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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Both great schools in very different settings. I don’t think there is any real similarity on the “5 college consortium” front. That’s a very loose consortium in the case of Amherst. Pomona and the other four Claremont consortium colleges border each other and kids are always on the others’ campuses for parties, or on the way to town, or for classes. There is a lot of cross-enrollment.

It’s also extremely difficult to get into Pomona from around here as an unhooked student. Your odds of acceptance are much lower than the already low acceptance rate would suggest. At Amherst, a significant portion of the students are athletes. This is not true a Pomona, though Pomona-Pitzer has some excellent teams. [/quote]
I don’t agree with this at all in terms of the 5-college consortium: there is a free bus system, UMass is on the other side of downtown Amherst (you can walk), and it is easy to get to Mount Holyoke and Smith. There are several 5 college majors and programs, and advanced Amherst students have the opportunity to even take graduate classes at UMass. Also think about the intellectual synergy created by 5 colleges all within 15 minutes of each other in terms of lectures, activities, movies — everything. We are talking, “which famous person can I see speak at which college this week.” I cannot speak to Pomona, but that consortium does not have nearly the same critical mass of students.

Amherst has a ton of athletes (35-40%) and a big athlete divide (problems with them living together exclusively etc.) It is also very big on recruiting URMs. Since athletes are disproportionately white, it creates a very polarized dynamic. (Amherst got rid of legacy, but athletic recruiting favors whites way more than legacy, both in terms of sheer numbers and the magnitude of the admissions boost, so there is just a tad of hypocrisy there.).

From an admissions standpoint, Amherst is probably a tougher admit for white, non-athlete applicants than is Pomona, for the reasons stated…[/quote]

There is no way this is easier than a 5-15 minute walk (at whatever time you want - no need to time it right for the bus schedule) in Claremont.  Furthermore, the Claremont course schedules are all in sync to be fully compatible. And it's a single registration.

[/quote]
I am not saying it is. But it is still easy, especially when you can hop on a bus that comes every 10 minutes to get you there in 10 (or walk in 20-25). I am not saying one consortium is better; I am saying the 5-college one is actually meaningful and used — contrary to how it is being represented. [/quote]

It definitely doesn't take 10 minutes by bus. Amherst to UMass and Hampshire is 20 minutes, MHC is 30 minutes, and Smith is 45 minutes. Walking to UMass is minimum 25 minutes, longer if you're at the south part of Amherst going to a north part of UMass (ie. Greenway Dorms at Amherst to the CS department at UMass is 45 minutes).[/quote]

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