火爆社区

Claremont McKenna College offers a 鈥渧ery challenging but rewarding鈥� liberal arts education, leveraging its proximity to Los Angeles鈥攋ust 30 miles away鈥攁nd 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 鈥渢here are many opportunities for students to work with professors outside of class on research projects, or in campus research centers鈥�; more than 90 percent of students also complete internships. The Athenaeum speaking series also offers students prominent guest speakers on a regular basis: 鈥淥ftentimes, someone who would be a commencement speaker somewhere else will be a speaker at the Athenaeum on a random Wednesday.鈥� Professors 鈥渁re very open to seeing us outside of class and facilitating the tough discussions in class that we need to have in order to grow,鈥� and 鈥渁re flexible but also have high expectations that you get motivated to meet.鈥� Classes are designed with innovative pedagogy in mind: for example, the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics programs have 鈥渢hree courses dedicated to weekly one-on-one debates and paper exchanges in 鈥榯utorials,鈥欌�� and another class uses 鈥渁 digital simulator where we can simulate economic concepts in class in a game-like interface.鈥� The administration is incredibly supportive, and there are 鈥渃ounseling, tutoring, career services, and many resources and locations for students to just go to whenever they need to talk about anything.鈥�

The 鈥渉ighly intelligent and supportive鈥� students at CMC 鈥渁re very driven and bring multiple different perspectives to the table,鈥� with a 鈥渃ritical thinking mindset and freedom of speech mentality.鈥� As one student says, 鈥淲e pride ourselves on considering a wide variety of opinions as we develop solutions for the modern world.鈥� That means that while some think it鈥檚 鈥渒ind of a preppy school,鈥� there are also 鈥渁 lot of opportunities here for first generation or low-income students, and so there is quite a diverse population.鈥� Students suggest the overall attitude is 鈥渂eyond humble鈥� and this drives long-term support, as students 鈥渃ontinue to receive good support from a strong alumni network after college.鈥�

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

Undergrads at Claremont McKenna love to shower the 鈥淎MAZING career services center鈥� with praise, and it鈥檚 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.