<p>I work very hard for my A's in high school and I know some kids in my grade who don't work exceptionally hard and get better averages than me. I know that rigorous LAC's tend to have such a curriculum and wanted to know if a student who goes there currently or knows a lot about it could elaborate on this. I want to work hard and succeed but I also don't want to spend every waking second on studying because I tend to spend a lot just in High School right now and don't want to spend that much more than I already do.</p>
<p>In general, most Pomona students work “hard,” although of course some students will work meticulously around the clock and study all the time, while others will try to coast through by doing the minimal amount of work/studying. Most students probably fall in between, and keep up to do on readings/homework/ studying for tests to a pretty good degree. Your High school habits will probably more or less dictate, i think, how much you study in college. In your case, you are probably going to have to do a tremendous amount of work if the only way you can pull good grades in HS, which will probably be less challenging than Pomona’s workload, is if you studied/ worked hard all the time. It will be hard to simply not work hard all the time if you are used to doing so, unless you can psychologically convince yourself that you won’t need too…which it seems will not be the case. There are lots of students here who are able to get good grades without doing so, however, but many of them were like that in HS as well.</p>
<p>I didn’t study my first year and got an 88 average and this year my classes are harder and I work a few hours a day more than before and have a 93 average Sophomore was in the middle. I’m not asking about if I get accepted though, only if you think it would be tough</p>
<p>yes…I think it would be tough.</p>
<p>With all due respect to Praying4Luck, I would suggest that his/her original question is probably not the best indication of a serious attitude toward the attainment of higher education. At $50K+/year cost to you and/or the school’s generous donors, I would hope that you would want to learn as much as possible during your 4 years of post-secondary study. And if admission to Pomona means working at least as hard as you do in high school, that is a small price to pay for a top-flight education that most graduates would die for. </p>
<p>If, on the other hand, you’re looking for a cosy, low pressure balance of work and play at college, there are any number of less prestigious and less academically oriented schools from which to choose.</p>
<p>As Anonymous says, “it will be tough”, yet amazingly, those who are fortunate enough to gain admission still find ways to have fun and engage in extra-curricular activities despite the heavy workload. Life’s what you make it.</p>
<p>Pomona students tend to apply themselves; there are so many opportunities that they want to explore. If you drill down the list of award recipients/Latin conferees at commencement, you’ll find that they all had exceptionally high GPAs.</p>
<p>Of course, as mentioned previously, they also find different and unique ways to enjoy themselves, fostered in a great part by Pomona. Snack is one example - it gives the students a built-in break cum social time each weekday night. And, in addition to extracurriculars, Pomona also sponsors enjoyable and somewhat interestingly themes parties. Plus, where else can you play innertube water polo?!</p>
<p>Lol okay thank you. I’d like to say I have no idea where you got the idea that I don’t apply myself, but if you believe that then that is a shame.</p>
<p>Your original post asked about whether students at Pomona work hard - they do. That does not imply that you do not.</p>
<p>I’m a mom of a high school student. I have had the same concerns as OP for my son. In my son’s case, he is ADD and has Executive Functioning issues. He scores high on standardized tests, definitely studies and knows how to work, but struggles with juggling all the classes. He wants to be in a high academic college, but also wants to have down time to enjoy his peers.</p>
<p>One thing that struck me is that Pomona kids take less classes than our state U and far less than my son’s HS schedule. For a kid like mine, the more difficult academics at Pomona may be just as easy/difficult as the workload he has now because he only needs to concentrate on 4 classes at a time. Less courses with more in-depth study works very well for certain types of students. Of course he realizes it will be many hours of study, no easy A, but juggling 4 classes doesn’t seem as bad as 7 in high school or 5-6 that many in our state honors college handle.</p>
<p>Can any current Pomona students/parents comment on this?</p>
<p>the title of this post made me lol…
very George Bush-esque</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>So true. 
But not intentional, I’m sure.</p>
<p>An interesting description by T-money, but IMHO it’s time to retire the stale Bush jokes. Besides, if you really think about it, the title is far more Biden-esque – even more so if you put an expletive in front of it.</p>
<p>Oh I’m sure Bush jokes will stay fresh for at least a couple terms :)</p>
<p>Perhaps they will. But only among those clearly lacking the grace and wit to move on to other more current, and more appropriate, targets.</p>
<p>Ah, because political jokes require oh so much wit. Bush made it so easy. It’s difficult to make the transition.</p>
<p>It doesn’t seem to me that the Bush joke under discussion required much wit, which was my original point.</p>
<p>As I said, if easy, puerile laughs are your thing, fire away. Otherwise, why not try using your noggin and cranking up the sophistication level a notch or two? Time to move on, my friend – there’s a brand new president, lots going on in the world, and a surfeit of raw material out there, if you choose to look.</p>