Please tell me what my chances are of getting in! :D

Colleges and Universities A-Z Pomona College
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<p>Background:
I'm from Louisiana. New Orleans to be specific.<br>
I'm also a double minority: Female and Palestinian/Lebanese.
I've lived in the United States for about 9-10 years. </p>

<p>Grades/Standardized Test Scores:
I have a 4.6 GPA.
Ranked 6/300
I have straight A's. Not one single B on my transcript.
I took the ACT yesterday and I've yet to receive my scores. I'm think I scored in the 30s. If not, then I WILL get that score (through preparing and studying) </p>

<p>Community Service:
I have 150+ hours of community service from my hospital.
50+ Hours for community service (recycling)
I'm mentoring my pediatrician for 20+ Hours. </p>

<p>Awards:
I've received 8 "Student of the Year" awards from my school.
I've been on the principal's honor roll all 9-11th grade. I definitely will be on it this year too! </p>

<p>AP Classes:
AP World History (4)
AP Chemistry (have yet to take)
AP American History (5)
AP Psychology (have yet to take)
AP Calculus (have yet to take)
AP Biology (have yet to take)</p>

<p>I would've taken more AP classes, but my school doesn't offer too many and my schedule didn't really allow it. The only two AP classes I haven't taken that my school offers are AP European History and AP Economics.</p>

<p>I'm also in the Gifted Program at my school. So I have a few gifted classes in there. </p>

<p>Clubs:
Student Council
4-H Helping Hands
Best Buddies
Mu Alpha Theta
National Honors Society (NHS)
National English Honors Society (NEHS)
French Club
Science Olympiad
Biology Club</p>

<p>I've been in each of these clubs for like 2-3 years.</p>

<p>Are my chances high? I think now it depends all on my ACT Score.<br>
I know there are so many of these "what are my chances of getting in threads," but please give me some advice! Do I have a higher chance because I'm a minority? I also don't think many people apply from Louisiana.
Pomona College is my DREAM School. I would love to go there. I'm obsessed with it!</p>

<p>Oh oh, and I'm also 16 years old (I'm a Senior, obviously). I'm kinda young, but is that a good thing?
Also, I'm first generation who will be attending a 4-year University.</p>

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<p>Welcome to the forum, and I guess I’ll be the first to state the obvious: Pomona is a reach for everyone, so it would be tough to say your chances are high. But you’ve got a nice profile, and being first gen minority will help. Being female will hurt. Being from New Orleans could help, especially if you have a counselor who can do a good job of explaining any limitations on the opportunities available to you within your school (e.g. lack of APs). The average ACT score for enrolled Pomona students is usually around 33, and a 30 would be quite low. So try hard if you end up having to retake it. </p>

<p>Here’s a link with a bunch of data that might help you assess your own chances: <a href=“http://www.pomona.edu/admissions/files/full-class-profile.pdf[/url]”>http://www.pomona.edu/admissions/files/full-class-profile.pdf&lt;/a&gt; But I should say that having the stats is just the beginning: Pomona seems to try to shape a class with people who are interesting and who engage with their community energetically. Try to convey those things in your essays.</p>

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<p>Also, understand that Pomona has no serious competition on the west coast, which inflates the ratio of well-qualified applicants/ first year slots. You should therefore diversify your applications to a cohort of selective LACs (e.g. CMC/Reed on the west coast) and the east coast LAC’s (although colder, you might look at Carlton as well).</p>

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<p>Thanks you guys!
If you do attend pomona/have gotten accepted… what are your stats?</p>

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<p>GreenTea:</p>

<p>Great stats! I agree with FauxNom though, in that unfortunately there are no slam dunks at schools like Pomona.</p>

<p>Have a look at this page on the site if you want to peruse the stats of some applicants/attendees.</p>

<p>And best of luck on your application. I sense a real energy in your writing and a bright, confident personality. If you can somehow inject that vitality into your essays and apps, you will have a very good chance!</p>

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<p>“Pomona has no serious competition on the west coast”</p>

<p>I think that depends on one’s goals. If you’re a serious academic, CalTech, Harvey Mudd and Reed do well in comparison to Pomona:</p>

<p>[COLLEGE</a> PHD PRODUCTIVITY](<a href=“http://www.reed.edu/ir/phd.html]COLLEGE”>Doctoral Degree Productivity - Institutional Research - Reed College)</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Although stats play but one role in the admissions process, particularly at a school like Pomona, you asked:</p>

<p>3.85 Unweighted College GPA
2320 SAT
800 SAT Physics, 800 SAT Literature, 800 SAT Chemistry, 780 SAT Math II</p>

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<p>Doh!</p>

<p>I meant to include this link in my earlier post:</p>

<p>[Stats</a> Profile Search](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/profiles/member_stat_search_form.html]Stats”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/profiles/member_stat_search_form.html)</p>

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<p>Realize that stats really aren’t the end for schools like Pomona, but if you’re curious:</p>

<p>3.86 UW GPA
2380 SAT
800 SAT Math, 750 Bio</p>

<p>You’ve got a great shot, but the problem is, alot of other people will have similar scores/gpa. Show the impact you’ve had on your community, or how you’re unique.</p>

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<p>Vossron: I totally agree with you, and consider H. Mudd, Cal Tech, etc. to be at least on a par with Pomona- however, these other great schools are “niche” institutions, i.e. with special emphases (science, engineering), whereas P. is the hands-down winner of the generic LAC popularity contest west of the Mississippi.</p>

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<p>Well said, ivydoc. I couldn’t agree more.</p>

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<p>GreenTea–
I’m not sure you qualify as a minority at all, except maybe for being from Louisiana. As noted above, females are not minorities, and since female applications generally tend to be stronger than male applications, it will work to your disadvantage, esp. at Pomona, where they strive to keep a 50-50 gender balance (class of 2014 was a little off because the admission’s office’s acceptance of offer projections were a little off). As for being Palestinian, the category ‘Caucasian’ generally includes persons whose ancestral origins are in the middle east; ergo, you’re a non-Hispanic white. Maybe Pomona cuts some slack for belonging to an Arabic culture, but don’t take it as a given. However, if you lived in Gaza, or a refugee camp, something along those lines, that might be something to work with.</p>

<p>What came across in the several orientations and welcomes and conversations I had at Pomona (my daughter attends), is that Pomona tries to weed out type A personalities, the overstressed, the grade-anxious, the winner-take-all mentality. They want people with high intellectual abilities and work ethic but that get along well with others and have fun-- in fact, my daughter’s choice of essay for Pomo was ‘Describe something you did that was just plain fun’. Your EC’s don’t indicate anything wrong in this regard, but asking people to chance you on CC is not a good sign in terms of your fitting into the laid-back SoCal Pomo culture- so take care that your application doesn’t give the impression that you’re a nervous ball of stress. You live in the South, not here in the Big Apple-- so you should know how to relax. Make sure that comes through.</p>