Claremont McKenna Admission Requirements for International Students 2027: Acceptance Rate, Tuition, Scholarships and Deadline

Claremont McKenna College admission requirements for international students include the Common App or Coalition App, a $70 fee or fee waiver, two required CMC essays, one teacher recommendation, a counselor report and transcript, an English test if your schooling was not mainly in English, and, if you need aid, CMC’s own Financial Aid Application for International Students. CMC is test optional for fall 2027 entry but will go back to requiring the SAT or ACT for the fall 2028 cycle. Admission is need-aware for international students: CMC considers financial need in the decision, then commits to meeting the demonstrated need of those it admits.

CMC is one of the most selective liberal arts colleges in the US. Its 2025-26 Common Data Set shows 655 admitted out of 6,939 first-year applicants for fall 2025, an acceptance rate of about 9.4%, and it is tied at No. 3 among National Liberal Arts Colleges in the U.S. News 2027 edition. For fall 2027 entry, Early Decision I closes on 1 November 2026, and Early Decision II and Regular Decision on 10 January 2027. Merit scholarship consideration needs your application in by 1 December 2026. Everything below was checked on CMC’s own pages on 29 October 2026.

CMC ranking and acceptance rate

In the U.S. News 2027 Best Colleges edition, released on 22 September 2026, CMC shares No. 3 among National Liberal Arts Colleges with Bowdoin, Pomona and Swarthmore, behind Williams and Amherst. It is the highest-ranked college in this group of guides.

Measure (fall 2025 entry)	CMC Common Data Set 2025-26
First-year applicants	6,939
Admitted	655
Acceptance rate	About 9.4%
Enrolled	335
Early Decision	978 applied, 216 admitted (read from the table order)
Non-US first-years enrolled	43
SAT middle 50% (34% submitted)	1480 to 1540
ACT middle 50% (14% submitted)	33 to 35
Student-faculty ratio	8:1

Forty-three of 335 enrolled first-years were non-US students, about 13% of the class. CMC does not publish a separate admission rate for international applicants. Early Decision admitted about one in five applicants against fewer than one in ten overall. The ED pool is self-selected, so do not read that gap as a guaranteed advantage, and remember ED is binding.

Claremont McKenna tuition for international students in 2026-27

Item	2026-27 amount
Tuition	$75,300
Student activities (ASCMC) fee	$420
Housing (single or double)	$12,490
Food (19 meals a week)	$10,780
Total direct costs	$98,990
Books, transport and other indirect costs (estimate)	$3,000
Total cost of attendance	$101,990

Two charges sit outside that total: the Student Health Insurance Plan at $3,312 a year (CMC notes the rate is pending state approval) and a one-time $500 orientation fee for new students. International students should budget for both, which brings the first year to about $105,800 before flights.

Claremont McKenna scholarships for international students

CMC offers need-based aid and a small number of merit awards. The need-based side is what most international students rely on.

Need-based aid

• Need-aware admission: CMC says it considers financial need as part of the admission decision for applicants who are not US citizens or permanent residents.
• Meeting need: if you are admitted, CMC commits to meeting your demonstrated need. Packages combine grants and scholarships with limited loans and self-help (summer savings and campus work).
• A fixed contribution: your family contribution is set from what you submit and stays the same for four years. You do not reapply each year, and CMC increases grant funding each year to cover cost increases.
• No appeals and no late requests: CMC does not take appeals on international aid offers, and you cannot apply for need-based aid after admission or enrolment. If you do not apply, or are not awarded aid at admission, you are not eligible in later years.
• How much goes to internationals: in 2025-26, 53 non-US undergraduates received institutional aid, averaging $64,997 each, according to the Common Data Set.

The aid form: CMC’s own application, not the CSS Profile

1. Say you are applying for aid on the admission application.
2. Submit the CMC Financial Aid Application for International Students through the applicant portal. CMC does not accept the ISFAA or CSS Profile from international applicants, and it will not review your admission application without this form.
3. Be accurate. CMC asks for truthful, complete and realistic figures and wants to hear if your family’s finances change before the decision.

CMC’s aid page lists no separate international aid deadline, so treat your round’s admission deadline as the deadline for the form.

Merit scholarships

CMC considers every applicant for merit awards; there is no separate scholarship application. For priority consideration, submit your application by 1 December 2026 and all supporting documents by 10 January 2027.

Award	Value	Notes
McKenna Achievement Award	$15,000 a year	Renewable for four years with a B average each semester; up to $5,000 more for a summer internship after year one
Frank Seaver Leadership Scholarship	Full tuition	For students with exceptional leadership promise; includes small-group leadership programmes

CMC’s pages do not say whether international students are eligible for these merit awards. Apply by 1 December so you are in the pool either way, and ask the admission office if a merit award matters to your budget.

