I’m seriously considering applying to Pomona, maybe even ED. After listing the pros and cons, it seems like the only major “con” holding me back is the distance. I’m from NY so literally the only times I’ll be making trips home are Winter Break and Summer Break pretty much (correct me if I’m wrong). I’m an only child with a single mom, and she gratefully encourages me to explore California. I also consider myself independent, and I’ve never suffered with home-sickness much.
I’m asking for advice and words of wisdom: when do I know whether I should seriously consider applying to Pomona (ED)? If someone has been in my shoes please share your story.
Pomona College is near Ontario airport, but flights to New York would require connections. Further away are Long Beach, Burbank, and Los Angeles airports, where you may be able to get non-stop flights to New York.
My relatives live very near the Pomona campus and they host students who come in early for athletics teams and students who can’t go home breaks. They hosted a student from England once. Pomona arranges such things, they are very helpful. Ontario airport super close only a dozen miles. LAX more choices and better fares, likely but an hour away at least.
Vacation is meant for exploring new areas. College selection should be based on the merits of the school, acknowledging that most graduates will find it easier to secure the first post-graduate job near where the school is located or is best known.
We live in NY and our sons go to college far away. Unlike a suggestion made above, I did not encourage them to apply, only to discourage attendance when they got in. Each chose the school he wanted to attend based on criteria that could not be found elsewhere. They are used to long flights and roll with the flow of crowded airports and missed connections. I miss them terribly, but Skype helps as does the knowledge that they are happy and healthy. Perhaps I can understand this better having gone more than 1500 miles away for college and my first job.
Pomona is a great school and IMHO has the best, most accessible consortium in the country. Campus is beautiful. It is in a far less dense area, 30 miles west of L.A., but sprawl has come closer to it over the last 20 years so it feels less isolated. It is far from LAX, where there are many more flights home than from Ontario Airport, but there are shuttles at holiday times and breaks. Other small schools provide a more urban experience, such as Occidental, but do not have the consortium. Then there are USC and UCLA, which are centrally located in L.A., but are much larger research universities. Pomona is pretty unique as it is a LAC with the facilities of a much larger university located adjacent to it.
A trip to LA would definitely be worth it if you want to apply. Applying Early Decision would be recommended given how competitive admissions is for Pomona. Good luck.
I also recommend a visit to the school. We’re from NY and my daughter had mixed feelings about Pitzer, but it was the college and consortium itself, being out in California and the campus was amazing to her, no negative with that. (At Pitzer the Freshman dorms are built around a pool, have outdoor hallways, and dutch doors to allow for cross ventilation.) Not sure what the Pomona campus is like. The town is adorable and within walking distance.
Two things - you have to like a consortium concept, taking classes at different schools, even though they are all easy walking distance from each other. Also, the time difference. You need to keep in mind that there is a three hour time difference so if you want to speak to your mom in the evening to review your day with her that would be around 7:00 or 8:00. To me that is the biggest drawback with a west coast school versus east coast school.
For some, come fall, crisp air and turning leaves seem entirely appropriate for academic pursuits. If you don’t think this would apply to you, then by all means you should keep looking into California schools.
“you have to like a consortium concept, taking classes at different schools, even though they are all easy walking distance from each other”
You don’t have to take classes at any other school, it is a student’s choice to do so. Pomona offers a full course load of studies of their own if you only choose to take Pomona classes. However most students take advantage of the other colleges if there is a certain professor or date/time that fits their schedule better.
You should be aware that Pomona is situated in a very smoggy area of So.Cal. and is far from the beach. For an East Coast student not accustomed to L.A., that might be an issue.
@SeattleTW - I think the air in SoCal is much better than it was decades ago when it was terrible. It used to be that you couldn’t see the San Bernardino mountains which are right behind the school for most of the summer. Nowadays it’s nowhere that bad and the Santa Ana winds during the summer will clear out the smog.
artrell - that is not what we found at all. My daughter was accepted to Pitzer and during the admitted student days she found out that a large grant was given to Scripps for a new, state of the art ceramics facility so they were eliminating ceramics from Pitzer. She was also interested in Creative Writing but the Pitzer professor was poetry not novels so she would have to take most of her creative writing classes at Pomona (I think). These were not options for her in these areas of interest. There are advantages to this system, just not for my shy daughter, she wanted one school where she knew everyone and where the classes could fulfill her needs.