Scripps College facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Scripps College

Motto	Incipit Vita Nova (Latin)
Motto in English	"Here begins new life"
Type	Private liberal arts women's college
Established	1926; 99 years ago (1926)
Academic affiliations	Claremont Colleges NAICU CLAC Annapolis Group
Endowment	$460.6 million (2022)
Budget	$83 million
President	Amy Marcus-Newhall
Academic staff	138 (100 full-time) (2023)
Students	1,103 (2023)
Undergraduates	1,082 (2023)
Postgraduates	21 (2023)
Location	Claremont, California , U.S. 34°6′13″N 117°42′38″W / 34.10361°N 117.71056°W / 34.10361; -117.71056
Campus	Suburban, 32 acres (12.9 ha)
Colors	Green and white
Nickname	Stags (men) / Athenas (women)
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division III – SCIAC
Mascot	La Semeuse ("she who sows")

Scripps College is a private college for women in Claremont, California. It focuses on liberal arts, which means it teaches a wide range of subjects. The college was started in 1926. It is part of a group of schools called the Claremont Colleges.

A kind journalist and helper named Ellen Browning Scripps gave the money to start the college. Scripps College is a four-year school for students getting their first college degree. In 2020, about 958 students were enrolled. The college teaches subjects like history, literature, and science. It is known for its special core curriculum, which connects different subjects.

The campus is about 32 acres and was designed by Gordon Kaufmann. It has a beautiful Spanish Colonial Revival style. The campus is so special that it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Scripps is seen as a top women's college on the West Coast of the United States. Many of its students win Fulbright scholarships to study abroad. Its sports teams, called the Athenas, play with teams from other colleges in the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags and Athenas group. They compete in NCAA Division III sports.

History of Scripps College

How Scripps College Began

In 1908, Ellen Browning Scripps visited Pomona College in Claremont, California. She was a generous person who cared a lot about education and women's rights. She met James A. Blaisdell, the president of Pomona College. Scripps stayed involved with Pomona College and helped fund some of its talks.

By 1919, more and more female students were joining Pomona College. President Blaisdell asked Scripps if she would help fund a "Woman's Campus." Scripps liked the idea of creating a college that would teach her values. Over the next few years, she bought land in Claremont. She also paid for new dorms for what would become "Scripps College for Women."

Scripps believed that a college should help students think clearly and live bravely. She wanted the college to focus on important subjects and not have too many classes. She first did not want the college named after her. But Blaisdell convinced her that her name would help the college grow.

The creation of Scripps College started a new system in Claremont. It was like the Oxford Colleges in England, where several colleges share resources. This idea made Scripps College famous. It was even featured on the cover of Time magazine. This new group of schools became known as the Claremont Colleges.

Construction of Toll Hall around 1927

Scripps College officially opened in 1926. It was founded after Pomona College and Claremont Graduate University. The first dorm, Toll Hall, was built in 1927. It was named after a trustee, Eleanor Joy Toll. Ernest Jaqua became the first president of Scripps College. The second dorm, Clark Hall, was named after Ellen Browning Scripps's niece.

Other important buildings, Balch Academic Hall and Browning Residence Hall, opened in 1929. They were named after trustee Janet Jacks Balch and founder Ellen Browning Scripps. Even though different people designed them, both buildings had a "Mediterranean" look.

Ellen Browning Scripps was 89 years old when she founded the college. She wanted it to be a place where women could prepare for careers and grow as people. She imagined a campus where buildings and gardens blended together beautifully.

Later Years and Changes

Olive tree grove in the Humanities Building

Over time, the college changed from its early focus on social skills. In 1968, students protested to save a group of olive trees. They did not want the trees cut down for a new building.

In 2000, the college opened a central dining hall called Malott Commons. This meant students no longer ate meals in their dorms. In 2014, Scripps College began accepting transgender women students.

Exploring the Campus

The Scripps College Rose Garden

Many people say Scripps College has one of the most beautiful college campuses in America. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984. In 2017, the Princeton Review called it the twelfth most beautiful campus in the U.S. Other groups like Forbes and U.S. News & World Report agree.

Scripps College was the first school to get help from the Getty Campus Heritage Initiative Program. This program helped record and protect the college's historic areas. It described how each building and garden looked originally and how they changed over time. Courtyards like the Sicilian Court and Margaret Fowler Garden were restored to their first designs.

