Pitzer College
Reviews

Not Enough Money? Don't Sweat It

Pitzer meets 100 percent of your financial need and if they somehow didn't give you enough, appeal to the financial aid office and they are usually willing to accomodate you or work out some sort of arrangement. If you really need more money, Career Services or Student Affairs will always be happy to point you in the right direction.

Always New and Excellent

Besides the fact that the chefs and dining hall staff learn to remember you by name, the food is delicious. There are specialty menu items every day of the week, and there are fresh baked cookies and desserts regularly brought to the buffet area. You can have grilled food, vegetarian food, or the chef's cuisine. The dining hall never gets boring and is nationally ranked by many sources.

Perfect Location

I live in LA and must say that it's nice not to be so close, but to have the option of such a large and diverse city so near and easy to get to from Pitzer! In the mean time, Claremont, Pomona, and the Claremont Village provide students with a small/college town feel without being isolated from civilization.

Dining Hall Options

I can't think of another small private liberal arts undergraduate college, where for any given meal a student can choose between six dining halls - all with different meals. Even though Pitzer's McConnell is far from my favorite, I always have so many other options and can always find something I'm excited to eat, that tastes good, and is healthy.

Built in the 60'S

I would love to get a health code inspector to inspect my current dorm room. Built in the year the school was built (1967), it shows. In fact my boyfriend just spent half an hour folding pieces of paper and shoving them between the windows so our window would should properly, and then when he went to close it, the screw that holds the window shut broke right off the windowpane. The bathroom are bacteria ridden, which has nothing to do with the cleanliness of the people living here because I deep clean everything on a weekly basis. The ceilings are made of asbestos and all air vents have a layer of mold at least one centimeter thick. There are minimal outlets in the rooms. We had to buy our own blinds, because facilities does not supply or install those. The walls are paper thin and people have no regard for others who are trying to sleep or do homework. Any party that is going on outside can be heard from any location on campus. Even a simple conversation below your window seems like a conversation happening in your own room. Doors constantly squeak, and locks are often broken. The new dorms are for freshmen only. They were built in 2008 and are obviously the only dorm room they show prospective students on the campus tour. In order to build even new dorms, Pitzer demolished an acre of California wildlife fauna. The athletic room is a joke, with mostly broken machines. A lot of your parent's money goes to maintaining a natural facade of native plant-life. Even with constant rain, plants are watered daily and replanted monthly throughout the entire campus. Laundry rooms are disgusting and are cleaned only over the summer. The place to pour the detergent is always clogged in every machine at all times. There used to be beautiful student done work all over the buildings, but one by one, maintenance tears them down or paints over them even though every piece was approved by an aesthetics committee.

Mainly a Joke

Luckily, since Pitzer is part of a consortium, you are allowed to take classes at any of the five campuses. My majors, art history and anthropology have a reasonably good curriculum, but only if you are interested in learning weaving and basketry of native american tribes, which shamanic plants you can find on campus, or art through contemporary intercultural understanding. the workload is very minimal and readings never need to be completed. other majors like philosophy, economics, or science could never be completed on this campus due to the lack of serious courses offered on those subjects. Independent studies are offered but sometimes hard to complete and get credit for. People here pretty much only study sociology and international studies.

Small and Isolated but Some Necessities Present

Claremont is a very small town whose village is a three block by four block radius. Grocery stores are farther away. The town has various restaurants, a couple bar type places, a movie theater, three coffee shops, and four resident homeless people. It is definitely not a place one would go to spend their afternoon.

Safety at Pitzer College

There has never been a point where I have felt unsafe on Pitzer's campus. The campus is rather small and very community oriented. Doors to every building are locked, you must have an ID card to get in. There are emergency towers that are placed all over campus that can be used at anytime of day or night, if a real emergency were to arise. Campus security is a common presence during the day and night, especially at all parties. Pitzer did a very good job during freshman orientation making sure that all the freshman had the correct phone numbers and information to contact emergency and non-emergency campus security.

Safety

I don't ever recall feeling unsafe on campus. However, when I was a Junior, while sleeping in my dorm (my roommate in the next bed) and our room was visited by an intruder. Nothing happened to me physically, but my purse was stolen, along with my wallet and keys (including car). Campus safety took a report, but nothing came of it. After that we kept our door locked.

I didn't walk alone after a party in the middle of the night, but when I would walk alone from evening classes, I didn't feel like my safety was threatened. Still, there are always issues of safety no matter where you are, just use your common sense at Pitzer and most likely you'll be fine.

