Admissions Factors

What Claremont McKenna Looks For

Claremont McKenna rates 6 factors as very important: rigor of high school courses, academic GPA, application essay, recommendations, extracurricular activities and character and personal qualities.

How Claremont McKenna rates each factor

Each college sorts 18 factors into four levels on its Common Data Set.

Very important

Important

Considered

Not considered

The numbers behind the class

Overall admit rate

9.4%

655 of 6,939 applicants

Early decision admit rate

22.1%

Early decision admits equal 64% of the class

Admitted from the waitlist

Not reported

64% of those who reported a class rank were in the top tenth of their class.

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Frequently asked questions

What does Claremont McKenna look for in applicants?

Claremont McKenna rates 6 factors as very important: rigor of high school courses, academic GPA, application essay, recommendations, extracurricular activities and character and personal qualities.

Does Claremont McKenna consider legacy status?

Claremont McKenna rates alumni relation as "considered" in its 2025-26 Common Data Set.

Does Claremont McKenna track demonstrated interest?

Claremont McKenna rates the level of an applicant's interest as "not considered".

What is Claremont McKenna's early decision acceptance rate?

Early decision: 216 of 978 applicants were admitted (22.1%), against 9.4% overall. Early pools include recruited athletes and other students with a strong tie to the college, so the gap overstates the boost for an ordinary applicant.

Source: Claremont McKenna’s own Common Data Set 2025-26, Section C. Last checked 2026-10-08. The ratings are the college’s own description of its process. Counts are for one entering class.