<p>I'm a rising senior from North Carolina and I'm really interested in going to Pomona. My only reservation is that it's on the opposite side of the country. Do you guys know anyone who has made a similar move to attend Pomona? If so, how did they adjust? </p>
<p>As a parent, my advice is to challenge yourself by going a little out of your comfort zone. Whether that is geographic, cultural, or some other characteristic, college should expand your horizons. I would look upon the distance as a good thing. </p>
<p>Visit the schools you might want to attend, preferably when school is in session. If a school seems exciting to you, it is worth applying. When my daughter toured colleges, she did not like quite a few that she had been seriously interested in attending. I had to drag her to Pomona, and she loved it. </p>
<p>FWIW, she did not like Harvard, Brown, Wesleyan, Swarthmore, Pitzer, </p>
<p>Some of my comments got cut off. Did not like UCLA or UC Berkeley. Liked Pomona, Stanford, Princeton, Yale and Scripps. Thought Vassar was okay. In retrospect she wishes she had visited Northwestern, Tufts, and Wash U. You will come up with your own list. </p>
<p>Close to 75% of the incoming class is out of state. 30% from the South and the East Coast. You’ll be just fine!</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice! </p>
<p>D ('09) had no problem with living on the other coast. In fact, two other students from her high school attended Pomona. And as mentioned previously, geographic diversity ensures that you won’t be alone.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>My son will attend Pomona (in a few days!) and we are from the Midwest. He initially thought he wanted to go to an Ivy, but after visiting Pomona (the last school he visited) he knew it was the right fit for him. He loved the campus, but especially the diverse student population. I agree with akiddoc that college is a great time to step out of your comfort zone. Pomona does a great job with something called Orientation Adventure, before school even starts, where all of the freshmen students choose and participate in an activity together, from a Yosemite trip to a beach adventure. After all, college is an adventure and you are just a plane ride away!</p>
<p>I moved from Cleveland to Claremont. A high school classmate did as well. Initially I went home on holidays and breaks, but by junior year, I started remaining in Claremont for the summer. I lived off campus, started to build a network of friends and secured local summer jobs, so the transition was very smooth. Instead of me going home, family members started visiting me. After graduation, I moved to LA for a few years before moving to NYC for a job transfer. Great life lessons.</p>
I am from the Pacific Northwest and I went to boarding school in New England before coming to Claremont for college. When I was on the East Coast, it was a bit uncomfortable at first to be that far away from home. I especially hated flying to and from school for breaks. Now I am glad that I am back on my own side of the country and a bit closer to home for college. It is also nice being far away from home that I get to feel more independent and experience something new. I definitely like the climate of Claremont better than other places I have lived, but it is nice to be able to experience living in different parts of the country.
Hi futuretarheel498! I’m a first-year at Pomona from New England. Most of the schools I applied to were in the Northeast; Pomona was the only one on the west coast, and I viewed that as a negative. In retrospect, though, I’m really glad I decided to come out here. Southern California has a very different culture from my hometown, and although I couldn’t tell you which one I prefer, having the opportunity to experience both has been really enlightening. There have been some small differences (people call highways freeways, for instance) and big ones (the climate and the influence of Mexican culture, for instance), but they’ve all been very neat to explore. College is one of the few opportunities you’ll have to move basically anywhere; don’t be afraid to take advantage of it. It’ll mean you’ll have to take a plane to go home and that you’ll have to buy some dorm supplies rather than take them from home, but those are extremely minor prices to pay. The biggest trade-off is probably not being able to go home over short breaks, but there are plenty of people who stay on campus and you can always go on a hiking/community service/whatever trip, many of which are fantastic.
My hometown friend went cross-country to Pomona and is loving it, I’ve heard. Made lots of friends and done cool things.