<p>Okay, so I posted this on the Pomona board too, don’t skewer me!</p>
<p>well… I’M IN!!! which is awesome, and into BOTH which is awesome but now complicating!!!</p>
<p>I’m having trouble deciding! AND I’ll be going to France on a school trip from April 8-18!!! (I know, poor me, lol) But this makes making a decision very difficult. We will probably still go out to California to visit, but I’ll still have very very very little time to make a decision!</p>
<p>I live in MA, but have a lot of family in CA, so I’m okay with moving across the country. Still, I just really don’t know! I mostly know NorCal, not SoCal, and as much as I hate winter, I’m so comfortable out here… </p>
<p>Please help! What’s different about the two schools. What are the pros and cons of each?</p>
<p>Pros of Pomona:
Pomona's right next to Scripps, Harvey Mudd, and Claremont McKenna, which make for a bigger student community than you'll have at Bowdoin. The weather is five thousand times better. You're very close to LA and all the culture offered thereby. Finally, it's a greater atmosphere change from east to west coast, and you'll learn a lot in the way of other people's lives.</p>
<p>Cons of Pomona:
Bring a gas mask. LA, in addition to culture, contributes a significant amount of grime. Claremont is basically a junkyard beyond the grounds of the colleges, which are hardly spectacular, BTW.</p>
<p>General differences: SoCal has a totally different mindset than New England. People, in general, abhor tradition and decorum. We are very friendly, but removed--it's difficult to make genuine friends who last beyond a year or two. We also don't mind flaunting wealth (I notice this because I have none), and you will not find an original store in any populated area. It's pretty much big chains only.</p>
<p>Diversity is huge too. We almost have a minority majority; I would think about half of Pomona's population is Asian (it is at most UCs), and Spanish is a dominant language (I don't know if that's so prominent at Pomona; it just is in general).</p>
<p>Fruits and vegetables are cheap. There's another consideration.</p>
<p>My town is something like 96% white. If anything, I'm underestimating. There are very very very few black/latino kids in my school, and most are actually from Boston and are bussed here through the METCO program. There are a few asian kids. I'm 1/4 Japanese myself, but it depends who you ask on whether that "counts" for anything. </p>
<p>I like the multi cultural thing, since my Mom is half Japanese, my grandmother was FROM Japan, my uncle by marriage is half Mexican and half Native American, so my cousins are, get this, 1/4 Japanese, 1/4 Mexican, 1/4 Native American and 1/4 Irish! My uncle's longtime girlfriend of something like 10 years is Samoan or part Samoan. (spelling?) I'm totally comfortable around that, and at the same time, being in an all white/mostly white environment doesn't bother me either, since it's where I've grown up. </p>
<p>Some people pick me out as different right away, some people don't see asian in me at all, but I think most people can tell I'm a mix of SOMETHING. I just started working at a restaurant and new people I meet, and lots of times customers, after a short time almost ALWAYS ask some question like, "So where are your parents from?" or more directly, "What ethnicity are you?" I like to keep em guessing by listing off the German, Irish, French and Dutch percentages first. </p>
<p>So I don't know, white-bread doesn't bother me, multicultural doesn't bother me... I don't really try to seek out either situation. It's never been an issue for me either way. I like it like that.</p>
<p>I'd just like to comment on the statement about the Pomona grounds (I too, might be choosing between these great schools as a trasnfer). From what I understand, there are "smog days" but those aren't everyday, and from what I understand the Pomona grounds are actually lovely, just a different look than the NE. More of the flat w/ Spanish architecture, like Stanford.</p>