I know this topic has come up before, but some of the threads are pretty old, and pomona has come up a lot in the past few years. I’m wondering about a few things.
- Kids at Pomona seem really happy. This didn’t seem true when I visited Amherst.
- To be honest, the kids at Amherst didn’t seem that engaged with their work. This could be due to my hosts, but it seemed odd. I haven’t visited overnight at Pomona, so it could be the same.
- Social life? I’ve heard bad things about both schools In this respect.
- Program strength in the following areas: biology, math, economics, english (creative writing), and anything else of note.
- Drinking/drug culture. Amherst seemed more relaxed in this respect
I’m posting this in the Pomona section also. Going to be upfront: pomona is above Amherst on my list right now. So what am I missing? Amherst obviously is more well known. Thanks for any responses.
My daughter preferred Amherst to Pomona, even though the weather scared her (we are Californians). I suspect your experience varies depending on which people you happen to meet on your visit. She felt the Amherst students were happy, engaged and interesting. She’s not a partier, and to her the social life at both seemed very similar. Amherst had more “school spirit” and seemed more diverse. Both schools are insanely wealthy. Both schools will have terrific program strength and excellent teaching in anything that they offer. Both have consortiums to fill in any holes in their curriculum. Either is a great choice.
@ThankYouforHelp Thank you for your comment here!!! I would really appreciate if you could share your opinions on my question as well? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/amherst-college/1759312-amherst-college-vs-northwestern-university.html#latest
Have you visited Pomona? Not exactly an idyllic college town. Not in a ghetto by any means, but it’s not a real college town and it’s not the highlight of the area like Amherst. I can’t speak much to academics, but the smog alone would keep me away from Pomona. Look very careful at the surroundings as well as the academics. Good luck!
I have visited. Claremont is actually quite a nice town. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a college town, but it’s not too terrible. Students do complain about it of course. The smog talk is way overblown. It’s not really a problem, especially for only 4 years. Most college students do way worse things to their bodies than inhale polluted air.
Pomona College is not in Pomona, and the smog is non-existent almost everyday. The rare days when the mountains are blocked, the air quality doesn’t feel any different. We have kids from all over the world and I haven’t heard a single complaint about air quality in my years here. Don’t talk about things you don’t know about. Claremont is very much so a college town:
http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/travel/article4033433.html
"Visitors cannot help but notice the stark difference between Claremont and surrounding areas straddling the border between Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. If you mistakenly turn south when exiting Interstate 10 at Indian Hill Road, you hit a prime example of urban blight, also known as Pomona, replete with pay-day loan storefronts, fast-food joints, liquor stores and walk-in clinics.
Make that U-turn and head back north under the freeway and, in a “Wizard of Oz”-like moment, the scenery abruptly changes and teems with verdancy. A granite sign in a wide, grassy median welcomes you to Claremont Village, and those live oaks and sycamores cast a lovely, sedative, sun-dappled tinge for the mile-long drive to the retail hub"
@EndOfTheWorld I am a lifelong San Gabriel Valley resident who lives nearby. My son was a “recruited” athlete who visited and heard all of these complaints from students themselves. He rejected Pomona for all the reasons I listed.
Smog absolutely does exist in the basin, not all year but absolutely it exists. In fact, Air quality in Claremont is 15 on a scale to 100 (higher is better). This is based on ozone alert days and number of pollutants in the air, as reported by the EPA.
To each his own but you don’t have to attack me- it’s false and unwarranted. I know a lot about the school and the area and it’s not anything like Amherst’s surroundings. Educationally, I mentioned I am not able to speak well enough to make a judgement. But with 50 years in SGV, I am absolutely qualified to make my point on the Pomona College area.
Both are excellent top tier LAC’s and the OP is lucky to have this choice to make when it seems like half of CC posters have been waitlisted everywhere. Surprise surprise, the Amherst parent favors Amherst and the Pomona student favors Pomona. I think the OP is looking for more insightful comments about specific issues like program strength, social life, drug/party culture etc.rather than weather and air quality. (Also, I too wondered when I read your first post if you were confusing the cities of Pomona and Claremont.)
@Corinthian i’m sorry, I do see what you’re saying when I used the word Pomona instead of Pomona College. I am well aware that Pomona College and others are in Claremont, which is also where my grandmother lives. Perhaps I’m jaded by my sons opinions during his visits. Good luck to the OP.
I’m sorry for being unnecessarily harsh. I also thought you might have been referring to Pomona, which is very different.
But truly- we have people who come from places with the most clean air in the country, and I’ve never heard any complaints. 75% of the first year class is from outside California; maybe 90% outside of SoCal. It may be a summer thing, when students are not on campus. Maybe the tree-lined streets block it from affecting Claremont. I’ve never seen or felt any choking effects from the air here…
The air isn’t pure or refreshing in any means, but it’s not debilitating either. Or it might be killing our lungs slowly, we’re not realizing it 
I appreciate the comments guys. Air pollution likely won’t be a factor, unless I suffocate during my visit and thus don’t get to college. Amherst has a beautiful surrounding, but a bit too quiet for my liking. Also, people who already love in ca may want to leave. I’m in the east to west scenario.
I got deferred at pomona Ed 2, so I’m very glad to have gotten in. I’m just trying to give every school a fair shot rather than just relying on stuff I’ve heard from random people.