Chances?

<p>Hey everyone. I'm a junior just trying to get a feel for my chances at Pomona. I've been looking around at some really prestigious schools, and the PPE (philosopy, politics, economy) program really interested me (not to mention Pomona's location and affiliation with the other Claremont Colleges). Anyway, please let me know what you think my chances are of being accepted....</p>

<p>ACADEMICS
-taking all honors/ AP classes available
-got a 4 on my AP Euro test last year; will almost definitely get a 5 on physics this year, 4 or 5 on U.S., and realistically a 4 on AP Literature and Composition
-GPA: weighted = 4.80 unweighted = 3.85
-class rank: weighted = 7/516 (1.3%) unweighted = 29/516 (5.6%)
-ACT projected 28-32, then got a 32 on a practice test, so i'm estimating my ACT to end up at 33
-PSAT/NMSQT - 213 soph. year, 210 junior year (yea i was disappointed), which qualified me for commended student
-projected SAT based on PSAT = 2100</p>

<p>EC's (weak area)
-i don't really get into school sports, but i skateboard all the time...maybe worth mentioning in my essays?
-co-founded Strategy Club at my school (poker, chess, Risk....)
-in the process of starting my own company selling skateboard rails, if you want to check out a little go to El</a> Toro Rails - The Best Skateboarding Rails
-current Life Scout, will be Eagle this summer (i'm a junior so i have plenty of time before applying)
-plenty of community service through Scouts to mention</p>

<p>RANDOM
-i'm a good writer, so i'm hoping for a boost through my essays
-my counselor always seems impressed by me, so i'm also hoping for a boost from her recommendation letter
-i'm very interested in the philosophy of government (hence the interest in PPE), and i am hoping to combine that with my writing skills to write either a book or article on the subject. i'm hoping for this to really express my interest in my studies and, again, boost my chances</p>

<p>So, if you could at all give me an idea as to where I stand in the pool of applicants to Pomona, I would be very grateful.</p>

<p>extra club info i forgot to mention:
-i'm joining Business Club which was just started this year at my school
-i was in Photo Club and Theater Guides fresh/soph years. i really wasnt interested in either, so i decided not to go back to them this year but instead find clubs that interested me</p>

<p>Hi! Ahh, how I love looking at chances threads now that I'm in to college. :P I'll be going to Pomona next year so the process is still extremely fresh in my mind....</p>

<p>Pomona's a really hard college to get into, as I'm sure you know; they've been known to reject plenty of people with 2300s on the SAT. I'd say your stats look fine; they won't automatically get you in, cause no one's will. I think your ECs look fine too. The skating thing is what jumps out at me -- you might want to write about that in your supplement if it's the same question as this year (write about something fun). I think writing a book/article on your subject of interest makes you interesting too. </p>

<p>As it is I'd say you have as good a chance as anyone. Write a fantastic essay and your chances will be boosted.</p>

<p>All that said, I don't have much basis for my opinions, since I'm not an admissions dude...</p>

<p>Hey, well first off congrats on getting in. What other schools were you looking at, and what was it that stood out in Pomona?</p>

<p>Thanks! :) I applied to a lot of schools.... my second favorite was Wesleyan. I also applied to Oberlin, Yale, Stanford, Occidental, some UCs, errrr... some other ones. I liked Pomona mostly because I loved the feel of the campus. I know that sounds cliche, but I felt really comfortable there, and all the people were really cool. Also, the campus is gorgeous, the weather is amazing, and obviously it's a really good school. You should totally check out Wesleyan too because it's AWESOME. Good luck!</p>

<p>Well, I’ll definitely look into Wesleyan. I’m really just getting into college research, but after reading more and more Pomona seems like the perfect place. If you don’t mind me asking, what were your stats and all that good stuff on your app?</p>

<p>The dirty truth that a lot of kids (and adults) don’t want to accept is that super-selective schools like Pomona (and Williams and Amherst) are mainly interested in aggregating on their campus extremely intelligent young people as mainly indicated by their test scores. They give lip service to other variables, but this is the bottom line.</p>

<p>So here’s the deal: shoot for 730-800 on both your math and critical reasoning SATs Forget the writing portion and forget averaging them into a single number because the schools don’t If you don’t have these scores keep taking the test until you do. You these scores are out of reach, then you need to put Pomona on your “reach” list and target schools that are more in your comfort zone.</p>

<p>Stats, ahh those annoying things. 2260 on the SAT if you stick in all my best scores from the two times I took it - 740M, 750CR, and 770W. So yeah, they’re in the range that midatl_dd indicated, but a girl who got in from my school last year had significantly lower scores. Like 2000s or 1900s or something. So don’t despair if you don’t get astounding SAT scores the first time, etc. Give it your all (the app) no matter what you think your scores are like.</p>

<p>Oh, and I have a 4.1, blabla.</p>

<p>I doubt if anyone is still looking at this post, but if you are…I took the ACT in April and got a 34 on it on my first go. My school offered one free (PSAE), so I could have even higher. Suffice to say I got a 34 though, think I’m good for Pomona or still a crap-shoot?</p>

<p>I got a 34 and got in :slight_smile: I think ur okay…just make sure ur essays are really good and you have good rec letters</p>

<p>Hey to charizzle and others, are ya’ll on the Pomona facebook page? Join!</p>

<p>Thanks. I don’t know why im worrying so much. I think it’s just cuz I loved the claremonts when I visited and want to be sure I get in. We’ll see what happens though. Maybe I’ll be seeing all you guys in a couple years?</p>

<p>midatl_dd is probably right. I took the SAT and got a 740 CR 710 M and 630W (>.<) and i still got in ( yay!) so they dont really care about the writing section it seems. Also, make sure your essays are really good, that will help out alot.</p>

<p>for EC’s I also

  • was in our school’s presidential debate before the '08 election
  • have been accepted for an internship at Fermilab this summer</p>

<p>p.s. this post was really more for me, because I’ll probably come back to this thread to double-check that my apps. have everything in them, haha.</p>