<p>I'm worried about Pitzer College's reputation. I got admitted to Pitzer as a transfer student from a CSU with a 3.7 GPA + honors and EC's. To tell you the truth, I didn't even know about the other claremont colleges. Should I transfer out? I'm interested in your opinions.</p>
<p>if you are transferring to Pitzer, you can take courses at the other colleges.
I assume that you were happy with your acceptance before you realized it was part of a consortium?
( so you didn't visit?)
Its a good school- less well known than Harvey MUdd or Pomona, but a good school.</p>
<p>No. I didn't even visit Pitzer. Lame. I know. Now I've been doing research and discovered some heartbreaking facts. Some say Pitzer has one of the ugliest campuses in the nation. Others say it shouldn't even be part of the consortium. Sigh. I know it's my fault. Still, like you said, I was happy when I received the acceptance letter. And I still am. I just can't help feeling a bit hurt by the attacks on Pitzer's reputation. I'm ready to defend Pitzer though. We (all the people at Pitzer) have a responsibility to improve the school's image. I can't wait to sit in a class with Pomona/CMS/etc. kids...then we'll see what really matters.</p>
<p>our valedictorian in '04 applied to that school and only that school. she must have had confidence in the school's reputation</p>
<p>Pitzer takes flak for being the lowest ranked school in the Claremont Consortium, but it's all relative. You will have every opportunity to receive an EXCELLENT education. I know people at Pitzer who LOVE it, who are brilliant, who defy every stereotype about the school (the main stereotype simply being that it never outgrew the '60s). I know a girl at Scripps who is hoping to do a housing exchange and live on Pitzer next year because she likes it so much. I knew another Pitzer grad who went in very naive to the school's reputation. She was very happy with her experience, but admitted that she probably wouldn't repeat it with what she knew by graduation, simply because the environment didn't fit her personality at all. She found a close circle of friends at Scripps, played a 5C intramural sport, got pretty involved in the rest of the consortium, and has been very successful citing a Claremont College as her alma mater. </p>
<p>Every school has a reputation...the Claremont schools' are just exagerrated because they're on top of one another. If you didn't know about the Consortium before and now you're worried about Pitzer, then you lucked out because you're getting a 5+ deal for one. I hope you love it!</p>
<p>i think it's weird that schools allow to take classes at other schools like the claremont schools do. i say this because it's like getting a really good education, but ending up with the weaker name on your diploma, then the other students who are at claremont mck/pomona.</p>
<p>Students who attend pomona, I agree are not likely to apply to Pitzer- like wise Harvey Mudd.
HOwever it is also very much more difficult to gain admission to either Pomona or Harvey Mudd and your education is about what your experence in and out of the classroom, and simply having a better knownname on your diploma, is not going to insure you have a better experience.</p>
<p>Amherst accross the country also has a consortium with Mt Holyoke, Smith,Hampshire, U Mass- Amherst.
Most people would probably also consider that those school are an even more diverse group than the Claremont consortium. :)</p>
<p>Well, firstly...when the consortium was originally conceived and constructed, nobody could predict which schools would have what rankings this long down the road! I certainly am biased, being a Claremont student myself, but I personally think that the consortium structure is the best thing in the WORLD. Don't think about it as "a student attends one school, takes classes at a "better" one, and gets the short end of the stick with his diploma." Think about it as a student who didn't have the high school credentials to get into the #4, #11, #-whatever schools in the country, and yet is still able to gain unimaginable levels of access to them! Talk about a DEAL.</p>
<p>Two notes:</p>
<p>(1) It's a deal for everyone. I by NO mean intend to say that only the students who "backdoor it" into the higher ranked schools are getting a good thing. In my experience, the consortium benefits absolutely everyone.</p>
<p>(2) I also don't mean to imply that those at the lower ranked schools couldn't make it into the higher. Some could, some do...it's a matter of fit. I know a Mudd student who transferred to Pitzer...he wanted to stay in Claremont and his interests changed. None the less intelligent for it.</p>
<p>Also worth noting is the fact that cross-registration is generally understood by anyone who's ever heard of Claremont. From what I have been told by graduates, anyone who has heard of the schools is far more likely to say "Claremont is GREAT!" than to say "Pomona is great, but which one did you go to, again?"</p>
<p>I guess I'm just used to the whole set-up and I will admit that it's hard to explain and difficult to communicate the benefits and the extent to which the consortium shapes the experience of Claremont grads...but you say weird, I say really, truly great.</p>
<p>Thanks to all you for your encouraging responses!
I'm more than ready to start school now.
I particularly admired Student615 for her boldness and admiration for the Claremont Consortium. As I said before, I wasn't completely aware about the existence of the other colleges but I'm glad to know now.</p>