<p>My D is a swimmer/water polo player but is looking for an excellent education so is more interested in DIII than DI schools. She has checked out the Claremont colleges on line (we live in the East, but she wants OUT of the snow...) and is very interested in CMC and Pomona (although will just check out Pitzer and Scripps while she is visiting anyway..). I have heard about the distinctions btwn the academic emphases of the two schools--but how about the athletics?</p>
<p>[Pomona[/url</a>]</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.cmsathletics.org/sports/wswimdive/index]CMS”>Claremont Mudd Scripps]CMS</a> Athletics](<a href=“http://www.pe.pomona.edu/sports/wswimdive/index]Pomona[/url”>http://www.pe.pomona.edu/sports/wswimdive/index)</p>
<p>Above are the links to the pages of both teams. The Pomona-Pitzer page does not appear to be as informative as the CMS page, but there may still be some information worth looking at. I would recommend emailing the coaches of both teams.</p>
<p>That said, Claremont McKenna seems to have far and away the better team. They’ve won nine straight conference championships, and finished 7th in the NCAA tournament this year.</p>
<p>It helps to know what type of a swimmer she is (I say swimmer because I swim, and it’s more quantifiable and therefore easy to determine where she will fit in.)
I think CMC has predominantly swimmers with Sectionals time standards and up, while Pomona seems to be much less intense. I know absolutely nothing about water polo, so youre on your own there. I hope I helped a little!</p>
<p>She has All American cuts in the past, has been in sectionals since she was 12. She is a sprinter. To what extent do the coaches have 'slots." She is very interested in Pomona or CMC academically, but Ivies have already been offering OVs–and while I think she would enjoy an LAC more, there is no way to turn down a LL for ,“well, I guess we’ll see what Admissions does, but I will write a strong letter for you…”</p>
<p>Both P and CMC coaches have been saying nice things in their emails (the P water polo coach must be on holiday, because she hasn’t heard word one from him…whereas, CMC is very encouraging in WP too…) </p>
<p>Is it possible to play both at the DIII level or like DI does a student have to choose?</p>
<p>At the d3 level, the schedule may be more flexible in allowing swinmers to do both sports. That said though, I have heard or know of people that do both sports at d1 and d3. Your daughter should probably talk with the coach(es) directly about it. I agree that CMC has a faster swim team, but if education is the most important, then she should choose the school that would be a better fit for her academic interests as both schools have different strengths. I don’t know much about water polo, but I know Pomona has a really good team for that…not sure about CMC though. And also, Pomona-pitzer are all on one team while CMC is with Harvey Mudd and Scripps.</p>
<p>I would ask whether the coaches even have slots. I’m a sprinter (for track) and while the Pomona coach said he’d love to have me on the team and would like to meet me when I come visit, he has no kind of pull whatsoever in admissions and in fact, only finds out of an athlete’s acceptance after admissions has made their decision.</p>
<p>At Pomona, there are no slots, and different coaches will say different things about their degree of pull with admissions. It’s clearly never going to be as great a pull as at the Ivies or NESCAC schools. But some coaches are very good at reviewing a file and predicting the likelihood of admission. If they really want a recruit, they will likely encourage an ED application. As a parent, it’s okay to speak directly with the coach once it comes down to brass tacks. I did this when my D was recruited for another sport, and it put my mind at ease that she wasn’t going to be wasting an ED application.</p>
<p>I think there is a very good likelihood that she will get a LL (she already has OVs) from an Ivy and one NESCAC coach has been calling her. While she probably would enjoy P/CMC more, there is no way I would advise her to turn down a LL for the possibility of an acceptance. </p>
<p>If she is told that she would be offered a LL, can she call the P/CMC coach or admissions office and find out where she stands? Kenyon told her that they would let her know informally.</p>
<p>My son is starting Pomona this fall and is playing waterpolo. The coach is a wonderful guy and he was very straight forward about what he could and could not do. so be sure to contact the coaches.
He was told by an Ivy coach that he was being recruited and therefore applied early decision to that school but was NOT admitted. - Luckily Pomona had an ED2 and the coach really wanted him.</p>