Great Colleges-Large and Small-in Southern California

There are many reasons that great colleges are great. Over the past week, I've had the opportunity to visit with the admissions departments at some of the top schools in the world. These include California Institute of Technology, otherwise known as Caltech; the University of Southern California, or USC; Pomona; Harvey Mudd; Scripps; Claremont McKenna; and UCLA. Many of these are very small schools, the exceptions being USC and UCLA. 

But before I discuss my observations, I would like to clarify that, to me, what makes a college great is not its ranking but it's commitment to providing an excellent educational experience and future opportunities for each and every student who attends. To me, the best colleges are those that focus the most resources on helping individual students find their passion, and then extending that passion all the way into graduate school or a career in which students can be happy and successful. With that as a backdrop, let me now share my experiences with you.

Let's start with the two big schools, USC, which has around 20,000 undergraduate students, and UCLA, which has approximately 31,000 undergraduate students. Both schools have massive campuses, miles and miles of concrete corridors and building after building where students are taught by TA's and professors. Both admissions offices are fronted by real admissions officers, as well as staff hired to meet and greet and organize guests as they arrive. Discussions with USC and UCLA admissions tended to be more shallow and there was far less opportunity to discuss how each student might benefit from attending either school. Furthermore, both of these large universities expressed little interest in learning about students beyond what might be gleaned from their applications. In other words, it was harder for me as a college admission advisor to create a channel through which information about individual students could be passed.

The rest of the schools are much smaller. Caltech, for example, only has around 1000 undergraduate students. The Claremont McKenna Consortium made up of Claremont McKenna, Pomona, Scripps, and Harvey Mudd, each has less than 1600 undergraduate students total. At each and every one of these schools, I was able to glean meaningful information that might make the college experience for each student that much more meaningful. I was able to discuss individual cases, and to get a feel for what these schools are really looking for in students in order to make the best possible connection. Just as much as students want to find the right schools, these top colleges want to find the right students.

As I said previously, to me, what makes a school great is the amount of attention it is able to give to each individual student in order to help that student find an appropriate pathway into a rewarding career. While the large colleges and small colleges alike provide resources such as career centers to help students find meaningful appointments after college, the smaller colleges tend to take a far more personalized approach. In the case of Caltech, that might mean setting up a personal interview at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory which is literally part of Caltech’s campus. At Pomona, that might mean setting up a series of conversations to discuss job opportunities based on individual majors, then setting up interviews with businesses run by Pomona graduates. At Harvey Mudd, it might be helping students write a proposal for a National Science Foundation fellowship. At Claremont McKenna, perhaps the most eclectic of all members of the Consortium, this personalized experience is personified in the SOLL Center, which is available to students from the time they arrive on campus all the way through the day they graduate. There, students are provided with excellent hands-on care for people who take the time to get to know each individual student. At Scripps, it could be helping students explore their creative side while also receiving support from professors whose passion is igniting and inspiring students to enter leadership roles upon graduation.

This is not a rallying cry against large colleges. In fact, large colleges can offer experiences that small schools cannot. Rather, it is a wake-up call that there is far more to schools then a number on a list. For students who are self-motivated and self-directed, some larger schools can offer superb resources. However, for students who need more individualized attention, a small school that focuses much of its resources on meeting the needs of individual students might be a better fit.

Of all the schools and admissions departments I visited this past week, by far the most impressive was Caltech. There, I was able to spend nearly an hour with a member of the admissions committee to better understand not only how I could help my students determine whether or not Caltech was the right fit for them, I was also able to determine how I can identify the right students for Caltech. After all, I see my job as a college counselor as a matchmaker. I don't just work for students, I also work on behalf of colleges. If I have done my job well, I have helped a great student get into a great college that is a great fit! So, based on my visits to admissions departments at California college campuses this week, here are my rankings for Southern California colleges:

#1: Caltech

(Tie) #2: Pomona

(Tie) #2: Harvey Mudd

#4: Claremont McKenna

#5: UCLA

#6: Scripps

#7: USC

Neil Chyten, Founder, NC Global Education

www.ncglobaledu.com

[email protected]

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833-888-6232 (Chinese Line)