Anonymous wrote:It's a great school, probably a T10 LAC, but it's small (1,400), new, and on the West Coast, so it's less known/established. But the quality of students, faculty, and outcomes are extremely good. And the 5C Consortium is unique and a huge advantage.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean the schools overlap like 80% now so I don’t see what the benefit (or big deal) would be about a merger. They probably benefit from appearing to gave individual personalities.

They’d probably benefit from a residential college model and a central administration. You’d lose professors in the process, but shuffle the departments into certain colleges (Environmental science bio and chem and sociology all in Pitzer, convert scripps to an honors college).

The only issue is managing 7 dining halls, soon to be 8, and deciding what to do with redundant resources like multiple science centers and gyms.

The dining halls are already open to all students, so why would a stronger relationship change that. You don’t seem to know simple things about the day-to-day operations of the consortium yet you’re going on an on?!?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean the schools overlap like 80% now so I don’t see what the benefit (or big deal) would be about a merger. They probably benefit from appearing to gave individual personalities.

They’d probably benefit from a residential college model and a central administration. You’d lose professors in the process, but shuffle the departments into certain colleges (Environmental science bio and chem and sociology all in Pitzer, convert scripps to an honors college).

The only issue is managing 7 dining halls, soon to be 8, and deciding what to do with redundant resources like multiple science centers and gyms.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:is there a link to the rumor?

Sounds like bunkum to me.

(1) I have a kid at the 5Cs and haven't heard anything remotely concerning a merger.

(2) The 5Cs are already extremely popular as reflected by their low admission rates.

(3) The 5Cs are all financially strong, and Pomona and CMC are positively loaded.

(4) I haven't read them, but I'm guessing somewhere in each school charters, etc. are commitments to certain things that would be defeated by a merger--e.g., a commitment to being a liberal arts college, Scripps's commitment to be a womens college, Mudd's commitment to STEM, etc. A merger would require each of the 5C's boards to change their school's fundamental purpose, if that's legally possible, and agree to such a merger.

(5) The 5Cs are unique in their consortium approach in America. Each school offers students something very different while still offering the consortium and a unified set of different campuses. This is a strong selling point for 5C students. Nor have I heard complaints about this structure. I'm not sure why they'd want to give it up to fundamentally change the 5Cs into a mid-size university.

(6) Each of the 5Cs is its own college. This means it has its own endowment, campus, administration, faculty, dorms, admissions policies and standards, graduation requirements, orientation programs, etc. A merger would be incredibly complex. I've only seen two college mergers, usually a bigger school gobbling up a smaller one. Merging 5 colleges at once would be insane.

(7) Even if this rumor were remotely true, there's no way it's happening anytime soon. At a minimum, I'd assume they'd teach out their current students to graduation under the current regime.

You’re missing the key point that the new acting president of Pomona- A W&M ALUM MIGHT I ADD- has enacted a new policy of a cohesive Claremont colleges and is seeking a longer contract to carry out the campaign while the president is gone! This is major news and will likely lead to a substantially different Claremont Colleges.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has shown interest in Claremont Mckenna, which I 100% wrote off as a mediocre LAC. Then reading through their Roberts Campus and massive alum donation campaign, I am shocked this tiny place hasn't shot to the top of students' lists. They're doubling campus footprint, investing hundreds of thousands to improve research opportunities and internship opportunities, and building a fancy new science department. What is the catch?

Nobody paying the slightest bit of attention would write it off as "mediocre."

Anonymous wrote:Merging is one of the dumbest things the claremont colleges could do. It might save money but it would destroy the brands and feel of the individual colleges.

Anonymous wrote:DC has shown interest in Claremont Mckenna, which I 100% wrote off as a mediocre LAC. Then reading through their Roberts Campus and massive alum donation campaign, I am shocked this tiny place hasn't shot to the top of students' lists. They're doubling campus footprint, investing hundreds of thousands to improve research opportunities and internship opportunities, and building a fancy new science department. What is the catch?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:is there a link to the rumor?

Sounds like bunkum to me.

(1) I have a kid at the 5Cs and haven't heard anything remotely concerning a merger.

(2) The 5Cs are already extremely popular as reflected by their low admission rates.

(3) The 5Cs are all financially strong, and Pomona and CMC are positively loaded.

(4) I haven't read them, but I'm guessing somewhere in each school charters, etc. are commitments to certain things that would be defeated by a merger--e.g., a commitment to being a liberal arts college, Scripps's commitment to be a womens college, Mudd's commitment to STEM, etc. A merger would require each of the 5C's boards to change their school's fundamental purpose, if that's legally possible, and agree to such a merger.

(5) The 5Cs are unique in their consortium approach in America. Each school offers students something very different while still offering the consortium and a unified set of different campuses. This is a strong selling point for 5C students. Nor have I heard complaints about this structure. I'm not sure why they'd want to give it up to fundamentally change the 5Cs into a mid-size university.

(6) Each of the 5Cs is its own college. This means it has its own endowment, campus, administration, faculty, dorms, admissions policies and standards, graduation requirements, orientation programs, etc. A merger would be incredibly complex. I've only seen two college mergers, usually a bigger school gobbling up a smaller one. Merging 5 colleges at once would be insane.

(7) Even if this rumor were remotely true, there's no way it's happening anytime soon. At a minimum, I'd assume they'd teach out their current students to graduation under the current regime.

Anonymous wrote:is there a link to the rumor?

Anonymous wrote:I mean the schools overlap like 80% now so I don’t see what the benefit (or big deal) would be about a merger. They probably benefit from appearing to gave individual personalities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:is there a link to the rumor?

See above.

Anonymous wrote:is there a link to the rumor?