Claremont McKenna College Top Questions

The students know how to work-hard, play-hard. They are incredibly friendly and accepting all of people. They are also some of the busiest people I have ever met. From academics, extracurricular involvement in clubs and organizations, and maintaining a social life, it is a wonder how they still still have time to stay up to date on House of Cards.

Very cheerful, fun to be around, educated and intelligent.

They were intelligent, eager to learn, were prepared, and always participated in class discussions.

My classmates are individuals with minds bright and creative and perspectives from which I can learn.

The student body is great here. We have so much diversity in terms of geographic location and race, but not so much in socio-economic background. People come from all over America and from all over the world and everyone is very accepting of everyone else's culture and beliefs.

My classmates are driven, well-rounded individuals who manage their time wisely in order to fit in a demanding workload with athletics, volunteering and other extracurriculars.

I feel that CMC definitely has a certain type of student that it looks for and usually does a good job accepting only those types of students. Or maybe it's self-selected in that students who really would not fit in would not feel as welcome at CMC and so they do not choose to apply or enroll. Or possibly the strong economics and government departments natuarally attract certain types of students. The type of students that go to CMC are highly motivated, athletic (even if they don't choose to pursue their sport at the varsity level), rather pragmatic, social, leaders (CMC does explicitly state that it is training the "leaders of tomorrow"), intellectual and they have a great variety of interests. Those who would not feel welcome are the "emo" type.

an interesting phenomenon is that, because there is such a small population of ethnic minorities, most minorities will not separate according to race, but rather mix. There is some division between minorities and whites, but very little when compared to other places. Nearly all of the student body is active and engaging. We were chosen largely because we know how to work people.

The 5 colleges come together to offer programs for people of all types of people, they are also open to students founding new organizations if they feel there is a need. Different social types do interact, CMC's student body tends to be rather homogeneous, but again the consortium brings a greater mix of students. 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of CMC students are from California, either northern or southern. There is also a number of international students and almost every state represented in the student body. Students are very politically active, which comes with the focus of the school, with a solid mixture of Republicans and Democrats on campus that leads to constant debate on campus between the groups. Students definitely talk about how much they will earn one day, many students go on to be investment bankers and economics is a requirement to graduate.

CMC students are generally pretty spoiled, but no more so than at any other private liberal arts college. You can wear whatever you want to class--if you show up in pajamas, no one will care. People generally dress preppy at CMC, but not to the point where you feel like you're living in an Abercrombie ad. In terms of homosexuality, people are generally pretty cool, although maybe not as universally open-minded as kids at, for example, Wesleyan. I'm speaking from the perspective of a girl though--I think it's probably a lot harder to be a gay guy at CMC than a gay girl. But the gay guy friends I have at CMC are all super-active in campus events and clubs and are really happy at CMC.

CMC's student body does lean towards a more "motivated leaders" type. People do tend to keep in mind the goal of earning a good living after college and the majority of students will major in economics, government or international relations. Though we get the stereotype of being quite conservative, we actually have a fair spread of political affiliations (one third conservative, one third liberal, one third independent or not political). We are a pretty politically active school, but students are informed and we politics don't get in the way of socialization. We don't take ourselves too seriously.

CMC is conservative yet libral at the same time. Everything and everyone is pretty laid back and relaxed. PJs to class is ok. Students interact very well and are very respectful.

We are a very fun and happy student body. the students are from every state or international its amazing. theres also a lot of cali students but not as many as youd think. we wear flip flops every day because the weather is perfect. financial backgroudns can be very diverse although on the outside it seems as if everyone has a lot of money. then you go to the financial aid meetings and you are surpirsed to see how many people are there withyou. students aer very politically active and aware.

The student body at cmc is somewhat conservative. Overall it is liberal, but for a liberal arts campus cmc is definitely relatively conservative. Most of the cmc students are from western states in particular California, Washington, and Colorado, but there are kids from all over. In general all of the students come from afluent families and have no problems with spending money. That being said, there are still plenty of kids from all sorts of backgrounds, and it is the case that at most small private schools the kids are afluent.

-Students come from all across the country and around the world. However, most come from California. After that, many students come from Hawaii, Oregon, Arizona and Washington. -Most students come from families that are reasonably well-off, but there are students from all socio-economic backgrounds. Financial aid at CMC is amazing, do not let the high price of tuition discourage you from applying. -Many students are politically active. By politically active, I mean most are very interested in politics, vote, and get government and public policy related jobs upon graduation. There are no protests, marches and rallies because students are smart enough to know that kind of thing doesn't really accomplish anything. Leave that stuff to Berkley students. Students that are serious about have the opportunity to become powerful people after they graduate. -While left-minded people make up more than 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the both the student body and the professors (as is the case at all colleges), CMC has more Republicans for students and professors than you will find at most colleges. -LGBT issues are not really a big deal on campus. People generally don't give a shit. If you go to Pitzer, Pomona or Scripps, its a different story.

I have some gay friends, who tell me it is extremely hard to find a partner at CMC or at one of the other four colleges because there are very few gay students, or openly gay students. Although CMC has a reputation for being fairly conservative (for a college), almost everyone I know is liberal or extremely liberal.

