Caltech vs. Pomona College

Colleges and Universities A-Z California Institute of Technology
1

<p>I am in the process of applying to a lot of schools; and my top four are Stanford, Pomona, Caltech, and Rice.</p>

<p>Stanford would be great, but I think it is actually in my best interest to go to one of the other three schools because one of the most important things I'm looking for in a college is undergraduate biology research opportunities. I'm afraid there aren't enough at Stanford.</p>

<p>So I'm trying to figure out which school should be my #1 Early Decision school. I prefer California to Texas so Rice is out, which leaves me to Pomona and Caltech. Originally my top was Pomona, but after starting CommonApp and reading through Caltech's admission essays, I'm thinking Caltech might be more fun, and they have a lot of microbiology labs with amazing projects going on.</p>

<p>Opinions? Please and thanks!</p>

2

<p>Trying to figure out why you think Stanford won’t have research opportunities available.</p>

3

<p>If you asked me Pomona College vs. Caltech 10 times, I’d choose Caltech every single time. I hope this helps :)</p>

4

<p>If you want to do Bio research, then apply to Universities- there are far fewer research opportunities at LAC’s.
Stanford offers TONS of research opportunities- where did you get the false impression they dont??
But Caltech IS the place to go if research is your real passion. Its a LOT smaller than Stanford or Rice, but it is packed with students who live to do research. If that is your idea of “fun” , go for it.</p>

5

<p>I was told I would have to be lucky to do research as an undergrad @ Stanford by my current professor. But thanks guys!</p>

6

<p>Top liberal arts colleges offer huge opportunities for research, and it’s common for prime students to be co-authors on published articles. While a few universities offer undergraduates research opportunities, most don’t offer much except to their grad students. A highly disproportionate number of Ph.D.s in the sciences come from liberal arts colleges. I base this statement on nearly 40 years experience in higher education, both colleges and universities.</p>

<p>CalTech and Pomona are both exceptional places for undergraduate research, but their student bodies and student life couldn’t be more different. Students at one are likely to be miserable at the other. Look carefully.</p>

7

<p>Thank you so much!</p>

8

<p>OP, if you choose Pomona over Caltech for research opportunity, it is a big mistake. Caltech offers a lot more research opportunities either during the semester or in the summer. Caltech is one of the hosts of prestigious Amgen scholarship, which is extremely hard to get in. But half of the awardees in Caltech site every year are Caltech undergraduate students. In the last thirty years, I never read a single high impact paper in life science from Pomona, but read numerous breakthrough types of papers from Caltech. The biology division of Caltech is packed with leaders of their fields, including a number of Nobel prize and National Medal of Science winners. Pomona simply has no match for it. If you graduate from Caltech, getting into graduate school is much easier even with mediocre grades. From Pomona, you have to run extra mile to prove yourself and to have some luck to connect with an outside investigator if Pomona research is proven not very cutting edge.</p>

9

<p>Stanford = research. That is its IMO. Cal Tech and Rice are also very good for research. Why Pomona and not Harvey Mudd? Would think there are better research opportunities at Mudd although maybe it does not matter due to the Claremont Consortium.</p>

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<p>[qoute] Why Pomona and not Harvey Mudd?

[/quote]

That was my exact question. I think Harvery Mudd may have more reserach opportunities then Pomona. Check it out.</p>

<p>Caltech vs Stanford? Both are excellent reserach universities. Stanford has a medical school, Caltech does not but the biology division has some very well known staff and is comparable to Stanford. If Stanford =research, Caltech also = reserach.</p>

<p>Stanford is restricted early action, Pamona and Rice are early decision, Caltech is early action. I would suggest that you apply to Caltech for early action and apply to other schools during regular decision. Else if you apply to Pomona or Rice or Stanford, you cannot apply anywhere else. If you choose an ED school, you have to take it. Or apply Stanford early action and apply to other schools during regular decision as you still preserve your options.</p>

<p>Never apply early decision unless you are sure that is the school you want to go to. It does not seem that you are set on Pomona, then why apply there for ED?</p>

11

<p>^^^
Correction.</p>

<p>If you apply to Pomona ED, you can apply to Caltech EA, but if you get into Pomona, you need to take it.</p>

<p>If you apply to Stanford REA, you cannot apply to Caltech or Pomona but if you do get in, you are not required to join.</p>

<p>Also, Caltech and Stanford are possibly more difficult to get in than Pomona (again this is relative), but the competition is more intense. </p>

<p>Hence, you need to weigh your chances before you made a decision.</p>

12

<p>I turned down Stanford, Rice, and Caltech for Pomona, and I’m planning on being a bio/chem dual major. I feel like the above posters aren’t doing it justice. Here are some of my perspectives.</p>

