<p>been admitted to both. Decisions coming up May 1st. Currently 50/50 on both schools, will appreciate any helpful inputs!
Thanks</p>
<p>There’s nothing bad you can say about either place academically. Obviously, if CMC is the main cross-admit to Wesleyan, you’re not necessarily interested in math or natural science or film studies or music or about three-quarters of the departments that make Wesleyan ring. You’re interested in the social sciences. Either place will get you into a good law school; either place will get you into grad school. So, let’s call it a draw.</p>
<p>The real difference between CMC and Wesleyan is scale and breadth. Wesleyan is a stand-alone, full-service LAC comparable to Pomona. Claremont-McKenna is about a third Wesleyan’s size both in terms of students and physical plant. “But, why should that matter, with the presence of the other Consortium members on hand, wouldn’t I have the same resources as a university twice Wesleyan’s size?”, you might ask. </p>
<p>Well, in theory that might be true. There are about 6,000 students occupying the same square mile system of inter-locking campuses in Claremont if you include the Graduate Center. That’s great if you are looking for a campus with that sort of footprint. The problem is that not all the Claremont colleges are created equally and that reality tends to fuel a great deal of enmity between Pomona and CMC, their two strongest members. Pomona students are rarely allowed to take courses at the other campuses and CMC students and alumni have virtually set themselves up as Pomona’s biggest rival. Consequently, it never seems enough that it’s nearly as good as Pomona, it is nearly always trying to prove that is better, at least in the somewhat ambiguous category of “leadership building”. You see it everywhere, from the CMC website to the Pomona CC forum. </p>
<p>Someone once said, that academic arguments are so vociferous because the stakes are so low and that is my only real caveat about choosing CMC: be prepared for a lifetime of academic ***** envy.</p>
<p>I’ve visited both schools and I must say I had a better time at wesleyan (though I must be careful as it only represents a given day in a given school year). That said, what’s keeping CMC on my radar is it’s ‘leadership emphasis’ (which I agree with you, is a little ambiguous and starting to seem like a gimmick rather than a tangible factor) and the potential of CMC - being a relatively new college and already rising through the ranks (currently ranked 11 according to us news, one spot higher than Wesleyan.) it really reminds me of the early stages of Bowdoin, being relatively quiet a couple of years back and really exploded to the college scene this year. I also do agree with you in that Pomona overshadows CMC in both reputation and <em>ahem</em> campus rationing ratio. However at the end note, I guess it is the brimming potential of CMC that makes it hard for me to let it go.</p>
<p>It was the focus on leadership and practical learning that drew me to CMC. I was accepted at Pomona, Wesleyan, and CMC. Sent in my commitment to CMC yesterday.</p>
<p>thelam - it’s no secret why CMC has climbed in the polls recently: the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance opened in 2007 to great fanfare, and just in time for the greatest recession in eighty years. Majors in accounting, finance and econ are extremely popular during uncertain times and one fourth of CMC’s faculty and a third of its endowment are devoted to RDS. Don’t get me wrong; I’m sure it’s a great program; every LAC tilts in a certain direction. </p>
<p>But, just in case you were thinking “Wait, can’t I still take science courses at Pomona?”. Sure, but that would mean, essentially, that you would be enrolling in one college (CMC) in order to take courses at another college (Pomona) in an area that Wesleyan just happens to predominate, even over Pomona: <a href=“http://www.wesleyan.edu/sciences/sciencefacts.html[/url]”>http://www.wesleyan.edu/sciences/sciencefacts.html</a></p>
<p>If this were my choice or I was advising one of my children unless you want to be on the West Coast for an unspecified reason (family, weather) I would go with Wesleyan all the way. Should your interests change, you will be at a school that accommodates that.</p>
<p>Both my children graduated with radically different majors than those they started out with.</p>
<p>Wesleyan - it’s a “full” experience :D</p>
<p>This is late, obviously, but I’d like to point out that john’s information is not completely true. Yes, there is enmity, but most of the time it is playful (like in sports), and it very rarely gets serious. Acting like you would spend all your time at CMC trying to be as good as Pomona simply isn’t true. The majority of students are reasonable and mature about it. </p>
<p>CMC is an incredible school on its own. You absolutely can take science classes at Pomona as a CMC student, and Pomona students absolutely can take classes at CMC - I took a class at CMC last semester. Resources are shared to a certain extent. Small departments like Arabic or Art are pooled into one or two colleges, for example. At the same time, the schools are very much separated into their own “stand-alone” LACs. For the record- Pomona students can take a third of their classes at the other schools, which is plenty. I don’t know where you got your “rarely allowed to take classes at other schools” info. The only other restriction is that you can’t major in something at another school. CMC does not even have that restriction. As a student, you can integrate yourself into the other campuses as much or as little as you like.</p>
