Anyone have experiences with a DC attending one of the 5Cs - CMC, Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Scripps, Pitzer?

[Anonymous]

Hello wonderful parent community,

My DS just toured CMC, Pomona and Pitzer and fell in love with CMC/Pomona. I know they are both VERY tough admits. But I'm wondering if anyone on here has any experience (positive, neutral or negative) with their own DC at the 5Cs?

Are they enjoying their student experience and would they recommend?
How are their profs?
How is the student community? Is it competitive or collaborative?
Any good outcomes (internships, jobs)?
Do they study abroad?
How did they get in? ED or RD?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

My DS is at CMC and having an absolute blast! He likes the other freshmen students. Peers are smart and driven but also help each other and collaborate well. Very different than the vibes of my competitive ivy when we compare notes.

The weather is great but can be pretty hot in the first month or two.

He's doing a lot of GEs and classes at CMC this year, but has met lots of upper classmen who also take classes pretty easily at Pomona and other 5Cs.

The town offers plenty of good food, movie theater, upscale suburb vibe.

He has gone to Joshua Tree park and LA and enjoyed side trips. He's not an athlete but enjoys the gym and other non-varsity athletic opportunities.

Def recommends!

He is majoring in Econ though you don't officially declare it until 2nd year.

[Anonymous]

DS just graduated Pomona and had a wonderful 4 years. To get outcomes out of the way, he's currently at Cambridge and living the experience!

DS was a math major who felt there were seemingly infinite resources for majors. There are nearly 80 math faculty members across the 5Cs + CGU (DS took some challenging graduate courses at CGU!). Every college has a certain angle in which they do mathematics- Pomona (heavily theoretical), Harvey mudd (Balanced Applied/Scientific and pure), CMC (data science/financial), etc. He loved his professors and his thesis advisor is now a life long friend.

The community is fun, collaborative, but intensely dedicated to school. You'll find students constantly in LA or Pasadena, but the next day they're up and at the library for hours. DS was taking about 6 and a half classes junior fall and spring, but adored the process of learning advanced mathematics. The math department is very connected to different schools, so students easily get opportunities. DS didn't study abroad but most people do.

Would highly recommend.

[Anonymous]

DD is at Scripps. She is happy. Loves the 5C community, her dorm, all the resources of the consortium. She switched majors midstream and is now majoring outside her college at Pomona which is working out well. But she loves dorming with her fellow Scrippsies.

Great people across all 5Cs. Very bright and engaged students who are also kind. A few bad eggs here or there as very easily ignored.

Classes are interesting and professors care about students and very accessible.

Food is great especially at Pitzer. She can eat at any of 5Cs.

Main Honnold-Mudd library is meh in her opinion. She prefers Scripps' own Denison library which has Victorian literary vibes.

No problem dating within 5Cs. She is straight and has dated students at other 5Cs. She's met many CMC-ers through her current boyfriend and says they all seem smart and fun. She also briefly dated a Mudder and his friends were all great but wow the Mudders work HARD! Very long hours at Harvey-Mudd compared to all other 5Cs except Pomona pre-med.

She acted in a play at Pomona and had a great experience. She has a very close bff at Pomona. Everyone at Pomona she's met are incredibly smart and welcoming.

She doesn't drive so it's harder to make it to LA that much but if you make friends with someone who drives and has a car, you are set.

[Anonymous]

DD is a sophomore at CMC. Having great experience!

CMC is probably one of the more fun and social of the 5 schools. It’s definitely a work hard/play hard environment.

The professors are great-very knowledgeable and do really get to know their students. Of course my daughter likes some classes more than others but has a personal relationship with all of them.

There is definitely a big striver culture-I don’t necessarily mean it as a negative thing. The beginning of the year there is a big emphasis on the clubs and their applications etc. I think it motivates kids to get involved though, who maybe would have been a bit more shy about joining at first. My child has joined a political consulting group, women in business club and been hired as a research associate.

She is going abroad next fall.

She goes to LA /surrounding areas about once a month for a concert or beach day. The village is great with lots of dining options and lots of access to nearby activities like skiing and beach.

She applied RD. If your child really likes it make sure they do the interview! I think that was a huge plus to my kids app. She was also very involved in her school. Her GPA wasn’t perfect but very good and challenging in her areas of interest and she didn’t submit scores.

[Anonymous]

I live nearby and know many faculties and students at the 5C. Everyone is happy.

[Anonymous]

Dc at CMC and loving it.

[Anonymous]

I can't add anymore detail than the PPs provided, just wanted to add that I have two nephews who graduated this past school year who both loved their experience at CMC and have secured great jobs in their fields of finance/econ.

[Anonymous]

DD is at Pomona and was also admitted to Scripps but didn't apply to Mudd, CMC, or Pitzer. Like others, I'm hugely impressed with all five schools, each of which offers something unique. DD reports that her classes are mixed with other 5C students but she can't tell any difference in quality among those students.