Balch Hall

Scripps is in the middle of the Claremont Colleges. It is surrounded by other schools like Harvey Mudd College and Pomona College. The first campus was designed by Gordon Kaufmann in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. It had many home-like spaces, fitting the idea of women's education in the 1920s. The original plan for the campus has been kept. Important views connect the central areas. The way plants and trees are arranged, designed by Edward Huntsman-Trout, is still followed.

The campus also has fun outdoor areas. There is a rose garden where students can pick flowers. There are also fruit trees with oranges, grapefruits, and pomegranates. Scripps even harvests olives from its trees to make award-winning olive oil.

Some facilities are shared by all the Claremont Colleges. For example, Scripps shares the Keck Science Center with Pitzer College. The colleges also own the Robert J. Bernard Field Station.

• Courtyards at Scripps
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  Eucalyptus Court in Balch Hall (view as a 360° interactive panorama)

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  Sycamore Court in Balch Hall (view as a 360° interactive panorama)

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  Star Court in Toll Hall (view as a 360° interactive panorama)

Ruth Chandler Williamson Art Gallery

Scripps College has the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery. This gallery holds the college's art collection, which has about 14,000 pieces. These artworks cover 3,000 years of art history. Students can use the art in their classes. The art is also shown in exhibits on campus and loaned to other museums.

The collection includes works by famous American artists like Andy Warhol, Ansel Adams, and Mary Cassatt. It also has many paintings by California artist and former Scripps Professor Millard Sheets. The gallery also has a large collection of Japanese woodblock prints.

Margaret Fowler Garden

The Margaret Fowler Garden
(view as a 360° interactive panorama)

The Margaret Fowler Garden is a beautiful walled garden on the Scripps College Campus. It was first designed to look like a European medieval garden. The garden has two main parts. The western part has a sculpture by Albert Stewart called "Eternal Primitive." This area also has a central pool and four paths. The eastern part has a tiled wall fountain in a Mediterranean style. Covered walkways run along the north and south sides of the garden.

On the south wall of the Margaret Fowler Garden, there are murals by Alfredo Ramos Martínez. The college asked Martinez in 1945 to paint a mural called "The Flower Vendors." Martinez drew the whole picture on the wall. He started painting some parts but sadly passed away in 1946. This left the mural unfinished. In 1994, money from the Getty Endowment helped to preserve the mural.

Caring for the Environment

Scripps' Elm Tree Lawn, replanted in 2008, features Princeton elms.

Scripps College works hard to be environmentally friendly. They save energy by using a new energy management system. They also have water systems that reduce waste. Turning "Alumnae Field" into a natural grass field also helps save water. Scripps has made trash bins smaller and made "to-go" containers recyclable. This helps send less waste to landfills.

To reduce pollution, maintenance staff use electric tools instead of gas-powered ones. There is also a program for students and staff to share rides. In 2011, Scripps got a B- grade on the College Sustainability Report Card. This showed they were doing well in student involvement, transportation, food, recycling, and water programs.

How Scripps College is Run

Scripps College is run by a nonprofit organization. A group called the board of trustees looks after the college's long-term goals. The college has a large fund of money called an endowment, which was about $460.6 million in 2022.

The college's motto is "Incipit Vita Nova." This is Latin for "Here Begins New Life." It comes from a famous poem by Dante Alighieri.

Learning at Scripps College

Scripps' Garrison Theater is one of the largest performance spaces at the Claremont Colleges. It often hosts talks by important speakers.

Scripps is part of the Claremont Colleges, often called the "5Cs." Students at Scripps, Claremont McKenna, Pomona, Pitzer, and Harvey Mudd Colleges share many things. They share dining halls, libraries, and other facilities. All five colleges, plus two graduate schools, are part of the Claremont University Consortium.

Scripps students can take classes or even major in subjects at any of the other Claremont Colleges. Classes at Scripps are usually small, with about 16 students. The student-to-teacher ratio is 10:1. More than 21% of students choose to have two majors. All classes are taught by professors.

