Founded in 1946, Claremont McKenna College is a private institute and one of the top liberal arts degree colleges in the United States. It is a highly competitive, selective, and coeducational college. With more than 32 majors and 11 sequences, the CMC provides a productive education by not only focusing on academic education but also explores and enhances education for the students beyond the classrooms.

  • Some of the popular programs at Claremont McKenna College are Literature, philosophy, public policy etc. CMC is highly selective in enrolling students with a 10% acceptance rate and can be easily counted as one of the most selective colleges in the US.
  • They have both early decision and regular decision deadlines. The two deadlines of early decisions are Nov 1 and Jan 11 and the deadline for regular decisions is also Jan 11.
  • They conduct virtual admissions fairs and participate in group events through which students can contact the admissions officials.

Due to the coronavirus, the admissions and finance team staff are working remotely, but they have mail communication On through which they remain connected with applicants.

Claremont McKenna College Rankings

Claremont Mckenna College is ranked:.

  • In the ranking by US website for the best national liberal arts college of the year 2023, this has been given the ranking #6.
  • In the same ranking list, this has been given the position #38 in the category the best undergraduate teaching.
  • Given the rank #19 in the category best value schools all over the country.
  • In the rankings by Times Higher education 2023, this has been given #35th rank in the US college rankings.
  • In the ranking given by Niche, this has been given the rank #12 in the best liberal arts college in the US, 2023.

Highlights

Type Private
Established 1946
Location 32 miles east from Los Angeles
Academic calendar Semester based: 2 semesters per year
The student to Teacher ratio 8:1
Acceptance rate 10%
Retention rate 95%
Total undergraduates 1,335
Average SAT score 1440
Average ACT score 33
Average need-based financial aids 57,151 USD
Yield rate 52%
Official Website cmc.edu

Claremont McKenna College Campus

  • The campus of Claremont McKenna College is 30 miles away from Los Angeles.
  • Its campus area is 69 acres with health centers, libraries, departments, research centers, sports courts, and many more.
  • The campus is nearer to several shops and restaurants and students can access all the facilities quickly.
  • The campus also has 11 research institutions for students and faculty.
  • The campus has several sports clubs for both the genders. There are over 10 different sports clubs.
  • CMC has won more than 57 NCAA titles in eight sports including golf, tennis, swimming, etc. Moreover, the campus is a hub for several cultural and academic events.
  • CMC has won over 300 conference championships and seven national champions.

Claremont McKenna College Residence

  • About 94% of the students live on-campus. Only a few live off-campus.
  • The college comprises a total of eleven residential halls and a single student apartment complex.
  • Initially, in the fall season, students are allowed randomly in the residential halls and after that, you can change your room according to your choice.
  • The college reserves a minimum of 20% for the new students.
  • The college also has Backet Halls. The students in these halls live with any other student regardless of their gender. Moreover, washrooms are opened to all the residents.
  • There are different floor plans in the residential halls. These are
    • Rooms grouped into suites
    • Central corridor rooms
    • 8-story towers
  • There are almost only air-conditioned rooms. About ten rooms and an apartment are air-conditioned.
  • The students who are living in the apartments need to choose the meal plan. There are several meal plans such as 16 meals per week. 14 meals per week, etc.
  • Here are the details about the meal plans:
Meal Plan Fee(In USD)
16 meals per week 200
14 meals per week 140
12 meals per week 120
8 meals per week 80

It’s your wish to choose the meal plan at the apartments. You can cancel the complete meal option based on your choice.

