<p>I live in NY and I'm currently a junior at a private high school in NYC. Ive been trying to convince my parents that Pomona would be a really great opportunity, but they don't want to hear about any schools off the East Coast. </p>
<p>Does anyone who lives far from California have any advice or stories about convincing parents to visit or at least consider Pomona?</p>
<p>There are some battles not worth fighting. If you can get into Pomona, you can probably get into some eastern schools that are just as good and that you would like as much. But it also might matter what their objections are to the west coast.</p>
<p>@vossron, I don’t think where you spend a defining 4 years of your life falls into “battles not worth fighting.” True, there are schools on the east coast with similar or better reputations, but these are objective (student stats, retention rates, sports/clubs offered, prestige, etc.) Subjectively, however, attending a “similar” school that is placed thousands of miles west will certainly be something to really weigh pros and cons for. </p>
<p>@IndieCollege, Since you’re a junior and have the time, do your research on Pomona as well as any comparable schools you might consider applying to. Weigh the pros and cons to ultimately make an ordered list of schools you wish to attend. If Pomona ends up at/near the top at that point, then hopefully the hard work you’d have put into organizing that list would itself be strong evidence to persuade your parents that you really might be better off there.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat right now, though my parents aren’t asking me to stay on one side of the US- They want to stay within a 20 mile radius of home.</p>
<p>So I don’t have a success story for you (yet), but I would probably start with addressing your parents’ specific concerns about a West Coast school. Do they think that Pomona doesn’t have the prestige of East Coast schools? Are they worried about the long distance separation? By getting to the heart of their objections, you stand a better chance of changing their minds.</p>
<p>If they’re concerned about the distance or lack of prestige, I’d be happy to talk with them. Both kids went to college in SoCal, and we survived! ;)</p>
<p>Seriously, though, it’s important to understand why they’re focused on having you stay on the East Coast.</p>
<p>I’m a pomona student who attended HS in NYC. I got into other top schools on the east coast, such as amherst, but decided to attend pomona and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Admittedly, my parents are very lenient with my college search, but it was still hard to get them to accept that I would be living on the west coast. However, if you bring them out to visit, I think there is almost no way that they will have any doubts about the superior experience which Pomona can offer in comparison to similar east coast schools. For me, it wasn’t even close… also tell them its in the 70’s right now while there is 20 inches of snow on the ground in NY.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice everyone. </p>
<p>Their (my mom’s) biggest problem is just the distance, they recognize now that its a good school (Ive done my research and tried to present some of the facts). My parents are really family oriented, and they dont me so far away for things like holidays and birthdays, or vacations during the year. The harder part of the battle is the emotional side of it, not the educational value of the school. They want me to focus more on east coast schools like BC, William and Mary, Amherst, etc. I have no probelms with those schools, but I also want to seriously consider Pomona if I can get the ACT or SAT grade for it.</p>
<p>I’m working on trying get the family to visit California at some point this year so we can visit, but for now, no luck</p>
<p>I’m a CMC mom and my S is further from home than I would have liked. Visiting and seeing the beauty of the area as well as the unique experience that the 5C’s offered helped me to see that it was the best choice for him. Valentines weekend was parents weekend at Claremont and from people I spoke with from the east coast, especially that weekend it was hard not to be in love with the California weather and the view of the snowy mountains on the horizon. Since being close is important you need to think about strategies to keep in touch with your family. I will say that that area can be a beautiful winter escape and from what I can tell the 5C environmenment provides a distinctly different environoment than most LAC’s. As is suggested above figure out what is distinctly special about Pamona that you can’t find at the other schools and sell that. But this visit is probably worth 1000 words!</p>
<p>If their concern is that you are too far away, you can tell them that you can Skype regularly. We are on the East Coast, son is at Harvey Mudd. We Skype every weekend. He doesn’t seem nearly so far away when we can talk for free every weekend, and see that he is alive and well.</p>
<p>College can also be viewed as “life training” which involves learning how to live with a separation from parents’ home; this can be especially hard for parents to learn. Maybe they want to push this out as far as they can, but perhaps they might also consider being further away as a gradual learning experience for you (though kids don’t need as much training as parents), so that you won’t have such a huge shock when you graduate from college and must move far from home for the job you want.</p>