One downfall to CMC is that the campus lacks a little in the realm of diversity. Many of the kids are caucasian and tend to be from wealthier backgrounds. However, CMC does have an impressive international student presence, and individuals from a non-white background have no trouble finding a niche (one excellent organization is the Claremont Cabrones- loved and revered by all CMCers for being great guys and having mad dancing skills). Really, the size of the school and the type of people who attend both dictate that everyone gets along, regardless of who they are or where they're from. One strength of the Claremont student body political awareness. While more balanced between conservative and liberal than is typical of college campuses, this just inspires interesting debate and loving rivalry.

People are nice. Very politically aware

As a minority student I was a little worried that I was going to have a difficult time making relationships with others, but quickly found that it was not the case. Everyone on campus is really nice and friendly and they want to get to know others who are different than them. People are generally very accepting of others beliefs and will not try to attack you if their beliefs differ. Most people who come here seem to me to be fairly wealthy but people never brag about anything like that. It's college and I don't feel like people discuss their parents financial situations much, or at least don't brag about it.

Clothing: anything from sweats and flip-flops to suits and heels, it's up to you. Very interactive community, very little class segregation. Doesnt matter if you're a freshman there's no reason you can't have senior friends. All different views with the ability to speak them all. Very accepting environment to everyone.

Though CMC is located in southern California, students generally go to class in jeans and t-shirts, none of the high-heel and miniskirt culture you see at other schools nearby. Political activism is huge on campus and the student body itself is very diverse in terms of political beliefs. Makes for great classroom discussion and debates!

I explained about the diversity of the school in the stereotype section, so I'll just skip over that. Most students are politically aware on campus, and they get really into politics. Its not uncommon to see huge Ron Paul or Obama signs in student's windows. I would say that everyone interacts with everyone else because we all have stuff in common. I don't know anyone who feels out of place at CMC. Maybe if you were the kind of person who was anti-social, you might experience isolation. I would have to say that most students here are well off, but Claremont Mckenna gives great financial aid packages so you find people who have lower incomes as well. Money's not really an issue here because there's no opportunity to flaunt your wealth. You don't see people with flashy sports cars, and no one cares if you're wearing a $200 pair of jeans. Most students wear summer looking clothes to class because the weather's so nice. I dress up alot to go to class, but you don't find many students who do that. The norm here is pretty much flip-flops, a sweatshirt and jeans. However, at parties you'll see the majority of people dressed up, especially girls, and especially if its a themed party. Its not uncommon to see people walking around in bikinis on a nice day. People just lay down on the grass to tan. Its a bit weird though if you're talking to your professor in a bikini though, lol.

CMC is filled with fun people from all different backgrounds. There seem to be more fiscal conservatives here than other colleges because of CMC's strong econ department, but we are all intelligent.

They are very good. The parties are really fun.

The student body is fairly diverse in terms of race, religion, and political views. Students are politically aware, and while CMC is predominantly left of center, it is definitely more conservative than most liberal arts colleges.

* Though most of the student body is white, racial integration is a non-issue. I have observed, however, that Asian students tend to stick to their own. A lot of rich kids go to CMC, but they rarely talk about their money, and it's hard to tell who's rich and who's not. Religions run the gamut, though the Christian and Jewish groups have a particularly strong presence. The LGBT community is quite small relative to other campuses in Southern California, but that is not a reflection of the level of tolerance for queer students. Gay CMC students tend to be on the slow end of the curve in coming to terms with their sexuality, and the possible reasons for that are manyfold. If anything, the CMC community is judgmental against closet cases, not those who are openly gay, because these individuals are perceived to be deceitful and deluded. There has been a notable phenomenon of gay students coming out to their friends/on Facebook and then crawling back into the closet when running for class office or graduating. * You might feel out of place at CMC if you: prefer off-campus lifestyles; are not either intellectually or politically astute; identify more with the "artsy" crowds; have claustrophobia; wear all black; need to go home a lot; prefer to live in the middle of a big city; don't care much for computers or cell phones; have kids/a job/a spouse/any semblance of a life in the real world * Most students wear sandals to class. * Pretty much everybody interacts with everyone at some point. There is a stereotype, however, of Asian guys living on their own floors and playing lots of video games. Whether this is true is a matter of debate. * Four tables of students: male atheletes, female atheletes, freshmen who huddle together in groups of 20, and everyone else * Most CMC students are from California. Many also come from Washington, Texas, Hawaii, and the Eastern Seaboard. There are a few international students. * Most CMC students come from upper-class or upper-middle class backgrounds. However, financial aid packages are so resourceful that outstanding students from working-class backgrounds can also afford to attend. * Students are very politically aware and highly active. Political discussions permeate the dining hall as well as the classroom. There is a balance of political viewpoints, though the prototypical CMC student identifies as a libertarian. * Most students tend to be aware that making a lot of money right after college is unrealistic, so discussions about money are rare. They talk more about what they want to do in their careers, not how much they'll make.

The students basically run our campus, in a variety of ways. Students lead basically all social and extracurricular activities. We work to bring in speakers, throw events, and create activities.