<p>@nostalgic oh and why was my sister in quotes in your post? I do actually have a sister at Pomona. Would you like to meet her? I’ll send you a message with her bio on the Pomona athletics page. Why are people on CC so untrusting?</p>
<p>Is a rich history really that important though? After all, what purpose does it serve to an undergraduate education? I will most certainly agree that Pomona does not have the same history and establishment as schools like Harvard and Columbia, but it has established a strong history compared to most schools in the country and is, unlike the well established schools, still gaining a lot of momentum. Is that a problem? Of course not, because it means that what is already such an amazing place is gaining more reputation. From 2000 to 2005 the endowment of Pomona nearly quadrupled, and in 5 years the admission rate fell almost 15%. It’s an up and coming school which is really all that matters. I did not consider a rich history of any significance in my decision to decide among Stanford, UChicago, Columbia or Pomona, because what really mattered to me in the end was the quality of the education, which you have to acknowledge is equally as excellent as these other schools.</p>
<p>Did traditions matter to me? No, and honestly, most schools do not have traditions beyond getting naked in a forest or jumping into a lake. The only tradition I considered significant was Chicago’s Scavenger Hunt, but is that really why I would choose the school? It was probably the least significant factor. Pomona has more traditions than it seems to on paper. By themselves they may seem weak, but as a whole they provide for an experience that is truly memorable and unique. That is good enough for me.</p>
<p>Actually, you’re pretty misguided in your belief that Amherst, Swarthmore, and Williams are considered above Pomona. The top 4 LACs are almost always considered the four of them, WASP. Pomona is the most selective of the four, similarly diverse both racially and economically, and has the greatest endowment per student. Yes, that was once not the situation, but now it has been established as almost as much of a truth as is the strength of HYPMS. It ranks similarly in LSAT performance, produces the highest medical school rates in the country, is ranked similarly among them in acceptances to top graduate programs, and produces similar numbers of pHDs with the other three. Our graduates are recruited by top companies such as Google, Dreamworks, and Goldman-Sachs because they know we have a capita of some of the strongest minds in the country- check out the college fair to see a listing. Arguing which is the best among the four is not worth it because they’re all exceptional schools, but people that matter know what Pomona is and acknowledge its strength. You seem to be speaking of the common person, but even they may not know of the other schools you referenced. </p>
<p>I still feel like you’re choosing very subjective criticisms of Pomona or those which are basically irrelevant.</p>
<p>I think what nostalgic meant by not up to date is that if you look at it objectively now, Pomona matches or beats the other LACs that you consider more prestigious. This may not have been the case back when your sister was applying (I’m not sure when that was)</p>
<p>Also, to your in-state proposal, nearly half of the students at Stanford are from California, and nearly half at Rice are from Texas. What do you say to that?</p>
<p>California has the most people of any state, and astoundingly so. 37 million people. Williams has more than half of its class coming from New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey, which together make less total population than does California. Pomona does perfectly fine in taking about 32% of the class from in-state due to the sheer size of the state. Here is the profile from the Class of 2016 (Obtained when I visited the campus):</p>
<p>32% California
12.3% Midwest
14.5% Northeast
9.8% Northwest
11% Other west
9% South
11.4% International</p>
<p>Seems pretty geographically diverse to me!</p>
<p>The point of this thread was to help show the OP what they might think Pomona is missing. I did that. You can try all you might to prove this and that about Pomona, but I was just pointing out that I believe WAS are more established than Pomona, and that Pomona is lacking some things I appreciate in a college, such as traditions, history, etc. I’m so glad you chose Pomona and that it has amazing stats etc. but it is not perfect and people need to know this. I do enjoy how defensive Sagehens get when you say anything contrary to their belief that their school is perfect. But I’m sick of having to fight you guys, POMONA IS SUPREME TO ALL OTHER SCHOOLS. :D</p>
<p>Um, I definitely did not say that Pomona was the best anywhere in my posts. Why not actually read them?</p>
<p>“It’s not to affirm that Pomona is a better school, but rather a better school FOR US.”
“Arguing which is the best among the four is not worth it because they’re all exceptional schools”</p>
<p>It’s hard to take you seriously when you can’t even constructively reply to some serious issues in your reasoning. Pomona’s not a perfect place. None of us said it. You want some more substantial flaws? Here are some. Not silly trivial things like lack of a rich history or traditions, which are wrong to begin with.
