Claremont McKenna College Top Questions

Oh my. Everything. WOA, TNC, Monte Carlo, the Wedding Party, Toga, Inland Fund, ASCMC (student government), MUN, Mock Trial, etc. I mean there is really no end to what you can do and once somebody gets it started, everybody wants in.

A lot of the students are really interested in economics and international relations but that is not to say that interests not to move beyond that. This tends to brew a taste for business type clubs, leadership groups and government organizations.

There are SO many activities to get involved in. Literally anything you are interested in - whether it's arts, music, athletics, religious activities etc is available here.

One incredible asset at CMC is the athenaeum. What other schools have speakers at least four nights a week, in an intimate dining room right on campus that is free to students (counts as one of your meal plan meals), and allows students to ask the speakers any questions after their presentations. While this activity is not what most CMC-ers would immediately note as part of their "social life", it is a drawing point for many prospective students and can be a much or a little of your CMC social life as you like. The more prominent speakers also give special talks for certain classes and some speakers also engage students in lunch events. The athenaeum is also where tea is served each weekday and where students can chat with professors or other students or read or play piano in between classes (or sometimes during breaks in longer classes). The party scene is centered right on campus. Specifically in North Quad lounges. Parties not held in North Quad are often at the senior apartments or somewhere in south or mid quad or even at Harvey Mudd or at one of the other college campuses. The school has a ridiculous budget that can be spent on party essentials like kegs, DJs, lights, inflatable slides, mechanical bulls, kiddy-pools, pig-roasts and other toys, food, or decorations. Most parties have a theme and all students are informed of the weekends events (alcoholic or non, but most involve alcohol) threw the much anticipated "PARTY INFORM". Before larger parties most students have pre-parties in their rooms or in their dorm's lounges. On any random night of the week chances are pretty good that someone is play beer pong or "beirut" as it is affectionately called by CMC-ers.

lots and lots of alcohol, although it's never required. Intramurals and parties and sports are the biggest highlights.

Close to 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students participate on athletic teams and the rest actively cheer them on. The Athenaeum brings amazing guest lectures to school every day. Parties are very common on campus, most students love to party so much they can't even wait for Friday, so the Thursday Night Club (TNC) were created and hosted by a different dorm each week. The 5C community means that there is always a party going on and always a lot of alcohol, but there is no pressure to drink and there are always many ways of having fun. LA and the beach are less then an hour away if you have to get off campus, but there is always something happening on campus.

If you want to start your own club, the school will totally fund you. I play in a mariachi group and it's AWESOME. I had never done anything remotely related to mariachi before coming to college, but after a student started the club, a bunch of kids joined and learned how to play a style of music that most of them had not been exposed to before. So CMC is a great place to get involved in clubs and causes that you've never thought about before. The social life is also great--there's almost always stuff going on on-campus, and if you can't find it at CMC, you can find it at the other four colleges, or get the money from CMC to start it yourself.

The majority of CMC's social life is based on campus. There are parties every weekend, and all of the student body is informed and invited through a weekly e-mail. There are a huge range of student clubs to become involved in and student government is accessible and most students become involved.

Clubs and groups are easy to join. There are no frats or sororities but there are at least 3 big parties every weekend between the 5C'. Harvey Mudd throws the best dance parties and CMCs THursday Night Club is the best way to kick back and chill.

AMAzing social life mostly revoles around drinking, school is one big frat/sororiety send out weekly party informs so everyone is invited to everything non drinkining chair/club too

The social scene at cmc is amazing. People party constantly, every night of the week. Kids also study every night of the week. We work hard and play hard and that is what is so amazing. There are no frats/sororities but the sports teams are close to that. I play on the lacrosse team and we party with eachother the same way a frat does, but we also hang with other kids. There are never parties where certain kids cannot go as is the case with schools with frats. There are plenty of things to do for kids who do not want to drink because it is LA, but if you are against partying you may not enjoy cmc as much. It is a very wet campus.

