Recently I was accepted off the waitlist to Pomona, after already committing to Middlebury. I am having a really hard time deciding on which college to attend because I really had my heart set on studying isolated in the beautiful natural environment of Vermont. Pomona seems hard for me to turn down however simply because of its world class academics and prestige. I am from Los Angeles and I really wanted to explore the country more and live farther away from home which is another reason why I’m having doubts about Pomona. Some other notes: I want to be an environmental science major, but am interested in practically every science field including computer science, chemistry, physics etc.
I’ve read other discussion boards on the comparison but nothing has swayed me either way so I was hoping to get a little more insight, any advice is appreciated.
Truthfully, you can’t go wrong with either one. Are the finances similar? If you are keen on experiencing something outside So Cal, then Middlebury is a no brainer. That said, there are advantages to the consortium and you certainly can’t beat CA weather. What does your gut say? Forget prestige – they are on a par. Go with your gut.
Generally, I’d suggest the school that you would have attended if you were admitted to both colleges directly.
“Pomona seems hard for me to turn down however simply because of its world class academics and prestige.”
I realize USNWR ranks Pomona higher, but do not rely on that to argue Pomona is academically superior to Middlebury. Middlebury, albeit in large part because of its language programs, is far better known and recognized as an elite LAC, and I find it difficult to believe the actual teaching is any different or better at Pomona, though the access to the rest of the consortium is a potential plus. If you want to stay on the west coast, Pomona would be better known perhaps, but nationally Middlebury is.
The real differences are in location and atmosphere. Pomona is on the west coast nearer a major metro area, while Middlebury is in the remote woods of New England–almost polar opposites. Middlebury has a rep of having a more outdoorsy, athletic student body (with all the pluses and minuses that brings). Iddlebury is twice the size of Pomona, though the consortium arguably trumps that–though, how often will you really see and interact with other consortium college students compared to the daily interactions with the larger student body at Middlebury?
To me, the question is not about academics at all, it is about location, culture, and fit.
Well, in actuality, my Pomona freshman student has already taken classes at Harvey Mudd and CMC and does interact quite a bit with other 5C students and eats in their dining halls etc. But that said, it sound like Midd is for you. You wanted to explore a different part of the country. This is your opportunity. Both are great schools. Stick with what you got or where your heart is. Both are prestigious.
Yea, I think there are arguments for cross-country exploration on both sides. I know of at least one dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker who attended a 5C and lived to tell the tale. So, I have no problem arguing the reverse. Los Angeles can exert its own peculiar kind of provincialism and the 5Cs don’t really counteract that. By choosing Middlebury, you’d be joining the NESCAC athletic conference, an archipelago of small, heirloom, educational institutions that stretch from Coastal Maine to Long Island Sound. Road trip!
I agree with @preppedparent that Pomona students regularly interact with the other 5C’s. My Pomona student has taken 2 classes at CMC (a literature class and a philosophy class) and regularly eats in the other school’s dining halls and has friends/acquaintances at all. However because this student is from LA, I can see the draw of going to school in a completely different part of the country. Pomona is definitely in the suburbs of the LA metro area. So I also agree with @BooBooBear that it’s about location, culture and fit. Nice choices to have.
In terms of environmental studies, the only significant old-growth forest in the Northeast can be found in the proximate-to-Middlebury Adirondacks. As an opportunity to study in this environment, and perhaps to play a part in conservation, Middlebury would decidedly be a top choice.
If you like the general academic environment of Pomona, but would nonetheless want to broaden your collegiate experience beyond the LA area, then I’d highly recommend an academic term in the Adirondacks. Hamilton, for example, offers one that’s open to students from other colleges, and there may be others.
There are a lot of environmental issues in the LA area and in the San Bernardino mountains such as floods, droughts, air pollution and fires/forestry issues. Great place to study environmental issues.
Actually the current (2017) USNWR National LAC rankings have Middlebury higher. Midd is tied for 4th (with 93 points), Pomona is tied for 7th (with 90 points). But do not rely on that to argue that Midd is academically superior to Pomona.
These are not good reasons to pick Pomona over Midd. They both have great academics and high degrees of LAC prestige (but note that “LAC prestige” is pretty limited as far as the general public is concerned, which is why Pomona is routinely confused with Cal Poly Pomona).
Good reasons to pick Pomona over Midd would include the Claremont Consortium or a preference for the southern California location. And the latter does not apply in your case.
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You may be thinking of the Forbes ranking. In the most recent ranking, Pomona was ranked #7 (it had been #1 formerly) and Midd was #34.
Forget USNWR rankings. I’m not into ranking, but if I want to compare schools, then I’d much rather do my own looking and the following stats give me more useful info than the USNWR.