- The school still needs work in terms of overall diversity and coexistence
- The administration tends to be a little too politically correct at times
- Some departments are seriously lacking in terms of resources and classes</p>
<p>The original post was Is Pomona amazing? The answer is in my opinion yes because of how unique it is alongside coupling a well-regarded academic program and a low stress environment. It was not Is Pomona perfect, because it isn’t. Not for everyone. An engineer would not like Pomona because there aren’t engineering courses. Conservatives may feel left out in a vastly liberal college. </p>
<p>Anyways, I’m done. You’re free to believe whatever you like, but people who’ve actually gone to Pomona would disagree on the majority of your claims.</p>
<p>Yep Pagrok, that last post of yours definitely confirmed your personal problem with Pomona. U’Chicago is a magical place. Have fun there.</p>
<p>Anyways, I think it’s good to leave the thread to this. Pomona, like any school, is not for everyone. The only way you’ll realize if Pomona is right for you is by doing your own research and discovering whether your own criteria are met. All we can do is answer your questions, which shouldn’t be taken too seriously because they are after all our own perspective, but the vast part of the journey should be of you discovering how you fit into the community. I would advice future prospies to take the posts here as a foundation. If you’re interested, go explore more, especially at the school’s website, with current students doing what you like, or with professors. If you’re not, move on. It’s clear Pomona’s not for you and it’s a waste of your time to contemplate why it should be. To settle the issue of “perfection”, for some students, Pomona is perfect because it’s their best fit, while for others, it has its flaws. But it’s common sense that these qualifications are subjective. No need to waste time trying to prove why your belief is right.</p>
<p>^^ I really agree with that post. I regret my harsh words and unclear perspective and I wish I could have conveyed it better that Pomona did not fit my preferences, and so it was not a good match for me. A school should be chosen because it has what you want and what will make you happy.</p>
<p>Powerbar,
I believe that Pomona has one of the more astute college admission teams in the business. They seem to be looking for students who demonstrate a certain style of critical thinking that reflects a unique depth and breadth of analysis. The well-crafted and detailed responses to your initial question in this thread are indicative of the care that Pomona students/alums take when thinking through issues. </p>
<p>With that said, my son asked similar questions to those you are asking when he visited Pomona. He liked Pomona, but just didn’t feel like it was enough to carry him through four years. He did thoroughly enjoy his interview, but my guess is that his admissions officer realized that even though his stats. were solid my son’s focus on breadth (sometimes at the expense of depth) of thinking might not be the best match for Pomona. Ultimately, my son was rejected and ended up at a much larger top 10 school that is a great fit for him.</p>
<p>One of my son’s friends is entering this year’s class. His approach to Pomona was quite different. Instead of wondering, “Is that all there is?” this student read books and articles by Pomona professors and contacted faculty personally to see if they shared interests. Whereas my son looked at the size of the campus and surrounding town (and other lifestyle oriented details), his friend looked at the size of the ideas that were being generated and shared between Pomona faculty and students. </p>
<p>My advice is to go with your gut feeling. If Pomona doesn’t feel quite right to you then move on. If you do decide to apply then my guess is that Pomona’s admissions team will do a great job in helping you sort out whether or not the school is a good fit. Good luck!</p>
<p>Hi. I’m an international student currently thinking of applying to Pomona. I’ve read all of your posts and found you guys spent a lot of time talking about how accessible the school and the faculties are. However, I can’t manage to visit the campus, so can any of you tell me something more about how are the classes carried out? What about the school atmosphere?</p>
<p>Classes are for the most part carried out seminar style in part thanks to how small these classes are. The whole class engages in their perspective about the readings, text, video, or whatever is assigned. This is true even in some more science classes like Advanced Biochemistry, where seminar style learning comes from a PhD style of learning. This style is designed to evoke meaning from all students towards a greater purpose- it’s very multidimensional. </p>
<p>All students are required to take a Critical Inquiry seminar in the first year so that they can be ready for the type of critical reasoning a school like Pomona demands of its students.</p>
<p>Learning expands well beyond the classroom too. Pomona professors offer tutorials, outside of classroom excursions, and events to enhance the learning experience. There are always famous people stopping by at Pomona or the other 5C’s and the majority of these events are open to all students, which make for a very perspective based setting so you can find your own meaning. I know Computer Science has a colloquium calendar and I’m pretty sure most other departments do. Research, not just in science, but in whatever you are interested ranging from art history to psychology, is comparatively easy to obtain, especially thanks to the lack of graduate students. And the facilities are excellent for most department, which ensure a quality education.</p>
<p>Pomona does tend to be quite intimate. Professors will wonder where you are if you miss a class and they will know you by name. The student body is for the most part quite collaborative- grades are not discussed by students and you will see study sessions going on. You’ll also see professors enjoying lunch and dinner with their students. </p>
<p>The school’s atmosphere is hard to characterize. Pomona students are diverse. Go from one dorm to the next and you will go from a quiet, intellectual, drug free hall to a party raging, substance hall (be as honest as you can on the housing forms!). I think one unique thing is that while they study hard, the students play hard too. It’s surreal seeing the transition from study mode on the weekdays to social scenes on the weekend. You can make your life revolve around the pretty excellent social scene(there’s a party probably every day at one of the 5C’s, and the event calender list each week could probably fill up an entire page in terms of things to do on campus), or you could never take advantage of it if it’s not your thing…it’s really entirely up to you, just like you can make Pomona the feel of a small liberal arts college or a mid-sized university. I really like that balance because it ensures that there’s something here for all sorts of students. The school atmosphere with the combination of the students, administration, and faculty is definitely nurturing, academically focused, laid-back and somewhat quirky. Other than that it’s pretty hard to classify as a whole.</p>
<p>You can read more here as well, cathy.
[The</a> Classroom Experience - Pomona College](<a href=“http://www.pomona.edu/academics/in-the-classroom/index.aspx]The”>http://www.pomona.edu/academics/in-the-classroom/index.aspx)
[Beyond</a> the Classroom - Pomona College](<a href=“http://www.pomona.edu/academics/curriculum/beyond-the-classroom.aspx]Beyond”>http://www.pomona.edu/academics/curriculum/beyond-the-classroom.aspx)
[Learning</a> in the Field - Pomona College](<a href=“http://www.pomona.edu/academics/curriculum/learning-in-the-field.aspx]Learning”>http://www.pomona.edu/academics/curriculum/learning-in-the-field.aspx)
[The</a> Classroom and Beyond - Pomona College](<a href=“http://www.pomona.edu/admissions/explore-pomona/the-classroom-and-beyond.aspx]The”>http://www.pomona.edu/admissions/explore-pomona/the-classroom-and-beyond.aspx)</p>