size, architecture, where they are located in relation to, I guess, Los Angeles, which you preferred over which in terms of environment, such things. Also if you know if any of these schools are any good for the life sciences (bio, biochem, chem, etc), pretty much any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks muchos.</p>

2

<p>You know that the first three colleges you list are all in the same location, right?</p>

3

<p>I thought I would like Occidental. I think the campus is really nice, but my guided tour diminished my impression of the school. I think Oxy comes second to the Claremont schools, they made Oxy seem like it was an amazing school but compared to the Claremonts, Claremont has more to offer.</p>

4

<p>I only visited Pomona and Claremont McKenna, and Pomona had the nicer campus. However I would rather go to McKenna.</p>

5

<p>No, siliconmom, I didn't know. That's why I was asking. Where is Claremont? Is it a suburb of Los Angeles?</p>

6

<p>Claremont is like 30 minutes east of the main city of Los Angeles.</p>

7

<p>liek, what was the surrounding environment around oxy? any restaurants, shops, movies? is oxy also in a suburb of Los Angeles? is claremont a fairly happening neighborhood?</p>

8

<p>The Claremont Consortium is explained pretty well on any of the five college's (Mudd, Pitzer, Scripps, CMC, and Pomona) websites. Also, check out the CC "College Visits" and "Colleges" sections for the schools you are interested in. A lot of what you are asking about the local communities is covered there. </p>

<p>Oxy is very close to downtown Los Angeles. Claremont is further out, but has a metro link station very close to campus, so you can get around L.A.</p>

9

<p>Both Occidental, and the Claremonts are in the suburbs.</p>

<p>Click on street view to browse the streets around Oxy. You can wander all over campus and the surrounding area</p>

<p>occidental</a> college - Google Maps</p>

<p>Here is a street view starting at the Pomona campus in Claremont.</p>

<p>pomona</a> college - Google Maps</p>

10

<p>The difference between Oxy vs the Claremont Schools in terms of location IS more noticeably different once you've visited. A map doesn't tell you more than the surrounding area around it.
Oxy, although officially in Eagle Rock, is still part of Los Angeles, just like any other area(or suburb) that makes the city of Los Angeles, ie Hollywood, Westwood, Weho, Burbank, Pasadena, Glendale, Downtown LA, Culver City, SaMo, Venice etc.</p>

<p>Claremont is too far out to even be considered part of the city or county of LA. The immediate surrounding area around the Claremont Colleges is much nicer than Oxy. At Oxy the minute you drive out or walk out 3 blocks you're in a different "community" that encompasses the campus. That's not to say that there isn't anything to do withing a five mile radius of the Claremont schools. But with Oxy you drive out 5 miles and you have a lot to do. even if you can't drive out, los angeles public transportation will allow you to explore the city for about 1.25 a ride. With the Claremont schools, you have to make the day out of exploring LA because you can't count on just going and coming back at whatever beck and call, unless of course you have your own car but if you dont you'll be paying a lot more for public transportation just to get into LA.</p>

<p>With that said, I personally wouldn't sacrifice the Claremont schools just because you want to be in LA. The claremont schools are residential campuses with a great deal of its students on campus throughout the week. there's bound to be something for you to do every single day of the week, and if there isn't I'm pretty sure youll make a friend or two who are LA natives that go into LA every weekend. Oxy has a beautiful campus, but from my bias perspective, I wouldn't sacrifice the experience that the Claremont schools have to offer over an Oxy education.</p>

11

<p>The Metrolink station is a five minute walk from the Pomona campus. The colleges are surrounded by a sleepy, quiet, suburban community, very conservative and a gentrifying population. Safe as can be. No nightclub if you know what I mean. Eveyone is in bed by 9pm!</p>

12

<p>
[quote]
Claremont is too far out to even be considered part of the city or county of LA.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Claremont is in LA County (though very near the San Bernardino line). I second the rest of liek's characterization of the area. DunninLA's version was not really my experience, but I suppose that sleepy is in the eye of the beholder. Opinions re: the town of Claremont definitely do vary.</p>

<p>OP: Check [here[/url</a>] for a brief description of the Claremont consortium.</p>

<p>Pomona</p>

<ul>
<li>Very residential campus. Largest single campus of the consortium, but still pretty small as college campuses go. More of an east coast feel than is typical of a CA school. Consistently shows up on "Most Attractive Campuses"-type lists. Not enough overall uniformity for my tastes, but lots of "nooks and crannies," some beautiful interiors (Frary dining hall, Little Bridges auditorium), and tons of green space. Very strong life sciences. Bio is one of the most popular majors.</li>
</ul>

<p>[url=<a href="http://i.cnn.net/money/galleries/2007/moneymag/0707/gallery.BPTL_top_100.moneymag/images/claremont_ca.jpg%5DPomona"&gt;http://i.cnn.net/money/galleries/2007/moneymag/0707/gallery.BPTL_top_100.moneymag/images/claremont_ca.jpg]Pomona&lt;/a> #1](<a href="http://www.claremont.edu%5Dhere%5B/url"&gt;http://www.claremont.edu)
Pomona</a> #2</p>

<p>CMC</p>

<ul>
<li>Same location as above. CMC's own campus is smaller, but the overall consortium campus size is the same for all of the colleges. Pretty basic architecture and appearance. Gets criticized as "60's apartment complex," but I never minded it. Feels clean, functional, not especially beautiful or unattractive. Shares a science program with Scripps and Pitzer. Very strong. Sciences aren't generally thought of as the school's focus, but bio is one of the most popular majors.</li>
</ul>

