I Love this school!

<p>“6) It is likely your friend from Scripps had some sort of connection or, like I said in another post, got lucky. Exceptions and lucky breaks (assuming it was her own doing) do not constitute grounds to argue that the school has a good reputation. Objectively looking at the situation suggests otherwise.”</p>

<p>Haha, objectively making assumptions about other people based on perceived academic inferiority. The reputation of the college might not be as good, but excellent students can succeed nearly anywhere, particularly at a school like Scripps that has access to so many external resources. She got the job based on merit with a degree from Scripps, however much you might want to deny the possibility. I agree that it doesn’t necessarily mean Scripps has a top-of-the-line stellar reputation, but it certainly has a good reputation and not a bad one by any means.</p>

<p>4) Maybe your scripps prof was good as it was a music (read: less academic) class</p>

<p>It was a music history and theory class, not a practical class. I assure you non-practical music classes are quite academic.</p>

<p>3) In terms of an “overall hierarchy of the 5Cs” yes I would put Pomona at the top, however I generally wouldn’t compare HMC to PO, CMC, SC, PI as a result of it being a speciality school. In that sense I would put HMC outside of the hierarchy.</p>

<p>I stated my views on this above. I would not place Pomona above CMC, as CMC exceeds Pomona in practical economics, government, and leadership type majors. Pomona exceeds CMC in other areas, which again makes a hierarchy of this type pointless, useless, and self-serving. You seemed to be talking about something like a hierarchy based on academic rigor earlier, in which case HMC comes out on top.</p>

<p>5) The consortium is NOT recognized for its strong colleges- it is recognized exclusively in my experience of people impressed by it for PO, CMC, or HMC.</p>

<p>However much stock you place in US News, some people do and Scripps was ranked 23 among LACs, which is certainly quite good. I don’t deny that Pomona, CMC, and HMC are ranked higher and perceived as better and all, but Scripps is certainly not far behind. Are you trying to compare Scripps exclusively to Pomona? Cause there are hundreds of LACs in the US and among them Scripps does quite well. No one denies that Pomona is among the top LACs, if that’s what you’re afraid of, or are insecure about.</p>

<p>You seem to deny every point I make without exception, despite my having “observations from a perspective that you simply don’t have” and counter with blanket condemnation from your personal ‘experience.’ You seem to basing your opinions off the successes and failures of your personal friends from these colleges, is that correct? Have you considered that perhaps your particular friends aren’t a representative sample of each college? Maybe you found certain types of Scrippsies easier to become friendly with, and they are not necessarily the ones most determined to succeed in college? Every school has those as I’m sure you know, and it has a significant effect on your future opportunities.</p>

<p>For those who are interested in rankings, I would point to the rise in Scripps’ placement on the US News list. In 2001, Scripps ranked 33rd among the top 50 liberal arts colleges. The most recent US News listing places Scripps 23rd. </p>

<p>While Pomona has always led the Claremonts in the rankings, the other Claremonts have also done well.</p>

<p>Pomona - 2001(5th); 2011(6th)
CMC - 2001(17th); 2011(11th)
Harvey Mudd - 2001(14th); 2011(18th)
Pitzer - 2001(not listed); 2011(46)</p>

<p>Personally, I think 23rd place is a really great ranking; it’s only a few below HMC. If you can easily take classes at the other colleges, then, regardless of the ostensible “academic reputation” of the school, you’d recieve the same level education. However, as someone pursuing medicine, I think that the fact that students from Scripps regularly get into medical programs such as those of Columbia, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, UCSF, Yale, UPenn, UChicago, etc, in and of itself, is definitely saying something.</p>