Hey everyone,
I was recently admitted to Claremont-McKenna as a transfer student. I thought that I would never get in so I am extremely overwhelmed and humbled and excited.
However, I am also openly gay and extremely liberal. What is CMC like in terms of gay-friendliness? Are the faculty, administration and student body gay-friendly? What is gay life like, in general?
This is literally the only concern I have.
Thanks!
CMC is on the conservative side. The other 5Cs are all going to be quite a bit more liberal.
@intparent, As a whole, how conservative would you say it is? Would I be looked down for being gay?
With all due respect, intparent’s response is nothing more than repeating the out-dated mantra that CMC is “conservative,” whatever that means. Certainly the school is more politically balanced than other schools, but certainly not right of center. In fact, the student body is definitely to the left of center, and the faculty might have some “classical conservative” voices, it’s also more progressive than right-leaning.
As for being looked down upon based upon your orientation, I don’t think you will have any issue at CMC or any of the other 5Cs. It’s a very inclusive and accepting environment. But do your own research and read some articles on CMC’s student run news site, CMC Forum.
And congrats on your acceptance. Getting in as a transfer is no easy feat.
My kid went to another 5C, graduated last year. Her experience was that CMC was noticeably conservative, clearly right of center.
I would agree with @intparent. It’s awesome you got in, but CMC isn’t like a lot of other California schools in terms of progressiveness. Did you get into any other places that you might want to transfer to instead with more liberal cultures? I know many people who were turned off not only by the conversation be nature of CMC, but also the party scene and more frat-bros. It’s a good school for sure, but if the culture doesn’t fit, I would make sure that you’ve considered all your other options.
I totally forgot to mention, but if you have other questions about CMC, feel free to ask! Or if you just want to talk about your transfer options lol. I went to CMC for my first year, and transferred to Pitzer which has much more of the classic California progressive vibe. It’s VERY liberal over here and a great culture. Even thought CMC and Pitzer were right next to each other, I decided it was for the best for me to transfer, and just to a more accepting atmosphere. I’m not sure of your gender orientation, but pronouns are frequently asked for at Pitzer even in small friend groups, but that didn’t really exist at CMC. While I’m a Cis-female, I identify as pan-sexual, and the typical jokes with that identity insured at CMC amongst some people, so I eventually just stopped telling people. It is a really good academic school, but I found the culture to be just not with it in terms of toxicity.
Like I said though, if you have spesfic questions about CMC or Pitzer, let me know!