<p>CLAREMONT SCHOOLS VS EAST COAST/NORTHEAST LACS! </p>
<p>I already applied ED to Wellesley, but I am freaking out now because my parents said I can apply to CA schools after a long discussion yesterday (Im a New Jersey Girl!). I am lower than the average Wellesley candidate, so my acceptance chances are 50/50. I am not so positive that I am guarenteed acceptance. With that said, I am planning to apply somewhere RD or ED Round II (hopefully) since Dec1-Dec15th is on the way when the dreaded little letter or fat package is sent. What is everyones view on the Claremont Schools <em>esp. Pitzer and Scripps</em> and is there anyone from the West Coast that can tell me about them? Any arguments about Wellesley Vs the 5 C's!? Any views on the campus life at either? By the way: Im not the sciency, engineering type girl so I am veering away from Harvey Mudd hehe....
Please give me some feedback, the advice is appreciated and needed! I probably will never visit so CC is all I got. BE HoNEST and now PosT AwaY! :)</p>
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<li>If you left a East Coast house for a West Coast College or vice versa - explain the pros and cons of being far away and what your experiences are please?!</li>
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<p>Well the Claremont Colleges are all very good schools... you probably already know that it is a group of smaller liberal arts schools but they share facilities and libraries too so it it's kind of like a university, but not quite.</p>
<p>Hmm... rather than basing all your opinions from CCers, you should do some researching on your own.</p>
<p>Zirkon:
I had the same experience. I took the "visiting day thing" tour at Claremont McKenna College (<a href="http://www.mckenna.edu%5B/url%5D">www.mckenna.edu</a>), decided it looked too much like a high school, and settled on UCLA. Then I sat in on a couple faculty and admin presentations and realized what an incredible place it is. It was a tough decision, especially considering that UCLA is better known than CMC, but I chose CMC. I'm in my second year now, and I've never been happier. Most people here feel the same way (it's commonly referred to as Fantasy Camp and the All Inclusive Resort). If you're concerned about reputation, I've found that it's much better known than you might expect, and it's generally regarded as on par with the ivies. In fact, it's much better.</p>
<p>Valuable1212:
If you're thinking about a women's college, CMC probably isn't for you. There's not a whole lot of dating, but it's expected that you'll have (and want to have) normal, mature relationships with people of the opposite sex. If that's not your cup of tea and you want to avoid men, Scripps is a decent school and you'd be able to take classes at CMC (which are usually better).</p>
<p>You can get a fine education at either place. But Wellesley certainly has the prettier campus, in fact the most beautiful of any I have visited. And you will need a car to get around LA if you ever want to leave the immediate Claremont area. But having said that, in general I think it's good if east coast kids can experience the west coast during their college years and vice versa --> the Chelsea Clinton Rule.</p>
<p>Its always good to hear ppl are happy with the school they chose. since you go to CMC, can you describe what admissions was like for you? How much do they favor out of state, Could I get in with a 1240? So is Claremont boring and everyone tries to go to LA or does the area have a lot to offer? I am a little nervous about going there only because I will probably never have the chance to visit, so I am trying to find the most about the schools from people's personal experiences. How would you describe the social scene/interaction between the 5C's and the work load/challenge of the courses? Is CMC pretty flexible? Is it the kind of school if you apply ED you have a better chance or a worse chance? Sorry if I have a lot of questions but they are coming from a Jersey girl who will never get to see Cali unless I go to college there. Do you have any views on Pitzer? I am trying to pick between Scripps/Pitzer/CMC(REACH), and I would prefer Pomona over all of them but I know I cant get in. I just want to make sure that the coursework and school is competitive and will secure me into a decent graduate school. I am sure of CMC but I can't find much on the level of intellect at Pitzer and if they go to graduate school in a large percentage or not. If you could answer anything, please let me know. I appreciate everything you can tell me Thanks :)</p>
<p>V: D applied to 2 of the Claremont Colleges last yr. It is a quiet, quaint community. The campuses merge into one another so there is a feel of a larger college...very pretty. It is a great mix that allows cross registering. Weather is typical southern Cal...very mild. There is a bus and, I believe, a train that goes straight to Los Angeles.</p>
<p>D applied early evaluation and was accepted to Wellesley. It is a beautiful campus with incredible facilities. We were very impressed...you can't go wrong if admitted. Best of luck!</p>
<p>FYI Pitzer offers Early Admission (not a conflict with Wellesley, because EA is non-binding.) </p>
<p>I'm someone who grew up in the West and went east to college; it was the best thing I could have done. (1) a great experience to be on my own & far from home. (2) The two coasts have some distinct differences and it was great experiencing the change in culture. (3) After growing up in Ca. I had plenty of "roots" in the west; going to New Eng. allowed me to put down some roots there, too.</p>
<p>Scripps is all-women and is easier to get in. </p>
<p>You might want to look at Occidental too. Oxy is closer in to LA if you want that, coed & also a tad easier to get inthan CMC, Pitzer.</p>
<p>its funny you mention Oxy, because I just started looking it up about 10 minutes ago. Any comments on Oxy and anything you heard from other ppl possibly attending?</p>
<p>We have a friend at Oxy who loves it. It is strong in international programs, international relations, languages. (She wants to be a diplomat. She spent a semester in China studying a ballet company there...) I also have two adult friends who went there 25 years ago and loved it. Good community and loyal alumni. </p>
