Author: davidd

(Actual) Advice for your Freshman Year

Do:

  • Get a microwave & fridge or get a roommate who has them. It will save your life 
  • Get out of your comfort zone and talk to new people — give everyone a chance!
  • Wake up early enough to go to brunch because otherwise you will be hungry at 3pm waiting in line for Mcconnell to open or eating that stale rice cake off the floor
  • Stay in touch with friends & family during the first few months. It’s easy to stay busy but it’s important to touch base with people every so often
  • Plan your room out and order what you need on Amazon to the mail room so you don’t accidentally get to school without any shampoo or conditioner for the first month 
    • Also, when purchasing things, think about storage! Packing up at the end of the year is made easier when you have a lot of collapsible things and ways to store items inside each other. 

Do not:

  • Fake an accent to seem cool
  • Do anything you’re uncomfortable with! There is enough room on campus for everyone and every interest under the sun
  • Be afraid to ask someone new to go to that movie/club/discussion with you because everyone is looking for friends and everyone wants to try new things
  • Invent an entirely new persona to act out during the first month and eventually abandon. Just be yourself! You’re someone’s cuppa tea
  • Pretend you’re into something you’re not into because you will eventually meet someone who’s genuinely, actually, really, enthusiastic about hardcore no-waste camping and then you’ll be forced to carry your poop in a bag for thirty miles during the first two weeks of school in order to save face

How to dress for your first day of Pitzer

So you’re in, and you’re ready for your first day of Zoom school (Monday, eek!). And you must be wondering — what Zoom backgrounds do I need to download? And which of my outfits looks the best from the shoulders up? Having completed half a semester of online education already, we’re ready to give you the breakdown.

Here are twenty funky Zoom backgrounds that you can enable, but for a truly crunchy feel that will have people doing double-takes on their computer quality, we recommend screenshotting panoramas from Pitzer’s Google Map.

As far as attire, nearly anything goes. Just make sure you have a relatively blank or clean background if you’re not using a virtual one in order to make that outfit *really* pop. Layering is almost always the best choice — not only to provide the best range of comfortable temperatures, but also to provide the greatest number of fashion combinations. Get creative with those color combos! Orange and blue is a heavenly combination made for everyone <3

For non-visible clothing, I would recommend sweats and slippers to provide a more comfortable ambiance for your first day and to avoid any unnecessary outfit changes. If, however you’re feeling a bit stylish, you can always wear Chacos, Crocs, or Birkenstocks (*WITH SOCKS*) in solidarity with the unseen and unsung footwear of your classmates. Well, there you have it! You can wear just about anything and everything to Pitzer classes, and someone will like your style. Send us your #OOTD’s!

Love,

Danya & Olivia

Your Friendly Pitzer Admission Junior Staff

Inside Admissions: All the things you should know when you apply!

So, you’re here and you’re ready to apply to Pitzer. Congratulations! At this point, I’m sure you know about our divestment from fossil fuels, our intercollegiate programs that support education within carceral institutions, and interdisciplinary courses like the mathematics of woodworking or the CASA program. These are all examples of our five core values — which make up the yarn of Pitzer and are fundamental in everything we do! So keep that in mind.

While we hear a variety of questions from prospective students and their families every day, there are a few that come up more often than others. These include: “what should I write my supplemental essay about?” and “is there anything I should know about the application process?” The process can be long and hard, and we’re here to give you the inside scoop. Having already been through this process, we hope that these suggestions will help make your process a little bit easier.

The best thing you can do when applying to any college is to do your research — make sure you’ve looked at all facets of the student experience. This means academics, sports, on-campus jobs, clubs, food, & more! Not only will this help to inform your essay, but it will also help you decide which schools are right for you. We invite you to think deeply about your own interactions in the world and to write about something that is truly reflective of your own experience for your supplemental essay.

For Pitzer specifically, you should know that we’re 100% test-optional (and have been since 2003)! Required materials: one recommendation letter in the 2020-2021 application period (normally two), transcript, Common App, and Pitzer Supplemental Essay. Optional materials: resumé, counselor recommendation letter, additional letters of recommendation from non-core curriculum teachers or other important figures like coaches, music teachers, etc. So make sure you review which deadline you’re applying for and try to start the essay more than a week before it’s due to decrease stress right before the deadline!

Good luck and as always, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] with any questions.

Pitzer Core Values as Famous Shakespeare Quotes

Pitzer College is well-known for its discussion-based classes and wide variety of exciting course offerings. Some of our favorites from the past academic year include: Community Poetry: Black Feminist rEVOLution, Ecopoetics & Photography, and ENGL 093 PZ -World Literature in an Oceanic Context.

These classes exemplify Pitzer’s interdisciplinary learning focus while highlighting interesting and relevant topics. We here in the Pitzer Admission Office have decided to try our hand at literary analysis to provide our readers with a better understanding of our core values through famous Shakespeare quotes. Thanks for reading, and as always feel free to take our core value quiz!



Environmental Sustainability:
I’ll bear him no more sticks, but follow thee,
Thou wondrous man. (The Tempest)

Intercultural Understanding
‘Get thee to a nunnery.’ (Hamlet)

Interdisciplinary Learning
‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’ (Hamlet)

Social Responsibility
‘If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?’ (The Merchant of Venice)

Student Engagement
‘Exit, pursued by a bear’ (The Winter’s Tale)

Honorable Mention: Praxis
To be or not to be, that is the question (Hamlet)