Claremont McKenna admission requirements for international students: the application parts

1. Application: Common App or Coalition App (QuestBridge for Match finalists).
2. Fee: $70, or a fee waiver through the Common App or Coalition App.
3. Two CMC essays in the application (see below).
4. School report and counselor recommendation.
5. One teacher recommendation from a core academic subject.
6. Official transcripts from every secondary school, through your penultimate year, then a midyear transcript.
7. English proficiency score if required.
8. CMC Financial Aid Application for International Students if you need aid.
9. Early Decision Agreement for ED I and ED II.
10. Optional but encouraged: an InitialView or Vericant interview and a two-minute video response.

Testing policy: optional for fall 2027, required again for fall 2028

You can apply without the SAT or ACT for fall 2027 entry, and CMC says test-optional applicants are not disadvantaged in admission or merit consideration. You have seven days after submitting to change your testing choice, once. CMC superscores within each test type. If you are applying for fall 2028 instead, plan to sit the SAT or ACT.

English requirements

You need an English test if your first language is not English or you have not attended an English-medium school for at least three years. CMC gives recommended minimums:

Test	Recommended minimum
TOEFL iBT (taken before 21 January 2026)	100
TOEFL iBT (taken after 21 January 2026, new scale)	5.5
IELTS	7.5
Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency	190
Duolingo English Test	130 (official score required)

TOEFL Essentials is not accepted. For TOEFL, IELTS or Cambridge you may self-report through the applicant portal with a PDF of the score report if official reports are a financial burden; Common App self-reported scores are not accepted. If you qualify for an exemption, request a waiver in the portal. Note the IELTS bar of 7.5, higher than most colleges in this group.

Interviews and the video

CMC describes interviews as optional but highly recommended, and they are evaluative. International applicants are pointed to InitialView (preferred) or Vericant; both offer limited fee waivers if you contact them. Non-native English speakers are encouraged to interview even if they record the optional video, because the video does not replace the interview. The two-minute video can answer one of four prompts: responsible leadership, a public policy issue and how CMC could help, a speaker you would invite to the Athenaeum, or a collaboration that went badly and what you learned.

Claremont McKenna deadlines for fall 2027 entry

Round	Application due	Decision	Reply by
Early Decision I (binding)	1 November 2026	15 December 2026	Early January 2027
Merit scholarship priority	1 December 2026 (documents by 10 January 2027)	With admission decision	Not applicable
Early Decision II (binding)	10 January 2027	15 February 2027	Late February 2027
Regular Decision	10 January 2027	1 April 2027	1 May 2027

CMC’s page gives days and months only; the years follow from its statement that the test-optional policy covers fall 2027 entry. Interviews run from May to mid-December, and ED I applicants should interview by mid-November.

How to write the CMC supplemental essays

Both CMC essays are required. One asks why you want to attend CMC in light of its mission; the other asks about a time when talking with someone about a topic changed your attitude or behaviour, or theirs, what made the change possible and what you learned. CMC’s pages do not state the word limits, so check them in the Common App.

The “Why CMC” essay

CMC’s mission is about preparing students for responsible leadership in business, government and the professions, and its fact sheet shows where students go: economics, international relations, government, PPE and public policy are among the most popular majors. A strong answer connects one of your real interests to something specific: one of CMC’s 11 research institutes, the Athenaeum’s speaker dinners four nights a week, or cross-registering at the other Claremont Colleges, which 99% of students do.

The changed-mind essay

Pick a real disagreement with a real person: a teacher, a relative, a debate opponent, a customer. Readers want to see you listen, change your view (or help someone else change theirs) and explain why. Avoid a story where you were right all along.

A short opening for the second essay, written for illustration only:

“My uncle, who has run a pharmacy in Abuja for twenty years, believed that price controls on medicine always hurt the poor, and I believed the opposite until he showed me his supplier invoices from 2023.”

It sets up a specific person, a specific topic and a turning point in one sentence. CMC also asks that essays be your own work; it allows help with brainstorming and basic proofreading, and AI use only for grammar, punctuation and spelling.

What happens after you apply

1. Applicant portal: upload the international aid form, any self-reported English scores and waiver requests.
2. Interview: book InitialView or Vericant before mid-December if you have not interviewed.
3. Midyear transcript: send it when your final-year first-term grades are out.
4. Decision: 15 December, 15 February or 1 April. Aid applicants receive their aid award at the same time.
5. Reply and documents: confirm by the reply date. Enrolling students who submitted test or English scores send official reports before classes start.
6. Visa: CMC issues your I-20 for the F-1 visa interview.

Common mistakes international applicants make

• Filing the CSS Profile or ISFAA. CMC wants only its own international aid form, and without it your application is not read.
• Missing 1 December. That is the priority date for merit scholarships, well before Regular Decision.
• Aiming for IELTS 7.0. CMC’s recommended IELTS minimum is 7.5.
• Taking TOEFL Essentials. CMC does not accept it.
• Skipping the interview. It is evaluative and strongly encouraged for non-native English speakers.
• Writing a “Why CMC” essay that could fit any college. Name an institute, a programme or a Claremont Colleges course you would actually take.

