<p>A year ago I started this thread with just one wish - that my second D gets accepted to Pomona to join her sister. Today, it is mission accomplished!!! Thanks to all who posted on this thread back then… I really appreciated your words of caution against stressing out too much or putting all eggs in the Pomona basket (so to speak), my younger D applied to 16 colleges, and so far has heard from 11. She got in 10 of 11 so far (got into Berkeley but not UCLA). The last 5 left are all Ivies - Columbia, Yale, Brown, Harvard and Penn - and are due March 30th. Regardless of what decisions come out this week, in our home we already feel great about accomplishing our goal. </p>
<p>My older D at Pomona has had a terrific experience in her freshman class, made lots of new friends, and is really enjoying the entire Pomona experience. Our younger D has had 3 sleepovers and 2 other trips to Pomona to hang out with sister and her friends. She also had enjoyed the Pomona campus, the food, the people and the close-knit community. Plus its far enough (and not too far away) from home. Her 2 best friends in HS were accepted at UCLA and USC, meaning they can all be quite close to each other while making new friends at their new schools. </p>
<p>Couldn’t be happier how things turned out for our kids…</p>
<p>How about George Washington U for a safety school? It has great science programs which will help her with pre-med. Also, why not apply to Georgetown (not as a safety, but as a easy reach)? Hopkins would be a good choice as well, which you have listed (although DC is a better college town than Baltimore). Applying from California makes her interesting to these schools.</p>
<p>D2 just got admitted to Brown and Columbia (didn’t get into Yale or Penn; Harvard decision pending). At Columbia, she was also named a Kluge Scholar. Hmmmm!!! Would the lure of an Ivy change the dynamics??? Personally I’d say NO, but would D2 agree now that she has actually been admitted to these two Ivies? Will update as decision day comes… My fingers remain crossed that D2 joins her sister at Pomona this fall, regardless of the prestige of Columbia or Brown.</p>
<p>If she does turn them down for Pomona, she’ll be in good company. I know many people, including some good friends and even myself who went to Pomona over both of those Ivies (and other ones too).</p>
<p>oclement, we’re in a simiar boat. Today, S was accepted to Pomona last week, got in today to Dartmouth and Penn (waitlisted Columbia), but I really think Pomona would be the best school for him… That name recognition thing is so hard for kids to resist though. I’ll be interested to see what your daughter decides!</p>
<p>My D AGONIZED about Ivies vs. Pomona last year. In some ways last April was the worst month our family every went through. Since arriving on Pomona’s campus in August however she NEVER looked back. She knew after the first week of school that she had made the right decision. Once you are at Pomona, the lack of name recognition means absolutely nothing. Surrounded by the best and the brightest kids and profs is everything.</p>
<p>Congrats to your D and all these outstanding kids. :)</p>
<p>@lolcats4: Truly appreciate those comments. </p>
<p>@SDMomof3: Understood. I will post the decision by mid-April or thereabouts…</p>
<p>@NJ Mom of2: I feel the pain already, lol ;)</p>
<p>@cbreeze/ayzdad: I have no idea what is URM? I don’t spend as much time here so maybe I should know it… sorry.</p>
<p>All. It will be interesting in the month of April. I still believe D2 will end up at Pomona. My closest friend is a professor at a College in NC, and his daughter and mine are close friends as well. She has an even more difficult and daunting decision… she got into Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Penn, Duke, WashU and Swathmore. She has pared the decision down to Princeton, Columbia, Stanford and Penn - in that order. Tough decision indeed! </p>
<p>At the end of it all, we are fortunate and blessed to have such wonderful kids who make us proud. Whatever decision they make will be fine. You really can’t go that wrong with any of these fine colleges…</p>
<p>@cbreeze: As a first generation American citizen who did not attend College in the US, I am not well versed in many of these terms nor have I bothered to. But thanks for helping out. And many thanks for letting me know that Kluge Scholars in Columbia are drawn from URMs; that is good info that I did not know. Although I teach my kids to reach for the moon, I am a realist in understanding that her chances of getting into an Ivy is pretty low and a super-stretch, not to mention being admitted into 2 Ivies. More importantly, judging by how well D1 is doing at Pomona and how D2 was equally super-excited about Pomona, we didn’t consider alternatives of an Ivy. Last night D2 said, if she stays in California it will be Pomona, if she goes OOS, it will be Columbia… I guess we will see…</p>
<p>As the father of a current Pomona student who has loved her time there, and a HS senior who has just been accepted also, I share your excitement. This school has been flying under the radar for a long time and I believe presents one of the best educational opportunities in the country.</p>
<p>@SarahsDad… Here is an interesting and true story. In the summer of 2009, we registered both of our daughters into an SAT Elite Prep program here in San Diego. Part of the program included a college counselling session. My wife and I along with D1 (who is first to go to college) sat down with the Director of the “school” to discuss college options. After listening to what D1’s career goal was, the director suggested applying to Pomona College and Amherst College. None of us had ever heard of Pomona although I had heard faintly about Amherst (we’ve only lived in So Cal since coming to America). Believing the director knows what he was talking about, D1 applied to both colleges. Suffice to say she got admitted to Pomona and WL at Amherst. </p>
<p>On the saturday when the Pomona letter arrived, D1 and mum were at a cheer-leading competition in Anaheim. I saw a big white envelope with Pomona Class of '14 on it, opened it and in shock saw she had been admitted to the school. I called D1 and mum in Anaheim to let them know she had been admitted to Pomona… We then realized we did not even know where Pomona is at… Claremont, CA? yes, but where the heck was Claremont??? I then started looking into the school and researching it only to find out how good the school was… We decided a trip to Pomona was necessary and to see if D1 will like to go there. So it was only after D1 got into Pomona did we even know where Pomona is located!!! Strange but true…</p>
<p>And when we found out about Pomona, we were all hooked… The rest is now history!!!</p>
<p>O: great story! S has a tough decision as also accepted at WAS but D is putting the full court press for him to come to Pomona. No bad choices here!</p>
<p>It is April 19th, and still no decision yet! I am worried cos my second D seems to be troubled to make a decision, and the decision is all hers to make. Struggling between Emory (which she loves after a visit), Pomona (which she knows and loves, but worried cos her sister is already there) and Columbia (which is a “draw” for being an Ivy). So far, she has visited Chicago (which she eliminated right away), Emory and Pomona. This weekend, she heads out (with mum) to Columbia for 3 days. </p>
<p>And then we must have a decision.</p>
<p>Question: Does external scholarships outside the school FA reduce the FA award already given, or does it just reduce the parent contribution?</p>
<p>Second D is headed to Columbia!!! She decided this morning while visiting the school with mum. Mum promptly wrote the deposit check. It is her choice and where she feels fits her best. I am happy with the decision. Interestingly, I was at Pomona this Easter sunday and spent the day with D1 (while D2 and mum are in NYC), which gave me a great perspective on why D2 is headed to a different school than D1 attends. I think it is best for both to grow on their own as they are both quite different kids… D2’s personality fits into a large urban setting like Atlanta (Emory) or NYC (Columbia), while the quiet, serene, and laid back atmosphere in Claremont fits D1 just perfect.</p>
<p>So it ends up that our two kids are going to be on opposite end of the coasts… Not what we would have imagined, but … it is what it is!</p>