<p>I do think pomona fits its location well, and its campus is nice. Just not my personal favorite.</p>
<p>Lockn, I can promise you most students at CMC could care less that some Pomona students don’t take advantage of CMC or the other Claremont schools. I am not denying that a few CMC students have less-than-flattering opinions about some Pomona students, but it is for entirely different reasons which I rather not get into here.</p>
<p>DD chose Pomona not because she felt the academics were superior to the other Claremont colleges, she chose it based on the attitude of the student body as a whole. Pomona students were friendly, serious about their academics but not elitist in their attitude. She was also accepted at some of the other Claremont colleges but she had a real issue with the alcohol use on one of the campuses and some of the over the top behavior she experienced while visiting. Drinking is found on all campuses but some campuses celebrate its use more than others. She found a more balanced attitude at Pomona that she appreciated and loves it there.
I will also mention that she spends a lot of time at all the colleges. She visits friends and she has her favorite dining halls which are not Pomona’s dining halls.</p>
<p>Well and respectfully said, TTT.</p>
<p>Do you think it’s possible that the thoughtful, courteous attitudes of some of the Pomona parents are reflected in the thoughtful, courteous attitudes of their children on campus? I do!</p>
<p>Sarabande, don’t you think patting yourself on the back with self-congratulatory boasts is somewhat tawdry. As for the balanced attitude at Pomona, my son took a class there last semester and was amazed how most of the Pomona kids were constantly b**ching and complaining about their grades, to the point where the Professor expressed his disgust with their obsession for getting A’s even if they didn’t deserve them.</p>
<p>Parent57, your conduct on the Pomona board does not do you credit.</p>
<p>Your personal sense of competition between your S’s school, CMC, and Pomona does not come across as healthy and constructive. Rather you seem to consistently search the Pomona threads, looking for any opportunity to criticize or denigrate.</p>
<p>Is this type of post really in keeping with the spirit of College Confidential? Does it bother you that you are consistently offending and insulting others in this forum?</p>
<p>Maybe it’s time for the moderators to weigh in?</p>
<p>Odd, I have asked my daughter on numerous occasions how her friends are doing in their classes and her answer has always been that they don’t discuss grades. So I am both surprised and doubtful of your statement.</p>
<p>At the same time since I have been on CC I have noted you always seem to hate Pomona as if you feel CMC is the red headed step child. I assure you it is quite capable of standing on its own and upon its own merits. I assume from your origin date your son is a senior and will be graduating this year. Hopefully you will have greener pastures to occupy at his graduate school or perhaps he will find the perfect IB job? </p>
<p>Please take note you come off as hateful and vengeful in your comments and this can’t represent CMC in the best light. I know CMC touts itself as the next generation of leaders but leaders are not worth much is they can’t garner respect from others. Lead by example.</p>
<p>“how most of the Pomona kids were constantly b**ching and complaining about their grades, to the point where the Professor expressed his disgust with their obsession for getting A’s even if they didn’t deserve them.”</p>
<p>This is so wrong on so many levels. We aren’t cutthroat-competitive about grades, GPA, or the like. We, for the most part, don’t care about the numbers. For an example, in the Pomona Class of 2015 Facebook group, someone put a poll “How excited are you about final grades?”. Someone responded with “Seriously?” which had triple the likes than the people who actually answered the poll.</p>
<p>That’s not to say we don’t care about grades- any student at any top school would take their GPA seriously. It’s just that we do not allow grades to undermine our intimate and collaborative attitude, our talents beyond the numbers, and our personal identity.</p>
<p>I am sorry some of you are offended, but I am just reporting my son’s experience taking a Pomona class last semester. He has no axe to grind with Pomona or any other motives other than reporting to me what he saw. I know it doesn’t play well with the subject of this thread and nobody here wants to hear anything contrary to the company line, but I don’t know why he would make this up.</p>
<p>But it’s not a company line, it’s an established quality of Pomona’s student body. Nearly everyone that goes to Pomona will disagree with what your son stated. It sounds more like your son picked up what other CMCers wrongly said about Pomona(happens all the time) and took that to be representative of what actually goes on there.</p>
<p>“That’s not to say we don’t care about grades- any student at any top school would take their GPA seriously. It’s just that we do not allow grades to undermine our intimate and collaborative attitude, our talents beyond the numbers, and our personal identity.”</p>
<p>That’s great to hear, LaughLoveLive. DS was so excited to learn about Pomona’s supportive, collaborative culture. </p>
<p>TTT, your comments about leadership are tremendously apropos. I, too, think that CMC can stand on its own merits, despite parent57’s insecurity on this point. I hear the economics program there is fabulous, and political science as well. I’m so glad CMC is part of the consortium alongside Pomona and their sister schools!</p>
<p>No, LLL, he actually took that class at Pomona.</p>
<p>I visited the consortium last Spring and loved it. The combination of cool town, CA mountains, and beautiful campuses cannot be beat. I liked Scripps campus the best, but they were all great except for the pedestrian brown at Mudd (which nevertheless, would be my top choice if I were a math or science genius). Still the mountains in the background make up for that. Although from NOVA, I am hoping my daughter who loves English will apply to Pomona or Scripps this coming year.</p>
<p>Hope she does, muckdogs! My DS fell in love with Pomona and the consortium last year and is thrilled he will be joining the Class of 2016 next fall. :)</p>
<p>Stunning campuses there, I agree.</p>
<p>Parent 57, when my daughter started her college search she gathered input from various people. Her two cousins who both attended Scripps and knowing she did not want to attend an all female college suggested she check out Pomona. When they found out that she also applied to CMC both warned her they did not think she would like the vibe on campus. Both who are pretty different personalities from each other did not like CMC and both experienced unpleasant situations at CMC. My daughter who was interested in one of CMC’s programs and wanting to judge for herself applied anyway. She made the decision of what school was right for her. She has friends at CMC that love the school, it just wasn’t the right fit for her. Does this make it a bad school or not as good as Pomona? No of course not.