-Social life at CMC is great. Students are given incredible freedom by the college to socialize, drink, party and police themselves. No one is going to search your room for alcohol or do anything lame like that. The RAs are very chill, but they will keep an eye on safety. Students are expected to be adults and they are treated as such. -Athletics are not a huge deal at CMC. If you are playing a sport, you play it because you love the sport. If you want to play in the Rose Bowl, be on TV or go pro, CMC is not the place to do it. Students are students before athletes and there are NO breaks for student-athletes in the classroom. Don't be fooled though, competition is fierce and athletes take their sports seriously. -If you are awake at 2am on a Tuesday, you are either studying(most likely), drunk, or just watching a movie/whatever. If you are awake at 2am on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday, you are either having sex or puking in a bush somewhere. -There are not fraternities/sororities. There is so much alcohol and partying on campus that there is no need to go find a frat party elsewhere. Most students would agree that its better that way. -There are students that don't drink and they seem to be just fine. However, CMC has a long tradition of serious alcohol use. When students get together or alum meet up at reunions or whatever, they will drink. -Don't be fooled into thinking CMC has a bunch of drunken idiots on its campus. Students may be drunk, but they are also really smart. Refer to my thoughts on academics and the school's rankings.

Students almost always leave their doors open, especially if they are not studying. Usually students even leave their doors unlocked, even while they are out of the room. I met my closest friends because we lived in the same dorm freshman year. We don't have a Greek system, which is something I really like about CMC, because I think this would make it even more cliquey than it already is.

Claremont is too small for frats or sororities, but I have heard people say, based on how CMCers like to party, "We don't need frats... our whole school is a frat". While CMC social life probably has fewer of the negatives typically associated with frats, it is true that CMCers like to party, and when partying, like to drink. There are plenty of opportunities both at CMC and amongst the other 5 C's to avoid this scene if you would like; again, you just have to be proactive about it. Keep in mind that living is divided into rambunctious North Quad, somewhere in between mid-quad, and silent south-quad (although I now live in North Quad and had a wonderful time as a freshman in South Quad). The social scene is almost definitely defined by the school's size - hook-ups can get pretty incestuous very fast, people typically know your business (the walk of shame back from Scripps conveniently leads you right through the middle of north quad), and at the very least you are going to know everybody's face. In North Quad at least everybody's door is always open. The town of Claremont is pretty dull, and the location bordering on San Bernadino does not offer much, so if its something new you're after, start poking around the other 5 C's. BE PROACTIVE.

Great

People tend to be very outgoing. There are parties like every single weekend. If you want to party you can do so but at the same time you don't feel pressured to party. There are many other social events besides parties such as sporting events or TV show watching events.

Very very very social campus. Something to do every night of the week both wet and dry events. Because of the four other colleges different groups can be started and receive funding because it's coming from all the schools not just one. There are movie nights, board game tournaments, day parties with bounce houses and slip-n-slides, Wednesday night bowling. Pretty much any event you can think of has happened.

The campus itself is extremely safe-- everyone leaves their doors unlocked. 0 fraternities and sororities. Saturdays here generally involve some sort of large 5 college party, such as a huge dance party outside under the stars or an afternoon BBQ in your bikini. Some of the other campuses might have live student bands or competitions.

