The Wall Street Journal ranked Claremont McKenna College a top college in the nation for preparing students for employment following graduation, landing jobs with maximum initial salaries, and facilitating on-time graduations.
CMC ranked #9 in the nation overall and #8 for salary impact in the “WSJ/College Pulse 2024 Best Colleges in the U.S.” ranking.
The WSJ put students’ experiences at the heart of its 2024 college ranking, with one of the largest surveys—more than 60,000 U.S. students and recent graduates—ever conducted. “Our ranking puts even greater emphasis on two practical and measurable questions about each school: How much will the college improve its students’ chances of graduating on time? And how much will it improve the salaries they earn after receiving their diplomas?” according to WSJ.
Additionally, "the new WSJ/College Pulse ranking uses the most recent available data to put colleges on a more level playing field, with a focus on comparing the outcomes of each school’s graduates to what those students were likely to achieve no matter where they went to school."
Pulling from all corners of campus, CMC has put a tremendous amount of work into creating stellar support structures and outcomes for its students, said Michelle Chamberlain, Vice President for Advancement and Student Opportunities and Dean of the Robert Day Scholars Program. For example, as part of a seven-year analysis by the Soll Center for Student Opportunity, 97 percent of new CMC graduates have consistently reported defined plans six months after commencement. For 2022 graduates, the median starting salary they reported was $87,000.
“I am tremendously proud of this recognition because it illustrates how we are fulfilling our mission to prepare CMC students for thoughtful and productive lives and responsible leadership in business, government, and the professions,” Chamberlain said. “The combination of skills acquired through coursework, on-campus research and off-campus internship opportunities, and our emphasis on developing the abilities to engage with curiosity and openness to differences of opinion, are directly applicable to their success once they graduate.”