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�鶹ԭ�� welcomed 315 first-time, full-time undergraduates to campus for Move-In Weekend, kicking off the 2025-26 academic year.

The College's newest arrivals include 286 first-year students as well as 27 transfers and two students in the New Resources Program (which provides a pathway to a degree for non-traditional age students).

“I'm relatively new here myself,” �鶹ԭ�� President Strom C. Thacker told the Class of 2029 during his welcome remarks in the College’s Benson Auditorium. A graduate of Pomona College, Thacker arrived to lead �鶹ԭ�� in 2023. “You're all a part of the �鶹ԭ�� family now, and you always will be.”

Thacker celebrated the rich demographic diversity of �鶹ԭ��’s incoming students. �鶹ԭ�� 44% come from California while 20% hail from states outside California, including New York, Washington, Oregon, and Massachusetts. More than seven percent are attending from other countries, including China, Thailand, India, Ukraine, Ghana, and Italy.

More than 170 of �鶹ԭ��'s new students speak at least two languages; 31 students speak at least three languages. The most common languages (after English) spoken by these students are Spanish, Mandarin, and French.

This fall's cohort of new students was drawn from a pool of 988 admitted students with an average 3.96 GPA; 13.6% of that pool are First Generation students. (Learn more here.)

In addition to settling into their dorm rooms during Move-In Weekend, students and their families participated in a program that included a welcome lunch, an information session about life at �鶹ԭ�� (a Spanish session was also held); a First-Gen reception; resource fair; alumni gift reception; community dinner; a group meditation led by Noah Straus ’26; and a “cheers and tears” reception at the president’s house.

While President Thacker applauded parents and families during the evening reception, his morning remarks to the first-year students focused on offering five bits of helpful advice:

1. Take advantage of all that �鶹ԭ�� and The Claremont Colleges offer.
2. Get to know your professors; they want to work with you. That’s why they’re here and not at a larger institution.
3. Take care of yourselves: Get plenty of sleep, exercise, food, and know your limits.
4. Reach out and build a sense of community.

And the fifth tip? 

Thacker asked the students to be nice to their parents and families. 

“Let them know how you’re doing because you’re not the only ones adjusting to a new life: They are, too,” he said. “They are so excited for you, but they’re going to miss you too.”

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Parents, Don't Forget: Many families expressed their excitement at returning to campus in November to see how their students have settled into �鶹ԭ�� life during Family Weekend 2025. Visit here for more information about that event. Hope to see you there!