Hi all! I am amazed to have been accepted to both Columbia and Pomona, and am now faced with a decision I never thought I’d have to make. I intend to major in English and History, but am also open to minor in/replace one of those majors with environmental policy or linguistics! Here are some important factors to me…
Mental health. I have ADHD (and possibly an undiagnosed mood disorder) which means I have a very inconsistent work ethic. Thus, I want to be in a school that fosters mental health - both administratively, e.g. with solid, easily available counseling, as well as a supportive, collaborative (and not super competitive) student body - e.g. lots of study groups. In this respect, I think Pomona definitely takes the cake.
Surrounding environment. I live 40 minutes from NYC and have been there 2+ days a week for the last year. I LOVE the energy and the pace, and also would have my best friends and family close by. However, I also feel that CA's sunny warm weather would do my mental and physical health wonders. So, this one's a toss-up.
Internships/research/study abroad opportunities. Columbia's internship opportunities are truly unparalleled, and I believe I'd have some truly awesome opportunities. I know Pomona is ~1hr from LA on the metrolink (a little further than I am from NYC now), which does help but just can't beat Columbia. I believe both have great study abroad opportunities, but I haven't researched them thoroughly. Also worthy to mention - Pomona fosters much closer relationships between professors and students, which may help on the internship/research fronts if I take initiative.
Social life. This one's also a toss-up, since I want to be surrounded by (generally) liberal, kind and diverse people who are intellectual but not ultra-competitive. By this metric, Pomona's vibe certainly is a better fit for me. However, Pomona is also smaller, so there would be less opportunities to make friends (or go on dates, considering I'm gay). Meanwhile, Columbia is situated directly in a large city that I'm comfortable navigating, and I can definitely make friends from other colleges my friends are attending.
I plan on visiting both colleges prior to May 1. However, I’d love any and all input and advice! Thank you!
Go to Pomona, end of deal. I love Columbia in and out, but your first priority is your own well being and if you feel that Columbia won’t support that, don’t take a chance. By no means are you weak but if you feel that you need that kind of support network, Columbia will not be the school for you. Columbia fosters competition and the inherent joys of collective suffering from work but to have a relaxing time go to Pomona. Also, going to mention that any of the other factors here can be eclipsed by bad mental health.
Please be sure to add the Claremont Colleges to the picture. Pomona does not feel as small as most LACs. It offers 2500 courses, 7 dining halls, and events at all of the five prestigious LACs with 5500+ undergraduates, which are adjacent to each other. Also, keep in mind that Pomona has a larger endowment per student than Columbia, and spends more on educational funding per degree, so it’s hard to tell at which college the average student has more resources (222000 at Columbia vs 300000 at Pomona, source: http://collegecompletion.chronicle.com/institution/#id=190150 for columbia, you can look up pomona too), One big thing is that going to an exclusively undergraduate experience like Pomona means a really nurturing, intimate vibe. The school exists literally to support undergrads- no push or tug from grad schools, medical institutions, etc. Pomona is by no means “relaxing”- it is an incredibly rigorous college, but it is more supportive than just about any university out there. Good luck! Two very, very different schools, and you’ll pretty readily identify which one you want by identifying your set of priorities.
I go to Columbia. The competition here is intense, and so many of my peers are suffering from depression. I love Columbia, though; the students, faculty, and the community in general are wonderful and intelligent. But Columbia’s mental healthcare is infamous for being rather inefficient.
If you’re really into brand name (the name “Columbia” goes a long way for internships and jobs), the Core Curriculum (really cool but restricting), and the vibrant city scene (we often take class trips to the Met and all that), choose Columbia. But be warned that it is comprised of the smartest, most competitive students in the nation. Great, if you’re an ambitious person yourself. Bad, if you can’t handle competition.
hello all, I’m in the exact same dilemma as OP. I’m an international (Ghana) and have been in love with Pomona since my first year of high school. I’m privileged to have been accepted to Pomona as well as Columbia, and I’m having a tough time choosing which to go to. I am a hard worker, but i also value being a human being and taking time to breathe. I feel like Pomona appreciates that better than Columbia. At the same time, I don’t want to miss out on the opportunities that being in the Ivy League network could bring to me. I’ve been named a Kluge Scholar for Columbia, which I understand comes with some added benefits. However I am not sure if i will enjoy the university experience more at Columbia than at Pomona.
