I am currently deciding between USC, CMC, and UMich. I am very humanities oriented and looking to major in the realm of English/Political Science. I love doing improvisation and theater as well as creative writing (ex. satirical publications). I want to be involved with all of these things in college as well as participating in outdoor initiative clubs and a college radio station.
USC: Currently the most expensive option at 15k per year. I was accepted into Annenberg for journalism and want to try and minor in Screenwriting. I love the intense school spirit and the wide range of niches. The LA location is a great resource for the arts which is important to me. However, I’m worried about becoming another “number” but I know that Annenberg would give me smaller class sizes. I am also very social and looking to party; however, rushing is too expensive and I don’t know how inclusive the social scene is if you aren’t in a sorority.
CMC: The most affordable at 8k a year. I love the 5C consortium and all of the resources it would offer. I enjoy the idea of having small class sizes and relationships with my professors who would probably be more effective/inspiring? However, CMC is very pre-professional and lacking in the arts scene. The school spirit is also not very strong as CMC doesn’t even have a marching band which I am not a huge fan of. The social scene is extremely inclusive and the CMC student gov hosts events every Thursday/Saturday. I would also be able to go on a lot of outdoor trips with their outdoor initiative club.
UMich: Middle of the road at 11k. Great school spirit, very strong humanities departments and arts scene at UMich and around Ann Arbor. Again, I am afraid of becoming just another “number” and I also don’t really like the cold.
True, CMC is not the most “arty” of the 5C’s but the other colleges are literally right next door. So you can have a very “humanities-based” college experience if you want it. They also offer very generous FA, which is a not insignificant consideration!
If you were to go to Michigan, ask about doing a mid-year transfer to the Residential College. Very small, small classes, strong art and poly sci orientation, and Ann Arbor is, indeed, fantastic.
One question: where do you live? Travel can be expensive and difficult, especially around the holidays. Many students get depressed if they cannot visit home more often. So I’d give that a thought too.
Something that you should consider about CMC is that, if you choose to attend, you can take classes at its sister colleges. So you attend Scripps, Pitzer or Pomona for the for artsy classes. Other than that, it really comes down to the size of the college that you want to go to. USC and UMich are huge schools.
Congratulations on 3 great choices. I have a kid at Pomona and a spouse who is a CMC alum, and my D toured and applied to USC. I don’t know that much about Michigan except that it’s a top public university. Much as I love the 5C’s, after reading your post I think that socially you’d probably be happier at USC or possibly Michigan if the cost difference isn’t a hardship. Your post mentions how much you love school spirit, and apparently marching bands (if I’m reading that correctly) and say you are “looking to party.” I know that CMC has something of a party reputation, but really the truth is that the 5C party scene is just not at the level of a bigger school like USC (or presumably Michigan).
If the school spirit and social scene are not deal breakers, then CMC is a great school. Other posters are right that cross registration is easy and you can access the arts departments of the other schools. If you love satirical publications you’d love the Golden Antlers.