Pitzer

Colleges and Universities A-Z Claremont McKenna College
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<p>My son is considering Pitzer. My understanding is it has become quite selective in its own right in recent years, but still lags the other claremont schools in conventional academic metrics, to an extent that those attending these schools may be aware of.</p>

<p>Should he have reason to be concerned that students from Claremont and/or Pomona are likely to take some attitude towards him, merely because he attends Pitzer?</p>

<p>My D2 attended a school where there was a bit of a situation like this, and she couldn't stand it (before she transferred). She felt like she had to prove herself or something every time she spoke with someone at the other school, and that her opinions in mixed classes were taken lightly or dismissed. This is not a good way to feel. So that's why I'm a little sensitive to the potential for such a situation.</p>

<p>Does the culture of the 5cs tolerate, or even encourage, people to look down on those from one of the other schools (in particular this one), in a manner where he would likely be aware of it? Light jocular intercollege ribbing is one thing, but where there is obvious thinly-veiled intent behind it is something else.</p>

<p>Candid answer would be welcome, as this is quite important to us.</p>

<p>I am cross-posting this on the Pomona subforum, to hopefully get informed opinions from both communities.</p>

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<p>I hope the CMC students in this forum, who are answering questions, will jump in and give you some perspective on this. In the meantime, I would say any school that rejects 75% to 80% of the students who apply can’t be considered substandard. My sense is students, who think that Pitzer would be a good fit, are very happy there. I think most students at CMC view Pitzer as very politically active with a distinctively liberal orientation. My son took a course at Pitzer and he reported that the workload was not that much different than CMC or Pomona. Obviously, a campus visit should help your son address these concerns.</p>

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<p>“I hope the CMC students in this forum, who are answering questions, will jump in and give you some perspective on this.”</p>

<p>me too.</p>

<p>“I would say any school that rejects 75% to 80% of the students who apply can’t be considered substandard.”</p>

<p>One would think, but sadly my D2s experience demonstrates that otherwise is a possibility. Some people who survive yet more selective admissions processes are accutely aware of these distinctions. Possibly the more selective the process, the more aware of it they are. In fact such places can actually attract the types who are inclined to place the most value on such distinctions. In her school’s case there was seeming institutional sanction for one group to exhibit a superiority complex toward a couple others.</p>

<p>“Obviously, a campus visit should help your son address these concerns.”</p>

<p>Hopefully, but not inevitably. At D2s school the tour guides are coached about what to say. Getting to the right people who are candid is not a certainty [though of course neither is this, particularly if no students even answer]…</p>

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<p>Not a student but a CMC parent. My D never has spent time here…too busy but has benefitted from info I have been able to pass on to her so she tries to give input when I ask her to help. Anyway, she called last night so I read her these posts and the ones on the Pomona thread (which did not seem to be very helpful.) This is her take on Pitzer and the 5Cs.</p>

<p>First of all, full disclosure-D is one of those ‘tour guides’ and while they do have to cover certain things, they seem to have a fair amount of latitude…I know she talks a lot beyond the basics and has a lot of conversation with folks post-tour. She is nothing if not honest and direct. She said “If Pitzer is his dream, he should go for it.”</p>

<p>D has friends at all of the 5Cs, including Pitzer. She has a couple of ecs that are 5C and also has a couple of very challenging classes (one at CMC and one at Pomona) that are fairly well mixed. She said that her Pomona course has a couple of Pitzer students in it and that they are as well respected as those from Harvey Mudd. She said that while Pitzer may start out with a student body with a bit lower stats, part of that is because they are looking for qualities that don’t show up in numbers and once there, Pitzer pushes hard, with good results. (Again, she has ties to admissions and she also keeps her ears open in her other official capacities.)</p>

<p>She said that honestly, there will be some attitude but not to your face and mostly with freshmen (and usually it is between CMC and Pomona which reminds her of the cross-town rivalry from home). She said the professors will not tolerate anything in the classroom (and would call anything voiced as such ridiculous) and that admissions and administration will not put up with any divisive noise either (except when it comes to sports). The consortium is a big selling point for ALL of the colleges and actually a lot of the resources are community resources (like joint sciences).</p>

<p>Of course, there are stereotypes. Some compare the various colleges to Scooby Doo characters. Someone recently shared a list that I thought was creative. I don’t remember Scripps/Pitzer but Mudd was something like ‘they can build a back seat but don’t know what to do in it’; Pomona was ‘Harvard called, they want their pretentiousness back’; and CMC was ‘we’ll do anything for a beer and an internship’. (My non-drinking, non-partying D says it is actually more like “we’ll do ALMOST anything for a beer and an internship”, and that it’s not a problem to be outside of stereotypes.)</p>

<p>Socially, (as in social conscience) she says that Pitzer and Pomona have a lot in common. Pitzer/Pomona have ties because of joint athletics. Other than that, those two schools have less contact because they are geographically far a part. </p>

<p>Socially (otherwise), Pitzer seems to be tight with Scripps. Pitzer/CMC/Mudd and Scripps tend to share social events/parties and they are all in close proximity. She says that if someone is dissing on someone, it is likely to be Pomona with CMC or at times CMC back at them, but she also said that Pomona has been around the longest and has the most established reputation/name recognition. I believe that Pitzer is the newest? Considering how new all of these colleges are in the world of education, I think what they have accomplished is amazing!</p>

<p>Anyhow, D says that in her experience, none of the 5C rivalry stuff will be blatant (except at games) or impact your social life. It sounds to me like being part of a family with many advantages but a few annoyances. The consortium was a huge selling point for us and has been an overwhelming positive for my D. The combination of small ‘home’ college and mid-sized university resources and social life IMHO cannot be beat. (And D, like most of these students, had many great choices.) We also like the small town feel of Claremont with access to the city and lots of other off campus recreational options.</p>

<p>Last, she said that she has “great respect for Pitzer.” She hopes that he decides to attend if it is the right fit for him and that he is “immensely happy” as those she knows there are… and to let her know if she can help in any other way.</p>

<p>I hope that helps!</p>

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<p>When my S and I visited CMC (and Los Angeles) in October, we asked everyone that we ran into for their opinions on CMC, Pitzer and the rest. We encountered several folks, including a recent CMC alum and his friends who immediately rolled their eyes at the mention of Pitzer, but never actually said anything negative. Nevertheless, we both picked up an “Oh that bunch of hippies” sort of vibe coming from them. It didn’t bother me, but by the end of the visit, S, who really wanted to go to school in CA, decided that it would be CMC, USC or nothing for him - despite my repeated urging to apply to Pitzer. My impression is that the benefits of the consortium far outweigh any perception of lower status at Pitzer, but S, who is far more concerned about the prestige of his undergrad institution that I am, could not be convinced. So, he will be going to school on the East Coast. If it were me, however, and I was accepted at Pitzer, but not CMC and/or Pomona, I would go to Pitzer in a heartbeat.</p>