Claremont McKenna College
Claremont, CA · private nonprofit
Official site ↗Admissions
| Admit rate | 9.6% |
| Applicants | 6,529 |
| Middle-50% SAT | 1490–1550 |
| Middle-50% ACT | 33–35 |
| Avg GPA | — |
| Test policy | — |
| Avg net price / yr | $27,384 |
| Grad rate | 95% |
| Median earnings (10 yr) | $104,736 |
| Source | cds · 2024 |
Application requirements
| Early Decision | 2025-11-01 |
| Early Decision II | 2026-01-10 |
| Regular / Rolling | 2026-01-10 |
| Application fee | $70 (US) · $70 (intl) |
| Personal essay | Required |
| Test policy | never required |
| Teacher recommendations | 1 |
| Counselor recommendation | Required |
| Mid-year report | Required |
Source: Common App first-year Requirements Grid, 2025-26 cycle. Confirm on the college's site — requirements can change mid-cycle.
Supplemental essays
- CMC’s mission is to prepare students for thoughtful and productive lives and responsible leadership in business, government, and the professions. With this mission in mind, please explain why you want to attend Claremont McKenna College.
- A critical part of fulfilling our mission is living out the commitments of CMC’s Open Academy: Freedom of Expression, Viewpoint Diversity, and Constructive Dialogue. We want to learn more about your commitment to listening and learning from others with different viewpoints, perspectives, and life experiences from your own. Describe a time when engaging with someone about a specific topic resulted in you changing your attitude, belief, or behavior, or you changed the belief or behavior of someone else. What was the change that occurred for you, and what facilitated that change? What did you learn from that experience, and how has it informed how you engage with others?
Copied verbatim from the school's official admissions page (2025-26 cycle).