Hi
I’ve recently been accepted to Pomona and Dartmouth, and I am completely in awe. However, I now have to decide which I would like to admit and I’m obviously having a hard time.
Overall here are some aspects about myself and how I hope to be perceived in either school.
Racial/Ethnicity
I’m a Latina student and overall endorse terms such as Latinx, so how does Dartmouth treat its latinx students and how does the latinx community impact Dartmouth.
Socioeconomic status
I’m a questbridge scholar and so how are students of lower income and first generation treated. Is there any type of tension or overall uncomfortableness if one fits into these categories. Especially since Dartmouth is in fact an Ivy League, does this mentality affect low income students in any type of way, since they might feel isolated and ignored
Social Scene
I wouldn’t consider myself a party person as I get very anxious therefore I’m not interested in Greek culture or sororities. However I wouldn’t consider myself as an intorverted person. Overall I enjoy activities such as poetry recitation, art shows, cultural events, plays etc. How prevalent are those types of activities at Dartmouth since Greek life is the main front of the social scene.
Small Hanover
I live in a small town in Oklahoma so I’m not too worried about longing city life but how of a necessity is to travel outside of Hanover whether for social aspects or for school related things.
I think these are a few basic things I’m considering about Dartmouth. I appologize if some of these topics have been covered before but I would like to have these topics considered with Pomona in comparison. I would very much appreciate any type of response. thank you!!! (Similar thread in Pomona forum)
Well, D allows FA to be used to cover fraternity/sorority expenses, so no one is left out on that account. Because rush does not happen until sophomore year, you would have plenty of time to acclimate to the campus and get to know people who belong to the sororities before making any decision in that regard.
My kid received a very large FA award, and we were unable to give him any spending money. He didn’t seem to feel isolated or ignored. Sure, there were plenty of well-to-do kids at D, But there are also plenty who are not. I think that the idea of resentment or tension or isolation would depend more on you personally. I went to a college with many well-to-do students, many middle- and upper-middle class students. I had a couple of close friends who were on substantial FA. My observation was that one of them had no “class” issues at all, while the other was inclined to be uncomfortable. Mostly, it was a matter of who they were as individuals.
My kid also got into Pomona, and got a virtually identical FA award. He was not interested in visiting, given that he had 2 choices that he preferred, but we did go to a regional accepted students’ event. I think that the SES range of the population at Pomona is probably very similar, and possibly less diverse judging only by that accepted students event vs the D event in our region.
Obviously two great choices. Just want to point out in response to @Consolation that Pomona scores very high on diversity of the student body and support for low income students. See this article from the NY Times which lists Pomona as #10 (and #3 among private colleges and universities) that do the most for low income students, versus Dartmouth at #55. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/09/17/upshot/top-colleges-doing-the-most-for-low-income-students.html The Pomona admitted Class of 2021 is 57% domestic students of color (versus 51% at Dartmouth) and 20% first generation (versus 15% at Dartmouth). https://www.pomona.edu/news/2017/03/17-pomona-college-receives-record-breaking-number-applications-class-2021. https://news.dartmouth.edu/news/2017/03/2092-students-are-offered-admission-class-2021.
OP: Gee, my kid got into Dartmouth and Pomona as well! Both great schools! Maybe they both have some non-obvious similarities that make the attractive to the same kids. Dartmouth is the smallest of the Ivies and so probably most like traditional liberal arts colleges. While Pomona is a liberal arts college, it is a very unique one. Dartmouth is in a beautiful small New England town and Pomona is completely West Coast. Huge differences of all kinds to consider. Good luck making a hard decision!