They have borrowing privileges at each other's libraries and can request books to be send to them within just a few days. Students are invited to participate in each other's activities and a calendar of events at all of the colleges is printed once a month, as well as being available online. Not only are all of these unique experiences possible, but they are taken advantage of. Hundreds of students take classes off campus each semester. Extra-curricular groups, like an entrepreneurial club, a Koinina church, and a literary journal have been started that explicitly involve members of all five colleges.
Special funds are available to help groups put on five-college events.
The Five Colleges are located in a unique area of natural beauty near the Connecticut River and the Holyoke mountain range. Just a short ride away is the city of Springfield, farms, state parks, malls, great nightlife, the Yankee Candle factory and museum, and the basketball and volleyball halls of fame. A botanic garden, theological seminary, and policy institute are also affiliated with the consortium. Claremont University Center is a special institution established specifically to manage cooperation between the Claremont Colleges. It manages the combined library systems, provides efficient services for the administration of the colleges, and helps provide for unified student services and activities.