<p>Hey all! First off, congratulations to those who were accepted, and best of luck to those waitlisted. Many of you might have some questions about Pomona, especially now that you're admitted. Pomona is a pretty special place, and I love talking about it...feel free to ask anything, whether its about classes/majors/deciding between schools. </p>
<p>And congratulations again!</p>
<p>thanks for the offer to inform. we’ve heard that pre-med is quite intense, especially intro classes to ‘weed out’. would you have any thoughts on an effective way to sequence those classes?</p>
<p>Thoughts on Pomona vs. USC?</p>
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<p>Most people on the pre-med track take general chemistry both semesters of freshman year, and organic chemistry both semesters of sophomore year. You’ll also take biology second semester of freshman year, and fulfill the other requirements whenever. </p>
<p>I don’t really think ‘weed out’ is an apt term to describe the pre-med track at Pomona. Pomona doesn’t operate like the stereotypical state school, where curves might only allow a certain percentage of a class to get good grades (and therefore cause a lot of people to drop out). Many of my friends are pre-med and my general impression from them is that the classes are challenging but Pomona really wants everyone to succeed at them.</p>
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<p>USC was one of the schools I was admitted to along with Pomona. In my case, I didn’t really consider USC since my decision was more about choosing between Pomona and Columbia. I think it’s going to come down to what kind of environment you’re looking for. USC is a much bigger school and is actually in LA. Pomona is a small, tight-knit community in sleepy Claremont. I personally found the community at Pomona to be one of its biggest draws. Some questions you might want to consider: do you like the idea of small, more intimate gatherings with friends, or do you imagine yourself at large weekend parties? do you want to go to school where sports are big? will you need the resources of a large institution, or do you want the support of small classes and easy access to professors who love undergraduates?</p>
<p>Helpful. Thanks! how did you react to the “Huh, where’s that?” comments. My peeps know USC but no one has heard of Pomona. I am OOS.</p>
<p>Regarding USC vs. Pomona, would you say USC is a better choice for someone who’s looking for a pre-professional emphasis? Does Pomona offer the resources that, for example, Marshall (USC’ School of Business) offers to students who pursue a career in business? And, as a small college, how does Pomona lack certain resources that larger institutions like USC have?</p>
<p>I was also doing the USC vs Pomona thing</p>
<p>It’s all about the environment you believe you will thrive in. I’m choosing Pomona :D</p>
<p>OP can you please give advice about dorms and housing? thanks!</p>
<p>^and food and social scene (eg, what happens on weekends? Do you meet people from other schools?)</p>
<p>How is transportation for someone without a car in LA? Does Pomona or the consortium have Zip cars available? How about transportation to the airport or other parts of LA? How close is skiing and are there shuttles on the weekend? Thanks!</p>
<p>@placido- I got so angry I punched them. Seriously, though, it won’t matter at all when you get here.</p>
<p>@carson- Pomona doesn’t have any finance courses. If that’s what you’re interested in, I would say USC wins. CMC does have finance courses, but they are reserved for CMC students. You can get in as a Pomona student if you get the professor’s permission, which can be easy or difficult, depending on the professor and the popularity of the class. Personally, I’ve found Pomona’s resources to be awesome. I can’t speak for USC. Honestly, I think the only thing Pomona and USC have in common is the state they are in. Very different schools. You should be able to develop criteria to separate them fairly easily. </p>
<p>@Fail- The social scene is what you make if it. I have a lot of CMC friends, so I go to CMC parties more often than most. I mostly enjoy hanging out with my close friends, though. On Wednesday night, Pomona hosts a party called Pub. CMC has some weird themed parties, if you want to dress up like a Disney character and get drunk. HMC actually has some great parties. Turns out engineers know their stuff. They got on the Playboy cool party lists for coolness. I’d point out the irony if I didn’t go to Pomona. They have this one party where they go and steal hundreds of lemons from a farm and throw them all over campus to advertise it. (Not sure who cleans it up.) They also fill a dorm with foam until it starts waterfalling from the second story. But keep in mind that Pomona is not UCLA. </p>
<p>@entomom- I have a car, but there is train access into LA. Once you get in LA, you would need to take a bus or cab to get to wherever you want to go, though. Most people don’t do it that often. I have an affair with LA dim sum, so I do. My friends take advantage of me quite a bit. If you don’t have a car, become friendly with someone that does. There are also zip cars available for a very reasonable price. You can take a cab to an airport… find people who are leaving at the same time and you can split the cab price.</p>
<p>I absolutely loved Pomona when I visited, but one of the reps I talked to implied that double-majoring is rare/difficult. I definitely want to double major in Spanish and International Relations, and I also want to study/travel abroad… as much as possible 
Is it going to be difficult given the rigor of the courses at Pomona to double major and travel?</p>
<p>Are you from the East Coast? If so, can you talk about how it is to visit your friends and family? I’m really close to both my high school friends and my family (my sister goes to Tufts), so I’m a little concerned about being so far away/unable to come home.</p>
<p>I’m also interested in hearing a student talk about general social life/the conversations on campus (so less so like parties, more so day-to-day interactions). If you want me to give you more of a prompt than that, let me know, but I’m interested to see what you have to say of your own accord.</p>
<p>One more question, how is Pomona for a recreational runner? Bike lanes, trails, nearby parks, etc.?</p>
<p>@Santeria
How are the dorms at Pomona? What would you recommend for a First year?</p>
<p>You don’t actually have a choice as a freshman. You fill out a housing form and write about yourself. You then get assigned to a sponsor group that they think you will fit in with. Sponsor groups are assigned a dorm. They do a pretty good job of assigning sponsor groups and roommates. Make sure you write about any preferences, like substances, sleeping habits, etc, because they read them.</p>
<p>The biggest freshman dorm is Mudd-Blaisdell, which is a pretty nice dorm because it has AC. Other freshmen get assigned to Lyon, Wig, and Harwood. Some people don’t like Harwood. Lyon has the biggest rooms. All the dorms, in my opinion, are perfectly good. The dorms in general are supposed to be nice compared to other colleges. The lack of AC can get a little annoying but it cools off by October and it gets cool at night. About 25% of freshmen get a single, which is a large percentage. It’s relatively easy to get a spacious single after freshman year.</p>
<p>@santeria: Do they still have Death by Chocolate?</p>
<p>I don’t think they’ve had death by chocolate for the past couple years.</p>
<p>At this point, I’m thinking I either want to major in neuroscience or physics. Do you have any personal experience with either of these programs, or do any of your friends? Looking for a review of the courses, teachers, research opportunities, or anything else that comes to mind. Also, would neuroscience and pre-med be a possible combination in terms of workload? Thanks!</p>
<p>RunningBear…I too am interested in majoring in neuroscience and I know for a fact that a large percentage of neurosci. majors easily get into med school Hope that helps</p>