Claremont McKenna College Programs

  • Popular programs at Claremont McKenna College include Psychology, Government, Economics, PPE(Politics, Physiology, and Economics), Mathematics, Computer Science, Biology, International Relations, History, and Economics-Accounting.
  • Some of the popular courses they offer are American studies, data science, international relations, middle-east studies, science management, philosophy, religious studies etc.
  • After finishing the undergraduate course, the student has the option to go for sequencing programs which will have the courses related to the course taken.
  • They have also powerful leadership-based global education programs like The Washington program, Silicon Valley program, etc which is controlled by the center for global education.
  • The top programs and their fee as follows for the academic year of 2023 to 2024.
Programs Fee/year
Chemistry $56,190
Data science $56,190
Economics $56,190
Media studies (Masters) $64288
Theatre (Masters) $64288

Claremont McKenna College Admissions

CMC admissions are highly selective but not an impossible task. Claremont McKenna College is the best of both worlds: It encourages students in both academics and extracurricular activities. The international students at this college are 16%. International students who would like to get admitted at CMC will need to satisfy all the requirements as mentioned below.

For undergraduates

Application portal: Online

Application fee: 70 USD

Application requirements:

  • 70 USD application fee
  • School reports & counselor recommendation
  • Recommendation letters from at least two teachers
  • High school official transcripts.
  • ACT/SAT scores
  • Interview(maximum of 30 minutes, optional but highly recommended by the college)
  • Financial documents
  • English Proficiency Test Scores:
  • Optional video responses
  • Writing assessment(Conducted by the college after applying)
  • Early decision agreement for ED1 and ED2 applicants only

First-Year students no need to submit SAT/ACT scores. However, if you have attempted the exam, then you can submit the scores even.

Claremont McKenna College Deadlines

Term Application due by Decision notification Candidate’s reply
Early decision 1 Nov 1 Dec 15 Early January
Early decision 2 Jan 11 Feb 15 Early march
Regular decision Jan 11 Apr 1 May 1
Early decision - scholarship deadlines (FAFSA) Nov 1 Dec 15 --
Regular decision (FAFSA) Jan 11 Feb 15 --

Claremont McKenna College Cost of Attendance

  • Aspiring students, especially the non-US candidates must have an estimate of expenses while studying in the US so that they can budget accordingly.
  • The estimated cost of attendance for international students at the university is mentioned below:
  • The tuition fee of any course for the academic year of 2023 is $56,190 as per the university’s website. This is only for the education that student gets.
  • Apart from this, the expenses that would come under the cost of attendance is summer senior thesis, residential halls or apartment costs, meal plans, student fees like student activities fee, registration fee, course fee, etc.
  • And the next set of expenses include book and training material cost, travel cost, insurance, vehicle registration fee. Let us see the detailed fee estimate of each component.
Components Fee/year (USD)
Tuition 56190
Summer senior thesis tuition 3900
Residence halls 3900
CMC apartments 10680
Board plans - 16 meals 8000
14 meals 7600
12 meals 7200
Student activity fee 285
Vehicle registration fee 75
Books and materials 1200
Vehicle registration fee 150
Total estimated cost of attendance/year $82500
  • The average cost of attendance at this college is 76,475 USD.
  • However, there might be slight changes depending on the residential facilities and many more.

Claremont McKenna College Financial Aid

  • 75% of students of Class of 2022, whose family annual income averaged between 150,000 USD and 250,000 USD received need-based financial support from CMC. International students are also offered scholarships to study in the USA.
  • Apart from the above financial aids, all the students of the college get benefited from the funds such as Kravis Opportunity funds, scholarships, and other funds.
  • The deadline for merit-based financial aids is December 1.
  • Students are advised to avail of these merit-based aids as soon as possible. This is only for first-year students.
  • They offer different types of scholarships, grants and loans based on the eligibility of the students.
  • The grants that they offer are CMC college grants, Cal grants, Federal Pell grants, Federal supplemental educational opportunity grants, Yellow ribbon programs.
  • The loans they facilitate for students are federal direct loans, federal direct plus loans, federal perkins loans, college student loans.
  • The minimum amount students are awarded in the scholarship is $4000 and the maximum limit is $15000. Let us see detailed information about scholarships.
Scholarship Eligibility Amount
Frank Seaver leadership scholarship  Good academics record. Students should maintain a GPA of B. Progress in college semester exams is also noted. Full tuition + two monetary stipends of $5000
McKenna Achievement Award Merit Scholarship Higher SAT scores (more than 700) or ACT score (more than 33). Students with impressive extracurricular achievements $15000 (renewable)
QuestBridge Scholars Should be an active member of questbridge scholars Full tuition (renewable)
Interdisciplinary Science Scholarship (ISS) Passion for science and research. Showing extraordinary leadership,  Full tuition
Claremont McKenna College National Merit Scholarship National merit finalists who choose CMC as first choice for college $1000
Reserve Officer Training Corps Scholarship (ROTC) Funded by army for students from first year onwards.  Full tuition + $1200 for books + 420/month for tax stipend
National Security Exchange Program (NSEP) David L. Boren Undergraduate Merit Scholarships Students who study languages and culture and represent themselves in study abroad programs. $10000/semester
Yellow ribbon program Veterans and their dependents $15000

