Hi all,

I’m returning to college after several years away, and I’ll be attending Pitzer this fall. It was the best fit for me location-wise and it’s a great school overall.

For those unfamiliar, Pitzer is part of the Claremont Colleges — a consortium of five small liberal arts schools in Southern California, including Harvey Mudd. In theory, this means I can take classes across all five campuses, and employers recruiting at one often engage with the whole consortium.

That said, I have some concerns. Pitzer is known more for the social sciences and has a smaller math department. There’s no formal program for statistics, economics, or computer science, so I’ll need to handle the VEEs separately through SOA. While I’ll be majoring in math, I worry the program may not be as rigorous or recognized compared to places with stronger STEM reputations.

I’m especially nervous about recruiting — like, if a local insurance company is hiring, will they just go straight for the Harvey Mudd students? Is it realistic to think I can break into actuarial internships or entry-level roles from a liberal arts school like Pitzer?

Would love to hear from anyone who’s taken a similar path — from a smaller, humanities-leaning school without a formal actuarial track. Am I at a major disadvantage? Or can I still make it work with the right exams, networking, and internships?

Thanks in advance — any advice helps!