visiting the Claremont colleges - what do I need to know?

[Anonymous]

I'm a Pomona parent and former LA resident.

I'd stay in Claremont itself for at least the first visit just to get a sense of the place. I think it's charming and enjoy my visits. We always stay at one of the cheaper motels that are within a mile of campus.

I agree that doing two 5C tours in the same day is definitely feasible. You might as well throw in Pitzer too. I really like Pitzer's succulent-rich campus. I have a very high opinion of all the 5C colleges, which of which fills a specific niche.

In terms of nearby attractions, we enjoyed the Huntington Library in Pasadena, which has massive themed gardens, two art museums, and a collection of impressive original manuscripts. It's about a 30-minute drive away. We have also driven to downtown LA to visit the Disney Concert Hall for an LA Phil concert and The Broad art museum, which is literally across the street. We did that on a weekend when there was no traffic and it seemed to be about a 35-40 minute drive each way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it helps, here's how the 5C kids describe their schools in Harry Potter "sorting hat" terms.

5C Schools as Hogwarts Houses:

1) Pomona = Griffindor
2) Harvey Mudd = Ravenclaw
3) Pitzer = Hufflepuff
4) CMC = Slytherin
5) Scripps = Beauxbatons (all-girls school from Goblet of fire)

So maybe that will help? Pitzer is seen as the most charitable, mission-oriented school, attracting very engaged and earnest students who want to do good things to impact their country, environment, and world. If that fits your DC I'd definitely visit. Pitzer also has by far the best dorms and food.

My DD is at Pomona and loves it! Good luck on your visit.

Griffindor: Brave, intelligent, strong integrity, Harry, Hermione & Ron's house
Ravenclaw: Smart & intelligent
Hufflepuff: Kind and caring, Cedric's House.
Slytherin: Ambitious, fame-driven, smart but can fall prey to evil, Voldemort & Malfoy's house.
Beauxbatons: All-girls school in France, Fleur's house.

Any other descriptors? DD is also considering Scripps but not sure which would be the best fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it helps, here's how the 5C kids describe their schools in Harry Potter "sorting hat" terms.

5C Schools as Hogwarts Houses:

1) Pomona = Griffindor
2) Harvey Mudd = Ravenclaw
3) Pitzer = Hufflepuff
4) CMC = Slytherin
5) Scripps = Beauxbatons (all-girls school from Goblet of fire)

So maybe that will help? Pitzer is seen as the most charitable, mission-oriented school, attracting very engaged and earnest students who want to do good things to impact their country, environment, and world. If that fits your DC I'd definitely visit. Pitzer also has by far the best dorms and food.

My DD is at Pomona and loves it! Good luck on your visit.

Griffindor: Brave, intelligent, strong integrity, Harry, Hermione & Ron's house
Ravenclaw: Smart & intelligent
Hufflepuff: Kind and caring, Cedric's House.
Slytherin: Ambitious, fame-driven, smart but can fall prey to evil, Voldemort & Malfoy's house.
Beauxbatons: All-girls school in France, Fleur's house.

Any other descriptors? DD is also considering Scripps but not sure which would be the best fit.

Very smart (lots of pre-med and English majors who want to go into publishing), intellectuals who proudly have subscriptions to the New Yorker. Straight and gay. Great people. Beautiful but small campus. Probably some overlap with women at Vassar.

[Anonymous]

If there’s a symphony/musical performance on the day of your tour, you must go! Little bridges is gorgeous and often they have many LA philharmonic players on stage.

[Anonymous]

Any update from your visit. I know summer isn't the best but will be out there for 4 days with my 2026 looking at Pomona, CMC and USC. Anything fun to recommend in the evenings that can be done with a 17 year old?

[Anonymous]

Claremont is a pretty small/dull town so not much to do or see.

But USC is in DTLA (downtown LA) and there is a lot to do there during evenings. At a minimum, check out the Broad Museum (art) or head over to Grand Central Station for food or there are things going on (concerts, sports) in the area too. Lots of great restaurants. LA was a lot of fun. Claremont is a sleepier inland town with not much for teens to do.

[Anonymous]

Claremont looking way better these days than the shit show that is downtown LA!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Claremont is a pretty small/dull town so not much to do or see.

