<p>I'm probably visiting colleges in California this fall and I'll be checking out Pitzer. I really like Claremont McKenna and am looking for a more likely alternative in the LA area, and Pitzer seems to be it. However, I've been reading reviews online of people saying that Pitzer has a large hippie and drug culture. Is this true? I consider myself more of a traditional, relatively conservative person which is why I feel like CMC is a great school for me.</p>
<p>Also, if you could recommend any other schools similar to CMC I'd really appreciate it. I'm looking for a mid sized school. (I'm only considering the CCs because of the consortium, I'd like at least 3,000 undergrads.)</p>
<p>It is quite true, Pitzer is a top 50 LAC that’s pretty selective, but there is alot of marijuana, not so much any heavy-stuff though (IE, meth, cocaine, etc). It’s a very liberal, fairly hippie school, I’ve heard of someone who is majoring in “the sky”.</p>
<p>Although there are few colleges where you won’t find any obstacle. CMC is known for beer parties (although CMCers say it’s pomona/pitzer kids who come to drink at CMC).</p>
<p>I think that unless you go to a college where abstinence is the rule (e.g., religious colleges where there are pledges not to drink, do drugs, have sex, etc.), you are going to find drinking and marijuana on campus. All colleges, even top colleges like the Claremonts, are places where students party. That being said, there are plenty of students in all of the Claremont colleges who spend their free time singing, playing music, reading, playing sports, playing video games, or just talking. Remember, these are really smart kids who worked really hard to get into Pitzer, Pomona, or CMC (to say nothing of Scripps and HMC); and who are paying a lot of money to study there. It does not make sense that once there they are going to all of a sudden become full time stoners and smoke or drink there lives away.</p>
<p>Don’t believe all of the rumors you hear. Use your head. Say to yourself, what is the likelihood that someone with the talent and work ethic to get into a Pitzer or Pomona is going to flake out once he or she gets there?</p>
<p>I know you have already gotten lots of input regarding your Ca trip. So I would add that if you are going to visit CMC anyway why not devote a bit more time to the Claremont colleges and visit Pitzer as well. Perhaps saving it for your last day in LA and drive to SD that afternoon/evening? My D applied there (as well as many others you are considering) and I would say that it is a bit more hippy, alternative, than say, USD or Pepperdine but there is diversity and you do have students from Pomona/Scripps/CMC, etc. surrounding you. Pitzer is the easiest to get into. But my D who was accepted at Lewis & Clark, Santa Clara University, University of Portland was rejected at Pitzer.</p>