Academics
Students at Claremont McKenna really love their school. With its “phenomenal academics,” “brilliant professors,” “amazing career services center,” and “perfect weather,” it’s no wonder CMC students are “the happiest students in America.” Claremont McKenna is known for its government and economics majors, but philosophy, international relations, and the Keck Science program also get high marks. CMC is a part of The Claremont Colleges, so if students are looking for something that CMC doesn’t have, they can probably find it at one of the four sister schools. Students rave about Claremont’s emphasis on “professionalism” and all of the “great research and internship opportunities.” The workload is heavy, and professors set “high expectations,” so “students spend their weeks [working on] their papers, books, readings, research projects, problem sets, etc.” Despite the intense workload, students love their professors. “Professors are absolute geniuses in their field,” one student gushes. They’re “helpful and encouraging,” “incredibly accessible,” and even “willing to Skype on the weekends to answer questions.” “This sounds corny,” one student admits, “this really is a place where professors become like family.” Students spend a “good deal of out-of-classroom time” with their teachers. “When you take both academics and quality of life into account,” a cognitive neuroscience major says, “I can’t believe I almost went to an Ivy over this place.”
Student Body
“Claremont McKenna doesn’t accept students who aren’t amazing.” “Amazing” means a “really smart” person who’s “incredibly motivated and career-driven.” It’s “a tight-knit community of driven, competitive, and intelligent people who know how to be successful and have a great time.” “A lot of kids are political and well-informed”; most are “active on campus,” very into sports, and involved with internships or clubs. Students are extremely well-rounded; they “know how to lead a discussion...clock hours in the library, play a varsity or club sport, and hold a leadership position in a club or organization,” and they also know how to throw “a great party on Saturday night.”
Campus Life
Life is good at Claremont McKenna. The “constantly beaming California sun and the close vicinity to both mountains and beaches” mean students spend their time outdoors when they can. But even when students are lounging in the sun or playing Frisbee, they’re not really taking a break. The “conversation doesn’t end in the classroom,” a student explains, and the “intellectual culture...really allows for twenty-four-hour learning.” While Claremont McKenna has the campus and “community life and identity of a small school” it “still [has] the resources of the other four C’s.” Even without the other schools students feel “completely pampered” because “the school cares about its students so much.” A Spanish major says, “The relationship between the students and the administration is excellent here,” and the “student government and Dean of Students Office...subsidize incredible off-campus trips and on-campus parties.” One of the best things about Claremont McKenna is the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum, which hosts prestigious guest lecturers four nights a week. One student wisely asks, “Where else could you have dinner with Jesse Jackson, Mitt Romney, etc.?” Students agree, “There’s a niche for everyone, and the welcoming, accepting atmosphere makes fitting in easy.”
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