Pitzer is a small liberal arts college with big resources thanks to The Claremont Colleges. This consortium of seven colleges in the Los Angeles area. Together, the five undergraduate colleges in the consortium (Pitzer, Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Claremont McKenna, Scripps) are able to offer nationally-recognized academic opportunities and resources within the small liberal arts framework they treasure. Pitzer had a 16% acceptance rate for the class of 2027 and a 24% acceptance rate for the class of 2028.
If the idea of a small school with big resources is intriguing to you, you should know that they admit a high percentage of students through Early Decision. Applying ED definitely boosts your chances of admission for Pitzer, and this information is corroborated by the Common Data Set, although Pitzer seems to have recently pulled their Common Data Set filing from their website, making it harder to find information on previous application cycles. They have also instituted a test-free policy, meaning that they do not consider the SAT or ACT at all (at least until 2025). Instead, they care about your grades, recommendations, extracurricular and work history, and how well you match with Pitzer’s core values.
Pitzer offers 41 majors and 23 minors in the arts, humanities, and natural and social sciences, and they’ve been recognized as the #1 school for students who want to make a difference, as a top ‘Green’ college, and for having some of the most politically active students in the country. The student body is made up of just under 1,200 people from 29 countries and 44 states, and 100% of classes are taught by faculty — not by TA’s. And don’t worry about the meal plan. Pitzer has been voted to have one of the best dining programs in the country.
In this post, we’ll break down how to stand out on your Pitzer application supplements to increase your chances of admission — gaining access to that sweet, sweet Pad Thai.
If you know what you want to study, but aren’t sure where to apply, contact us. We help high-performing students access their perfect schools.
The Pitzer supplement consists of two essays, but you have options. Below, we’ll go through each option to help you find the approach that’s best for you.
At Pitzer, five core values distinguish our approach to education: social responsibility, intercultural understanding, interdisciplinary learning, student engagement, and environmental sustainability. As agents of change, our students utilize these values to create solutions to our world’s challenges. Please answer only one of the following prompts (up to 650 words):
While you can write up to 650 words for this prompt, it’s more important to put together a strong response then to use every word. We encourage students to aim for 500-650 words, regardless of which prompt they choose.
Option 1: Reflecting on your involvement throughout high school or within the community, how have you engaged with one of Pitzer’s core values?
First, re-read the Pitzer Core Values (social responsibility, intercultural understanding, interdisciplinary learning, student engagement, and environmental sustainability) and highlight the one that stands out most strongly to you as a ‘match’ with how you’ve spent your time in high school so far. It’s important to pick the value that connects to what you do, not necessarily the one you may think is the ‘right’ answer. This isn’t a trick question. There is no ‘right’ answer, except for the one that is right for you.
Next, you need to identify a story that embodies this value. The story should be small. For example, if you organized a big event for your school you should focus on a particular moment in that experience. While the essay will be about the ‘whole,’ the weight of the story should be focused on something small. This will allow you to provide a ton of detail and to really build character and narrative, as opposed to offering what amount to an event summary. A small moment in a school event might be a trouble-shooting meeting when something didn’t go to plan, seeing something you were worried about work even better than expected, or an interaction with another person where you had to work through adversity together. But those are just examples we’ve made up. What matters is that this prompt requires you to pull on your own unique experiences and perspective.
Option 2: Describe what you are looking for from your college experience and why Pitzer would be a good fit for you.
This is a why-us essay, and we don’t dislike it…but it’s also not our favorite more most applicants. If you are planning on an academic path that is fairly ‘standard,’ as in most colleges offer the major (e.g., English, history, and the like), this isn’t the prompt for you. However, if there is something at Pitzer that you want to study, and that you can’t get anywhere else (or, at least, it’s tough to find), this may be a great prompt for you! The Chicanx-Latinx Studies major and the Secular Studies major are just two examples of programs that are not common at the undergraduate level, and so it makes sense to use this supplement emphasize your interest and contextualize why you want to study the subject you care about at Pitzer in particular. Be sure to include specifics, like courses you’d like to take and a professor or two you hope to study under, but balance those specifics with narrative. They don’t just want to know what you want to do; they want to know why. So, use a story to share your passion.
Option 3: Pitzer is known for our students’ intellectual and creative activism. If you could work on a cause that is meaningful to you through a project, artistic, academic, or otherwise artistic or academic, what would you do?
This is a really fun prompt, but it’s best for students already engages in activism of some kind. If you aren’t, Option 1 or 2 will serve you better. But if you are socially active, this is a great place to highlight a cause that is already important to you and to share an idea for the future through a story (or stories) of you engaging with the cause in the recent past. If you were involved in a climate change-focused film festival at your high school, for example, you could share the story of that experience and how you’d grow the initiative, or join in a similar project that is already ongoing, at Pitzer.
There is one more supplement that is technically ‘optional.’ But optional isn’t optional if you want to get in.
As a mission-driven institution, we value and celebrate the synergy created by our differences and similarities. We welcome you to write about distinctive aspects of your background, identity, or personal interests that you would bring to Pitzer, and how you plan to engage in our community. (250 words)
This is Pitzer’s answer to the Supreme Court decision to knock down Affirmative Action. They can’t ask about race (and some other stuff), but they can invite you to talk about your background. What we like about this supplement, though, is that it doesn’t pigeon-hole you into writing about a particular aspect of your background, upbringing, or identity. It allows you to define yourself, and to decide what to share. Every student has something meaningful to write here. To identify what that ‘something,’ is for you, start by writing down a list of 5 things that you feel make you you. Then, cut that list to your top 3. Finally, pick one. This process of narrowing down can help you think in a more dynamic way than if you just jump to a top pick from the get-go.
Once you have your ‘thing,’ you need to tell a story that celebrates that piece of you. It could involve a challenge or hurdle, but don’t make this a sob story. Instead, take the opportunity to celebrate yourself and what you care about.
Finally, you need to connect this to Pitzer. Look through this list of clubs and organizations available to Pitzer students to find a match that would empower you to celebrate who you are and use your unique story to strengthen the community.
Pitzer is a fabulous school that cares deeply about accepting applicants who want to help create a more equitable and accepting world. Use the supplements to show them who you are, and how you care.
If Pitzer is your dream school, we can help. Email us to learn more.