<p>Just returned from a Thursday-Saturday visit to Scripps. We were struck by the friendliness of the students. We were also pleasantly surprised at how many different kinds of students there were- from activist types to very wholesome types (not a continuum :)). The serenity of the campus and the surroundings was almost surreal. We were disappointed in the boundaries between all the claremont colleges though; I think we had imagined they would be more integrated than they appear to be. I think I was also concerned that Scripps didn't really seem to be able to stand on its own as an academic institution- simply not enough faculty and course offerings in many of its departments. Has a great vibe there though, and BEAUTIFUL campus.</p>
<p>what was your impression of the student body?
scripps does seem a bit limiting in terms of course selection...but i've heard you can take classes in the other claremont colleges?</p>
<p>My daughter LOVED the student body. Not at all what we expected, but having said that, I'm not sure what we expected actually. It's a diverse student body in some ways...there was no one "type" of student. There were women who seemed very "wholesome", others more "alternative", others more "radical", etc. Everyone was extremely friendly and warm and welcoming- more than any campus we'd ever visited. We're looked at the course catalog and agree that there are some areas that seem a bit thin. We've heard it is easy to cross-register but there are some limitations to the number of courses you can take off your home campus. We're looking into this more carefully because my daughter is interested in creative writing and there are very few offerings of this type at Scripps.</p>
<p>shojomo, I have read your other posts on Scripps with great interest and Scripps is VERY high on my daughter's list. On your visit did you have occasion to discuss or hear comments about financial aid/merit scholarships? I have devoured the website and had a telephone call with FA but I was more interested in what vibe you picked up from the students/reps themselves.</p>
<p>there are quite a bit of merit scholarships at scripps-even a few full ride ones that are offered to selective girls (i saw the application in my guidance counc's office.) the names of these scholarships escape me but i know for SURE there are merit as well as need base. call the fin aid office to be sure, hope that helps.</p>
<p>I was told there was one full merit scholarship and 35 half-tuition merit scholarships. The scholarships appear to be awarded on the basis of test scores (around 1500's for the old SAT). The vibe I got was that they are generous with financial aid.</p>