Feelings of (Pomona) Inferiority?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Pomona College
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<p>This thread is not going to be very popular, but I have to voice some concerns and was looking for advice.</p>

<p>Background:</p>

<p>I am a high school senior who will be attending CMC next year. My entire life, I received generally excellent grades and exceptional SAT scores. I was rejected by Pomona but accepted to CMC and will likely major in economics or philosophy.</p>

<p>My concerns:</p>

<p>It seems to me that essentially everyone considers Pomona to be the flagship school of the Claremont Colleges. Whether this is true or not is irrelevant. I consider the education that one can receive at any of the 5Cs to be comparable to any school in the country. I can't help but feel, though, among the highly selective colleges that Pomona is considered to be on the same level as Amherst, Williams, and the Ivies while CMC falls short.</p>

<p>You can quote the recent statistics at me, but the fact of the matter is that the general consensus seems to be that Pomona is more prestigious than CMC. While this may not be true amongst the government and business fields, where CMC is well known, it does appear to be true amongst the academic and intellectual world. And even if this isn't true, it seems true to me.</p>

<p>These feelings of CMC inferiority have only been exacerbated by the recent SAT score scandal. I know that the rankings were unaffected, but this simply shouldn't have happened! You don't hear about Amherst or Williams fibbing their SAT scores. Whether it impacted our rank or not means nothing to me. I just cannot believe that the administration would allow for such a thing to happen. It reeks of inadequacy.</p>

<p>Don't get me wrong, I love CMC. However, I sometimes stay up at night wondering how different my life would be with the Pomona name and the stability that the school seems to have. Maybe it's simply buyer's remorse.</p>

<p>I also sometimes wonder what it says, if anything, about CMC that they would accept a Pomona reject. Was I simply not a good fit for Pomona and a better one for CMC? Given the fact that I was straight out rejected by Pomona and accepted by CMC, was it academic? If so, what does that say about CMC? Are they as discerning in their admissions process as Pomona? Could anybody with insights into the admission game for both schools give me an answer?</p>

<p>The question:</p>

<p>Can somebody please convince me that CMC is truly as good as Pomona? Is the prestige thing ever an issue on the Claremont Colleges?</p>

<p>I realize I sound like a spoiled brat here, but I can't help the way I feel.</p>

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<p>@randoman16 My D goes to a private school where many of her class mates are quite wealthy. This one girl got depressed after her first year at school and her parents sent her to a school in Paris and she came back to her Junior year. Her Senior speech was all about her depression and her schooling in Paris . </p>

<p>You get my drift… CMC is a very good school and that too for Econ. You have done well to get into it and I suggest you focus on the positive and forget that other school and do the best you can with it. When life give you Lemons, make lemonade and have fun with it.</p>

<p>Best Wishes at CMC.</p>

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<p>Same issue. Going to Scripps, waitlisted at Pomona. I think/hope these feelings will go away once we get to our respective campuses.</p>

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<p>You need to go in with the conviction that CMC is the right school for you. Otherwise it won’t be. If you are going to live your college years with that attitude, you won’t get out of it what you could. Go elsewhere if you are really that worried about a complex.</p>

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<p>If you have visited the CMC campus and liked the experience this is all that is important. CMC has a wonderful and respected Econ department and if this is your major I can’t see where you could go wrong. I also think there are just as many kids that get accepted to Pomona and are rejected by CMC. In the end just getting into either is a great feat, both are highly competitive. Be proud of yourself. Both schools look for slightly different students that fit their college environment. This is not a reflection of you as a student. </p>

<p>Enjoy and celebrate in your college, take advantage of all the colleges at Claremont. They are all wonderful schools and add to the Claremont experience.</p>

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<p>I’m attending Pomona in the fall and I was rejected by CMC and Mudd. All three schools are equally selective and prestigious (CMC’s acceptance rate was actually lower than Pomona’s this year), but in their own respective specialties (Pomona in academia, CMC in business/finance/economics, HMC in science and engineering). Pomona probably fairs better in the USNWR LAC rankings because it is a more run-of-the-mill liberal arts school like Amherst or Swarthmore, so it fits the rankings algorithm better than CMC or HMC does. Don’t worry about CMC’s reputation among employers/grad schools- it is just as good as, if not better than, Pomona in many respects. Honestly, I think that Pomona was my best fit and that was why I got in, and CMC thought that you would be a great fit, so you got in- it sounds lame but perhaps it was meant to be. You’ll probably have a better time at CMC than at Pomona.</p>

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<p>I would agree with magazette. My D is going to attend Pomona and she got waitlisted at Harvey Mudd. I think the 5C’s specialize, and as LAC’s they put a lot of attention on “fit”. I’m sure all these schools outright deny admission to many students who would do well there. Can’t always figure out a reason - but it couldn’t have been academics since you got into CMC.</p>

<p>You interests would seem to fit CMC perfectly. You’re very fortunate to have been accepted to CMC. It’s a great school! I know the recent SAT flap was disheartening, but it will pass and it was presumably just one person to blame. No one blamed the students. I just met someone the other day whose daughter graduated from CMC and got into a top grad school with a full ride. Besides, how would you like to go to a school that few have even ever heard of or think is Cal Poly Pomona? or a community college? CMC gets to have the actual Claremont name.</p>

<p>Enjoy the rivalry on the athletic field and have a wonderful four years at CMC.</p>

<p>Scripps has such a beautiful campus! Be a goddess Paintmuffin! (My D thought Scripps was like a fabulous mythical looking garden of beauty).</p>

