questions about the Claremont Colleges

Colleges and Universities A-Z Pomona College
1

<p>I have a few questions about the Claremont Colleges:
1. How good are they for Premed?
2. Do they have a common application for all schools?
3. I have a plan: apply to Pitzier, which is easiest to get into; then transfer over to CMC for sophomore or 2nd semester Frosh year if possible. Would I still be able to do the premed major, or will it be too late?
4. Is Pitzier any good anyways if transferring doesn't work out?
5. U guys are gonna shoot me, but the question I have to ask is, what are my chances for all the Claremont Colleges specifically CMC, Pomona, and Pitzier?</p>

<p>demographics
*I am an Asian Indian Male
*From a competitive public high school in Oregon, Beaverton High School, which was also rated the best AP school in Oregon, so yeah, its a smart school.
*student body at school = 500+</p>

<p>The Numbers/ECs
*Freshman year:
Lit 9-A, A with honors both sem
Spanish 1-A,A
Social Studies-A,A
Health 1 (req)-A
PE (req)-A
Adv. Algebra 2-A, A
SAT Verbal prep-A
SAT math prep-A
10th Grade Science-A, A with honors both sem</p>

<p>*Sophomore Year (really messed up):
Lit 10-A, A with honors
AP Chem- B, A
Precalc-A, B
Social Studies-B (note: can I explain a grade anywhere because this grade was ridiculous), A
Physics 2-A,A
Spanish 2-A,A
Band-A,A (needed for an EC)
Health 2-A (req)
PE-A (req) </p>

<p>*Junior Year (projected)
Human Anat/Phys-A,A
IB Bio HL 1-A,A
Spanish 3-A,A
IB Calculus-A,A
IB Psychology-A,A
Team Sports-A
IB English-B,B
IB Tok 1-B</p>

<p>*class rank UW right now = 38/515. Weighted = 30/515 (will go up because not many kids have taken hard classes yet)
*IB Diploma Candidate (to be)
*Will take AP exams in addition to IB exams, so I could be AP Scholar w/ distinction or just AP scholar as well.
*Varsity tennis 4 years (will have 4)
*Science Team 4 years (will have 4)
*World Quest Trivia 4 years (will have 4)
*Science Club Treasurer (1 year)
*Science Club VP (2 years)
*Math Club VP (2 years)
*Portland Youth Philharmonic (3 years)
*Mathfest Algebra 2 1st place fresh year
*OIMT Participant Fresh Year
*Mathfest Participant sophomore year
*Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Rising Star Program (will have 175-200 hours done)
*Mathcounts Tutor (about 50+ volunteer hours)
*expecting around 2000-2100 on SAT, 30+ on ACT</p>

2

<p>Allow me to try to answer your questions. The colleges are all different in terms of selectivity, competition and "prestige."</p>

<p>Pomona is an excellent choice for pre-med, as it is regarded as one of the top tier LAC's in the country. Basic pre-med courses are challenging and there is a large drop-off in the number of students who first enroll compared to those who apply to med school in their senior years. You seem to have forgotten about Harvey Mudd! Great students; hard working and smart.</p>

<p>There is no common application (except THE Common Application) and it is best to use each school's individual app.</p>

<p>For practical purposes, there is no transferring between schools. Best advice would be to spend a couple of days in Claremont and pay a visit. All the colleges are different and they seem different when you are there. For example, Pomona is east-coasty and the students are intellectual and laid back. IMHO, CMC students are conservative (think "high and tight" in terms of haircuts). </p>

<p>Pitzer is not widely regarded as a highly selective college, hence there is no added effect to applying from there to med school. </p>

<p>You have a great background, diverse activities and super grades. Aim for 2100+ for the SAT and you'll be cool. If you want to boost your chances, visit the schools, be certain as to the one you like the best and apply E.D. . .</p>

<p>Good luck. Hope this helps!</p>

3

<p>Oh, and one more thing: since you are in Oregon, don't forget about Reed. Certainly one of the best LAC's in the country, right there in your own Portland backyard!</p>

4

<p>Re: transferring between schools.</p>

<p>I know of a handful of students that have transferred between schools - Harvey Mudd to Pitzer or Scripps to CMC - but it's really quite uncommon. Because of cross-registration/majoring on another campus, housing exchange, and dining privileges, transferring between schools in uncommon and unnecessary. The exceptions I noted above involved a student who no longer wanted to study science and wasn't happy with their social life at Mudd and thus transferred to Pitzer (not Pitzier). The woman I know that transferred to CMC did it because she wanted to major in Government (not Politics and IR as offered by Scripps) and Scripps did not think that the Gov major was different enough from P+IR to justify an off-campus major (it didn't help that the student was conservative either).</p>

<p>So, in short, you CAN transfer between schools, it just is not done very frequently.</p>

<p>I would strongly suggest you do a little more research on the consortium/schools - your questions indicate you haven't put much time into learning about the differences between the colleges.</p>

5

<p>Research the colleges more thoroughly, and don't be afraid to apply to all that interest you. There is no downside to applying to more than one.</p>

6

<p>I would greatly appreciate hearing more about the various consortium colleges. My daughter is considering ED in psychology at Claremont, but she is not at all conservative -- is there a different college that she should be considering? </p>

<p>Also, do you know which of the consortium schools are part of the D III athletic teams?</p>

<p>Thanks so much!</p>

7

<p>My understanding is that claremont mckenna is split about half and half between liberals and conservatives- which makes it fairly conservative compared to many colleges, but is not really a reason to not apply to the school. I do not consider myself conservative but I will be attending cmc this fall.</p>

<p>For DIII athletics CMC, Scripps, and Harvey Mudd share one program: the Stags (male teams) and the Athenas (female teams)
Pomona and Pitzer share one program: The Sagehens</p>

8

<p>Thanks so much, I now feel reassured...</p>

<p>So, may I ask if you have any experience with the financial aid department?</p>

9

<p>The financial aid depratment is amazing. We had a strange situtaion and thye took time to review my applicaiton for aid three times asking for supplemental information and going far above the call of duty. The amount of attention we got from Pomona is far more than I got anywhere else</p>

10

<p>Thanks so much! Are you going there in the Fall?</p>

<p>LM7</p>

11

<p>Yes I am going there in the fall....20 days to be mroe exact (Can you tell that I am a little excited?)</p>

12

<p>It IS exciting! You are embarking on such a wonderful part of your life -- ENJOY it!</p>

<p>Which college are you going to? Do you know which dorm you'll be in?</p>

<p>Laxmom07</p>