Claremont McKenna College Alumni

  • CMC has more than 10,000 alumni with a strong global network. Here are the few notable alumni of the college.
    • Henry Olsen: American Enterprise Institute Vice President
    • Sloane Citron: Magazine Publisher
    • Douglas Peterson: CEO and President of S & P Global
    • Thomas.B.Hosellor: Political Consultant
    • David Dreier: House Rules Committee Chairman and Member of the US House of Representative from California
    • Clarie Thomas: Food Blogger

Claremont McKenna College Placements

  • They have career service center which is called soll center for students through which they train them to pursue their career goals and connect them with employers.
  • They help students to create their profile through handshake and apply to internship, part-time and full-time opportunities from that. From resume creation to attending job interviews, they train students rigorously in every area. 
  • According to payscale college salary report, this college has been ranked along with the top universities of the nation in producing higher income professionals. The average salary of students with less than 5 years of experience is $86658. And those with less than 10 years of experience is $15400. This is 40% increase from average salary of students from other colleges.
  • Some of the highly paid professionals from this college are from the departments data science, law, management, finance, economics etc.

Few of the popular companies in which graduates from this college work are quest, Accenture, red bull, Ancestry, Blackrock etc.

FAQs

Ques. Are there any clubs in the college that students can join?

Ans. Yes. There are more than 60 clubs and organizations for students which are based on purely fun, political or religious causes.

Ques. What are the document requirements other than application form for admissions?

Ans. School report, two teachers recommendations, high school transcripts.

Ques. Are there any fee waiver available for application fee?

Ans. The application fee is $70. Fee waiver form is available under both coalition application and common app application.

Ques. When is the next online admissions fair of the college?

Ans. The next event is happening on April 1 through online. You can know more about that through this

Ques.  Are there residential halls available in campus?

Ans. Most of the programs they offer are strictly residential based which requires students to stay in campus. The campus has both residential halls and CWC apartments with basic amenities and furniture. There are totally 14 residential halls available.

Ques. What are the payment modes?

Ans. The most recommended payment options are Electronic check. Other than that, payment can be also sent as paper checks through traditional mail or overnight courier. There is also an international wire payment app called flywire.

Ques. Is there any deadline for applying scholarships?

Ans. The deadline for applying FAFSA is Nov 1 and they will let the results out by Dec 15 for early decision 1. For early decision 2, the application deadline is Jan 11 and results are out by Feb 15.

Ques. What are the library facilities available in the college?

Ans. They have a huge campus library with online resources and tools accessible on their web. Students can get to know the book collections and resources library has through their library website. 

Ques. Should students have health insurance cover?

Ans. Every student should mandatorily have insurance cover related to accident and sickness protection. Awareness regarding this is provided through student portal.

Ques. What about atheletics options available for students?

Ans. They have interesting range of sports facilities and famous teams in basketball, baseball, tennis, water polo, golf, soccer etc under the name Claremont Mud scripps. For detailed informatio, visit here