<p>Glad someone finally corrected the name, as that was my main goal here :-) Ellen Browning Scripps, of La Jolla and San Diego fame (founder of Scripps Research Institute and general philanthropist of SoCal). </p>
<p>An intellectual atmosphere was a primary concern for me when applying to colleges. At one college I asked, they just looked at me like I was weird and were like "Uh...outside of class, you mean? Why?" At Scripps, they JUMPED on me with positive responses. What I've found is similar to what Zeus just stated. Claremont in general, and Scripps included, is all about niches. If you can't find yours at Scripps, you can walk across the street, and vice versa. Because of the consortium, the 5Cs offer great political, geographic, academic, and social diversity--moreso than would be likely at a single school of equivalent size. That said, I've found myself able to sit down and have intensely intellectual conversations and debates, but I can also sit down and have a stereotypical teenage conversation without feeling superficial or looked down upon. In general, allusions and academic references tend to infiltrate all conversations, and most people are always willing to listen to you expand on what you're talking about, or what you're interested in, in an appropriate context. We have 5 times the normal goings-on of most schools, so lectures, debates, workshops, etc. play a very significant role in campus life. I've really found that I can find an outlet somewhere on the 5Cs for whatever I need, and have never felt pigeonholed, stifled, etc.</p>
<p>I'm at Scripps and absolutely, absolutely LOVE it. The schools were reportedly modeled after East Coast LACs/Ivies, and this is fairly apparent, but the atmosphere is entirely different. I do know many people who were looking at women's colleges back east, but I myself have no basis for comparison. What I have heard often repeated and agreed with is that Scripps is as much of a women's college as each student chooses to make it, and I've found this to be pretty true. You're not going to have a single-sex experience where you never have classes with males, never see them around, etc., but to a certain extent, you can certainly modify things. We have a women's only exercise room, Scripps only pool hours, and Scripps only dining hall hours. We have the option of single-sex bathrooms, and a student-enforced escort policy in the dorms (all non-Scripps students must be with their Scripps host at all times within the dorms). </p>
<p>Also, I can't help responding to a random earlier comment regarding how most students won't look to Scripps for math classes. Math is a cooperative program between the colleges, and Mudd's program is quite different. Most Mudd classes are mainly Mudd students, and their lower-division math classes (maybe some UD, too, I'm not sure) are often half-semesters and credits transfer strangely (so a full semester comes out to more than a full credit). Otherwise, the colleges work together to make sure that a variety of courses are offered at various times, and the math departments at ALL schools are excellent, from my own experience (I'm a math minor and have as of yet had classes at Scripps, Pitzer, and CMC). I have a friend at Mudd whose favorite and most difficult math class to date was at Scripps. I have another Mudd friend whose favorite and most difficult last semester was at Pomona. My two most difficult have been at Pitzer and CMC. My point here isn't supposed to be at all specific to the math department, but is intended to be testimony to the fact that the schools usually work together very well, and while each school does have its explicit strengths, this doesn't necessarily mean that the other schools have corresponding weaknesses. Just wanted to put in my two cents, there...personal note.</p>
<p>Best of luck to your daughter, sounds like she's choosing between some excellent places.</p>