Skidmore vs Pitzer vs Clark

<p>My son is an international student who is looking forward to an American liberal arts experience. He's interested in international relations, geography (that's a plus for Clark) and Japanese, but is also interested in exploring aspects of other disciplines like environmental studies or architecture. He likes Pitzer's unstructured curriculum but its course offerings are not very extensive. He doesn't really have a "feel" for Skidmore. We'd be very grateful for any feedback on these schools.</p>

<p>Bumping this up in case anyone familiar with Pitzer could provide some input. Northeastern is still in the mix but is a case apart since it’s so big. Pitzer’s charm lies in its flexible curriculum and positive vibe (perhaps the exotic factor as well for my son, who is accustomed to gloomy damp winters). Skidmore has a broader selection of courses and majors, sounds like it has excellent advising, plus a charming town and is close to family friends. Clark has a great geography department and research opportunities (also close to friends). I would hope that my son would flourish in any of the three, but it’s a huge decision and he’ll be an ocean away, so we’d like to make as informed a decision as possible.</p>

<p>Why Skidmore over Clark or Pitzer??</p>

<p>We visited Skidmore and Clark, and DS has been accepted at Skidmore (still deciding where he’ll go, but Skidmore is high on his final list). These two colleges could hardly be more different in their general atmosphere – Clark has a gritty, urban feel vs. Skidmore’s lovely campus outside a small town with tourist appeal, and emphasis on the arts. I was impressed by Clark’s hands-on approach to academics and their emphasis on community service in surrounding Worcester, but the college did not appeal to my son. You can find a pretty good description of Clark in Loren Pope’s book, Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL) and/or the CTCL website. I don’t know much about Pitzer, except that you shouldn’t judge its offerings in a vacuum, since it is part of the Claremont College consortium, which includes 5 (I think) colleges adjacent to each other. They’re pretty much all in walking distance from each other, and as I understand it, students can take classes in any of the colleges, so there’s a very broad range to choose from. Good luck with your college decisions!</p>

<p>Thanks for your comments, Supportivemom, and good luck to your son as well in making this important decision.</p>

<p>It really depends on what he’s looking for, Pitzer is known as the “hippie” school of the Claremont consortium, and its really big on the environment, and sciences. Its also not very attractive, especially compared to Pomona or Scripps which are Gorgeous, its architecture is downright ugly. I have a friend who goes there and LOVES it, so depsite some of its flaws its still a great school!</p>