She has taken a class at CMC and was quite neutral about it didn’t rave or complain. Conversely her most beloved class last semester was a Pomona class where half the class was non Pomona students. Isn’t it nice to have choices!</p>
<p>I agree TTT7722, the schools are different and the so-called “fit” should not be ignored. I guess I took issue with LLL’s characterization of the other Claremont schools because I didn’t think it was accurate, although I can see why it may have been to LLL, through the lens of a Pomona student.</p>
<p>Then parent57, how would you characterize the schools? I think I was pretty accurate in a general sense.</p>
<p>CMC- Well rounded in both academics and athletics, has more of a social scene than the other 4 colleges, and provides a world class education in Politics, International Relations, and Economics. Politically balanced. </p>
<p>Pitzer- The students here tend to be more active politically than the rest of the colleges. They are the most liberal school thus liberal activists= hippies. They are the shakers and breakers of society and hold strong to their beliefs, and they are notable for their dedication to the community. Strong in international studies and languages.</p>
<p>HMC- One of the finest institutions for math and science. The students here are whimsical, nerdy, and oh so lovable. They’re very passionate in what they study and they are quite innovative. The most independent overall of the 5 schools.</p>
<p>Scripps- The females I’ve met here are intelligent, driven, motivated, and independent. I talk to them and envision them changing the world and lifting the glass ceiling for women in careers even higher. They are amazing in the humanities. </p>
<p>Pomona- A well rounded school that’s hard to stereotype beyond the laid-back, liberal, friendly attitude. Strong in nearly everything- sciences, languages, humanities, economics, religious studies, math, etc, though not as good as what the specialized schools focus on[CMC/HMC]. </p>
<p>“Isnt it nice to have choices!”- Yes! Each school has unique strengths and the fact you can cross-enroll makes any of them a wonderful choice for undergrad. </p>
<p>" I’m so glad CMC is part of the consortium alongside Pomona and their sister schools!"- Me too. CMC is a fantastic place. They throw the best parties, their Athenaeum rocks, and a friend of mines who’s cross enrolling to study public policy and Arabic says it’s amazing. The students in my classes who came from CMC have been interesting contributors, and they’re really friendly and vivacious. I think CMC/HMC are the most underrated of the 5C’s.</p>
<p>Okay LLL, this is much better and more nuanced description of the other schools than your first attempt. However, I would dispute that CMC is a specialized school. Yes, it is particularly strong in the areas you mention, but talk to the kids who major in the other traditional liberal arts areas and ask them if they are not receiving an excellent education.</p>
<p>From a certain perspective, CMC is a pretty specialized school. It is lacking (pretty majorly, relative to other schools) in science/math/computer science, which was the reason I didn’t end up applying.</p>
<p>That being said, CMC is a fantastic school and you’re certain to get a very good education regardless of your major. And a great experience. But in the same sense that MIT offers great educations to humanities and science students alike (yet is considered extremely specialized), CMC is definitely specialized.</p>
<p>Parent57, my post after my very first one had what I mention above, in regard to your criticism of it being too stereotypical. </p>
<p>Can you please stop being so insecure about CMC? No one denied that you can’t receive an excellent education if you choose to major in something unorthodox. By specialized school, I meant something it focuses on, and it’s clear that the areas I listed above are what it and most students in CMC pursue. </p>
<p>I think of it like MIT. MiT has a reputation for being a science and math heavy school, yet it manages to shine in economics and cognitive studies, even though the vast majority of kids there don’t major in them.</p>