<p>Joint</a> Science Department of the Claremont Colleges</p>

<p>CMC</a> #1
CMC</a> #2</p>

<p>Mudd</p>

<ul>
<li>Same location as above. Mudd's campus is the smallest of the three, but again, the overall consortium size is the same. Very uniform architecture. Sometimes called "dated", "functional", "Lego-like", or "typical of a tech school." Often shows up on "Least Attractive Campuses"-type lists. Personally, I was never awed by the school's beauty, but I didn't mind it, either. It's well-maintained, nicely landscaped, and the buildings are very consistent. Mudd is a math/science/engineering college. I'd only recommend it if you're sure that you want to go into those fields, and even then, I'd refer you to some other threads if bio or med school was your likeliest goal. Mudd's sciences are fantastic, but those are two fields I often see disclaimed.</li>
</ul>

<p>Mudd</a> #1
Mudd</a> #2</p>

<p>Oxy</p>

<ul>
<li>Spent much less time here. More urban feel, fun area (seemed like there were lots of food options, places to study near campus, etc.). "West coast" feel to the architecture. Clean, uniform, attractive in a California way. Vaguely similar feel to Pomona, architecturally speaking. Don't know about the science program, but didn't find any listed among most popular majors (didn't spend long looking, and regardless, that in itself doesn't necessarily mean anything).</li>
</ul>

<p>Oxy</a> #1
Oxy</a> #2</p>

<p>You can find far more (and probably less) attractive photos of all of the above, and on a nice day in SoCal, pretty much anything looks more beautiful than photographs convey. I just did chose a few photos that seemed more or less representative.</p>

<p>See [url=<a href="http://www.cuc.claremont.edu/maps/flat_bw_map.pdf%5Dhere%5B/url"&gt;http://www.cuc.claremont.edu/maps/flat_bw_map.pdf]here[/url&lt;/a&gt;] for a map of all the Claremont campuses. Shows you their relative size + how close they really are (adjacent). Mudd is along the top, CMC is in the middle, and Pomona is at the bottom.</p>

<p>Good luck :)</p>

13

<p>Thanks a lot for the excellent sumup Student615! I would probably have a car if I were to goto of these schools, so I don't think being in Claremont would be too much of a problem so long as it isn't hours away from LA. By the way, is it just me or does Pomona and Oxy look pretty much look like the same school in these pictures :P</p>

14

<p>Lol they're like spitting images</p>

15

<p>Claremont McKenna and Oxy I think look more similar than Pomona & Oxy. </p>

<p>The pictures of Pomona really doesn't do it justice. Or maybe because I was more drawn to the house-like offices they had. </p>

<p>If I had to rank campuses.
1.Pomona 2. Oxy 3. CMC,</p>

16

<p>Would Student615 do me a favor and give your impression of Pitzer?\
Could you briefly give me your impressions, what the campuses look like, size, architecture, where they are located in relation to, I guess, Los Angeles, which you preferred over which in terms of environment, such things. Also, Pitzer's academic strengths, and if you can stereotype (or cannot) student body by various descriptors.
thanks!</p>

17

<p>Pitzer</p>

<p>-Very small campus, but also part of the Claremont consortium (which makes of the schools feel bigger than they really are). Same location as Pomona/Pitzer/Mudd. The architecture is interesting (I once had a 7-8 sided classroom), but atypical. Sometimes called "60's apartment complex," or dated. Lots of effort toward sustainability. Landscaping involves native and drought-resistant plants...bit of a "desert" feel. Lots of student art on walls and buildings, which can look strange at first, but really fits the atmosphere of the school. Shares the Joint Science Department (linked in previous post) with CMC and Scripps. Again, bio is listed as one of the most popular majors. </p>

<p>Pitzer</a> #1
Pitzer</a> #2</p>

<p>I'm trying to keep these descriptions pretty basic, because opinions really vary re: the appearance of the schools. Get a feel from the photos, look through the virtual tours on the websites, do your own google/Flickr searches, and hopefully you'll be able to visit sometime, too. IMO, Mudd and Pitzer in particular both make more 'sense' when you see them in person.</p>

<p>ETA: I just did a quick Flickr search for each of the Claremonts that have been asked about...way handier than google, it turns out. I haven't looked through all the photos, but there are lots of campus ones (and random student shots mixed in, sorry). </p>

<p>Pomona</a> on Flickr
CMC</a> on Flickr
Mudd</a> on Flickr
Pitzer</a> on Flickr</p>

18

<p>Downtown Claremont is a short walk from Pomona and the other Claremont colleges. It has a nice collection of shops and restaurants, and is very much a small college town atmosphere. Claremont is a long drive from the unique parts of Los Angeles, e.g., Hollywood, Santa Monica, Westwood. In traffic, it can be nearly two hours to the beach. </p>

<p>Occidental is on the side of a rather steep hill with lots of trees. When you are on campus, you feel very isolated from the surrounding city. The school is a much closer drive to the LA attractions. On the other hand, there is nothing of note within walking distance.</p>

19

<p>Hi,
How bad is the air quality in Claremont? How would a Vermont country girl find the quality of breathing?!</p>

20

<p>I'd go </p>

<ol>
<li>Claremont McKenna</li>
<li>Pomona</li>
<li>Harvey Mudd</li>
<li>Occidental</li>
</ol>

<p>of course depends on what you want to major in, if its government or economics than Claremont McKenna, if its science/engineering then harvey mudd</p>