But USC is in DTLA (downtown LA) and there is a lot to do there during evenings. At a minimum, check out the Broad Museum (art) or head over to Grand Central Station for food or there are things going on (concerts, sports) in the area too. Lots of great restaurants. LA was a lot of fun. Claremont is a sleepier inland town with not much for teens to do.

All relative, there's mount Baldy right there, the village has a bunch of fun shops to look at and good coffee shops or restaurants if you want to dine. Pomona, nearby, has a great art walk, and there's an amazing botanical garden directly north of Harvey Mudd. Things get a lot better if you're open to places like San Dimas, Upland, etc. Great place to be for 4 years, and a lot more low-key than South Central, but gives you easier access to the outdoors which is a big scene at the 5Cs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Claremont looking way better these days than the shit show that is downtown LA!

DTLA is not a shitshow. Trump is trying to sell that narrative as are his minions Hegseth and Vance. But these are people who are rightfully protesting as is their right and Trump is trying to force their hand and provoke or trigger one of them to commit violence by bringing in the national guard to intimidate and trigger the protesters. He's already referring to them as insurrectionists so he can use the Insurrection Act improperly in this instance. It's ironic and hypocritical since he didn't care when actual insurrectionists stormed our Capital building and killed and attacked policemen and tried to assault members of Congress. Trump pardoned all of those actual insurrectionists. Several of them once pardoned have gone on to commit more violent crimes in just the past couple of months alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Claremont is a pretty small/dull town so not much to do or see.

But USC is in DTLA (downtown LA) and there is a lot to do there during evenings. At a minimum, check out the Broad Museum (art) or head over to Grand Central Station for food or there are things going on (concerts, sports) in the area too. Lots of great restaurants. LA was a lot of fun. Claremont is a sleepier inland town with not much for teens to do.

All relative, there's mount Baldy right there, the village has a bunch of fun shops to look at and good coffee shops or restaurants if you want to dine. Pomona, nearby, has a great art walk, and there's an amazing botanical garden directly north of Harvey Mudd. Things get a lot better if you're open to places like San Dimas, Upland, etc. Great place to be for 4 years, and a lot more low-key than South Central, but gives you easier access to the outdoors which is a big scene at the 5Cs.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Claremont looking way better these days than the shit show that is downtown LA!

DTLA is not a shitshow. Trump is trying to sell that narrative as are his minions Hegseth and Vance. But these are people who are rightfully protesting as is their right and Trump is trying to force their hand and provoke or trigger one of them to commit violence by bringing in the national guard to intimidate and trigger the protesters. He's already referring to them as insurrectionists so he can use the Insurrection Act improperly in this instance. It's ironic and hypocritical since he didn't care when actual insurrectionists stormed our Capital building and killed and attacked policemen and tried to assault members of Congress. Trump pardoned all of those actual insurrectionists. Several of them once pardoned have gone on to commit more violent crimes in just the past couple of months alone.

+1000

[Anonymous]

My DD wants to visit Pitzer this summer. I am wondering if it is better to wait until school is back in session in the fall. Any advice on that for getting a sense of the campus?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD wants to visit Pitzer this summer. I am wondering if it is better to wait until school is back in session in the fall. Any advice on that for getting a sense of the campus?

It's ok to view it over summer. Sometimes that's just the most relaxed time to visit for your family and student rather than rushing around during busy senior or junior year. You'll get a good vibe on student dynamics from your tour guide. We've toured Pitzer and so has my niece and the tour guides tend to be very chatty, open and transparent. Pitzer cares a lot about fit so they don't hold anything back.

Scripps also give very genuine and authentic tours, where you get a lot of inside info. Pomona and CMC are more polished sales pitches - esp CMC. My niece is a tour guide and shared that they are very scripted based on what the Comms team wants you to know aobut the student experience. My niece adored her CMC tour back in the day, but now that she's at the school and trained as a tour guide she sees how curated and scripted it was. Her friends at Pitzer are given a much freer rein to be transparent and open about their experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:to be fair the train station (new-ish) is a 2 minute walk from the Claremont college campus

I recently checked schedule hoping to take it but seemed like the limited schedule was designed for commuters coming from Claremont to LA in morning and reverse in afternoon. I didn’t see way to take train from LA to Claremont for tour times. If anyone is aware of such a schedule, I’m interested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:thanks! would pitzer be worth the tour? an easier admit, for sure. just dont want to cover the same ground over and over. It feels like the campuses are very connected

Philosophy at Pitzer would be a good fit.