Pitzer College — Local services in Claremont

I attended Pitzer College (of the Claremont Consortium) from 2010 to 2014. I don't hesitate for a second to strongly endorse the Claremont Colleges. Not only did I enjoy my time there, I now recognize post-graduation that it blows most other schools out of the water in terms of quality of education...

The consortium is made up of 5 adjacent colleges based on the OxBridge model (plus 2 or 3 graduate institutions). Students can take courses at any other college (unlike the OxBridge model). There are 5000 undergrads but each college provides an inclusive sense of community with roughly 1000 students each. This atmosphere makes networking and cross-disciplinary work much more effective.

The students are very bright and the professors are usually proper educators who seek more than just publications -- they actually enjoy teaching. (I regularly had coffee and discussions with faculty, and I keep in touch with several to this day).

Unlike large research universities, students at Claremont work closely with world-class professors in small class sizes, usually 20 or less (for non-introductory courses like General Chemistry or Biology). The main drawback (other than lack of international name recognition) is that it is a bit harder to get laboratory research experience on campus during the term -- but this is easily remedied with summer internships.

For example, I conducted my thesis research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, and had offers from UCSF and other summer programs. I was also able to do extracurricular molecular biology research in Claremont -- it's certainly possible if you are resourceful and beat out the competition.

It is common for graduates of small liberal arts and sciences colleges to attend prestigious graduate programs at major research universities.

This may be for three reasons:

1. they're not as cynical about the problems with academic research, and

2. they are more interested in, and better understand, the fundamentals of their discipline (because small colleges really cater to the education of undergrads unlike major research universities that neglect undergrads and have sub-par foreign TAs teach courses),

3. as a consequence of the prior two factors, they have not had the joy of learning and appreciation of academia crushed out of them...yet.

The Claremont Colleges seek to produce well-rounded critical thinkers by requiring a lot of electives and encouraging cross-disciplinary study. A great deal of advancement derives from the nexus of two, sometimes seemingly disparate, disciplines (there was a time when genetics and computer science had no common ground).

Unlike Europe and research universities that develop one particular area of knowledge, the Claremont Colleges and other liberal arts and sciences schools place a premium on breadth of knowledge and effective communication skills.

The Claremont Colleges already top the list of US small colleges. In the four years that I was there, they seemed to be accelerating further in prestige and talent of the student body. Coupled with their great weather and location, the 7Cs are the answer for any student seeking an elite, high quality education far away from the snowstorms of the Northeast.

A note on political leanings: the colleges, except for Claremont McKenna, are all decidedly liberal or left-wing.

P.S. The 6+ dining halls are excellent, and Pitzer is consistently ranked among the best nationally. Much of the food is organic and locally-sourced.

There is an old refrain that The Claremonts are like if the Ivy League went to Disneyland. It's elite but students are actually happy while in attendance. (It's bittersweet to think that the best years of my life are now behind me but I wouldn't have it any other way).

Also, while attending I imagined that the Claremont Colleges were essentially unheard of outside academia -- this is broadly true, but those who matter do indeed know them and regard them...

Provida Futuri! Explore. Discover. Be critical. Cross register at any of the other 5C schools if you want. Build your own curriculum if you want. Study abroad is an absolute must. Forge 🔥 lifelong friendships. The upgraded infrastructure, catering & 💦pool +🥂symposiums are nice! You don't get here by mistake. Have your fun. Enjoy the time of your life but work your 🍑 off (esp. if you have scholarships/grants & such). Post 🎓 it still amazes who knows Pitzer & the 5Cs, even in passing. So be mindful of your future 💯 &...

Pitzer is a hidden gem! Students are bright, friendly, open-minded, engaged, and politically and socially active. The 5 C’s are among the best liberal arts colleges in the country, and the resources and research opportunities are top notch. Professors are leaders in their fields and accessible to students who seek them out. Pitzer core values are alive on campus- environmental sustainability and political engagement are the norm. Town is super cute and the beach and Hollywood are in your backyard. Ideal...