Dartmouth Pomona Split HELP!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>It's amazing how evenly torn between these two amazing schools I am. Pomona has been my dream school since seventh grade, but after visiting Dartmouth this summer I was just blown away with the beauty of the campus and the warm greetings of the students and faculty. I created a pro and con list for both schools, warning its long, and I'd appreciate some other opinions, and possibly a correction of one my views if you deem them to be wrong. I live in Eugene, Oregon by the way.
First Dartmouth College: Pro/Con List
Pros
1. Many options for outdoor recreation, i.e. swinging off of the rope swing and plunging into the river, snowboarding and skiing, mountain biking and hiking the nearby mountains, camping, canoeing, etc.
2. Incredibly strong sense of camaraderie
3. Abundance of on campus activities and the vast majority of the student body is present on campus at any time
4. Excellent employment options in finance and consulting, has perhaps the finest alumni network of all of the Ivies
5. Low cost of living
6. Effective administration
7. Wonderful housing
8. Great on-campus dining
9. Unique and effective academic calendar, the D-Plan
10. Close and friendly professors who care that you learn, for the most part
11. Beautiful scenery
12. NAME BRAND COLLEGE WITH BIG, IVY LEAGUE PRESTIGE!!!
Cons
1. Lack of a structured core curriculum similar to Columbia’s
2. Lack of public transportation
3. Boring isolation
4. No other college students or students of relative age within a 2 hour radius, thus the dating scene and pool of friends is probably going to be exclusively Dartmouth students, for better or, probably, for worse
5. Very fierce winter temperatures, heavy snowfall, and dark winter days
6. Lack of social alternatives to the Greek scene
7. I may get very bored without any other alternatives
8. The D-Plan will get intense, more so than the average college academic experience
9. Very far from home</p>

<p>Next, Pomona College: Pro/Con List
Pro
1. The weather, enough said
2. Gorgeous campus, very lush with beautiful eclectic architecture
3. Small LAC interactive education and nurturing environment with the resources of a major research university, thanks to the Claremont Consortium
4. Access to other college students, UCLA, USC, Occidental, etc.
5. Access to SOUTHERN California beaches
6. Plentiful option for the outdoorsy, albeit not as many options as Dartmouth offers, such as skiing and snowboarding in the San Gabriel Mountain in the winter, surfing year-round, hiking the many trails, camping, etc.
7. Access to LA, which is a little over 30 minutes away, and at least some civilization in the form of the depressing suburb of Claremont
8. Close enough to home while being far away enough from home
9. Proximity to Las Vegas
Cons
1. Cost of living in LA
2. Severe lack of prestige, or at the very least name recognition
3. Admittedly less option than other larger colleges
4. Weaker sense of camaraderie than Dartmouth
5. Lacking scenery
6. Smog, which reflects poor air quality, and mediocre scenery
7. Los Angeles style traffic
8. Lacks the D-Plan
9. Lack of strong social scene, i.e. weak Greek scene and fairly far from other social options in Pasadena and West LA
10. Career prospects are weak compared to Dartmouth
11. Lack of a core curriculum like Columbia's</p>

<p>Any help would be great</p>

2

<p>Just so you know, to clear some stuff up about Pomona (I'm not interested in Pomona, but CMC is one of my top schools)</p>

<p>Yes, there is no Greek system, but the social activities are huge. When I was visiting CMC one person said (though I don't believe the expense is quite this high, but it gives you the idea) that they spend 10k on social activities throughout the weekend. The Claremont schools really care about their students and they put a lot together for them. Each weekend you get an email about Friday and Saturday nights, outlining what social events are going on at each of the 5 colleges each night, and as a student of one you can attend any of the events. The social scene is very big there. </p>

<p>And the name recognition, although not Ivy, is bigger than you think, I believe. The scenery is nice, it is nestled in the San Gabriel mountains, and less than an hour from the beach. You're outside of LA enough in Claremont that it is a) above the smog line mostly, and over the past years the air has cleaned up and there aren't as many bad days, and unless you're going into the city, you're not dealing with traffic and stuff out there. I love the distance from LA, because although I love socal, I'm not a huge fan of LA, and I feel like it's the perfect amount outside of the city. </p>

<p>Both are great schools, just very different as you've noticed.</p>

3

<p>thanks for the reply drc09. I haven't officially visited Pomona yet, but I've been there once for the graduation of my cousin, I didn't really get to see much of the social life when I went so my information about Pomona is what I've gathered from the internet, books, testimonies, etc. However I plan on visiting this winter in January so that should be interesting.</p>

4

<p>Your main concern should be getting admitted to either or both. Assuming that you are fortunate enough to be offered admission to both colleges, then select Dartmouth. (See, what was so hard about that?) You really need to visit each school before making your decision to attend Dartmoutn College.</p>

5

<p>I just want to find out where I want to go first. I'm a junior so I don't have to apply to college until next year, but I'd like to apply early to either Dartmouth or Pomona.
Btw I'm pretty confident I can get in one of them, probably the one I apply early to.</p>

6

<p>You won't get much of a boost from applying to D ED unless you are a recruited athlete. So if Pomona has EA, as opposed to ED, apply EA there, Dartmouth RD, and see whether you get in and what kind of FA they offer you, if that's an issue. (Both schools have excellent FA.) Then visit both and make up your mind.</p>

