Hello everyone!
I’m currently choosing between Macalester and Scripps. I did the overnight at Macalester last week and definitely liked it and could see myself there, but I didn’t 100% fall in love with it, if that makes sense. I’m drawn to Mac because of the internationalism (I’m interested in International Studies) and the location in the Twin Cities. I haven’t had a chance to visit Scripps as an admitted student, but I did visit the 5Cs last March and really loved Pomona and CMC; the Consortium really appeals to me, I’m just not sure what there is to love about Scripps in particular.
I’m happy to hear any thoughts anyone might have! I’m especially curious about how the academics compare, the types of students each attracts, the academic experience, and the alumni network available for grads. Thanks in advance!
You might try posting this in the Scripps and Macalester forums. Perhaps @ClaremontMom can give some feedback on Scripps.
My D is at Scripps and loves it there and we love having her there. I think she’s getting a great education and has some great opportunities. Of course class sizes are small and at Scripps there are a lot of writing involved. But she’s had some excellent professors who really care about their student’s success. It’s really nice to see that personal attention.
She’s a junior right now, so networking is becoming more of an issue. The nice thing with Scripps is networking goes beyond just Scripps alumni it includes all 5 C alumni. They are eager to help students of any of the 5 C’s.
I am unfamiliar with Macalester so I cannot compare the two schools. I can only speak about Scripps. Let me know if you have any specific question.
To present Macalester’s side: Macalester is great because of its international spirit and its location (one of the best urban neighborhoods in the US in my opinion, because there’s so much to do, it’s totally walkable, it’s so pretty, the architecture’s nice, and prices are reasonable.)
Scripps is great because of the consortium and the weather is definitely better than Macalester though. SO for me it’d be campus spirit + environment vs. consortium + weather.
I lived in the Mac neighborhood for years and had a kid accepted there, and have a student at one of the other 5Cs. I love Mac, but I think the consortium is a very powerful draw. Cross registration (and cross social pollination) at the 5Cs is really great. Weather is much better, too. Claremont is a nice place, too – plenty of restaurants for students to walk to. Their academic rankings are pretty close. I’d say Scripps.
I think the consortium is part of the campus spirit. You can get the feel of a small liberal arts school, or a university with 5,000 or so students. Since the 5Cs have all different flavors, you will get a multitude of different spirits, personalities, and opinions. IMO it seems like one of the most fascinating places to go to college. (CMC is my top choice)