Costs that aid does not cover

• Health insurance: $3,312 for 2026-27, outside the cost of attendance.
• Orientation: a one-time $500 fee.
• Flights to Los Angeles and travel home at breaks.
• Visa costs: US visa application and SEVIS fees (check current amounts on your US embassy website).
• Self-help: CMC packages expect summer savings and campus work, and may include limited loans.

Claremont McKenna graduate admissions in brief

CMC’s graduate programme runs through the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance, which offers a Master’s Program in Finance. The Robert Day School also runs combined degrees for CMC undergraduates: a BA/MA in Finance, a BA/MA in Economics, a BA/BS in Economics and Engineering, and a 4+1 BA/MBA. Graduate applicants apply directly to the Robert Day School, separately from undergraduate admission.

Majors, campus and Claremont

CMC has 1,371 undergraduates from 49 US states and territories and 41 other countries, and 14% are non-US students. It has an 8:1 student-faculty ratio and offers majors such as economics, government, international relations, psychology, PPE, economics-accounting, data science, history and public policy. The fact sheet lists 33 majors for students in the classes of 2026 to 2028 and 23 majors for the class of 2028 onwards, so check the current list for your entry year.

The 69-acre campus is part of the Claremont Colleges, five undergraduate colleges and two graduate institutions sharing about one square mile, with about 8,300 students in total. Claremont is a small city 30 miles east of Los Angeles. The Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum hosts speakers four nights a week over dinner, and that habit of debate across politics is part of CMC’s identity.

Claremont McKenna compared with similar liberal arts colleges

College	U.S. News 2027 (liberal arts)	Admission rate (latest official)	2026-27 cost	Aid for internationals
Claremont McKenna	No. 3 (tie)	About 9.4% (fall 2025)	$101,990 plus $3,312 insurance	Need-aware; CMC’s own aid form; merit awards
Wellesley	No. 10	13.7% (Class of 2029)	$98,186 before travel and insurance	Not need-blind, full calculated need
Middlebury	No. 19 (tie)	About 10.7% (fall 2024)	$97,386	Need-aware, full need; CSS Profile only
Grinnell	No. 16	14% (Class of 2030)	$94,338 estimated for internationals	Need-aware, full need without loans; some merit aid

Pomona (also No. 3) and Harvey Mudd share the Claremont Colleges with CMC; see our Pomona guide and Harvey Mudd guide. For a college that is need-blind for internationals, read our guide to Amherst College financial aid for international students, and for a broader list see best American scholarships for international students.

Who should apply to Claremont McKenna

Apply if you are drawn to economics, government, international relations or public policy, you like arguing ideas with people who disagree, and you want a small college with the course range of a consortium. CMC is one of the few colleges in this group with merit scholarships, which may help families who fall just outside need-based aid.

Think twice if you want a pure science or engineering focus (Harvey Mudd next door is built for that), if you need full aid and CMC is not your clear first choice, or if your English test results are below the IELTS 7.5 guide. With 53 international students on institutional aid across the whole college, the aid budget for internationals is small.

FAQ on Claremont McKenna admission requirements for international students

What is Claremont McKenna’s acceptance rate for international students?

CMC does not publish one. Its overall rate was about 9.4% for fall 2025 (655 admitted of 6,939), and 43 of the 335 enrolled first-years were non-US students.

Does Claremont McKenna give full scholarships to international students?

CMC meets the demonstrated need of admitted international students who applied for aid, but admission is need-aware. Its Frank Seaver Leadership Scholarship covers full tuition, though CMC does not state whether internationals are eligible.

What form do international students use for aid at CMC?

The CMC Financial Aid Application for International Students, submitted in the applicant portal. CMC does not accept the CSS Profile or ISFAA from international applicants.

Is the SAT required at Claremont McKenna?

Not for fall 2027 entry. CMC is test optional for that year and returns to requiring the SAT or ACT for the fall 2028 application cycle.

Sources and updates

Application parts, deadlines, essays, testing and interview rules come from CMC’s first-year application instructions; English requirements and international aid rules come from the instructions for first-year international applicants. Costs come from CMC Student Accounts’ 2026-27 tuition and fees page and the financial aid costs page. Merit awards come from CMC’s scholarships and McKenna Achievement Award pages. Admission statistics, test ranges and international aid come from the CMC 2025-26 Common Data Set; enrolment, majors and campus facts from the CMC 2025-26 Fact Sheet; graduate programmes from the Robert Day School. The ranking is from the U.S. News 2027 edition as summarised on College Confidential. Checked on 29 October 2026.