7

<p>Well I am a student athlete, I'm on my schools varsity swim team, and I'm a black latino, so I think it would help a lot. And Pomona has two EDs so I'm thinking about maybe applying early to Dartmouth, if it becomes my clear number one choice, and if I don't get accepted moving on to Pomona.</p>

8

<p>
[quote]

Well I am a student athlete, I'm on my schools varsity swim team, and I'm a black latino, so I think it would help a lot.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>How are your grades though?</p>

9

<p>Both these schools seem excellent. I visited Dartmouth this summer too, and i completely agree with you. It was amazing! Similarly, I plan on visiting Pomona at the end of this year. Both these schools are very prestigious and are filled with rich tradition. I think a lot of it depends on what you plan on studying. Pomona is more confined as a liberal arts college, while Dartmouth has a greater variety of majors. I personally like Dartmouth better, as it is beautiful and very prestigious. Pomona seems very academic as well, but more laid back.</p>

10

<p>That's the thing -- how are your grades? You can't rely on your athlete status or your race -- both of these schools are competitive, selective schools.</p>

<p>Either way, however, you are a junior. You don't need to create a list of schools ranked in order of which one is the #1, #2, etc. As a matter of fact, it's been suggested by admissions counselors that the best way to do it is have groups of schools -- the ones that you would really like to attend (regardless of selectivity -- some safety school may be your dream school); schools that don't stand out to you but that you would attend if you got better financial aid there; and schools that you absolutely don't want to attend. Strike the last group from your list and sit pretty with the other two -- it's unnecessary to have a list.</p>

<p>Early Decision is for students who have a clear choice and they are at least 95% sure that this is the school they want to attend, and 100% sure that they will be able to attend no matter what kind of financial aid they are offered. If you want to compare FA packages, do not apply ED. The boost that ED may possibly give (there's no evidence to support this, but several students persist in believing that it does give one an advantage, and I'm not going to waste my time trying to dissuade them) isn't worth being contractually obligated to attend there if for some reason you change your mind or aren't offered good FA. If you are this torn between the two, apply regular decision to both (or if one has a non-binding early plan, do that).</p>

11

<p>If it is at all possible, try to do an overnight at both. Visiting really helps you to envision what your life would like there. If finances are a consideration, the admissions offices at many schools will help - special minority/diversity weekends where students are flown in.</p>

12

<p>Dartmouth winters are BRUTAL</p>

13

<p>A lot of kids who apply to D are student athletes and on varsity teams--possibly the majority of applicants. The school tends to attract athletic kids. There is a big difference between that and being a <em>recruited</em> athlete. You might want to do some research into D's swim team (I'm assuming they have one.) Usually meet results are available somewhere, and you can compare your times.</p>

14

<p>Dartmouth does have a swim team and I'm represented on several college athletic recruiting services, one of which is operated by the NCAA. I've about a 3.8 gpa uw, I'm not sure what it is weighted but it definetly is above 4.1. This year I'm taking four really hard AP courses, Statistics, Psychology, Spanish Language, and English Language, 1 honors course, Academic Decathlon, and my sixth course is a fun one Advanced PE, which I have to take to graduate. My Sophomore year I took three AP courses, no honors, and my freshman year I took 2 honors courses, they didn't allow you to take any APs. Overall I think I'm pretty competitive, but that wasn't the point for me starting this thread, I wanted people to just comment on the pros and cons of either college, not my stats. Thanks everyone</p>

15

<p>
[quote]
12. NAME BRAND COLLEGE WITH BIG, IVY LEAGUE PRESTIGE!!!

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This is clearly all you need. Dartmouth, hands down. <em>thumbs-up</em></p>

16

<p>Both schools have similarly smart students. You would be lucky to attend either.
The atmospheres at the two are very different, from what I know. Dartmouth is a very, very social place with much stronger esprit among students. Very difficult to describe. Most elite college graduates will spend their next 40 years in major metropolitan areas. Why not spend four years in a different part of the world? Beware of the lubrication of alcohol. The underpinnings like the Fall bonfire are almost feral. Very corpuscular.
Pomona, I think of pale students in spite of the southern California location. Dorm room discussions into the late hours. Effete? Yes. The life of the mind? Certainly.
Pick your poison.</p>

17

<p>Dartmouth has not been strong in swimming for some time, and a couple of years ago the College planned to eliminate swimming. Enough Dartmouth swimmers and alums rose up to put an end to that plan, and to raise money.
I'm guessing that Dartmouth might be interested in elevating its swimming program.
I don't identify Pomona with sports at all.</p>

18

<p>Well the thought of being complemented on my intelligence everytime I mention which college I attend is very tempting, I don't think I want to base my decision off of that. It may be a factor in my decision, but an extremely small factor.</p>

19

<p>One of your later posts in this thread slipped in that you are a black latino student--a fact, especially in conjunction with your Eugene, Oregon location, that may play a significant role in getting your application into a smaller, preferred pile for Dartmouth. A very small & a very preferred pile.</p>

20

<p>Sorry. But I just "love" these threads from kids with uberstats who cant decide. Its YOUR decision and YOUR life and you are plenty smart enough to figure that out. As for the pros and cons, all true...but ultimately YOU have to decide. Not us. </p>

<p>and the advice you get here from the prestige hounds is not very good, frankly.</p>