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College Discussion / Colleges and Universities / CC Top Liberal Arts Colleges / Claremont McKenna College
Is there anything "bad" or "wrong" with Claremont McKenna? It seems perfect!
marshallmeyer12
Registered User Posts: 445 Member
When touring Pomona, CMC, and Pitzer today (Scripps=No [I'm male] and Harvey Mudd=No [I'm not that into engineering]) I fell in love with CMC. From the beautiful buildings that just look like huge, modern mansions to the student body (they were so friendly to me!! which is not what I expected from a "pre-professional" school like CMC.) I just wanted to know from students, alumni, or anyone with more insight than me if there is anything at all that could be changed, or tweaked? I honestly can't find a flaw!
Thanks! ~Marshall
Thanks! ~Marshall
Post edited by marshallmeyer12 on
This discussion has been closed.
Replies to: Is there anything "bad" or "wrong" with Claremont McKenna? It seems perfect!
The campus is small, and the dorms are uneven (some are great, some are pretty lame)
The core curriculum is pretty broad and time-consuming
The student body is pretty conservative
Classes are not that engaging - we sat in on several, and the level of intellectual engagement was not as high as you would expect, and lower than most of the other schools she's considering
They do not serve Heinz ketchup
We went to CA to visit Pomona. We tried several times to like it, but we don't.
Good Luck!
What I love about CMC's general education requirements is that it forces students to branch out - too often students think they know exactly what they want to major in on the first day of their freshman years, and get so caught up in taking classes in that specific department that they never get a chance to explore a different subject. Some of my favorite classes at CMC have been outside of my major, GE requirements. Many students end up finding a dual major or focus after taking GE classes - I'm not a history major, but will graduate having taken at least three history classes because my GE experience was so great.
Also, the student body is only considered conservative because it's not 90% liberal like every other liberal arts college student body. About a third of students identify as conservative, about a third identify as liberal, and about a third identify as independent. This is a HUGE advantage to CMC - there is simply no other comparable, elite-tier liberal arts school that can boast such diversity of opinion. As a gov major, I know that I will enter the workforce/life in general FAR more prepared to work and socialize with people with differing opinions, as CMC has taught me that skill.
marshallmeyer12 - Ask any CMCer their least favorite aspect of the school and 9 times out of 10 they will tell you the sprinklers. They go off at completely random times (ie 11:17pm) and create a nice river going from North Quad south. While this may seem like a cop-out of sorts, it's because CMCers generally don't have anything REAL to complain about. There's a reason we're consistently ranked #1 in categories like "Happiest College," "Most Beloved School," and "Kids Love Their College" by the Princeton Review and other organizations. Please feel free to check out the Ask A Student feature on CMC's Admission page to find a student who can cater to your specific interests/questions!
I had no idea that a third of the student body identifies itself as conservative. Even though ds is pretty liberal, he likes discourse across ideological lines. No wonder he loved it so much when we visited.
I thought the dorms looked super dumpy. Well, that one we went into on the edge of campus was modern and nice looking, but the dorm alley the tour guide led us down looked trashy, I thought.
Our residential life is one of my favorite aspects of CMC. Having lived in both Claremont Hall and North Quad, I have had only wonderful experiences with our dorms. Each dorm is assigned a building attendant who comes through the building every weekday to clean common areas (bathrooms, lounges, hallways, etc) and every two weeks will go into each room to vacuum/tidy up. Our building attendants take great care of us and we are incredibly appreciative for all they do - usually dorm presidents will collect money each semester to buy an end-of-term gift for the attendants.
As an almost entirely residential school (varies by year but ~95% of students live on campus), the dorms are central to our lives. We live very comfortably and are incredibly lucky to have such a fantastic residential set up on campus.
We attended five classes. The professors were great, especially one freshman humanities seminar teacher, who actually teaches science. The kids were engaged and very welcoming, but not very talkative. Having said that, the presence of two strangers in a class of 5-12 kids could have impacted their participation, although that is not what we saw at other schools.
I think the mix of political ideology is a net positive.
I really like that CMC students are passionate about their school. We took about 5 tours with different guides, and they were all exceptional kids.
I disliked how CMC's culture revolved mainly around the party scene. If you're not into that stuff, you'll find it hard to get to know the majority of the class.
If you're not white or privileged, you will feel different among your peers. Now, CMC is not racist or elitist, but the difference has been noted more by my CMC friends than those of any other colleges.
The Keck Science Center is pretty average. Come to either Pomona or HMC for sciences. People use Keck to get an easy science class. That being said, the Interdisciplinary Science Program is said to be challenging and is unique in the consortium.
Some of the dorms are pretty average..small rooms, dingy walls. Maid service can't be beat though.
Type A personality and leadership is the majority at CMC. If that is not who you are (like me), you will find CMC people to be annoying, loud, and obnoxious. To be fair, that is definitely not the whole school, but those who aren't type A usually tend to visit the other colleges for friends and events.
I honestly felt like the reason why CMC students are happier than their pretty happy Pomona counterparts is because of the heavy drinking atmosphere and the vibe of the student body. Intellectuals aren't very happy and Pomona is considerably more rigorous, which dilutes the happiness quota of the school.
Other than those factors, which are honestly conditional, CMC is a wonderful school! Even with those factors it is fantastic(even perfect for some), but for some people it definitely has its flaws!
+Lack of the same cohesiveness and school pride found in CMC
+Frary and Oldenborg are some of the worst dining halls of the 5C's. Frank is only decent.
+Pomona students ARE more elitist. But not nearly as much as those of other schools of its caliber. But still, compared to other 5C students, definitely.
+Greater amount of division within Pomona students= you have to search for a group of friends who you feel may be like you.
+Some dorms are very dingy and small.
+Some academic programs will be on trailers for the next 2 years due to new construction, particularly math and science. Not everyone finds this a good thing.
+Not very pre-professional- find practical experience through internships, not classes.
+Not as intermixed with the other 5C's. Similar to Harvey Mudd in this way.
+Very, very demanding academics! Your life WILL center around academics here. Hard work is a must. If that is not you, you will hate it. CMC/Scripps/Pitzer are hard, but no where near overall as intense as the other two.
+CDO can be improved. CMC's is fantastic.