<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>So I've recently been debating with myself whether I should take a shot at ED1 to Pomona. From what I understand, Pomona admissions are somewhat test-oriented, with ACT scores hovering around 33 and SAT scores around 2200 (at the minimum). </p>
<p>My question: does anybody have any data or just general knowledge on the competitiveness of ED1 candidates to Pomona? Is it generally much more or less competitive than regular?</p>
<p>Only apply ED1 if you can’t imagine going anywhere else but Pomona. Pomona College has more than its fair share of qualified applicants so chances are that if you don’t get in ED you won’t get in regular and vice versa.</p>
<p>That’s kind of what I thought…Pomona has been my #1 choice for quite some time. </p>
<p>How much does the school look at things such as geographical diversity? I mean, I live in the middle of the rural Midwest where nobody has heard of Pomona and my guidance counselor probably can’t even name two ivy league universities haha. From what I can tell, the majority of Pomona applicants are from suburban high schools in CA/NY/IL etc. I’m not making this a chance me post lol, I’m just trying to get a feel for what kind of applicants/competition Pomona has. </p>
<p>Thanks for the response, btw. =)</p>
<p>In your application and other contacts, show a lot of interest specifically in Pomona. Learn a lot about the school and why you want to go and why it’s right for you. If there is some way you can visit and interview I think that would be a plus. With ED they don’t have to let people in who wouldn’t definitely get in during the regular decision because they can always just defer and see who else they get RD. The big advantage, not insignificant, is that you are showing a high level of interest/commitment. That really will matter to Pomona - although if you’re not a fit otherwise it won’t be enough. Good luck.</p>
<p>My daughter sent in a Science Supplement that included a copy of her research paper and the PowerPoint presentation pdfs she used when presenting her results in both academic and middle school settings. She researched Pomona faculty and mentioned several members that were conducting research in her field of interest. We did not visit campus until after she was admitted because we live in the Midwest and Pomona was the only West Coast school where my daughter submitted an application.</p>
<p>We live in the Midwest, too (not Illinois). My daughter participated in some student focus groups over the summer and it was mentioned that Pomona is looking to increase their presence in the Midwest. So, that is good news for you!
The only downside my daughter felt in choosing Pomona was that it was not as well known in our area, and it lacked the big name recognition of her East Coast options. That was not a deal breaker. When we attended Admitted Students Day, we met a lot of students like my daughter who were turning down bigger “names” like Stanford, Duke, Brown and Yale and choosing Pomona instead.</p>
<p>Really? That’s interesting. Pomona seems to suggest that supplemental materials can really help out an application. I play piano and three other instruments, so maybe a music supplement would help out a bit.</p>
<p>Also, living in the Midwest definitely makes me crave the California setting; I’m sure it was the same for your daughter! I’m actually from southern Minnesota (but not the Twin Cities, like most–I’m from far southern Minnesota where it’s basically nothing but cornfields). I’ve been peeking at some of the admission results threads and many very qualified applicants from SoCal are getting flat out rejected. So from what I can tell, geo diversity is definitely something they desire.</p>
<p>ED1 is pretty competitive. No actual statistics but I know the overall ED rate is 19.7% for 2012. I would say the pool is similarly competitive to the regular decision pool because
A) In the ED Pool you get more folks who’re truly committed to going to the school so they’re going to try harder to get in in terms of essay quality and the like.
B) In the RD Pool you get folks who’re also applying to the top national universities, which makes the pool statistically more competitive. </p>
<p>Your other questions- geographic distribution helps, but trust me there’s a lot of folks from the Midwest, especially from the Chicago metropolitan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Pomona recruits 10 Posse Scholars each year that come from the Illinois area. I think the one that’s likely to help you is the South because they make the smallest region of Pomona students.</p>