<p>My #2 son has just returned from visiting his east coast colleges, and now he's narrowed his list down to three schools; Pitzer, Occidental, and Pepperdine.</p>
<p>He is quite bright, but doesn't always perform at his maximum.
He has no idea of what he wants to do in life.
He earned ten varsity letters in high school, but doesn't want to do intermural sports in college.
He has an active social life, but isn't a party animal.
His brother is a freshman at Harvey Mudd.</p>
<p>Any hints, tips, ideas, or suggestions will be appreciated.</p>
<p>Has he stayed over at Pitzer, Occidental, or Pepperdine? That could be the clincher. He should spend the night and visit some classes, if possible, and see which school "fits" best. That was the best thing for me when I was searching for schools.</p>
<p>dad<em>of</em>2. Does your son want a liberal arts college (LAC)? That is, a college focused on undergraduate education? If so, then that would be only Pitzer or Occidental. I think Pepperdine is considered a masters university. </p>
<p>Another thing, and maybe this does not matter to your son, but Pepperdine has a reputation of being pretty conservative. Pitzer, on the other hand, is very progressive. Occidental is somewhere in the middle.</p>
<p>I think one of the main things your son needs to consider is his own politics. Pitzer is pretty far to the left, but Pepperdine is fairly conservative (and religiously affiliated). To give you an idea, I think Ken Starr is affiliated with the law school, and my AP Gov textbook (which seems to lean pretty far to the right at times) was written in large part by a Pepperdine professor. Occidental is more comparable to Pitzer, although probably a bit more moderate.</p>
<p>If your son is either conservative or doesn't care much for politics, Pepperdine would be a good choice, although religion is still a factor, and even though it's a great school in most regards, its traditional strengths are similar to CMC's (law, economics, public policy, etc).</p>
<p>It sounds like your son might be a better fit for a place like Pitzer, since you say he's undecided and access to the other Claremonts means a lot of opportunities. Again, the test of politics applies, and whether he wants to be so close to his brother (since Harvey Mudd).</p>
<p>I'll admit that I know less about Oxy than the others, it's compared a lot to Pitzer, and standing alone, it's probably a bit more well-rounded.</p>
<p>If he's still torn, you should probably visit the campuses again (unless you're too far away, I'm from a suburb of Boston, so my trip last year was pretty much it).</p>
<p>Either way, all three are great schools, and he should be proud to go to any of them. =)</p>
<p>Chris' enrollment deposit check to Pitzer went out in today's mail!</p>
<p>IMO he made the right choice. Pitzer's small school size coupled with the resources of the 5C's fits his personality. For the past four years Chris has been a boarding student at Webb Schools, about three miles from Pitzer, so he is very familiar with Claremont and has many local friends.</p>