Improve your chances of getting into college,

pitzer has about 850 students in total, but because of the claremont colleges consortium, we have more like 5000, which is a really decent sized school. the 5Cs give students the feel of a big school without getting lost in the sea of strange faces. they have created a system where we maintain the sense of community you can only get with a small school, which is really unique to the claremont colleges.

school pride within the colleges is not really that big of a deal. there definitely are stereotypes within the 5Cs about what the student body of the other colleges is like, but ultimately we don't really care.

the town of claremont is really beautiful and cute. "the village" is just past pomona, a short walk away, where you can get delicious pastries and bagels, starbucks coffee, small-town diner food, fancy romantic restaurant atmosphere, cute boutiques stocked with trinkets and dresses, or used vinyls, CDs, and DVDs down at rhino records. but everything definitely shuts down around 9pm, when the college parties start. go off campus for fun during the day... but stay on campus for fun at night.

professors at pitzer are some of the most amazing people you will ever know. the classes are small, so professors really make it their job to not only know your name, but know something about who you are. classes are really safe, and class discussions are made to be a comfortable, non-judgmental environment, so even the shyest students feel safe putting in their two sense.

the thing about pitzer kids is that we're all really smart - and quirky. it's not uncommon to see a group of people tanning by the pool talking about james joyce or gender-neutral bathrooms... it's just the way it is here. we're all very opinionated, educated, and in most cases, articulate. we're also almost 100% liberal. i don't think i know a single legitimately conservative student who goes to pitzer.

another great thing about pitzer is that they don't make us take "general education" requirements. pitzer's philosophy is that we should be able to design our OWN "general education" in classes that we enjoy and are passionate about.

i think one of the main stereotypes about pitzer is that we're a "pot-smoking hippie school." the administration makes this out to mean that we are a very eco-friendly-save-the-earth-from-global-warming school, but it really just means we get high and compost - all the time...

while there are people who strongly adhere to the "pot-smoking hippie" stereotype, there are also many students who choose not to partake in recreational drugs or even drinking alcohol. it just depends on the person. the thing about pitzer is that there isn't much pressure one way of the other. if you do, you do, but if you don't, you don't. friendship circles do not revolve around substances - everyone has friends who smoke occasionally and friends who never do. everyone's accepting of everyone and their habits (except the occasional RA...).