<p>Hello! So I called Pomona College's admissions office today, asking about their Preliminary Application. Their website says that you can find it under Supplements on Common App, but I didn't see it. The man I talked to said that I can just mail it in with my application fee check. I was wondering if it'd be okay to send in parts of my application by mail and submit the rest online with Common App? However, Common App says that you should NOT mix it, either send online or all by mail. </p>
<p>They also request a Secondary School Report Supplement which I have no idea if it can be submitted online or not. Any advice regarding online vs/ paper from those who have already applied/got accepted into Pomona?</p>
<p>There are parts of the Pomona application that have to be done on paper. The school report is famous for being overlooked by applicants who submit everything else online. Every year, people post here about not realizing that it must be actually signed and submitted in the form Pomona requires - and as I remember, that required paper. So yes, it’s totally ok to mix paper and online. I imagine the bulk of it being online is simpler for the college, but they have particular requirements that require paper. My daughter did ED, so she had to mail in the ED agreement form, the school report and I don’t recall what else (if anything). She submitted the rest of the application through the Common App. It worked out fine, and she’s a very happy Pomona student now.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your reply, it was extremely helpful! Did your daughter mail in these separate forms at different times (such as the Preliminary Form early on, and Signatures Form later)? Also, did your daughter’s counselor mail in the School Report Supplement or did she mail it directly herself?</p>
<p>The Secondary School Report should be submitted by your counselor, it doesn’t matter if its paper or online. My son sent his Preliminary Form with his check on paper, and filled out the rest of the application through Common App Online. Later, after he decided to apply ED, he sent a paper Signature Form.
The Teacher’s Recs can also be either on paper or online, as well, I believe.
Schools need to be flexible because not all high schools do things the same way. Pomona starts a file once you send in your Preliminary, and everything sent, either by mail or online, goes in the file.</p>
<p>He graduated from Pomona recently, btw. He absolutely loved Pomona.</p>
<p>Whoa whoa hold on. So what do I have to mail in? The preliminary thing? What about the thing with the mandatory signatures and optional picture attachment? It’s not a big deal for me, because my teacher rec’s, transcript, and guidance counselor report are all going in by mail, but I want to make sure I have it right. I’m really glad I saw this thread. I wonder how many pomona rejects just didn’t do the application right?</p>
<p>kalina - Yes, my D’s counselor mailed in the school report forms directly, and it’s correct that the student should not be the one to mail that. My D mailed the preliminary app quite early, and then did the online common app, plus the early decision signature and photo page by snail mail, IIRC.</p>
<p>Pomona is really good about letting people know they’ve missed that school report form, DoinSchool, but it’s easier just to get it right without having to wait for that reminder. I don’t think it’s so confusing, really - just different from other places that do everything online. I am pretty sure you can send the preliminary forms at the same time as the application itself, but if you send it earlier it allows Pomona to open your file. My D felt that was worthwhile, since she was doing an interview in October.</p>
<p>And just to brace yourself for this bit of difference: Pomona delivers admission decisions by snail mail too.</p>