<p>I'm currently torn between these two schools and have not visited them just yet. Tentatively, I would like to major in international relations, and possibly double major in environmental studies. The academics at both schools are great, but Scripps appears to be more traditional whereas Occidental is more progressive (can't decide which I like better, or if my observation is correct). Is the Claremont "bubble" too stifling and disconnected from the real world? What are the girls like at Scripps as opposed to the people at Oxy? Which school is better for getting into a good graduate school/career?
Any juxtaposition between Oxy and Scripps/the Claremont Colleges would be much appreciated. :)</p>
<p>I’d say that the fact that Oxy is more progressive is right. I can’t answer all your questions, but I’d say that if you want to be involved in the area around your school, Oxy would be a better bet. Scripps is a smaller building on the Pomona College campus, and while you interact with the other Claremont colleges, it doesn’t feel as open as a place like Oxy might. Again, this is my opinion and it might be good to post this on the Scripps thread also. Maybe a googleEarth search wouldn’t hurt either .</p>
<p>My son (who will be going to Oxy) and I visited Oxy and the Claremont schools (though obviously not focusing on Scripps!). The multi-college campus at Claremont was not for him. He liked the fact that Oxy felt like it was in a world of its own on a lovely tree-covered and hilly campus, but just blocks away was LA with all it had to offer. Academically, you are looking at schools close enough in quality so as to render the question of academic superiority moot. I’d focus on the “gestalt” that your daughter gets at both schools – kids instincts on these things are pretty good.</p>
<p>Scripps and Occidental were both amongst my top choices when I applied (Oxy rejected me, so they weren’t to be). I do think Oxy has a more activist curriculum and student body, and the also they require a much larger multicultural core curriculum (5-6 courses of that nature required vs. one at Scripps). Oxy also tends to have an extremely outspoken student body, while Scripps is more of a mix of quiet intellectuals, sociable, outgoing people who aren’t terribly involved in social issues, and more activist students. There is definitely a place for an activist student at Scripps, but it’s not a dominant flavor of the entire student body like at Occidental. The few conservative students I knew at Scripps were pretty uncomfortable there, so there’s definitely a heavily leftist bias.</p>
<p>Another big difference is that Oxy is a smaller student body without the 5Cs and is gated, while Scripps bleeds onto the other campuses and then into Claremont. Oxy is within a working class community in LA itself, while Scripps is in an upper-middle class suburb on the edge of LA county.</p>
<p>I would definitely visit both and see which is a better fit for you. They’re both great schools!</p>
<p>I’m an Oxy student, and while I’ve never been to Claremont, Oxy is definitely a “bubble” of its own. A lot of students wish the social atmosphere was more like the Claremont Schools, because though we’re in the middle of L.A., there’s not too much time to explore (esp without a car) and there’s not much going on on campus…</p>
<p>Since you have never been to the Claremont Colleges, making a statement that the social atmosphere is better there than Oxy is a little surprising. The city of Claremont is lovely, but it is a quiet town.</p>
<p>RAM - I imagine what ehhtdlz is referring to isn’t the actual town of Claremont itself, which is a bit of a sleeper (though it’s much more student-friendly since the expansion than when I started there in fall 2004…) but rather the sheer number of things going on between all five campuses (parties, speakers, concerts, OTL trips, the option to go into LA/to the beach, etc.). Remember that Oxy itself is small (<2,000), while the Claremont Colleges combined have over 5,000 students.</p>
<p>I loved my time in Claremont (at Scripps, in fact) and wouldn’t have traded it for anything.</p>
<p>Edit: Looking at all the posts, I feel the need to make a few…corrections. Scripps is NOT a small building on Pomona’s campus. It is its own campus with its own resources, including classroom buildings, dining hall, residence halls, etc. It also has the tiny reputation of being the most beautiful of the bunch (no comment, I’m biased).</p>
<p>While I can’t compare the student bodies (haven’t visited Oxy), I found that 95% of Scripps women are happy, intelligent, and down-to-earth (something I wish were true of the graduate program I am now attending, regardless of it being in the top five in its field).</p>
<p>thanks Stickypenguin, that’s exactly what I meant. I know Claremont is a quiet town, but you have more students, which myself and lots of Oxy students envy. As much as we love Oxy, it would be nice to have a wider range of social interactions on campus, because getting off-campus at Oxy is often a hassle.</p>
<p>well, i visited both schools, and i have to say that i did not click with claremont or any of the 5 schools at all. on the other hand, i really liked oxy, and am going to be attending this fall thanks everyone! :D</p>
<p>When you say that Occidental is “progressive”, is it one of those super liberal, save the earth, white guys are the root of all evil sort of progressive? Are they open minded to different points of view, non-judgemental and people can openly be whatever religion or political party they choose? I have heard mostly great things about the school so far.</p>
<p>well to the white=evil thing, the majority of students there are white, but there is a good minority representation, so i doubt that there is that sort of thing. i know that it is super liberal, so a conservative would probably feel somewhat isolated, but hey! for a school that preaches diversity, i’d say that they need some more conservatives to really live up to the concept :P</p>
<p>i sat in on a class when i went to visit, and the professor was critical of both the bush AND obama administrations, which told me that he wasn’t biased one way or another. can’t tell you if the whole school is like that, but from what i saw, it was a pretty open-minded place. i’m politically open-minded myself, but i tend to lean liberal on most issues.</p>
<p>That’s good to know, because there are some schools that are exclusionary and practice political correctness. Don’t really care for that of any flavor…I like it when kids think for themselves.</p>
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