<p>Our D got into both with merit scholarships, cost about the same, she wants to be an Environmental Studies/Bio major. Whitman is very impressive, Scripps has the consortium of the 5C's. Walla Walla is remote and Claremont is easier to get to. Based on reputation, location and major and how each school may open doors for her in the future, which school would be a good choice?</p>
<p>I’d choose Scripps: the alumna network is very strong and there are the Claremonts which make it less remote, closer to being in a university with its different colleges (a bit like “colleges” at Cambridge). </p>
<p>Congratulations to you and your daughter on two great acceptances, and nothing is better than when they come with merit scholarships!</p>
<p>Whitman is known for its Environmental Studies department and is very strong in biology. Is she interested in the outdoors? The Outdoor Program at Whitman has won many awards for it’s excellent outdoor education classes and trips. If your daughter is interested in environmental policy, the Semester in the West is a very unique program!</p>
<p>Both schools have very solid reputations and I’m sure Scripps is a good school. A lot of people comment on the desirability of the Claremont consortium, how integrated is it for all the campuses? Do they share faculty and is there easy transportation between campuses? I’m asking because I really don’t know.</p>
<p>Walla Walla isn’t the easiest place to get to, but it really isn’t that hard. There are relatively inexpensive direct flights from LA, SFO, and Portland (and many other places) to Pasco, which is about an hour from the Whitman campus. The Grapeline Shuttle goes to the airport and back to Walla Walla several times a day. It picks up students and drops them off 3 or 4 blocks from campus.</p>
<p>I hope your daughter has a chance to visit and stay overnight at both schools. I would think that just the two most obvious differences would be huge: coed vs all women; and SoCal vs PNW. I’m sure she’ll know which she prefers after she spends some time on the campuses.</p>
<p>bopambo: the Claremonts are set up like a British university with its colleges (think Cambridge, or Oxford, minus the architecture), they’re not separate colleges but rather adjacent units on the same campus (there are 7 “schools” there, just like you have several colleges within a larger university). “Transportation” is crossing the path or walking accross the grass. In the same way, Scripps really isn’t all women since it’s totally integrated with the other colleges.</p>
<p>We went to Whitman last week and she spent the night and went to two classes: Encounters and Intro to Enviro Studies. She thought the students and teachers were engaging. Yes, she likes the outdoors. She spent the night in the all women’s dorm in the sorority section, a very unique experience. She likes Whitman and could see herself there. But wants to keep looking. It is hard to get to, we flew into Portland and drove 4 hours. BTW, Semester in the West is very popular and hard to get into. “MY” described the Claremont College very well. We are going down there this weekend for admitted students weekend and she is spending the night on campus too. She is a bit put off by the all girls, some of her classes will only be at Scripps but on the whole she can take classes at any of the schools and since she is a science kid she would take classes at their Keck Science Center. Positives and negatives to both schools. The cost is the same because of her scholarships!!! Just want to know who has the better reputation and better faculty and better connections… Thanks.</p>
<p>lsweng, thanks for sharing the details of your daughter’s visit to Whitman. Yes, you’re right, it’s hard to get to. In my experience the first trip is the worst because none of us know in the beginning that there are easier ways. I was pointing out the Pasco route because we discovered it in the middle of my son’s freshman year. When your daughter is traveling on her own (if she decides on Whitman) flying into Pasco cuts out long drives, multiple plane changes, and big bucks.</p>
<p>To Whitman, first drive to SFO(2hrs), then flight to Pasco(2hrs), then Grapeline to Walla Walla(2hrs), must be timed so she doesn’t have to wait forever for the bus, 8hours later she would be there? Did you son like Whitman?</p>
<p>The Grapeline ride is one hour, but I get your point, a trip to Scripps is much more convenient. Whitman doesn’t appeal to everyone, but those who choose it, really embrace it. Yes, my son has had a really great 4 years and will graduate in May. You asked about reputation, faculty and connections… I think that knowledge of LACs by the general public is pretty regional. Californians, especially southern Californians will have heard of Scripps and hold it high regard. Whitman is very well regarded in the PNW. If your daughter is aiming to go to graduate school, both schools will be on the academic radar. If she wants to stay and get a job after undergrad in California, then Scripps might be the better choice. My son is planning on graduate school and who knows where he’ll end up. I’m sure his Whitman education and connections will serve him very well. </p>
<p>One last comment. Whitman knows that it takes longer to get there from most everywhere, so Thanksgiving break is a week long and Spring Break is two weeks long. </p>
<p>Thank you, we live in the central valley. What is your son’s major? Has he had internships? Has he been able to get all his classes? I hear that getting classes in the right order is sometimes difficult. Our daughter needs to be on the 4 yr plan.</p>
<p>My son is a geology major and he has had no trouble graduating in four years, if fact he’s finishing up his final semester and is taking just 6 hours because that’s all he needs to graduate. The school has allowed him to pay by the credit and have even applied a percentage of his merit scholarship to this semester’s tuition. In all he saved about $8,000 by going that route.</p>
<p>There are some difficulties that have cropped up with scheduling tough. The summer after his sophomore year he took a geology/environmental studies field program through the U of Georgia, it is similar to the Semester in the West. Through that program he met geologists who were well versed in geochemistry and he became inspired to double major in geology/chemistry. Unfortunately, by the time he decided this it was too late to fit in the chemistry classes he would have needed because they aren’t offered every semester and must be taken in sequence. Had he made that decision earlier he would have been able to work it out. </p>
<p>He has not done an internship yet. Last summer he took a field mapping course and this summer he’s hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. He’s taking a break before he applies to grad school, so he’ll apply for internships next fall.</p>
<p>The outdoor experiences have been very important to him and he’s gained a lot of skills. That’s one aspect of Whitman that is hard to beat.</p>