Rice v. Claremont McKenna

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
1

Committed to Rice University, but just found out I was admitted from the waitlist at Claremont McKenna College! CMC was originally one of my top choices, but I’ve grown to love Rice, so you may see my dilemma here. Thank you in advance for any responses.

Also, I live in CA and don’t mind going somewhere else for college so CMC’s location alone doesn’t make or break it

Things I’m considering:

  • Econ major, potentially pursuing business (open to change. not very set)
  • Size (CMC = tiny but the counterargument is the 5c. Does the consortium actually make the school feel larger?)
  • Prestige (both are well known, from my knowledge)
  • Escaping the “college bubble” (Rice = Houston. CMC = doesn’t seem like incredibly much, but not lifeless either)
  • Quality of living (Rice = great food, huge dorms. CMC = didn’t get to experience! anyone want to share?)
  • Drinking culture: somewhere where it’s easy to not drink/do drugs (Rice = wet campus, but seems like there is no pressure. CMC = party culture and I’ve heard if you don’t drink then you can easily feel left out)
  • Diversity (Rice = pretty diverse racially, economically, politically, but most people from Texas. CMC = I’ve heard it’s a lot of white, affluent, conservative people, but becoming more politically diverse. I’d like to know what it actually feels like on campus, not just the stats)
  • Californians: when visiting the UCs, they felt very homogeneously Californian which isn’t a negative thing, but I liked meeting people from different states when I visited other schools. Does it feel like everyone from CMC is from CA?
  • Weather: love Rice enough to handle Texas weather, but CA weather is pretty appealing
  • Distance from home: I always thought I wanted to go out of state, but I live a couple hours away from CMC and could be nice (I know this one doesn’t help, sorry!)
  • School spirit (Rice = spirit in residential colleges. CMC = ?)
  • Student-professor relations (Rice = great, close, personal connections. CMC = ?)

With all that said, I think the most important thing for me is the people. I got a sense of it at Rice and unfortunately did not get to at CMC. What would you say is the general feel of the student bodies?

2

My D was recruited to Pomona and CMC and Amherst. She really liked Pomona after her official visit, but ended up doing a visit to CMC at my behest. In touring the campuses with her, the CMC students appeared happier and more engaged to me. They were more likely to be in groups, rather than walking alone with head down. There was much laughter and camaraderie that I observed. D did her CMC visit and fell in love. We have gone to see the team compete, and I have been impressed with each and every one of the players. They have all been extremely welcoming, including the seniors who she will never share the campus with. Very high quality character. She never even bothered to visit Amherst as she was so sure of CMC. I don’t know Rice, although I did live in Texas for several years (Dallas) and for a Cali girl the weather was very hard to take.

It’s too bad you can’t visit CMC. All the girls from her team talk of the help and availability of the professors. It’s really a fantastic community, and I am so excited my D will have an opportunity to spend four years there. And as far as alcohol/partying, absolutely untrue that one must partake. There are plenty of people who don’t. I think the further south your dorm is on the campus, the drier and quieter it will be. But there is definitely a range. Fantastic food also!! CMC was recently voted happiest campus in the US.

3

Although this is the Rice forum, I think you have several misconceptions about CMC.
*The 5-college consortium will make you feel more like you’re in a large college town rather than some isolated, rural LAC.
*CMC, a small private college with less than 13% acceptance rate, can’t be really compared to any of the Universities of California - large state universities that primarily attract Californians.

4

Just curious, what did you decide?