Claremont McKenna College (CMC)

Claremont McKenna College offers a “very challenging but rewarding” liberal arts education, leveraging its proximity to Los Angeles—just 30 miles away—and joint curriculars with the other four undergraduate member schools of The Claremont Colleges to ensure that students get large university resources but small school relationships with faculty. Experiential learning is a keystone of the curriculum, and “there are many opportunities for students to work with professors outside of class on research projects, or in campus research centers”; more than 90 percent of students also complete internships. The Athenaeum speaking series also offers students prominent guest speakers on a regular basis: “Oftentimes, someone who would be a commencement speaker somewhere else will be a speaker at the Athenaeum on a random Wednesday.” Professors “are very open to seeing us outside of class and facilitating the tough discussions in class that we need to have in order to grow,” and “are flexible but also have high expectations that you get motivated to meet.” Classes are designed with innovative pedagogy in mind: for example, the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics programs have “three courses dedicated to weekly one-on-one debates and paper exchanges in ‘tutorials,’” and another class uses “a digital simulator where we can simulate economic concepts in class in a game-like interface.” The administration is incredibly supportive, and there are “counseling, tutoring, career services, and many resources and locations for students to just go to whenever they need to talk about anything.”

The “highly intelligent and supportive” students at CMC “are very driven and bring multiple different perspectives to the table,” with a “critical thinking mindset and freedom of speech mentality.” As one student says, “We pride ourselves on considering a wide variety of opinions as we develop solutions for the modern world.” That means that while some think it’s “kind of a preppy school,” there are also “a lot of opportunities here for first generation or low-income students, and so there is quite a diverse population.” Students suggest the overall attitude is “beyond humble” and this drives long-term support, as students “continue to receive good support from a strong alumni network after college.”

There “is a rich social life to be had on campus,” and everyone is “very involved and engaged, so when students are not in classes, they’re taking meetings for clubs or working at research institutes.” CMC has a “very high caliber of student clubs and organizations”; for instance, the CMC Mock Trial and Model UN teams are nationally lauded, and there “is a dedicated group of welcoming students behind every club and sport.” The school also knows how to make the most of its beautiful campus and weather that “is almost always sunny.” There are “many free day trips and incredible opportunities to see sporting events, concerts, or just get into nature,” and one student cites activities such as intramural sports, fitness classes, and painting before summing things up simply as “there’s just so [much] offered here.” There’s also a variety of athletic offerings: “basically our entire campus shows up to big football/water polo games,” and there are also intramural sports as well as the fact that “people love getting outside [and] playing casual sports.”

Undergrads at Claremont McKenna love to shower the “AMAZING career services center” with praise, and it’s no secret why: the Soll Center for Student Opportunity is with students every step of the way, from initial career exploration to landing that first job offer. The Center organizes its planning around interest clusters rather than majors, so students have the opportunity to explore resources that are adjacent to their focus and receive guidance from an expert career coach familiar with the cluster. Through their alumni career contacts database, the office also makes it simple for current students to connect with alums working in industries of interest. Beyond great support, CMC students benefit from many handsome opportunities: the Sponsored Internships & Experiences program provides funding for both domestic and international experiences, including summer research and writing fellowships. And funding is also available to help subsidize career development opportunities (such as conferences or fieldwork) throughout the academic year. Payscale.com reports that Claremont McKenna alumni receive a median starting salary of $84,500, and 52 percent say that they derive a high level of meaning from their jobs.