Pomona's campus is stunning. It's not as grand as, say, UCLA or Stanford, but it has so many nooks and crannies, beautiful courtyards, and fountains. There are a few brutalist remnants, but my understanding is that the school is gradually replacing them. (E.g., Oldenborg). I also really like Claremont Village, although I think it may be more attractive to parents than students. People here complain about the greater area, which is not exactly charming. But when you're in Claremont with its trees and grass, you don't notice that you're in the Inland Empire. And while I've noticed smog while driving on the local freeways, I've never noticed it while on campus or in town. That said, the smoke last year sucked for a couple weeks and it can get very hot in August/September.

DD has had a good experience so far. DD sometimes feels like many of her peers are bubble kids in terms of privileged upbringing and/or liberal politics. (DD is very liberal herself.) But she loves her professors, seems to have a large friend group, likes her work-study job, has a great single dorm room, and makes frequent trips outside of Claremont to LA, J-Tree, the beach, and local hikes. She has a car this year, which helps a lot. Pomona, however, is definitely not a party school. The kids are social, but CMC and Mudd have the best parties, although I don't think anyone would ever compare them with proper party school like ASU.

The professors are mostly great, and many have gone out of their way to hook DD up with internships and other opportunities. She's had one or two professors who were kind of boring, which is the worst thing I've heard. Her favorite prof this semester is at Scripps.

The Pomona student body is largely nerdy, intellectual, humble, high-achieving, diverse, and liberal. I don't think there's any real competitive culture.

DD intends to study abroad but is not sure where. She's torn between a language-oriented experience and a subject-matter/major oriented experience.

DD got into both schools RD.

As a slight aside, I'm going to shout out Scripps, which doesn't seem to get a lot of attention. Pomona has the most impressive 5C campus, but Scripps has the most pleasant college campus I've ever been to. Everything is pretty and cozy, and unlike most other college campuses, nearly all of its architecture follows the same design (very little brutalism).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't add anymore detail than the PPs provided, just wanted to add that I have two nephews who graduated this past school year who both loved their experience at CMC and have secured great jobs in their fields of finance/econ.

That's very interesting that both of your nephews graduated CMC last year at the same time - are they twins?

Congrats to them both of them getting into CMC and having a great experience together!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is at Pomona and was also admitted to Scripps but didn't apply to Mudd, CMC, or Pitzer. Like others, I'm hugely impressed with all five schools, each of which offers something unique. DD reports that her classes are mixed with other 5C students but she can't tell any difference in quality among those students.

Pomona's campus is stunning. It's not as grand as, say, UCLA or Stanford, but it has so many nooks and crannies, beautiful courtyards, and fountains. There are a few brutalist remnants, but my understanding is that the school is gradually replacing them. (E.g., Oldenborg). I also really like Claremont Village, although I think it may be more attractive to parents than students. People here complain about the greater area, which is not exactly charming. But when you're in Claremont with its trees and grass, you don't notice that you're in the Inland Empire. And while I've noticed smog while driving on the local freeways, I've never noticed it while on campus or in town. That said, the smoke last year sucked for a couple weeks and it can get very hot in August/September.

DD has had a good experience so far. DD sometimes feels like many of her peers are bubble kids in terms of privileged upbringing and/or liberal politics. (DD is very liberal herself.) But she loves her professors, seems to have a large friend group, likes her work-study job, has a great single dorm room, and makes frequent trips outside of Claremont to LA, J-Tree, the beach, and local hikes. She has a car this year, which helps a lot. Pomona, however, is definitely not a party school. The kids are social, but CMC and Mudd have the best parties, although I don't think anyone would ever compare them with proper party school like ASU.

The professors are mostly great, and many have gone out of their way to hook DD up with internships and other opportunities. She's had one or two professors who were kind of boring, which is the worst thing I've heard. Her favorite prof this semester is at Scripps.

The Pomona student body is largely nerdy, intellectual, humble, high-achieving, diverse, and liberal. I don't think there's any real competitive culture.

DD intends to study abroad but is not sure where. She's torn between a language-oriented experience and a subject-matter/major oriented experience.

DD got into both schools RD.

As a slight aside, I'm going to shout out Scripps, which doesn't seem to get a lot of attention. Pomona has the most impressive 5C campus, but Scripps has the most pleasant college campus I've ever been to. Everything is pretty and cozy, and unlike most other college campuses, nearly all of its architecture follows the same design (very little brutalism).

Why did she choose Pomona over Scripps?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello wonderful parent community,

My DS just toured CMC, Pomona and Pitzer and fell in love with CMC/Pomona. I know they are both VERY tough admits. But I'm wondering if anyone on here has any experience (positive, neutral or negative) with their own DC at the 5Cs?

Are they enjoying their student experience and would they recommend?
How are their profs?
How is the student community? Is it competitive or collaborative?
Any good outcomes (internships, jobs)?
Do they study abroad?
How did they get in? ED or RD?

Thanks!

Are you/kid living in CA ? Or toured from out of the area or state?

[Anonymous]

Good info from folks who have or had kids there

[Anonymous]

This is all great to hear. My best friend’s daughter applied ED to Scripps, sounds like she would love it.

[Anonymous]

Sigh. 5Cs are awesome.
DD would have loved to attend Pomona or Mudd but they are $$$$$ and give virtually no merit.