<p>I applied ED II to Wesleyan but I'm am also really interested in Pitzer College in Claremont, CA. I'm attracted to both schools for their small, "warm", and accepting environments. I like Pitzer's warm weather, proximity to a large city, and consortium but am unsure whether it's name holds enough of a punch to help me get a job, especially on the East Coast where I live and may end up living post-college. On the other hand I like Wesleyan for its thriving music and party scene and good reputation as a LAC, but I'm not crazy about Middletown and its cold weather and long winters. What are peoples opinions on these two schools and how they compare?</p>
<p>there’s almost no comparison other than a slight affinity between certain parts of their student bodies (i.e., the arts community). Pitzer is among the smallest and newest of the Claremont Colleges; Wesleyan is one of the largest of the old-line New England small colleges. The Claremont Colleges look good on paper; together they project the same footprint as a 6,000 student university. But, it comes at a certain cost, mostly in the way that each college is forced to maintain its own individuality and culture. The level of self-segregation between the colleges is pretty high.</p>
<p>I go to Pomona. I would probably say Wesleyan is more comparable to Pomona than Pitzer academically. The Wesleyan student body will probably be more self-motivated. You’ll get whatever you want out of Pitzer, though. You can easily have a soft class schedule and do very little, or you can take advantage of everything the 5-C’s have to offer and get a great education and a great experience. Pitzer has some awesome programs and is certainly a good school. I know how important weather is, too. Pitzer definitely wins out there. But if you get into Wes, you’re going there (ED?), so you shouldn’t start debating with yourself now. </p>
<p>john, it really depends on the person. CMC and Pomona have a bit of a rivalry, so there’s a definite line there. The stereotype is that Pomona students feel like Pomona is the best school and it’s not worth it to cross-register. I personally disagree. Pomona is the only school that doesn’t do a great job of integrating with the other colleges, which is why the other schools sometimes think that Pomona students are pretentious (I also think there’s some silly jealousy because Pomona wins out in prestige/USN rankings). At Pitzer, you can take half your classes at the other schools and almost all Pitzer students take advantage of that. I wouldn’t say that Pitzer or the other schools are self-segregating at all. It’s kind of impossible to self-segregate when the schools are literally across the street and we share athletic facilities. Pitzer, Scripps, and Claremont share science facilities and classes. Each school has an individual personality, though, and that’s why they are individual schools.</p>
<p>^^but, how does that work with respect to living arrangements? Are Pitzer students allowed to room “across the street” at a different campus, and vice-versa? Do people tend to stay in dorms all four years or is there much integration into the community after say, junior year?</p>
<p>It rarely happens, but it’s possible. To room at another campus, you need do a formal exchange with a student at that campus. I know a girl from Mudd who was living in a rowdy dorm and decided to switch to the Scripps campus, which is relatively quiet. </p>
<p>As far as I know, most consortium students live on-campus all four years. Pomona students definitely do.</p>
<p>Have you visited Pitzer? Re proximity to a large city: various points in LA are an hour or more away via the freeways. The public transportation system won’t necessarily get you where you might want to go. Kids rent ZipCars by the hour (or have cars, or make friends with people with cars). </p>
<p>Re mixing it up socially on the 5C’s, kids from all of the campuses mingle at Mudd’s famous parties, and Pitzer girls sometimes date Mudd guys. Cross-college friendships are not uncommon and usually centered around extracurricular interests or common academic courses. </p>
<p>Pitzer’s has a rep as the one 5-C school where, how shall I put this, some students integrate substances pretty easily into their lifestyle if they have that bent, without much threat to their GPAs. The other 5-C colleges have coursework the students consider more rigorous. I agree Wesleyan would be better compared to Pomona.</p>