Through the Student Imperative, an initiative started in 2014, we have developed the resources and programs to expand access, increase affordability, enrich value, and expand opportunities for our students as they pursue thoughtful and engaged lives of responsible leadership. In addition to establishing the Soll Center for Student Opportunity, resources allocated through the Student Imperative also allow CMC to expand financial aid and scholarships, create opportunity funding, and develop our scholar community program.
CMC recruits emerging leaders who are preparing to meet the challenges of our complex world, regardless of their financial background. We are committed to a need-blind, meet-all-need framework, allowing us to attract and retain the most exceptional student-leaders.
Our efforts to attract students in a need-blind, meet-all-need framework have been successful. Over the past five years, CMC has increased the proportion of entering Pell-eligible students by over 75% and nearly doubled our percentage of students who are first in their family to attend college. We also provide guaranteed funding for a first-year summer experience or internship—with stipends ranging from $5,000 to $7,300 for those who have summer savings obligations—and additional financial assistance beyond the cost of attendance (books, family travel, emergency funds, equipment and supplies) to those most in need through our Kravis Opportunity Fund.
Through CMC’s need-blind, meet-all-need financial aid packages, the message to deserving students is clear: If you want to lead, and you are admitted to CMC, then financial resources should not be an impediment. Beyond the financial implication of tuition, however, full access to the CMC student experience—from a suit for the Athenaeum to health insurance grants, funds for a summer internship, or support to study abroad—requires significant resources.
Financial Aid
Access equals opportunity, and CMC understands that its unique approach to education works best when it can cast the widest net. CMC recruits emerging leaders who are committed to meeting the challenges of our complex world, regardless of their financial background, on a need-blind, meet-all-need basis.
Alongside these opportunities is the continued commitment to expanding the accessibility and offerings of uniquely CMC experiences, such as the Athenaeum, faculty-student research, student scholarships, research institutes and centers, and our highly competitive and NCAA-winning athletics programs.
Kravis Opportunity Fund
Established in 2018 through a gift from Trustee Henry R. Kravis ’67 and Marie-Josée Kravis, to remove a wide array of financial barriers beyond the cost of attendance.
Soll Center for Student Opportunity
The Soll Center for Student Opportunity is home to three important resources: Career Services, the Scholar Communities, and the Sponsored Internships & Experiences (SIE) program. It partners with academic, co-curricular, and extracurricular resources—across the CMC community and beyond—to bring students real-world experiences.
Annual Fund
Gifts made to the Annual Fund benefit all CMC students. These gifts support priorities large and small, including faculty-student research, student scholarships, research centers and institutes, athletics programs, and other essential CMC student experiences.
Natalie Ionescu ’24Economics major Natalie Ionescu ’24 chose CMC for its small, tight-knit community and alumni network. And though her first year was online, she was able to start building relationships, reaching out to alumni, and working toward her career goals.“Joining the Student Investment Fund my freshman fall was truly life changing,” she says, “not only because I met some of my closest friends, but because it has also helped me decide which path I plan to take in my career when I graduate: investment banking.”READ STORY
Carson Stubstad ’22 Sometimes when Carson Stubstad walks around campus at a quiet moment, he’s transported back to when he visited Claremont McKenna College for the first time and realized it was the college for him. “It’s almost surreal when I remember that day and now I am living it, and doing so much more than I ever could have imagined,” Stubstad said.READ STORY
Desmond Mantle ’23Desmond Mantle ’23 chose to attend Claremont McKenna College for many reasons. The good weather, CMC’s proximity to his hometown, Pasadena, and “the small size of the community paired with the resources of the wider consortium” all factored into his decision. But his assessment of his first two years at CMC centers on cultural concepts like open-mindedness and inclusivity.READ STORY
Nicolas De Mello ’23As captain of the Claremont Club Soccer team, Nicolas De Mello ’23 found a way to further his engagement with the sport through his Appel Fellowship writing project. De Mello explored the rise of racism, nationalism, and politics in soccer. “It was an opportunity to combine global issues with one of my passions, soccer,” he said.READ STORY