Financial Aid and Student Scholarships
At Claremont McKenna College, a family’s ability to pay should not be a barrier to attendance. CMC is committed to meeting 100% of a student’s demonstrated need and an applicant’s ability to pay is not factored into admission decisions.
Philanthropic support from alumni, friends, and family provides CMC with the flexibility and resources to attract some of the most talented, motivated, and diverse student leaders. Although the Campaign for CMC: Responsible Leadership endowed 72 new scholarship funds, with nearly 50% of students receiving financial aid, we continue to need your help in growing the resources available for our talented students. Those resources include a special focus on our middle class families by relieving or reducing the role of home equity in the financial aid calculation.
CMC also recognizes that financial aid alone is often insufficient for a full, four-year experience. In order to provide singular, transformative opportunities to each and every student, the College offers a range of benefits and support for all families who receive any amount of financial aid through our Opportunity Funds.
We hope that you will join us, as your philanthropic investment opens doors for tomorrow’s responsible leaders in business, government, and the professions.
GIFTS OF ALL SIZE are pooled together each year to directly assist CMC students to afford the life-changing educational experience we provide.
A GIFT OR COMMITMENT OF $100,000 establishes a named endowed scholarship fund, providing resources for student financial aid in perpetuity.
CMC has nearly doubled the number of first-generation college students over the past eight years to
17%
In the same timeframe, CMC has nearly doubled the number of Pell-Grant eligible students to
18%
CMC has awarded financial aid to nearly
50%
of its students
Download the Financial Aid and Student Scholarships One Sheet picture_as_pdf
MAKING AN IMPACT
BaoChau Le ’24
When the University of Houston offered me an honors scholarship, I thought I would stay in my hometown close to family. But the more I learned about CMC’s liberal arts offerings, I began to picture my leadership potential on campus and beyond. I saw opportunities to be challenged, independent, exploratory, and fully supported. I didn’t know what a school could offer until I got to know CMC. I thought the idea of ‘student opportunity’ was getting financial aid support, and then once you’re in, you’re tossed to the masses. I’m continually in awe of what CMC does for its students, including the Soll Center reaching out about internships and support and the Dean of Students’ office making us feel comfortable so we can grow and coach others as leaders.
Maureen Tchatchoua ’23
When I started at CMC, I was hesitant about the challenges and costs of being away from home. The Kravis Opportunity Fund’s early support allowed me to pursue experiences without financial worries. While I had some prior travel experiences, most were family-related. CMC helped me follow my global academic interests. I studied in Ghana and Indonesia as a junior and recently went to Sierra Leone for a research project on civil war and blood diamonds with the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies. In further collaboration with Keck, I interned in resource mobilization with the Forum for African Women’s Educationalists in Dakar, Senegal, promoting gender equity through education in Africa. These off-campus opportunities boosted my confidence and helped me find my voice in research and creative projects. Exposure to various cultures improved my communication and networking skills. I believe these lessons will benefit me throughout my life and career.
Ron Berenstain ’73
It is important for me to be involved at CMC because the College had a very significant impact on important parts of my life. I give back so we can continue our mission to help grow strong, principled, and confident students. I treasure my time at CMC—I experienced the joy of learning and inquiry. I learned principled analysis of problem solving and developed my skills to write with precision, clarity, and brevity. Most of all, I learned that the harder you work, the faster you will learn. Looking back, I cannot believe how lucky I was to be surrounded by so many extremely bright, interesting, compelling, and fun people. CMC is very hard to replicate. It is much more challenging to find anything like our community in the real world. My hope is to ensure CMC students today and tomorrow receive our full support so they can have the same benefits I was afforded.