adambedford

Im an international student and I'm not really familiar with the whole "small liberal arts college" thing so I'm not really sure what it's like. I visited USC and UCLA last summer and I really liked them. Unfortunately I didnt get across to Claremont and I know that the atmosphere will be radically different from, say, USC but what's it like on campus? What's the social life like? Its quite a way away from LA (downtown, westside etc) so are there plenty of things to do? Can you have a car freshman year? If so, how long would it take to get to the beach etc. Do many people even go to the beach? Is there any greek life?

Finally (and possibly most importantly), what are the girls like?!

okgal

My daughter is a freshman this year. USC was her 2nd choice. You are not too far from the city by metrolink but that being said, it is November and she hasn't been to LA yet. Claremont has a nice little village that has a college town feel but the rest of the area is not thrilling, just a lot of places to shop. However the social life on campus seems pretty phenomenal; every week they have a theme party of some kind, which judging by the pictures I see, people have a lot of fun with. And the other campuses too of course have their own parties. There are no fraternities or sororities on any of the campuses but it seems there is some truth to the sterotype that CMC is one big frat with a lot of drinking going on. There is so much social life that she is battling distraction quite a bit from her studies. You can not have a car freshman year which is new, but they have zip cars available. It is probably an hour from a beach. It is a very active place and athletics are big also but it is definitely not USC.
The girls are outgoing and athletic and smart; all my daughter's friends seem very attractive but that is her usual modus operandi so I can't speak for the rest. My D is very attractive for sure. I think they tend to active and very social, like the boys.
Hope this helps!

181818

Okgal: Are the pictures from parties you are talking about pictures your D sent to you or are they online somewhere? Other than the Freshman scavenger hunt I haven't seen any freshman photos online.

Adam: My S's freshman experience is similar. He did take the metro to LA one time over fall break and he didn't have any problem with it; although from what I hear you need to be careful about keeping track of the schedule. He said he would take a Zip car next time he goes. He and some friends were going to go to the beach, also by zip car but cancelled because it was too cool the weekend they were going to go. From what I hear it seems that loving Claremont has a lot to do with how much you enjoy being with your classmates. If you are looking for an urban environment to explore at leisure for a couple of hours at a time, Claremont probably isn't the place for that. My S loves it but I spoke to another 5C student from an urban location who did find Claremont confining.