CMC & USC

Claremont McKenna College:

Name: Aryan Anand
Year: Freshman (Graduating 2023)
Major: Econ and Government

Hi, I’m Aryan and I am currently a freshman at Claremont McKenna College. I plan to major in Economics and Religious Studies / Government. On campus, I am part of the Claremont Business Group. Some things about CMC:

• CMC is known for its economics and government programs. More than half of the student body ends up majoring in one of the two. So, if you are someone who is looking to study econ or gov you should definitely have a look at CMC.
• The faculty is top-drawer and most of them have had an Ivy League education. They really want to pass on their knowledge and many will go out of their way to help you succeed. They’re also super caring and supportive. It is common for a professor to host celebratory dinners for their whole class once the semester is over.
• The number of students in a class mostly range from 15-25 students. This is probably one of the biggest factors which sets CMC apart from most of the other colleges in the country. Owing to the small classroom size, there are some great discussions and debates from time to time. Professors actually answer the doubts that you might have. Also, you end up forming some amazing relationships with your professors which is a major plus.
• At CMC, you only put down your major in your 3^rd year. Therefore, each student at CMC gets the first 2 years to experiment and take classes in whatever interests them. Only when they are sure they select their major. I believe that after graduating from high school, many students still don’t know what they want to truly pursue and that is something which makes this aspect even more valuable.
• CMC is surround by 4 other colleges – Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Scripps and Pitzer. A CMC student can make use of most of the resources of these 4 colleges. They can take classes in any college, use their labs, libraries, dining halls etc. I feel this is a great thing to have as each college is a different world and as a result you get exposed to different people and different surroundings which can only help.  
• CMC also invests a lot in outside the class learning. Guests are regularly invited to give speeches at the school. I was lucky enough to hear from a Pulitzer Prize winner and the ex-director of the CIA in my first year. Also, CMC has a program called the SIE (Sponsored Internships and Experiences). Through this program, they encourage students to make use of their summer and either work or go see the world. I am to receive around $4000 from the college this summer, which will cover my housing, food etc. during the time I am in Mumbai for my internship. 
• CMC has an amazing location. There are mountains to one side and the beach to the other. Many CMC students end up going for a hike during the weekends or just spend time roaming around LA (which is 45 minutes away). I actually had a friend who went skiing in the morning, attended his class in the afternoon and then continued to spend his weekend in LA. As a town, Claremont is really small and there’s not much to do honestly. However, CMC works hard to keep the campus buzzing. There are parties every Thursday and Saturday and other activities to make sure that students are always happy. The weather is always great and the sunsets are absolutely banging.
• Being a small school, not many people know about CMC. But in case you’re worried about reputation I’ll mention this – A recruiter from Goldman Sachs who was on campus this year mentioned that he hired 1 student from Columbia, 2 from Cornell and 4 from CMC.

Always happy to answer any other questions that you might have about CMC.

University of Southern California (USC):

Hi, I’m Kasvi and I’m a sophomore at USC and I’m majoring in Communication and double minoring in Advertising and History. On campus, I was previously involved with a professional leadership fraternity called Delta Omicron Zeta as well as currently being extremely involved with the Model United Nations Team. Just a couple of pointers about USC: 

• It’s an extremely pre-professional school – one of the biggest focal points being at USC will be the resources you get in terms of searching for and getting a job. Specifically, because USC is so divided undergraduate student wise amongst many professional schools – Business, Engineering, Communication and Journalism, Public Policy, Film being some of the few – there’s a strong emphasis on specializing in your own major. That being said, because the College of Arts and Sciences is very strong too, I’ve met a lot of students double majoring or double minoring across different schools – a lot of people end up minoring in something for the fun of it (like dance or theatre). My majors and minors spread across three of the schools – Annenberg, Marshall, and Dornsife. Although USC is a relatively big university student population-wise, it feels a lot smaller because there are so many undergrad schools. Everyone on campus talks a lot about the idea of the Trojan Network which is essentially the USC’s family very strong commitment at helping fellow Trojans. Although the school is pre-professional, even as a liberal arts majors you get a lot of opportunities for research and grants! (Dornsife is specifically strong for its undergrad pre-med, IR/political science/history departments). 
• Additionally, being in Los Angeles is a big shaping factor. Tying into the pre-professional aspect, I know a lot of people who are interning with companies in Los Angeles during the school year. Last semester, I scheduled my classes so that I’d have classes on MWF so I could intern on Tuesdays and Thursdays with a fashion company. These are definitely opportunities you get by being in a pre-professional environment while living in a big city. Another plus point of being in LA is it’s helpful to be able to escape the college bubble at times since Downtown LA is just a 10-minute metro ride away. 
• There’s a very strong emphasis on student life and making/keeping students happy – this is reflected in the 1000+ students orgs on campus. Students are very involved with their clubs, giving a lot of their time and energy to the various clubs and they shape a very big part of your college experience. People’s social lives are very significantly shaped by their clubs. College pride is definitely a very big thing at USC. As a freshman, tailgating and attending football games and cheering for USC is a big part of your experience. 
• The last thing which I want to highlight is the number of international students at USC – there’s a lot of international students, we have the 2nd highest number of international students across all universities in the US. The student population is very diverse which I definitely think helps students integrate into the community faster and it definitely made my transition much easier. Additionally, during challenging times like the Coronavirus outbreak, USC’s been extremely mindful about international students while reacting to the pandemic which is super important (For example, they let us leave our stuff behind in student housing for the rest of the semester while still giving us housing refunds.)