Introduction to Claremont Mckenna College

Recognized as one of the nation's most prestigious liberal arts colleges, Claremont McKenna College sets itself apart from its counterparts by its focus on leadership. The college's mission statement is to train "leaders in the making" and leadership is stressed everywhere, from the classroom to dorm life to athletics. Many students pursue the "Leadership Sequence," which includes courses focusing on leadership across disciplines, in addition to their major.

CMC is academically different because it provides its students with so many opportunities outside of the classroom for them to gain experience and knowledge that textbooks simply cannot offer. There are countless numbers of fellowships and scholarships for students that will pay for interning in another country working for a non-profit organization, starting up businesses, and study trips.

One of the admissions criteria is leadership potential and the "typical" CMC student excelled academically in high school and also participated in some sort of leadership role, whether yearbook editor, swim team captain, or orchestra section leader. Students selected for the McKenna Scholars program are chosen for their leadership activities in high school.

Consequently, CMC students are "doers". They apply what they have learned in the classroom at one of the college's eleven research institutes or through internship programs. They participate in more than 180 student organizations that support student activities from skiing to vegetarian cooking. They play on one of CMC's twenty Division III athletic teams. They study abroad in more than forty countries internationally and have performed volunteer work at a high rate compared to other college nationwide.

Claremont Mckenna Dorms

With especially strong programs in economics and government, the college excels in preparing its students to pursue careers in business, government, and the professions. CMC's economics department is ranked first among liberal arts colleges and more than thirty percent of students graduate with a degree in economics. However, CMC's liberal arts curriculum requires that students complete a broad distribution of courses across departments, including mathematics, literature, and foreign language. More than half of students choose to pursue dual or double majors, often combining fields as disparate as economics and literature.

Employers note that CMC students are prepared for the work world. They are trained to think analytically and to present their ideas both orally and in written form. Writing skills are stressed from the freshman writing seminar through the mandatory senior thesis, in which students present their senior research project in a paper which may range from fifty to hundreds of pages. Also, CMC students are taught to present their ideas orally through oral exams and research presentations, as well as through in-class debate with professors or fellow students.

With approximately 1,050 students on its campus, CMC has a community feel. It is not uncommon to attend a class dinner at a professor's home in the nearby Claremont village, and strong friendships are formed between students, starting from the ten-day freshman orientation including WOA (Wilderness Orientation Adventure) and lasting far beyond graduation day. More than ninety-five percent of students live on campus for all four years and the dorms serve as hubs for on-campus social life, hosting various themed parties throughout the year, and for student government. The Associated Students of Claremont McKenna College (ASCMC) is one of the most popular on-campus organizations, as more than one-third of the student body serve in student government as dorm presidents, class representatives, and student senators.

Location and the Claremont Consortium

Claremont McKenna is located on a fifty-acre campus in the convenient and safe college town of Claremont, thirty-five miles east of downtown Los Angeles. CMC is close to two major freeways, and for beach lovers, Laguna Beach and Santa Monica are each about an hour away; nature enthusiasts often head to Joshua Tree National Park for camping and hiking; and on weekend evenings many students make the forty-minute drive west to Hollywood or Universal City. It is also not uncommon for students to take weekend trips to San Francisco, San Diego, or even Las Vegas!

CMC is also unique through its inclusion in the Claremont Colleges consortium. As part of the consortium, a group of five undergraduate colleges and two graduate institutions-located in one square mile, the atmosphere is that of a small college within a larger university. Students take classes, socialize, and participate in activities across the greater Claremont community but always have the home base of CMC. The consortium makes CMC an ideal choice for students who want a small college experience academically but also want the resources that a larger university would provide. Dining halls and libraries are open to all students and it is easy to take classes that may not be offered at CMC at one of the consortium colleges.