CMC vs Amherst-Econ and Philosophy Major

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is leaning toward Economics and Philosophy as his major, and he’s looking for a place with a strong academic community where he can dig deep into both fields. He values a close-knit environment with small class sizes and a sense of connection between students and professors. Claremont McKenna stands out to him because of its resources like the Athenaeum, its research centers, and the opportunities that come with being in California. He loves the idea of having access to diverse internships and opportunities, especially in the business and policy spheres, which he’s interested in exploring.

That said, I’ve got some strong connections to Amherst, and I’ve always thought of it as a top-tier liberal arts school with a respected reputation across a variety of disciplines, including Economics and Philosophy. The rigorous academic environment there is something we both admire.

What I’m struggling with is how to balance the location, opportunities, and academic environment at Claremont McKenna with the overall prestige and longstanding reputation of Amherst. Is Claremont McKenna seen as strong in the areas DC cares about—specifically Economics and Philosophy—or is Amherst’s name and academic rigor just too hard to beat?

I think Amherst's name and academic rigor is too hard to beat! It's part of the WASP schools (Williams-Amherst-Swarthmore-Pomona) that is treated as special among LACs.

You say your kid is "leaning" towards Econ & Philosophy, but we all know these interests can shift during the 4 years at college. At Amherst, he'd be less boxed in and it's a bigger field to play in. Claremont McKenna is only around 1000 students (although there is the consortium close at hand) but it's really focused on business and economics. From my knowledge (I'm in the SF Bay), they really focus on Silicon Valley over DC/NYC/Boston so if your kid wants name recognition in the Northeast, that is a concern.

CMC is inside a better functioning consortium than Amherst, so no, he isn't boxed in to a community of only 1000 students. Your knowledge is wrong, since the first destination report demonstrates that CMC's leave to New York more than both LA or SF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, does your son want to go to Amherst?

He isn't thrilled at the idea, but I want my son at my alma mater more than a small college in California with less prestige!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:are there CMC booster sales people on this thread or wut?

I'd say I'm less a booster and more tired of the New England or bust mentality here. This is a slam dunk CMC student-someone interested in humanities/social sciences but wants a good career afterwards. CMC has more investment in both of these majors than Amherst. CMC excels in both of these subjects and continues to improve year over year. To discount that because you are more familiar with Amherst is to waste everyone's time.

+1, too many people working off of stereotypes and assumptions that are outlandishly wrong. I don't really see how anyone can fairly judge CMC versus Amherst's program and not see that CMC has a clear advantage in Philosophy and potentially economics.

[Anonymous]

If you would like to compare these schools by their number of philosophy majors, Amherst graduated eight philosophy "first majors" in a recent year and CMC graduated six.

https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Amherst+college&s=all&id=164465#programs

https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Claremont+McKenna&s=all&id=112260#programs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, does your son want to go to Amherst?

He isn't thrilled at the idea, but I want my son at my alma mater more than a small college in California with less prestige!

Got it, OP! Sounds like you need to have a family conversation rather than involving DCUM. I would say that nationally and internationally, Amherst has the better brand but CMC is also a nice college with good outcomes. CMC is helped a lot by it's association to Pomona whereas Amherst is the "star" of it's own cohort followed by Wellesley.

[Anonymous]

Wellesley alum married to Amherst alum. Hard to beat the Amherst prestige so I understand!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, does your son want to go to Amherst?

He isn't thrilled at the idea, but I want my son at my alma mater more than a small college in California with less prestige!

Got it, OP! Sounds like you need to have a family conversation rather than involving DCUM. I would say that nationally and internationally, Amherst has the better brand but CMC is also a nice college with good outcomes. CMC is helped a lot by it's association to Pomona whereas Amherst is the "star" of it's own cohort followed by Wellesley.

Wellesley?

[Anonymous]

They’re bad per capita because of the athletes. Get rid of them. NARPs rule!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, does your son want to go to Amherst?

He isn't thrilled at the idea, but I want my son at my alma mater more than a small college in California with less prestige!

Got it, OP! Sounds like you need to have a family conversation rather than involving DCUM. I would say that nationally and internationally, Amherst has the better brand but CMC is also a nice college with good outcomes. CMC is helped a lot by it's association to Pomona whereas Amherst is the "star" of it's own cohort followed by Wellesley.

Can you elaborate more? As someone who's "in the know" about American colleges from another countries, neither of these colleges have branding, nor are well known-they are hardly known in the United States. Also, I don't see how CMC is helped by its association with Pomona when most of the things it is good at, it is much better at than Pomona.

[Anonymous]

Amherst...doesn't have prestige. Most people don't care at all about either of these schools.

[Anonymous]

Really depends on what you want to see when you look outside your door!



Both are amazing options. I'd personally go to Claremont McKenna, but it really is a tossup.

[Anonymous]

Really disappointing thread on all sides. Vague prestige evaluations, no discussion on opportunities or resources, a bunch of assumptions running rampant. It surprises me that people are this closed off to discussing two very similar schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really depends on what you want to see when you look outside your door!



Both are amazing options. I'd personally go to Claremont McKenna, but it really is a tossup.

And both are constructing quickly!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both Claremont McKenna and Amherst offer national-level economics programs.

I'd give the edge to CMC's program, however.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really depends on what you want to see when you look outside your door!



Both are amazing options. I'd personally go to Claremont McKenna, but it really is a tossup.

Both are NOT amazing options.