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?

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

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Anonymous wrote:If you have strong connections to Amherst (e.g. Legacy) it's critical your DS applies ED to Amherst.

Best of luck getting in! With a legacy hook or other connection, I'd prioritize Amherst. It's an outstanding place to study those two subjects.

Nearly everyone is an econ major at CMC, so it's a great place too, but with your connections/hooks to Amherst, I'd prioritize that for best chance to get in.

Listen to this, OP. Amherst with connections will be an “easier” admit than CMC. It is that simple.

But it’s not true at all. Because Amherst doesn’t factor “connections” into admission. They’re also going hyper dei now that their black population has been decimated.

Well they’re going hyper FGLI as a proxy. 25% FGLI, 33% athletes means vanishingly few spots for regular high achieving white and Asian kids. Therefore, OP, the strategic move is to apply early to CMC. Without Ivy level stats, Amherst is probably a waste of an application for the vast majority of applicants.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Skipped the squabbling.
What does kid ultimately want to do with degrees?
If get a job, whatever.
If maybe get a DC think tank internship at Brookings or the like as a precursor to grad school for a PhD in a field of economics, economic history, etc, then Amherst all the way. Kid may be strong enough right out of undergrad but a paid year as research assistant and name on publication and another good letter is valuable. DH has nurtured a number of students that way. Most are faculty members themselves or working at the Fed, CBO etc.

+1
Thank you for this pragmatic and sensible point. Many other comments on this thread have been petty and insufferable.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Skipped the squabbling.
What does kid ultimately want to do with degrees?
If get a job, whatever.
If maybe get a DC think tank internship at Brookings or the like as a precursor to grad school for a PhD in a field of economics, economic history, etc, then Amherst all the way. Kid may be strong enough right out of undergrad but a paid year as research assistant and name on publication and another good letter is valuable. DH has nurtured a number of students that way. Most are faculty members themselves or working at the Fed, CBO etc.

If interested in the think tank or grad school life, just go to Pomona-It's a neighbor of CMC and ranks better than Amherst for grad school admissions for economics...or CMC which is also ranked better: https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-phd-programs

This actually surprised me that CMC has the same number of people going to graduate school in economics as Amherst, while being a much smaller school. Maybe I've been discounting it a bit too much.

Still only ranked #26 per capita, though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Skipped the squabbling.
What does kid ultimately want to do with degrees?
If get a job, whatever.
If maybe get a DC think tank internship at Brookings or the like as a precursor to grad school for a PhD in a field of economics, economic history, etc, then Amherst all the way. Kid may be strong enough right out of undergrad but a paid year as research assistant and name on publication and another good letter is valuable. DH has nurtured a number of students that way. Most are faculty members themselves or working at the Fed, CBO etc.

If interested in the think tank or grad school life, just go to Pomona-It's a neighbor of CMC and ranks better than Amherst for grad school admissions for economics...or CMC which is also ranked better: https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-phd-programs

This actually surprised me that CMC has the same number of people going to graduate school in economics as Amherst, while being a much smaller school. Maybe I've been discounting it a bit too much.

Anonymous wrote:Skipped the squabbling.
What does kid ultimately want to do with degrees?
If get a job, whatever.
If maybe get a DC think tank internship at Brookings or the like as a precursor to grad school for a PhD in a field of economics, economic history, etc, then Amherst all the way. Kid may be strong enough right out of undergrad but a paid year as research assistant and name on publication and another good letter is valuable. DH has nurtured a number of students that way. Most are faculty members themselves or working at the Fed, CBO etc.

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Anonymous wrote:OP is legacy at Amherst so why is s/he asking us unhooked folks for info.

Apply ED to your alum school where your kid is hooked (Amherst) and if you don't get in apply RD to your non-hooked school (CMC).

Easy peasy.

Sounds ridiculous. OP basically wants to constrict her son from going to a college he would fit in with and would definitely have elite resources all to go to her alma mater because...it's hers? Like there's not really a reason her child would want to go to Amherst.

huh? Amherst is being suggested because OP's kid has legacy so it would be easier for OP's son to get in. getting into either is next to impossible because they are such small schools (for example, CMC has only 325 freshmen which is tiny!). not sure size of Amherst freshmen).
both are great schools ofc. just people trying to help OP by steering her to the one where she has a hook. hooks trump everything when you're talking about highly selective and tiny SLACs.

Does Amherst still have legacy preference?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are they going, though. Check that out.
Joe Stiglitz went to Amherst and MIT for PhD.

The same places? these are both top lacs.
Orley Clark Ashenfelter went from CMC to Princeton and is a famous professor in economics residing at Princeton still. Either of these colleges is a great launching point to an amazing grad school in economics, let go of these antiquated beliefs of prestige.

Anonymous wrote:Where are they going, though. Check that out.
Joe Stiglitz went to Amherst and MIT for PhD.