I think the thing to realize is that while yes, without a doubt Columbia has the better brand name, and yes, without a doubt Columbia has a more lively city scene, Pomona is not some Podunk U in the middle of nowhere. It’s an elite liberal arts college that attracts a student body as strong and accomplished as some of the Ivies, and it was more selective than half of them by acceptance rate this year. It is one of the only schools which ranks in the top 20 for PhD production per capita and representation in the top medical/law/MBA programs. Recent graduates are working at some of the best companies out there: Google, BoA Merril Lynch, McKinsey, Federal Reserve, etc. Pomona also has an exclusive undergraduate focus, a substantially larger endowment per capita than Columbia, and the 5C’s for additional resources, so it’s not a tiny standalone LAC with limited offerings. And it has close access to LA.
But in your case @abremsxo21, that prestige gap is higher as an international student, because while LACs are held to high regard in elite circles/companies in the US, they’re not well known to the rest of the world. In just one year, Columbia has more total students (30000) than the entirety of Pomona’s entire alumni network (20000), so you’ll see Columbia graduates all over the world. The Ivies have their set of joined connections and will provide a resource for you where ever you go, and while the LAC networks look out for each other, it’s just much smaller and more US-focused. Unless you’re planning on staying in the U.S. (which is difficult) or getting a professional/graduate degree from a name-brand degree after Pomona, you’ll have to work really hard to get some doors to open with an LAC degree outside the states. Being a named scholar is something that you can put in your resume to stand out from other Columbia students which could help for job/internship prospects. I don’t know. Pomona may give you a better experience for four years, but the international value of a Columbia degree is lifelong.
Regardless of which decision you make, do yourself a big favor and find and establish a relationship with a very good therapist near campus outside of the school’s network. All college counseling departments are overwhelmed and best at handling triage. For a longer term, ongoing relationship, I think that could best be serviced outside of the college framework.
@abremsxo21 Hey! Are you in either admitted students’ group? Or the GroupMe for undecided Columbia scholars? It would be great to talk – message me privately with any way to be in touch!
Also, I truly do appreciate everyone’s comments and have not had the chance to answer them; I am very grateful and all of this advice will surely factor into my decision!
@abremsxo21 If you feel you would be happier and more at home at Pomona, go there. I know that internationally there is a huge focus on the “ivy” brand, but I’ve known too many unhappy classmates to advise you to go somewhere on the basis of “name” only. Go where you feel you would be happiest and do the best.
Columbia definitely isn’t for the faint of heart. It is a very challenging and demanding environment in a major city. While I feel the “nurturing” label is grossly overused, Columbia doesn’t advertise itself as such.
Hey @nightingale13 ! So sorry I just saw this. I’m in the Pomona admitted students facebook group but I haven’t seen a link for Columbia. Will message you privately.
Also @nostalgicwisdom & @exlibris97 thank you very much for those perspectives! They were super important and I will definitely factor them into my decision making process.
Hi there! It’s a good sign that you’re already considering your mental health and how much stress you can handle. Both schools are great, but if you struggle with mental illness Columbia might not be the best place for you. It is very competitive and even students without a history of mental illness become anxious and depressed. Ultimately, it’s a difficult decision and one only you can make, but I would Google articles mental illness and Columbia, as well as mental illness and the Ivy League in general. Hopefully things are starting to change, but historically these tops schools don’t have a good track record of helping mentally ill students. I know, for example, Harvard’s sucide attempt rate in 2012 was 24.4 / 100,000 compared to the national average of 6.18 / 100,000 (source:http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/12/10/suicide-harvard-mental-health/?page=2)
That being said, I think students with mental illnesses absolutely can thrive at Ivy League schools like Columbia. But if you’re seriously worried about it, I would lean towards Pomona. It would be much better to thrive at Pomona rather than seriously struggle at Columbia. There are definitely some good points about Columbia being well known internationally, but that means nothing if you aren’t mentally well.
Good luck with your decision! And I second @doschicos advice about finding good mental health providers wherever you go.