<p>santeria wrote:
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<p>Strangely enough, I got it from you</p>
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<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/11774065-post3.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/11774065-post3.html</a></p>
<p>This just goes to show how things can take on a life of their own in the CC world!</p>
<p>I once suggested (due to actual experience) that it was not uncommon to see students wearing each other’s t-shirts – and, almost had my head handed to me on one of the Claremont fora. Seriously though, it’s probably closer to what you suggested, a little like having six NESCAC colleges sharing the same campus. Some people prefer that kind of proximity; some are going to want a little distance between rivals.</p>
<p>“it’s even common for students from the other campuses to prefer Pomona t-shirts to their own.”</p>
<p>Mr. Wesley, do you remember the above statement. In case you don’t, you said it last October on CC. This is a little different from now saying it is not uncommon to see students wearing each other’s t-shirts, which by the way is also untrue. Yes, at the time I let you have it, because you have a tendency to say things that are totally a figment of your imagination. Remember saying that the library for the Claremont Colleges sits in the center of the Pomona campus.</p>
<p>I will say it again even if you don’t acknowledge it - you have never visited the Claremont Colleges and I would guess have never spoken to any Claremont students or professors. You have very limited knowledge of the schools, even though you act like an expert. I wish you would confine your remarks to the Wesleyan fora of which I assume you have greater knowledge , but knowing you it probably won’t happen.</p>
<p>P.S. My son has taken a number of courses at Pomona and has seen many Pomona students in his CMC classes.</p>
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<p>Okay, time to step away from the chardonnay. Do you even know where you are?</p>
<p>john, you’re misinterpreting that quote. As I said, there is a rivalry. It doesn’t get serious enough to say that the quality of life as a CMC or Pomona student is worse off because of it, or that CMC alumni will be faced with a lifetime of “envy.”</p>
<p>The -stereotype- is that Pomona students do not -want- to cross register. That doesn’t mean that we don’t, and that has nothing to do with CMC/Pomona students being -allowed- to cross register, which is what you were saying. Cross registering is very easy.</p>
<p>I’m going to walk back the “allowed” part of the quote; maybe, “discouraged” would have been a better choice of words. What I was trying to get at is that the spirit behind cross-registration is to encourage 5C students to take courses that their own colleges don’t offer. But, because CMC, Pomona, Pitzer, Scripps and to some degree even Harvey Mudd, are all liberal arts colleges (albeit with different leanings), the reality is that there is an enormous amount of redundancy within the consortium. Math seems to be the one traditional area of the curriculum that truly benefits from having mulitiple departments. But, other than that, are you saying, it’s no problem for a Pomona student to take organic chemistry through the Joint Science program run by Pitzer, Scripps and CMC or vice-versa?</p>
<p>Yep, there’s no problem taking an org chem course at joint science or vice-versa. There are only a few restrictions on actual classes, like students from other colleges can’t take some of the required classes at other schools (like the Pomona freshman seminars), and there are some finance classes at CMC where CMC students get a priority. Most of the required classes are open to all students, though. My Pomona roommate took his Intro to American Gov course, which is required for CMC students, at CMC. </p>
<p>The vast majority of classes are open to students from all 5C’s, which is a huge benefit in small LACs because some of the departments can get small and its good to be able to have more options in professors and classes (less of a problem with Wesleyan, because Wesleyan is fairly large for an LAC).</p>
<p>Hi, Santeria. thank you for your patient answer. With regard to not being able to take “required classes at other schools” would that not pertain to a good many (if not most) classes at Harvey Mudd?</p>
<p>For Math and CS at least I don’t think there are any problems with taking major requirements at HM if you go to Pomona, as the departments share many resources. I don’t really know about Physics/Chem/Bio, but from what I’ve seen Pomona students generally don’t want to take classes at Mudd. There’s a difference between core major requirements and major electives however, and I think electives can be taken anywhere.</p>
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<p>Actually, I think you’ve named all the non-engineering majors Harvey Mudd has to offer. Considering that it comprises <750 undergraduates, would you say it has a lot of electives?</p>
<p>I haven’t heard of an HMC required class being closed off to the other schools.</p>
<p>Perhaps, it is similar to taking econ courses at Claremont-McKenna? According to one poster, they wait until their own registration period is over and then consider cross-registrants from the other colleges: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvey-mudd-college/1153345-mudd-non-engineers.html#post12713668[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvey-mudd-college/1153345-mudd-non-engineers.html#post12713668</a></p>