@bubblepop12444 Emory is not a reach imho.
Did you really not check the boxes for any of the mid-range UCs? No UCLA, UCSD, Davis, Irvine, Santa Barbara? Why not? That’s an easy additional half-dozen schools you could have added to your list.
What’s the basis on which you’ve chosen all these schools? For example, there’s quite a difference between Pomona and NYU – why are they both on your list? Not saying they shouldn’t be, just that I can’t figure out what it is about two such different schools that appeals to you equally.
I can’t tell which of the schools you listed you’ve already submitted applications for – you say you have 8 essays to write, so apparently you’ve already written your essays for some of those schools? You should start thinking about which of the remaining ones you really WANT to keep.
If you really can’t choose between Pomona and Brown based on what the actual schools – you know, the place where you’ll be spending the next 4 years – are like, then I guess I’d advise you to choose based purely on how easy their essays will be for you to write – whether you can repurpose a previously written essay from another school, for example.
Otherwise, I agree with everyone else – it’s not really possible to say that one of those two schools is “easier” to get into than the other. I am sure you could find plenty of people who were accepted at one and rejected at the other, and it probably wouldn’t have been based on any of the factors you’re focusing on.
25% more women than men apply to Brown. Both are even reachier for women.
Emory’s admissions were about 23.5 % this past year. That makes it a reach for most candidates.
@jym626 good point. Actually not even very sure why I said that :)).
I honestly didn’t notice that and I don’t think many people did, @prepparent. Yes, if you’re applying to Pomona as a girl from California, the odds are highly against you. It’s their most competitive pool by far. The actual acceptance rate for females last year was 7.6%, whereas Brown’s was around 8.4% two years ago, which appears comparable. But add the fact that Pomona highly values geographic diversity, and already admits some 30% of in-state students. I’m under the impression that a good percentage of their applicants are from California, and while Brown is not underrepresented in Californian applicants, it’s not a whopping 30%+ of their applicant pool.
Let me clarify my previous statement, as it was worded poorly.
The difference between Pomona and Brown in terms of SAT scores is marginal. Actually, Brown has slightly higher scores as of this moment. Just compare:
SAT/ACT Range Pomona Enrolled Class of 2020: 2010-2310, 30-34
SAT/ACT Range Brown Enrolled Class of 2019: 2060-2340, 31-34
At one point, Pomona was a very test-oriented school with higher averages than that. They had some of the highest test averages in the nation, as that Business Insider article evidences (higher than Brown). How could it be that the average has fallen while the number of applicants have risen over the years? It’s not because they ran out of high testing applicants. But because they started emphasizing other things more. Geographic diversity, racial diversity, intellectual diversity, ability, potential, etc. 61.3% of the recent class at Pomona is a student of color or international student, compared to Brown at around 50%. URM- 18% at Brown, 26.5% at Pomona. 45% of Brown students receiving need-based aid compared to 56% of Pomona students. These things don’t mean Pomona is better as an undergraduate experience than Brown- just that it has a different sort of admissions process than Brown does and even it did before and it’s difficult to assess the value of very high test scores as of now.
All this said, where should you apply? I second the posters who recommend picking the school you actually do want to go to. Brown and Pomona are honestly the Ivy-LAC equivalents of one another. They have very similar student bodies. But there are some key differences- the location, the LAC experience vs. a major university experience, a higher emphasis on the arts at Brown vs a higher emphasis on science at Pomona, a more laid-back culture at Pomona than at Brown- among others. I wish you had applied to both if they aligned with your interests as some other posters have chimed in how dissonant some of your choices are from each other, but if you can’t do so at the moment, let go of the whole “where do I have a better chance of being admitted” mentality. They’re both reaches. High reaches to just about everyone in the nation. Apply to the one you like more.
Agree with nostalgic that at some point you have to stop basing decisions on “odds” and make a pitch for where you really want to go. They are truly both high reaches for all. Brown has more seats, so more admission chances and if you are from CA, I think your chances are better there based on geodiversity. If Brown is where your heart is, show your quirky side.
@dustypig . I applied to all 7 of the UCs and safeties already (since I didn’t apply early anywhere I finished by essays for safeties and matches.)
The only essays I need to write are Emory (2), CMU (1) JHU (1) Cornell (1) NYU (1) and the 2 essays for Pomona/ short Brown questions.
Thank you guys all for so much advice! I talked to my school counselor and someone did get into Brown ED.
I’m applying to Pomona.
Okay, so then you can add UCLA, UCSD, UCD, UCI and UCSB to your list of matches and safeties. UCLA might be a reach.
To make a case for Brown: Brown looks at highest scores submitted for each section for the ACT so if you submit to tests with one English section at a 34 and one at 36, Brown will only use the 36 for admission. They don’t recalculate a superscored composite, though.
I see a lot of people are saying that it’s nearly impossible to get into Pomona without high test scores. What number qualifies as “high?” I know Pomona’s average is 32; is “high” considered 34 since it’s in the 75th percentile?
Sorry to come of as a downer, why did you wait till the last minute and then say you can’t do essays for both? Of course you can. The time and effort you are putting into deciding between the two could have e been used in a more productive way. Poop or get off the pot.
@ap012199 yeah that comment isn’t accurate, Pomona has been undermining the emphasis on super high test scores (a good move in my opinion) in recent years.
High scores still help, and Pomona’s is still among the highest in the nation, but it’s no longer as strict a requirement to get in nor will a high score get you in.
Just for comparison:
Class of 2020: 9.4% admit rate, 2010-2310, 30-34, 62% students of color/international, 27% URM (not including mixed race/international), 92% in top 10% of graduating class
Class of 2017: 13.9% admit rate, 2070-2320, 31-34, 50% students of color/international, 18% URM (not including mixed race/international), 92% in top 10% of graduating class
Class of 2014: 16.1% admit rate, 2090-2320, 31-34, 39% students of color/international, 21% URM (including mixed students), 92% in top 10% of graduating class
My S is in his first year at Pomona. He applied to a small number of schools (6). He was only rejected by Brown. We’re from California. Had he been accepted by Brown, he’d still be at Pomona now. 
He was at the higher end of both schools’ numbers for admitted students’ stats.
At this point, and with those schools, it’s not a question of stats, but intangibles that Admissions Comms look at to admit candidates and complete their classes. Both Brown and Pomona have many more qualified applicants than they can accept, so trying to figure out which is easier or harder to get into is really impossible.
.
Two comments: A) it is very hard to say which college is “harder” to get into. You can look at statistics but they don’t tell you that much. B) Does it matter? I guess it does if you are trying to decide which is easier to get into, but if that is the case, neither are a good bet.
@bubblepop12444 Can we ask where you got accepted and where you will be going?
This year the two schools had the same acceptance rate. I got accepted at Brown and waitlisted at Pomona, and I know two other people who had the same results. They’re even.