On another note, I receive a lot of parking tickets from campus safety. I ended up using the tickets as my wall paper. It was a nice pink and yellow wall by the end of the school year. Thanks campus safety!

Pitzer, 5-Cs and Claremont

I went to Pitzer in the early 2000s, before the new refurbishment. When I was there the campus was half arboretum-esque/half SF style inner-city with cinder block walls covered in murals; perfect for the neo-hippy mentality. The other 4-C's were gorgeous in comparison to Pitzer at the time, However, I hear Pitzer has become the leader in leed certified buildings and I assume the campus has improved (and I have learned the neo-hippy mentality is slowly fading out). Claremont is like a small, clean, safe 1950s-type of suburban community (small music venues, restaurants, clubs, bars, etc) which is situated inside a Pomona lower-income community (more restaurants, bars, shopping malls, cinemas, etc). Once outside the immediate areas (typically by car, but can take train to certain parts) you can venture off to LA or spend time exploring the desert on camping trips. The Claremonts are proud of being situated in the proximity of all these options.

Freshman Frenzy

As a freshman at Pitzer trying to major in Psychology, it was very difficult to get the upper level classes to fill my pre-requisite. They make the introductory courses open for freshman which is convenient.

Good Memories

I've had a great time at Pitzer. It's a great place that really helps you grow and develop as a person. I don't know if I would do the whole college thing at Pitzer again, but I wouldn't trade my experience for anything.

Aid

Financial aid has been wonderful, they really work with what you need and are always understanding if you fall a little behind with payments.

Facilities at Pitzer

Because we are a consortium, we share a lot of facilities, including the library and the sports complex, which is located on Pomona's campus. The library is top-notch, a really great library with tons of places to study, though it is impossible to find a place to study during finals. The sports center is pretty set, obviously great for athletes. The gym for the regular folk is OK. Pitzer has a workout room, but it is too small for the school.

Extremely Safe

I have walked back to campus with friends at around 1 am. There is always security passing by making sure everything is okay and, no, they will not ruin your party. Unless you have a severe drinking or drug problem, there is no need to worry about feeling unsafe. Always make sure you have a buddy system! What I most worry about is my bike getting stolen. That, you do need to watch out for.

Rules Vs. Reality

There are policies in the handbook that are definitely not substance friendly but basically the policies are to know your R.A.s and to not do anything stupid enough to get you caught. YOu can also do what most students do and do anything you're afraid of getting caught for at Claremont McKenna College because frankly that is a place where there are no rules. Some students view this as a bad thing but I'm definitely not opposed to their free flowing environment. Once again, the consortium is a life saver.

Off Campus Food

The off campus food is pretty good. The only thing is the discount is like 10% sooo...its basically the California state tax. There also aren't very many delivery places, so East coasters used to eating delivery Chinese food will have to settle for Mix Bowl.

Pot

A lot of people smoke weed. I feel safe on campus and while a lot of people do choose to do drugs, I feel no pressure to do them. Our campus safety staff is very good and people are encouraged to find help for their friends if they need help.

Best of Both Worlds

There is a great social scene at Pitzer College because of the Claremont Consortium. It is the best of both worlds because while there isn't always that many parties at Pitzer, you can easily go over to CMC or Mudd and can also choose to have a quiet night inside without worrying about noise.

Athetics

Sports are not very big at Pitzer. Mostly just students and their friends are involved. Parents also attend.

I Don't Like the Metrolink

If you're trying to get to LA, the Metrolink is kind of a pain. However, there is really no need for transportation to hang out in the Village. Everything is within walking distance.

A for Pleasant Lack

There is basically no 'Greek Life' which I prefer.

Friendly Professors

I've never been confronted with a professor who either didn't have adequate responses or was disinterested in finding some.

Comfortable, Friendly Housing Situation

People are always friendly and welcoming. The dorms aren't new, but they serve their purpose well. There are various options for housing, including the new dorms which feel like a hotel, up to 8 person suites for developed friendships. The dorms are very close to the academic buildings at Pitzer, and no more than a 20 minute walk from any building on any of the 5Cs. The housing process is not as streamlined as it could be, but the assisting staff are friendly and helpful.

Quiet and Safe Campus

I've walked around campus at all hours of the day and night, and never felt unsafe. Campus Safety is available and helpful, but not strict. There is some petty theft, but mostly due to people's own faults.