<p>The other info I have is more stereotypes of the schools, may not be accurate:</p>
<p>Pitzer= liberal, "granola"
CMC = more conservative</p>
<p>ryanjpat - Could you comment more about Scripps? My daughter is very interested in the college and thought it was supposed to have better/smaller classes than CMC as well as a bit harder than CMC. Thanks!</p>
<p>V: Actually, D was admitted to Scripps and waitlisted at Pomona. But, it really didn't matter, since we "knew" that she wanted to leave CA. It came down to Wellesley and Haverford. Having attended an all girl secondary school, she wanted a coed experience...although we were ALL impressed with Wellesley. D had 13 yrs of piano training and met with Wellesley's Dir of Performance...everyone at the college was VERY personable and welcoming. On the other hand, D is having an amazing time as a Ford.</p>
<p>Claremont McKenna is almost as selective as Pomona. SATs are not the most important thing in a CMC application but there would have to be some extraordinary things on your application to get in with that score. They want leaders there, with exemplary high school records. Scripps is getting more selective too, and is likely a reach for you as well. </p>
<p>You have a shot at Pitzer. It is very strong in the social sciences, decent in English and okay to pretty good in other departments. They have some majors unique to the Claremont cluster. In fact, you should check your intended majors against the Claremont options, as the small size of most of the schools means that relative to their peers across the country, the schools tend to offer fewer choices of majors. Pomona would be the exception. </p>
<p>Occidental is a fine school with some very strong programs. But unless you have a 3.9 UW average with plenty of APs to go with your SAT score, it is a reach for you as well.</p>
<p>Boxmaker - The comparison of academics at CMC and Scripps is a tough one as the cultures and academic emphases are different. For example, at Scripps there are four political science and international relations professors. There are thirty government professors at CMC. </p>
<p>As for class size, the student/faculty ratio is lower at CMC, though there will be some very small classes at both schools. Comparisons of similar courses would likely find some smaller at one school and some smaller at the other school. I would defer to current students on the subject of course difficulty. I'm sure some classes at Scripps are harder or better than their CMC counterparts, but I would be very surprised if anyone offered an opinion that this was the case across the board. And again, there are many courses at each school that do not have corresponding courses at the other.</p>
<p>I just applied EA to Pitzer. I am a little worried that because it is more unknown than the others and could possibly affect graduate school? I also hear that because it is the "easiest" school to get into out of the 5 Claremont Colleges that it gets little respect from the other students and they are looked at as the most inferior and least competitive. Anyone out there have any takes on this? So far, I like what the school offeres but I am all about graduate school so how valuable is a Pitzer undergraduate diploma?</p>
<p>can anyone who has visited the 5 Claremonts list them in order with the most beautiful campus/dorms 1st and the least appealing campus/dorm last? Its hard to find good campus photos, and a 1st hand trip is always better anyway. If anyone has pics of the campuses (esp. Pitzer) posted on a website or something, can you also post a link>? Thanks</p>
<p>There's no reason you can't also apply to other 5C choices 7 Oxy too, then just see where you get in. Anyway, you might be admitted to Wellesley!</p>
<p>I hope I get into Wellesley because it is a very competitive school. Thing is, my stats are very low in comparison with other Wellesley applicants, so even though Wellesley accepts 65% of their ED, I am still not confident of acceptance. I know it seems pointless to worry about other schools, but in a weird way I almost dont want to go to Wellesley now because my mom said that I could go to California, which I think would be a great experience for me (by the way it took months to convince her to let me go). I need to have applications ready to be sent before Dec. 15th because I need to give guidance 10 days notice before I hand in an application and with Winterbreak coming, if i find out Dec. 15th, I only have until the 21st to send out applications for RD at other colleges! Doesnt leave much time to get alot done, so coming up with a list of schools I want and getting out everything is crazy. It is a very stressful period. I am so interested in finding out about these CA LACs because even my guidance counsler isnt familiar with Pitzer and the rest, only Pomona and CMC. I want to make sure that if I pay all this money to travel over to the other coast, that I am getting a good experience/undergraduate education for my money <em>40,000 a year is the price tag for almost all ranking LACs and Universities :(</em> I would love to apply to CMC, Pomona, Occidental ect. but with everyone on this board posting stats, I feel like I wouldnt be competitive enough to get in. Im hoping that the fact that i am from NJ will play a part in gettin me accepted at one of these Cali schools. I guess its an insecurity, but college applications are expensive and there is no use spending money on schools I probably wont get into. I guess this whole US News and statistics craze everyone is on is really making me bias. Its hard to feel confident when you see mid-range tests scores and 3.9 GPAs Owell, still looking for Pitzer, Scripps, CMC, Pomona, Occidental Info. Everyone has been really helpful thanks so much!</p>
<p>Univ of Redlands is just down the way-East toward Palm Springs. Why not ck out the website. The 3.9 and mid range test scores should be very welcome. Lots of NJ people in CA-we meet them all the time. Husb is from NJ.</p>