Hi guys I have finally narrowed down my options to either applying early decision to Amherst or Pomona. I have visited Pomona twice actually but not Amherst. I am planning on visiting Amherst in two weeks. I would like to major in neuroscience and hopefully be on a pre-med track. I’m a west coast kid so I don’t want to really stay on the west coast but my parents don’t want me to go to Amherst because they think that it is too far. Can anyone give me advice on the atmosphere, classes, differences, feel, or how they chose the school they attended? Anything would be much appreciated!
My D is a Californian, attending Amherst, on the neuroscience track. She is very happy there, even though it is far away. Amherst was the first (or maybe second) college in the nation to have a neuroscience concentration, and it is an extremely well respected program with an interdisciplinary focus. The school provides every possible support for medical school applicants, and and medical school placement is excellent. My D personally knows a couple of neuro students who were just awarded Fulbrights.
Plus, Amherst is about to open a spectacular new science center.
https://www.amherst.edu/amherst-story/future/greenway-campus/science-center
To be fair, she also considered Pomona and it would have been great too. Both of them are very demanding academically, yet not cut-throat and unpleasant at all. Neither Amherst nor Pomona “weeds out” premeds the way many larger universities do, yet both of them have very strong track records in medical school placement.
Go to the one that you like best.
I just graduated from Pomona but attended Amherst’s DIVOH program when I was applying to colleges. I was also interested in the sciences. Honestly, they are much more similar than they are different. The majors and pedagogy emphasize similar things, research opportunities are plentiful, and the type of student either school attracts is very similar. Maybe a bit more of a casual vibe at Pomona and a preppier vibe at Amherst, but probably not significant.
I got a distinctive feel that Pomona emphasized the sciences more than Amherst did. The research labs and buildings were in a much better shape, though the new science center at Amherst could level that field. More students studied sciences, and in my class, nearly 50% of students graduated with a STEM degree- compared to around 30% at Amherst. Pomona seems to have more pre-meds than Amherst does; this may be a consequence of the higher percentage of students from California. But both schools will grant you superb preparation for medical school- I think they both tout medical school acceptance rates significantly above the national average. A pro for Amherst with regards to their neuroscience program is that you’ll find a greater variety of courses through U-Mass Amherst than you would across the 5C’s.
The slight quantitative differences may not mean much to your own experience- it didn’t really affect mine, as I was able to meet people with all sorts of intellectual interests and take a great breadth of classes. I applied to Pomona early over Amherst primarily because of the location/weather, campus beauty and amenities (better housing and dining in my opinion), and of how much more seamless the Claremont Colleges felt compared to the 5 College Consortium.
I couldn’t identify any reason to pick Amherst over Pomona, but you have one, and that’s location. Location is a pretty big part of the experience. I wanted to be away from home just as you want to be. I think you should have a conversation with your parents about the growth and maturity attending a college away from home would lend you- especially at a place as meaningful, robust, and filled with lively experiences as Amherst College is. I would also recommend not applying Early Decision to Amherst unless you’ve had the opportunity to visit the school.
Good luck with your choice; you honestly cannot go wrong with either.
You will know once you visit. My daughter wanted an east coast school and lusted after Amherst for a whole year before she visited and the visit changed her mind. She felt an instant connection at Pomona. (Both were OOS for her) Personalities vary with each student and schools, even when similar, have different vibes. You will likely have an attraction to one over the other. Amherst is awesome and may wind up to be the school of your dreams. Either way, make sure you have some match schools on your list, both these schools are challenging to get into. Good luck!
My kid was a neuro major who eventually chose Pomona and I will agree with just about all of the above. You really can’t go wrong either way. It will really come down to where you want to spend the next 4 years. And just to show you how good they both are, kiddo is doing a pre-med gap year as a research assistant at a pretty well-known med school. The other post-bac in the lab is a neuro grad from Amherst.
nostalgicwisdom noted that Pomona emphasized the sciences more, but Neuroscience is one of our most distinct and well-respected majors. I have multiple friends looking to go/going down that track (or should I say trek? 
) that are very happy with the classes they have taken so far. But at this point, it all comes down to details/fit beyond your intended major. Pomona and Amherst have quite different cultures (I can attest to this – I visited Pomona, and am attending Amherst). It’s hard to go wrong either way, @Illinoisbound IM if you have more specific questions about Amherst.