Pomona Class of 2025. Chance me plz

Colleges and Universities A-Z Pomona College
1

Pomona is my top school, but I am afraid I am not doing enough and that my stats aren’t good enough.

Objective:
SAT: not taken yet (PSAT 1180)
ACT: not taken yet (multiple practice tests- 28-31)
Unweighted GPA: 3.95
Weighted GPA: 4.2037
Class rank: 20/313
Intended major: Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
Relevant Classwork: Mainly honors (except Criminal Justice, Theatre, and Digital Arts), 5 AP classes by end of senior year (Psychology, US History, Macroeconomics, Literature, Statistics, and maybe Spanish)
Senior Year classes: AP Macroeconomics, Literature, Statistics, and maybe Spanish, Sociology, Telecommunications (Criminal Justice 4), PAC Leader (kinda like you are a school administrator)

Extracurriculars:

  • Criminal Justice Competition Team- scored top 5 in regionals for extemporaneous speaking (5th place), evidence packaging (5th place) group investigation (4th place), criminal law test (3rd place),
  • Mock Trial/Criminal Justice Club member
  • Interact Club member (Volunteer service- around 30 hours with them)
  • Morning help with Criminal Justice teacher (volunteer, as well)
  • Over 100 community service hours by senior year
  • Online clothing resale company (my mom and I buy clothes and resell them)
  • Drama Club since sixth grade

Awards/Summer Programs:

  • Telecommunications Certificate (9-11 dispatch in the state of Florida) by end of senior year
  • Honor Roll all four years (never got below a B-)
  • FBI’s Future Agents in Training for 3 days (slightly competitive summer program- 35% acceptance rate- that discussed different fields in the FBI)
    -hope to study abroad this summer in Peru to increase my Spanish skills (I am Hispanic)

Background:

  • Ethnicity: Black, Puerto Rican
  • From Connecticut, currently live in Florida
  • Lower Middle Class
  • School: Public
  • Will need financial aid
  • First-gen to get a bachelors
2

The reason why you did not receive any responses is that most people perceive such posts as an attempt to calm your anxiety, and not much more. You have hooks - your ethnic background, plus first-gen in a 4-year college; you have certain less-stellar elements - tests. As you know, Pomona is the most selective LAC in the country. As you also know, they are actively searching for candidates from diverse backgrounds. And they have money to support them, if they are good enough.
How the chips will fall? Who knows? If I were an AO, I would be intrigued but I am not, and I don’t know how many similar, awesome candidates they will get - but I guess several hundreds at least. So let me repeat the CC mantra: make a list of your matches and safeties, work on the damn tests, be ready for both the amazing joy of acceptance to your dream school, and the disappointment of being rejected - who knows?
By the way, my daughter will be applying too, and I have a very similar advice for her, despite differences in background and accomplishments.
Good luck!

3

My daughter was rejected by Pomona - her first rejection (after 2 waitlists and 3 acceptances. She has a great stats and is an excellent writer, and her close friend was accepted with similar stats. But I figure she probably did not show enough interest in the school. She knew Pomona was the bottom of our list because of its distance and cost.