<p>vossron’s message is an important one for parents to hear. After graduating last spring, D moved back to Boston but lives in her own apartment (and has a job!). S chose to stay out in LA because that was where his professional network was (design).</p>
<p>IndieCollege - it sounds as if you’re the first kid in your family to apply to college or is thinking of going away to college. That’s definitely hard, but doable. In all honesty, both kids came home for only the winter break and summer vacation. And yes, it was tough having them far away (S had a tonsillectomy during college), but it made handling their post-college life so much easier.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Again, thank you all so much for the advice, this is really great way to get through to my parents.</p>
<p>I am the first child in our family to go to college, the oldest of three (the other two are still in grammar school). My dad went to college right out of high school and lived at home while my my got a job right after high school and went back to school after she was married, so I think it is harder for them to accept the idea of going away.</p>
<p>It seems like the best points to make are the great academics, the fact that we can talk for free online with video chatting regularly, and that it will provide me with a solid foundation for once I leave college and enter “the real world”. Of course, we will need to visit, but thats the big variable as far as cost and timing. </p>
<p>Is there a best time to visit the campus, and is there a way for me to spend to with a current Pomona student to get a better idea of whats its like?</p>
<p>I’m a senior currently and I visited last spring break. It worked out well because their spring break didn’t overlap with mine, so students were still on campus. I was able to go to a Model UN meeting, sit in on a class, and even see David Plouffe (Barack Obama’s campaign leader) give a presentation. So I’d definitely do your best to plan a visit while students are still on campus; you’ll get the true vibe of the school that way.</p>
<p>See [Visiting</a> the Campus - Pomona College](<a href=“http://pomona.edu/admissions/visiting/visiting-the-campus.aspx]Visiting”>http://pomona.edu/admissions/visiting/visiting-the-campus.aspx). Overnight visits can be arranged.</p>
<p>Indie - another thing to pitch to your parents is that they can worry less because a small college like Pomona really takes care of you, and is a true community. No risk of being lost in the crowd if some problem does come up. Plus southern Calif. is actually a pretty fine place to visit. 
Next year I’ll have a D at Pomona and a S at USC, so we’ve already made plans to visit them for Thanksgiving, instead of flying them home.</p>
<p>You might mention the physical and mental health benefits of having a year round climate that will allow you to spend time outdoors every day. Claremont is a beautiful place in the winter. I have a kid on each coast. My son’s lifestyle is much healthier because his activities are not limited by the weather. My east coast daughter spent the entire months of January and February indoors, with the exception of traveling to and from campus. On the other hand, my son went hiking, biking, played tennis, or just sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air, even during the coldest months, as the cold spells never last that long. We’ll get a rain for few days, and then it’s sunny and warm for the next couple of weeks. I don’t think people who have never lived on the west coast have any idea how pleasant day to day life is here- especially for students who have less money to spend in ways that would make cold weather more bearable.</p>
<p>And of course those who defend their unpleasant weather feel that it’s more conducive to studying. ;)</p>
<p>^^ And to that I say, all students need down-time and a little balance in their lives. </p>
<p>My east coast daughter doesn’t study more or work harder than her brother. He spends his winter down time outside and active; she spends hers on online, or eating and drinking with friends because it’s just too darn cold outside.</p>
<p>As I recall, Pomona was one of the schools that said they fill 100% need. Also any student with at least $1 of aid gets free music lessons. (other CC parents please correct me if wrong…we’ve done many a college tour). </p>
<p>Maybe for now convince your parents to let you at least apply and then compare all packages (and other pros/cons) next April.</p>
<p>As the one who pays the Pomona bills I can confirm the meeting of 100 per cent need, still without loans. Music lessons are free if you are on any amount of financial aid. There are level one lessons of 1/2 hour a week and level two lessons of either 1/2 or 1 hour a week. Level two lessons are by audition. Our son gets a lot out of his hour a week. Piano lessons are very competitive due to the large number of students who want to study that instrument. As a Northern California resident we are only about 400 miles away from the college so our son can get home quickly if need be. Pomona is a great school I only wish I would have gone there.</p>