<p>A big difference is HOW much you want a science education. If it’s the only thing you want, the answer is simple. Caltech or Harvey Mudd. Beyond MIT, there aren’t any parallels to them in the country. </p>

<p>If you want a more well-balanced and nurturing education, Pomona is the way to go. Pomona’s science programs are phenomenal- probably the 2nd best of any liberal arts college after Harvey Mudd. In addition, its humanity programs are also phenomenal. Pomona is for those who are more well-rounded and undecided. I was in that case even though I knew I was going to major in science.</p>

<p>Pomona is selective. Hard as heck to get into- it was ranked the most selective LAC tied with Harvey Mudd. This year, it was more selective than Caltech by admission rate, and in terms of test scores more so than Stanford. Considering the fact that such a selective body applies to it, that dilutes the raw number even more. The selectivity goes like: Stanford>Caltech=Pomona=Harvey Mudd>Rice. </p>

<p>Research at Pomona is something that distinguishes it from the others. I do not deny that Caltech is more prestigious and so is Stanford, but don’t forget- the Nobel laureates and the multitude of papers come almost exclusively from GRADUATE work. Pomona has no graduate program and pinpointing the lack of published work is a bit unfair because really no college’s undergraduate does.</p>

<p>Now research. We don’t have graduates, but we do have money. Tons of it, actually- the largest endowment per student among every college you list. Pomona loves research! They sponsor 150 Pomona students each year for a one on one summer research program with a Pomona professor, which are some of the most distinguished faculty members for any school in the country. You get a stipend, room, and board for an 8 week program. Furthermore, Pomona sponsors about 25 fellowships to unpaid summer internships covering travel, room, board, and a stipend. That’s a 175 funded research opportunities for about 1175 students (3 class equivalents) and excludes those who go to programs like Caltech’s Amgen, UCLA’s Amgen, Stanford research programs, and the like, who are already given a stipend by those schools respectively. Considering that about 35% of the class does math or science, that’s nearly everyone getting research done. Furthermore, it’s extremely easy to land a research position at Pomona during the school year, and all the math/science professors do some specialty of research. Lastly, Pomona sponsors unpaid internships to Southern California and gives students a stipend, a car, and gas money to pursue whatever they want. Research is a focal point of the Pomona experience, and because Pomona is so tiny yet so rich, your dreams will get funded. </p>

<p>Big differences between Harvey Mudd and Caltech: Caltech professors are more famous, but they are also more concerned about their research. The priority at Harvey Mudd is a very exceptional Math and Science education, and professor accessibility is a highlight of it. Not so much at Caltech. Caltech however has more money and better facilities, so it’s up to you to decide what matters more- a nurturing atmosphere with an incredible education, or a more cutthroat atmosphere with an incredible in a different way education. A Harvey Mudd student could easily fit into Pomona because both schools are renowned for being laid-back, friendly, and with a very nurturing vibe. A Pomona math/science student would hate Caltech.</p>

<p>Big differences between Stanford and the rest: Big University feel! Caltech is very small, and so are Harvey Mudd and Pomona. What do you want? A liberal arts experience or a university experience? How small do you want it to be?</p>

<p>Rice is a best of both worlds type of place, offering phenomenal biology programs in the best medical center in the world and having elements of both a liberal arts college and a university. </p>

<p>I did a lot of research among all 5 schools and would ultimately say how easy it is to do research(which was important to me) in them is Pomona 1st, due to money and resources, Harvey Mudd 2nd, due to only undergraduates and focus on science, Caltech 3rd due to focus on science, Rice 4th due to focus on undergraduates, and Stanford 5th but DEFINITELY doable. </p>

<p>Feel free to message me if you have any questions.</p>

13

<p>Just going to say it’s really really easy to get research opportunities here at Caltech. As far as I know, it’s pretty much an expectation for undergrads to participate. There’s also the SURF program that accepts pretty much every Caltech student that applies. </p>

<p>I will agree teaching quality here isn’t the best. I don’t think it’s always that the professors don’t care about the class, though. A few of my professors seemed genuinely dedicated to giving a good classroom experience; the problem was they were just atrocious at teaching. On the other hand, you’ll have classes where you find the best thing to do is just give up on taking notes. Instead you’ll just sit back and listen to the professor because they’re just so darned smart and view their field in an entirely different way than everyone else (and you’re just dying to figure out how they can fit all that stuff in).</p>

<p>Academically, I think Caltech is the best fit for the superstars of the superstars. If you struggle at Caltech you’d probably be better served going elsewhere. Once you fall behind here it’s easy to not learn anything from your classes. Unfortunately, there’s not a very good way of knowing where you’ll fall in ability until you come here.</p>