Middlebury College: Selectivity Rate for the Class of 2021 (19.7%); Total New SAT 25th-75th Percentile Range (1340–1520); Composite ACT 25th-75th Percentile Range (30–33)
Pomona College: Selectivity Rate for the Class of 2021 (8.2%); Total New SAT 25th-75th Percentile Range (1430–1560); Composite ACT 25th-75th Percentile Range (30-34)
Also, Pomona College is the No. 2 producer of Fulbright students in the nation among bachelor’s institutions, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, tying for the position with neighboring Pitzer College. Additionally, it’s consistently ranked much higher than Middlebury as a feeder school to top graduate schools in the nation.
But this is just a snapshot; fit is of course much more than this; college is much more than this. The OP should benefit immeasurably from being immersed in a very different culture by attending Middlebury, something you can’t put numerical measures on.
OP, you are picking between two distinguished liberal arts colleges. Both have “world class academics and prestige”. The consortium makes Pomona a slightly better LAC, imo: it gives you the possibility of taking graduate classes, and never feel limited by a small school. I’ve visited and found it absolutely incredible how it feels like a big university but also a small school. But of course, you are from LA (I’m an international student so I very much feel you on the finding something completely new sentiment), you want to study environmental sciences, so I’m getting strong hints that you’d probably like to go to Middlebury.
There are advantages going to school close to home that nobody ever talks about, like being able to go home for every break when you are so done with school and when moving out for summers. It’s just very convenient. You could always explore the world by studying abroad for a year. Good luck deciding!
Thank you all for your detailed responses. After some thought, and two phone calls with current students (at Middlebury and Pomona), I am leaning towards Middlebury. While I will miss all the benefits of the consortium and may feel isolated and far from home, one question the current student that I talked to raised stuck out to me: “when else in your life will you be able to live in beautiful Vermont?” If they were in the same part of the country I might choose Pomona, but I want to live away from the city for once in my life. Thanks again for all of your insights; I really appreciated them.
True.
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On the other hand, owning a ski resort, Middlebury Snow Bowl, trumps everything. 
From So Cal and my S wanted change of scenery like you. Went to east coast central NY and while campus is beautiful and school is great he tolerated the winter. Couldn’t wait to get back to CA for summer. He loves school and his friends but boy was winter looong! He can see why kids get depressed and homesick
If you want to study environmental science, it’s hard to find a better program - amongst all LACs and universities - than Middlebury. They created the first program in the country and continue to lead today. They have a carbon neutral campus and include Bill McKibben on their faculty. While the two may be equals in terms of overall prestige, in terms of environmental renown, Middlebury is the clear leader.
We are from CA as well and my D initially was sure that she wanted to go to school in the NE. Her thinking was similar to yours - when else would she ever have the opportunity to experience living in another part of the country in such a risk-free way (where the move wasn’t permanent and she could always choose to come back home after her 4 years were up). I thought that was very smart and insightful of her. In the end though, she decided to stay closer to home and I think part of it was realizing that she would only be able come home twice a year, for winter break and summer. Although I am very happy to have her only 5 hours away, I do think that she would have loved all the different things she would have had the opportunity to experience moving farther away. The other big factor for her was the benefit of the consortium - she really wanted the LAC experience but her ideal school size was more in the 5-10k range. With Pomona, she felt she was getting the best of both worlds (a small LAC with the consortium making it feel more like a mid-sized school). She will be starting there in the fall so we will see how it goes, but I think she would have been happy regardless of her choice. I absolutely think the same is true for you - they are both fabulous choices! You have clearly given it a lot of thought and are going with what feels right to you which is the best way to make a decision! Best of luck!
I trust that you have visited – and preferably did overnights – at both schools?
My D also had a difficult East Coast/West Coast decision to make – she had applied SCEA and been accepted to Yale before having visited the school. On paper, it was perfect – in reality, not so much. While she loved the classes, programs, and general school culture, she found the campus to be much more urban than she had anticipated. Ultimately, she just couldn’t wrap her head around living in New Haven, which she found terribly depressing – in April…I shudder to think how she would have felt in February! Thankfully, she had lots of other options, including Stanford which ended up feeling just right for a So Cal native.
At the end of the day, it became clear that it was a head vs. heart decision, and she went with her gut.
I am not at all comparing your two situations. Middlebury is about as far from New Haven as you can get in terms of environment. It sounds like being in an idyllic Vermont location resonates with you. Ignore the rankings – the shades of difference at that level are meaningless. It’s about fit – go with your gut.
I was going to make the point that Corbett made above – that Middlebury is actually ranked higher now. My DS is attending Williams, but both Middlebury and Pomona were on our short list. Pomona only fell off because of the distance (we’re on the East Coast), and it was a very tough decision. MIddlebury fell off later for other reasons but was a clear favorite in my household. Bottom line – they’re all remarkable colleges – truly the best of the best (along with a handful of others). As some have indicated, you can do no wrong here. You should make this decision based on fit and not prestige.
OP, I just saw your second post. My son has made that same comment – when else in life can you live in Vermont (or vicinity) and enjoy the great outdoors in all its glory for four solid years? You hard chargers usually end up in a major metropolitan area for the huge bulk of your careers. My DS is loading up on the camping equipment and already talking about being a camp counselor somewhere in Maine next summer. He’s embracing it. So will you.