<p>I went to Cal Day with my friends today and had a lot of fun. I also visited Pomona and the Claremont schools last week.</p>
<p>Here is my problem.</p>
<p>CAL:</p>
<p>I love the urban setting, the huge number of people and the tremendous number of resources available both on and off campus. There is just so much to do at Cal besides academics, from clubs to great food to shopping!</p>
<p>I realize that there are freshman seminars and the large lecture courses split into smaller groups with GSI's who I assume are qualified. Yet I don't know how much education one can really receive from such an overwhelming and reputedly competitive environment. I'm also skeptical of the focus on undergraduate education.</p>
<p>POMONA:</p>
<p>I love that Pomona is solely devoted to undergraduate education without graduate schools overshadowing it. I really like the intimacy with professors and classmates and the opportunities available to the undergraduate class. I also like that it is with 4 other colleges (Claremont, Scripps, Harvey Mudd, Scripps; thank goodness for Scripps).</p>
<p>I dislike the seemingly lack of just plain things to do there. I know it's a tough comparison with Berkeley, a huge urban setting, but it's something I really enjoy and it sucks that it doesn't exist there. The diversity lacks and I'm rather skeptical of the plain fun and amount of resources I'll have at my disposal at Pomona.</p>
<p>HELP! WHICH DO I GO FOR?!?</p>
<p>(Is Rice a possible solution? I want to but not sure if I can visit in time...)</p>
<p>I'm having the exact same crisis as you, only it's between cal and claremont mckenna. I had kind of started to rule cal out even though I've wanted to go there since I was a little kid because I figured that it was too big. When I went to Cal Day and actually talked to lots of students though, I realized that cal is what you make of it. </p>
<p>At Claremont, it would be easier to get involved in activities, to get to know people, to talk to your professors, and to take the right classes because the counselors would actually know who you were. At Berkeley you could do all of these things but you would have to be more proactive and seek them out yourself. But if you do manage to take control of your college experience at berkeley, you will be talking to some of the most incredible and accomplished professors in the world, and you will be involved in some of the most exciting and significant activities. </p>
<p>At Cal Day I talked to some of the staff members for the newspaper, The Daily Californian. This is a paper that has existed since 1871 and has been independent from the school administration since the free speech movement in 1971. It is a daily newspaper read by the entire city of Berkeley. This kind of exciting history and tradition is much easier to find at UC Berkeley. With a big school comes some disadvantages such as bigger classes and more anonymity, but also advantages such as larger and more reputable organizations and activities such as the newspaper, and much more school spirit and pride. </p>
<p>Berkeley is also a public school. Which in some ways, I love. It was built with the purpose to educate everyone, regardless of money or social class. It is funded primarily by state money, not rich kids and wealthy donors, and yet is has managed to remain competitive with the top universities in the world. Now I know that most private schools now give financial aid to underprivileged students, but this was not always the case. I think that some of the hatred of Stanford goes back to the days when Berkeley was for the public and Stanford was for only the elite. But of course, along with this come funding shortages. There is more graffiti and trash at Berkeley, the computers are older, and I noticed a lot of chairs with people's names carved into them-- something I couldn't even imagine at Claremont.</p>
<p>As of right now I am leaning towards Claremont mainly because I don't know exactly what it is that I want to do and that might be an easier and safer place for exploration and figuring out what I want. But there is always the possibility for transfer and of course, graduate school if I decide I want that.</p>
<p>I hope going through my own thought process was helpful for you. Were down to the final week here to make a decision. . . But remember that Pomona and Berkeley are two incredible schools. You can't really go wrong.</p>
<p>These are both obviously very good schools. From my experience with the two, it seems like Berkely is the place where you have to seek out you education while Pomona is the place where you have to seek out your fun. I'd just try to figure out which more suits your personality and go with it ad whether you value a close, personalized educartion over a place with endless opportunities, people to meet.</p>
<p>With the issues you seem to be having in deciding between the two, I highly recommend that you try to squeeze in a visit to Rice. It's got the best of both worlds- small classes, accomplished professors, intimate relationships with classmates, and a freakin huge city full of stuff to do to boot. It should at least be an option on your table if you think you can take the sordid weather of houston.</p>
<p>I'm a current Freshman at Pomona. Since I was a kid I had wanted to go to CAL but then I found out about Pomona and I can tell you that I am so much more happier here. I didn't turn down CAL. I got accepted there but that's because I didn't withdraw the application after I got in ED at Pomona. Either way, if it's academics, I would say Pomona. I don't know how to describe it, but I feel like I learn so much more here than I would elsewhere. It's such an amazing atmosphere. My friends at CAL definitely complain a whole lot more and don't learn as much because they spend so much time just worrying about grades. Don't underestimate the resources here, so many people get internships and jobs and experience doing something. The career development office is pretty good with that. Good restaurants? Good food? Drive 10 minutes East or West and you can eat whatever you want. It's not that bad at all, trust me. =)</p>
<p>"I dislike the seemingly lack of just plain things to do there."</p>
<p>given pomona's work load, do you really think there will be much time for you to even notice this??</p>
<p>24hrs: -8.5 for sleeping
15.5hrs: -3 hrs of class/day on average (labs...)
12.5hrs: -2.5 hrs for eating 3 meals a day
10hrs: -1.5 hrs to get ready in the AM and ready at night... 2 hrs if constipated
8.5hrs: - 0.5hrs walking to and from
8hrs: -4hrs for studying
4hrs: -3 hrs to hang out with friends, odds and ends, extracurriculars
1hr: excercise</p>
<p>Yes, classes tend to be MWF or TTh. Some seminars meet for three hours on one day. And then there are labs that meet for a two-hour (or so) block of time. It is not unusual for students to have only a couple of classes on any given day. In some cases, it could be just one class or all classes on TTh and none on MWF.</p>
<p>Having lived here for 10 years, I can definitively proclaim that Houston is not in fact "awesome". This may be, however, simply a case of 'the grass is always greener' syndrome. I don't really know; I've never disliked living in a city as much as when I've lived in Houston.</p>
<p>arsenalsweep...
i just can't imagine what you boys do with that extra hour? ;) ... especially you guys that only spend 15 minutes getting ready in the mornings, as we ladies will not be comin' a knockin' if your hygeine's a... lackin'?</p>
<p>about classes.....pomona makes a big effort to give everyone friday afternoons off. you might have a science lab after lunch or an advanced-level seminar for your major that only meets on friday afternoons (actually a good thing bc you don't have to worry about it conflicting w/ other classes). some intro language classes meet 5 days a week, some intermediates 4, and a FEW classes are offered for like 3 hours one night a week M-R</p>