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<p>OP, I agree that any rejection, at this age, is difficult to put into context. With time, the hurt will simply fade to nothing, especially as you realize that CMC is, in fact, the best possible fit for you. Having been admitted to CMC is a terrific accomplishment and no other admission result should detract from that fact. Celebrate. Enjoy your achievement. Take part in all of the 5C’s and gain a fabulous education over the next four years!</p>

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<p>Well this my first post as a parent of a Pomona graduate (Class of 2012). By the way my son was rejected by CMC. I feel bad every time I read a post about prestige. How prestigious a college is something that I think should be low on a students list. As a lifelong California resident who worked for over thirty years in an academic setting I can count on one hand the number of people who could describe the Claremont Colleges. Such things as isn’t CMC a men’s college or your son goes to Cal Poly were common statements. What is important is what you get out of your education. Many years ago I debated should I go to CalTech, which had sought me out, or a lesser known state school. Even though I was going to be in the sciences I choose the state school because I was looking for a broader education than I thought CalTech could provide. My advice to you is the same as I gave my son. Be yourself and take advantage of all that you given and you will be just fine.</p>

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<p>A rising sophomore at Pomona posted this awhile back in the Pomona Class of 2016 group in response to a comment about a shirt Pomona sells that reads “Harvard: The Pomona College of the East,” which I thought was somewhat relevant:</p>

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</p>

<p>I feel much the same could be said for a significant number of other schools - CMC, Pomona, etc. One of my best friends is a rising junior at CMC, and he couldn’t be happier. He was rejected Early Decision at Pomona (which he thought was the absolute perfect place for him), yet he is absolutely having a great time at CMC (and receiving a great education as well). And I wouldn’t say he’s “gotten over” his rejection - he’s just merely realized how fantastic a place like CMC is.</p>

<p>Also - my brother was accepted to Pomona (where he currently attends), but waitlisted at CMC.</p>

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<p>To put things in perspective, most people in the U.S. haven’t heard of CMC any more than they have heard of Pomona, Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore, etc. These schools are the cream-of-the-cream (as any college president, educator or intellectual will know), but if you don’t go to HYP, Stanford, etc. you will need to have thick skin (i.e. you are in a peer institution that will lead to blank stares when you tell people that you go there).</p>

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<p>Randoman, technically one could say Claremont is more “discerning” in the admission process, as it has a <strong>lower</strong> acceptance rate than Pomona. FWIW and whatever these rates imply: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1313311-admit-rates-class-2016-official-6.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1313311-admit-rates-class-2016-official-6.html&lt;/a&gt;.
Second, my son is accepted at Pomona and wait-listed at Claremont, so most definitely Claremont is not getting Pomona rejects, or vice versa. (I do not know if the 2 committees “talk” at some level so they don’t offer competing offers though. Does anyone know?)</p>

<p>That said, unless you are a high IQ genius<em>and</em> are extremely lucky throughout your life, my experience tells me this is NOT going to be your last “failure”, academically or professionally; “you don’t always get what you want.” Therefore it’s very important IMHO to develop an ability to look at the positive sides of what you’ve been dealt, and move on with vigor. Make lemonade out of lemon as someone has said. :slight_smile: This CMC “setback” is a good start!</p>

<p>Say 4 years from now you graduate CMC with four-point-o GPA, will have met and eventually/hopefully marry the love of your life at CMC; these regrets you have today will be gone, won’t they? Good luck and enjoy your time at CMC. “We are all family” - the 5 colleges. Pomona won’t be nearly as desirable without the others.</p>

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<p>First of all, I got to Pomona and was rejected at CMC. So the “boo-hoo CMC would accept a Pomona reject it must suck” logic is invalid. Pomona and CMC have very different student bodies, and while there is always some overlap, both have a lot of students who wouldn’t fit in at the other. I know from experience that I would probably never fit in at CMC, so it makes perfect sense that I was rejected. CMC is much more conservative and bro-y, while Pomona is liberal and laid-back, but still moderately preppy compared to the likes of Pitzer.</p>

<p>I have taken two classes at CMC, both in philosophy (my field). I enjoyed the classes and learned a lot, but found it much easier to get A’s than in Pomona philosophy classes. Then again, philosophy is not CMC’s most notable field. Some of my friends who have taken econ classes at CMC were pretty impressed with them. I believe them.</p>

<p>There is quite a bit of animosity between Pomona and CMC, mostly over political attitude and sports. The hostility is much greater on the side of CMC students, so there might be some inferiority complex involved, but I wouldn’t worry about it. CMC is still a hugely respected school, especially in the field of business, and you will get far going there. In fact, the degree of ambition displayed by CMC students compared to Pomona students is high enough that you might get farther. I occasionally hear Pomona students joke about the SAT thing, but it’s lighthearted for the most part, and pretty much everyone knows it was just that one jerk’s fault. It doesn’t reflect much on the way we view CMC students.</p>

<p>Edit: I should also address your bitterness. I was bitter for a while after I decided to go to Pomona. I had been rejected at Stanford, accepted at UCLA and Berkeley, and didn’t apply to any Ivies because I applied to schools based on fit, not name. As the valedictorian and star student of my high school, I was treated like a failure by everyone, since no one had heard of Pomona, and everyone who knew I had turned down the top UCs treated me like I was brain damaged. It p*ssed me off to no end. But now, after two years at Pomona, I couldn’t care less about what people think of my school because the ridiculous high school impression-mania has long died. If you go to CMC and like it, I don’t think the insecurity will persist past your first month.</p>