Learning at Scripps focuses on connecting different subjects in the humanities. Students also get strong training in specific fields. All students must take classes in math, fine arts, literature, science, social sciences, and a foreign language. They also take classes in women's/gender studies and race/ethnic studies. First-year students must take a writing course. Every student must complete a senior project or paper before graduating.

In 2022, the most popular majors for graduates were:

• Political Science and Government
• Research and Experimental Psychology
• Biology/Biological Sciences
• English Language and Literature
• Environmental Science
• Neuroscience
• Mass Communication/Media Studies
• Econometrics and Quantitative Economics

A key part of learning at Scripps is the Core Curriculum in Interdisciplinary Studies. This is a series of three classes that help students think deeply and question ideas. All first-year students take Core I, which introduces big ideas. Core II classes explore specific ideas from Core I. These classes are often taught by two professors from different fields, like physics and art. The final Core III classes lead to individual projects. These projects often become the students' senior thesis or project.

How Good is Scripps College?

Scripps is known as the best women's college in the American West.

U.S. News & World Report ranked Scripps as tied for 33rd among national liberal arts colleges in 2023. It was also ranked the third best women's college, after Wellesley College and Smith College. Forbes ranked it 60th among 650 colleges in 2019. Kiplinger's Personal Finance placed Scripps at 39th for best value liberal arts colleges in 2019. Washington Monthly ranked Scripps 116th among liberal arts colleges in 2020. This ranking looks at how much colleges help the public good.

Getting into Scripps College

Admissions statistics
2019 entering classChange vs. 2014
Admit rate	32.0% ( +4.8)
Yield rate	29.2% ( −3.6)
Test scores middle 50%
SAT EBRW	673–740
SAT Math	660–750
ACT Composite	30–33
High school GPA†
Top 10%	77.8% ( −5.2)
Top 25%	97.8% ( +0.8)
Top 50%	100.0% ( no change)
†Among students whose school ranked

For the Class of 2023, Scripps accepted about 32% of students who applied. This means it is a selective college. Scripps College does not require students to take the SAT or ACT tests to apply. For students who did submit scores, the middle 50% range for the SAT was 673-740 for reading and writing, and 660-750 for math. For the ACT, the middle 50% range was 30-33. The average high school GPA for new students was 4.20.

Studying Abroad

Scripps College has a strong study abroad program. More than 60% of students take part in it. They can choose from over 120 approved programs in many cities and countries. Students can also exchange with other U.S. colleges like Spelman College. They can also do internships in places like Silicon Valley.

Student Life at Scripps

Seal Courtyard, with Malott Commons on the left and The Motley Coffeehouse on the right

In 2019, there were 1109 students at Scripps. Most students are female. The college has nine dorms and on-campus apartments. Students can live on campus for all four years. In 2017, The Princeton Review ranked Scripps highly for its dorms, beautiful campus, and food.

All dorms have students from different years living together. This creates a shared community. Each dorm has between 70 and 120 residents. In 2014, a new dorm called Nan Elizabeth Walsh Schow Hall was built with a generous gift.

Student Groups

Scripps has many registered clubs and organizations. Students also often join clubs with students from the other Claremont Colleges. There are almost 300 clubs across the 5Cs.

A popular spot for students is The Motley. It is a coffeehouse run by students and is a central place for social life at the college.

Sports at Scripps

Scripps athletes play sports with students from Claremont McKenna College and Harvey Mudd College. Their combined teams are called the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags and Athenas. They compete in NCAA Division III. Their conference is the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Sports Achievements

In the 2023-2024 school year, the CMS sports program ranked 19th among all NCAA Division III programs. It was first among colleges in its conference. In 2016-2017, the CMS golf team was ranked first among NCAA Division III teams. They were also 17th overall, including larger Division 1 schools. These rankings show that students balance school and sports well.

Women's Sports Teams

Axelrood Pool

Female Scripps athletes compete on 11 CMS women's teams:

• Basketball
• Cross Country
• Golf
• Lacrosse
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming and Diving
• Tennis
• Track and Field
• Volleyball
• Water Polo

There are also 10 men's teams, but few if any Scripps athletes play on them.

Sports Rivals

The main rival for CMS is the team from Pomona College and Pitzer College. This team is known as the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens.

Famous People from Scripps College

Former U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords (Democrat from Arizona), class of 1993

See also

In Spanish: Scripps College para niños