Feeling extremely fortunate to have been accepted to Amherst + UChicago (Pomona I was wait-listed). In the case of Pomona, i’m debating whether or not to state that I would go to the school if offered admission in my continued letter of interest. I understand that there’s a large chance I won’t get into Pomona via the wait-list, but in case I do I’d really appreciate some insight into the school. I am extremely conflicted on where to attend.
Short bio:
I’m an international student interested in majoring in Economics, and potentially double majoring in Public Policy. However i’m extremely excited about studying liberal arts as I have a wide range of academic interests (also really into chemistry, IR, human geography, and I would love to explore subjects such as philosophy + CS through electives). I’m also very interested in urban studies/policy which really draws me towards UChicago because of their Urban labs initiative + Urban education institute. Besides academics, i’m into dance (mainly Ballet + contemporary) + music and I hope to further pursue these hobbies at university.
If you have researched about the any of the schools or are an alum/ currently enrolled student, please feel free to give me your 2 cents on the following:
Location: Internship opportunities, Job opportunities,
Academics: Strongest and weakest departments, degrees of competition or collaboration, research opportunities, faculty involvement
Social: general atmosphere, fixed hierarchy/fluidity, time to pursue EC’s and socialize amidst the worklad
Future preparation: Job placement, name recognition
Some of my current thoughts:
- I’m extremely indecisive on whether I would prefer UChicago’s core as opposed to Amherst’s flexible curriculum with no requirements. UChicago’s core sounds absolutely fantastic to me but i’m also worried that it might restrict my ability to pursue certain subjects that I would be able to at Amherst.
- I do think I would work well in a small LAC - forging close relationships with the professors, having a more intimate/engaging work environment etc, but I also feel like UChicago may offer a large variety of research opportunities a small LAC wouldn't be able to, especially those pertaining to urban policy.
- One thing i'm slightly worried about at Amherst is the social divide between athletes and non-athletes (especially seeing as the small school of 1800ish has about 70% athletes) I've heard some people say it's not that bad and others say it's quite bad.
- I've generally heard that Amherst has a much bigger pull in the job market than Pomona due to having a larger alumni connection (since the school is older). After I graduate, I plan on working in the U.S (hopefully..) before going to grad school, so UChicago's international reputation isn't as huge of a + to me. Being an international student however, I do feel my perception on all three school's reputation may be a bit skewed, so any insight into this would be greatly appreciated.
- Pomona's + Amherst's job internships sound amazing and it seems the school's have an excess of opportunities in this area. Does anybody know what it's like at UChicago? especially since it's a bigger school etc.
- Pomona seems to be the school that is most invested in the arts (dance, music etc) and their dance program seems really really great.
- I'm drawn much more to Pomona's consortium than Amherst's as it seems to be a lot more integrated. Most Amherst students i've spoken to haven't ventured to the other colleges and at Pomona the specializations of the colleges seems much more diverse - HMC CS/Sciences, CMC Econ/Gov, etc