Social life at CMC is the bomb. Parties. that's the best thing about the weekends. Every thursday, CMC hosts TNC (thursday night club), complete with free beer. It sucks though if you have friday classes. Lately TNC hasn't been that great because they started shutting it down early because too many people get alcohol poisoning. The best parties are usually on saturdays. The whole 5C community is great because there's always a party going on somewhere on a weekend night. Saturday is always a 5C party which means that a DJ is hired and there will be lots of people there. Fridays are usually kind of dead because I don't think the school wants to pay for three nights worth of alcholol, but if there's not anything going on at CMC, there's usually a party at Pomona. Some memorable parties in Claremont have been: the Toga Party, MonteCarlo (homecoming) the Foam Party - HMC (harvey mudd college) got giant foam machines and people were just dancing in foam wearing swimsuits; its really unsanitary but fun :), Casemas- HMC imported snow and served drinks like Hot buttered rum and hot chocolate vodka Halloween- there's three nights worth of halloween parties but the best one is at Pomona where there's a huge party in a parking garage. people get really dressed up for it Lingerie party- its basically a sausage fest but fun Black and White Party The White Party Rumble in the Jungle Seven Deadly Sins Party Anything But Clothes party Wild Wild West party- there's a mechanical bull Jello Wrestling- its amazing Slippery when Wet party- HMC fills the quad up with water and place blacklights underneath them so its like a giant pool that people dance in. Last party of the year. Since there's so many parties on campus people rarely go clubbing or off-campus on the weekends. There aren't any fraternities or sororities on campus but who needs them when the school sponsors our parties? Random Stuff: Claremont is really safe so people leave their doors open alot. You meet alot of people at parties and at freshman orientation or in the dining halls. The Athanauem is great, every day there's a different guest speaker; we've had Bono, Bill Clinton and other famous people come and speak. If you do end up coming here join the Claremont Quidditch Society (im president). We run around on broomsticks playing Quidditch and whoever is the Snitch gets to roam around campus in gold spandex. It's really fun and the school is thinking of making it an intramural sport. If we get enough funding, whichever quidditch team is the best gets to go to the World Quidditch Cup at Middlebury College in vermont. There are tons of other clubs to join on campus so whatever you like to do, you'll be able to find a group of people who share your interest

The lacrosse team is an incredible group of guys, and even though men's lacrosse is a club, we are extremely competitive (recently ranked 17th in the country). The school attracts tons of fascinating speakers.

If you choose to have an active social live you can here in CMC. However, if out door parties with beer in red cups is not your thing then there is not many other kind parties. The organizations and clubs are some what active here. But they always have a problem of not having enough people participate in it.

Athletic events are not very popular, I have never attended one, nor do I know many people who frequently attend. Guest speakers, however, are extremely, extremely popular. There are several speakers per week, and most have large audiences. There are always students who are awake at 2am on a Tuesday, and they're doing a variety of things: studying, playing beer pong, exercising, talking.

* The most popular groups are the debate team, the Claremont Democrats, track and field, and swimming. * I preside over Psi Chi, an organization for psychology majors. We hold events where students learn about faculty research, bowl with professors, attend Dr. Phil tapings, and watch psychology-related movies. * Students in dorms leave their doors open if they're in their rooms. Otherwise we lock them. * Athletic events are mildly popular for a third division school. Guest speakers come on a regular basis, and they are very popular because students can have a banquet dinner at the Atheneaum and then hear an interesting lecture. Theater is not very popular, though students will gladly hop over to the other campuses for Rocky Horror performances. * Most students date other students from the 5Cs. Some long-distance relationships work. Random hook-ups are common and encouraged. * I met most of my closest friends within the first few weeks of freshman year. Most either lived in my dorm or were friends with people who lived in my dorm. I also met some people before school ever started, because we exchanged AIM screen names and chatted. * If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I am either doing data analysis in the computer lab or watching videos on Youtube. * Annual events: the foam party (half-naked dancing in a pool of foam), Monte Carlo (gambling and dancing to jazz music), prom, 6:01 (the first hour after the no-drinking rule ends after the first week of classes), SYR (Screw Your Roommate - hook your roommate up with a partner for a dance), a big-name musical act in February/March, the Madrigal Feast (7-course meal with choral entertainment and liquor), getting thrown in the pond on your birthday, drinking champagne in the pond after completing thesis (seniors only) * There are at least 2 parties every weekend, and many regular attendees. Beer is free and plentiful. * There are no fraternities or sororities at CMC. * Last weekend I ate out with my friends, and we drove up to the snow at Big Bear Lake. * There is live entertainment in Claremont Village on a Saturday night. Some students like to play pool, cards, or videogames. Others watch movies. Still others attend the established parties but don't drink anything. * Off campus, there are tons of things to do. Clubbing in West Hollywood is a favorite of mine. The greater L.A. area has its share of fantastic beaches, including Venice and Santa Monica. I also enjoy driving up to the mountains during snow season, or taking road trips to San Diego and Las Vegas. It's important to get off campus every once in a while to experience the real world. Claremont is not the real world.

One of the best things about CMC is that if you want to do something, you can do it. If you have a dream for an event, a party, a club, or anything CMC will make it happen. CMC provides the resources, finances, and support to make CMC the best experience for each student.