We were in LA anyways visiting UCLA and Pomona + CMC last year so we stopped by USC after UCLA. I wanted a “fun” school and USC seems like that. They let me have free reign over where I applied and weren’t too involved which I’m grateful for.
I loved USC’s school spirit (kids shouting fight on), campus felt warm (like it was physically warm and sunny but also the layout), and my tour guide was from PA and studying PPL and wrote me a notecard after! I also got into GWU (w 34k in merit), occidental college (w 40k in merit), Santa Clara (w 30k in merit), and Pitt.
I’m definitely not saying that CMC is better in general - Amherst is a tippy-top LAC, and a very well-resourced one - endowment per student at Amherst is roughly double CMC’s. It’s just that CMC matches your stated criteria better.
That said, there would be absolutely nothing wrong with choosing Amherst. I’d just encourage you to do so for reasons other than the recruitment efforts of admissions officers who are explicitly tasked with boosting admissions yield. Once you matriculate, their job is done, and they will have no further impact on your life as an Amherst student. Focus on the aspects of the school that would affect your experience as a student there.
You really can’t go wrong among these schools; it’s all a matter of what attributes you most value and prefer.
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CMC has the charms of a small LAC while being part of a powerful consortium. Most graduates also move on to amazing academic and career paths. Congrats!
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