this is gonna get a little personal, but im just really looking for some words of reassurance:)
I was super set on pomona for a long time, but after receiving a “no” from my athletic pre-read, I was basically rejected before actually having applied. now my top choices are cmc and pitzer bc theyre both strong in social sciences, but I feel like pomona was so perfect for me it’s hard to let go of it. any advice or thoughts? especially on how similar my experiences at cmc/pitzer could be to pomona?
First, let me say I’m sorry about the disappointment. Go ahead, journal, talk it out, be sad. This feels like a big moment, but I promise you that when you wind up where you are meant to be and step onto that campus-that will be a big moment. This won’t be the one that got away. I think so many kids on here realize there are so very many good schools and they are similar, but not all will be a good fit. It will be better when you get to the place where you belong. Take care.
I wonder why you are still focused on the Claremont consortium? It would be unfortunate if you ended up at Pitzer or CMC as a kind of substitute for Pomona - it doesn’t seem like a healthy approach, particularly as Pitzer and CMC both have pretty different vibes from Pomona. Are you also looking at schools in other places that share some of the qualities you liked in Pitzer? What made you feel that Pomona was a perfect fit? Are you also trying to get recruited at other places?
No I don’t really want to pursue competitive running anymore at the moment, but this may change when I get to college who knows. Also I still really love the Claremont Colleges because of the unique community, location, weather, opportunities etc. I actually think cmc and pitzer may be better for certain things than pomona depending on what I want. for example cmc is super good w career prep, and pitzer has a great social justice mission that I LOVE. I’m sure I would enjoy my time a lot at both colleges, I just cant decide which one is a better fit for me, while I guess for Pomona the biggest reason I liked them is bc their students are the most diverse and the school is more well-rounded so I was sure I’d fit in somewhere. So I guess through typing this out my takeaway is that I could end up having a happy and successful experience at any of these schools because the 5C community as a whole is so diverse and I’m sure I’d find my place somewhere:) idk if u are a member of the 5c community but would you agree with these sentiments?
I am not a member of the 5C community, but my son, who is also a runner, looked at both Pitzer and Pomona a few years ago and we visited both schools. My son found that he didn’t like the whole consortium idea and ended up not applying to either school, but he did like the coach a lot. Your analysis of Pomona makes sense to me - CMC seems very pre-professional and Pitzer, as you note, has a very progressive culture, whereas Pomona doesn’t have that kind of identification. If what was drawing you to Pomona was the community, location, weather, etc., your looking at these other consortium members does make sense. I was surprised when we started looking at colleges how few strong LACs there are in California. My son also looked at Occidental, which is closer to LA and is also pretty well-rounded.
I’ll second the suggestion to take a look at Oxy. While I’m a big 5C fan, the previous posters are correct that they each have a distinct feel and community. If you get a chance to visit with students around (which will hopefully happen in the spring), you’ll know which ones feels right to you after about 5 minutes. Also, I have a sibling who went to Oxy, loved it, and has had a very successful career in social services.
Although each of the 5C’s does have a different vibe and culture, I don’t think it’s as clear cut as some posters have said that if you like one school, you won’t be happy at any of the others. My daughter is a current Pomona student whose original first choice was CMC. She has had a wonderful experience so far and absolutely loves Pomona. When I asked her if she thought she would have been as happy if she had attended Pitzer or CMC, her answer, was an unqualified Yes to Pitzer. Interestingly enough, she wasn’t as sure about CMC as her answer was Probably.
I wouldn’t be worried that Pomona was a better fit than CMC or other schools. I really don’t think you know at this point perhaps? It’s hard to really make a decision and you will undoubtedly like where you end up.
My son was recruited for track at Pomona and went on a two night three day overnight after he passed pre read. While he really liked Pomona he fell in love with the CMC campus and students which he met by exploring the campuses at night. He was welcomed into various events just by wandering around. (Most of the consortium social events are actually st CMC not Pomona. ). He felt CMC was his preference and he had discarded it before based on reading reviews and comparisons.
He met track athletes for CMC, he reached out to the coach and he was considering it seriously. He ended up picking a much larger university though where he’s really happy. As an aside, Pomona only has slots for maybe two track athletes the others receive coaches support but it’s not as certain to my understanding as the NESCACs.
However, the point is if he hadn’t spent the three days there he wouldn’t have known he preferred CMC instead of Pomona. And his chosen school was completely different than either and he just loves it.
Also pre reads are fickle. They only consider gpa, strength of schedule and your test scores. They don’t consider recommendations or extra curriculars except your sport. And importantly your well written and incisive essays! And sometimes a more selective school will pass you while a lesser one won’t.
I am from California and I understand as I was waitlisted at Pomona and they offered me admission to Pitzer instead. I attended Pitzer for a year and took only classes at Pomona because I was an art major and got mostly A’s with the hope to transfer. I had an incident with a teacher at Pomona who got too personal and I complained which ruined my chances of transferring as a junior. I decided to leave and transfer to Grinnell College which was in retrospect the best decision possible.