Pomona or Bust!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Pomona College
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<p>Counting down the hours now until we leave for Claremont tomorrow morning. Our daughter describes her feelings as such: </p>

<p>YouTube</a> - Futureeee!</p>

<p>(Not sure if CC will allow that link, but if you've seen SpongeBob episode "SB-129" where Squidward has his "everything is chrome in the future" meltdown, you'll know what she means!)</p>

<p>I'm trying my best to appear calm, but elation, excitement, anxiety and yes, sorrow that our only child is leaving for a new (albeit wonderful!) life are all vying for my attention inside. How are you all doing?</p>

<p>Really looking forward to meeting Pomona Parents (and students) on Sunday!</p>

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<p>Can’t wait to get there - see the whole school and experience the atmosphere. I do believe that my D is VERY psyched. I know that when I get home after the week’s vacation in Cali depression will set in. Until then - can’t wait!! I hope we all get to meet on Sunday.</p>

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<p>Me, too, NJ Mom! Daughter just found out she got her first choice Critical Inquiry seminar, so her anticipation has been ratcheted up yet another notch, IF that is possible.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the info on critical inquiry seminar - we did not know it was posted yet. My D got her first choice also - second choice for OA.</p>

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<p>NJ Mom, congrats on her first choice! Which OA is she taking? Daughter is going on the Halona trip. “Camping” with real beds, indoor toilets/showers, and pancakes in the morning is right up her alley. Her CI seminar is “Fantasy Literature Takes on the Church”.</p>

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<p>Hey - we should probably be PMing! OA is Beach adventure (first choice was Yosemite) and CI class is “on becoming ill”.</p>

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<p>Hi rickmanfan and NJMomof2!!</p>

<p>We made the big drive yesterday, 10 hours, and arrived in the land of sunshine and palm trees just in time for a yummy Mexican dinner with great margaritas. Heaven. It’s so pretty here, especially after driving through the Mojave for half the day. :slight_smile: After dinner we drove to the campus to see where S’s dorm is located. We saw a few kids moving stuff in and one of them happened to be S’s sponsor! It was nice to meet him, I think it allayed S’s slight anxiety of the unknown a bit. I had never seen the campus in the evening, and it was just beautiful. </p>

<p>We didn’t know the Critical Inquiry results had been posted. Did your kids receive an email about it? S will be going to Yosemite, really excited, as none of us have ever visited there.</p>

<p>Looking forward to (hopefully) meeting you on Sunday – I will look for the “CC” on name tags. :)</p>

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<p>Definitely see the Skyspace in the evening as the sun sets. It’s an incredible and fun experience!</p>

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<p>Hey Bengalmom - Critical Inquiry assignments are on the portal.</p>

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<p>Hi all! We arrived about an hour ago - eight hours for us. Traffic from Pasadena to Pomona (we are not staying in Claremont) was hideous, but at least we expected it. NJ Mom, so sorry, I didn’t get your IM message until this morning and didn’t have time to respond. BengalMom, glad to hear you made it safely! We’re going to check out Ontario airport tomorrow morning, then we’ll have lunch with daughter’s roommate and parents - cool! Then we’ll head to campus just because we can. YAY! Maybe some of you will be there? Heading off to find a place for dinner. Can’t wait to meet you all on Sunday! Oh, and thanks for the tip, Little Mother!</p>

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<p>Wasn’t that a fantastic, incredible, welcoming, fun, terrific day? We are more impressed with Pomona than ever and feel completely confident that our daughter is in the best place she could possibly be for this time in her life.</p>

<p>I am so sorry I didn’t meet any of you Pomona Parents (I had a CC and rickmanfan on my name tag), but I did think about you and hoped you and your student had as wonderful a day as we did.</p>

<p>GO SAGEHENS!</p>

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<p>We were looking for you Rickmanfan! Sorry to have missed you. It felt like a lot of people when I actually saw all the families and students, but I lucked into meeting Bengalmom and Ayzdad at the lunch, and Geowally at the reception. That was such fun, with all the family members shaking their heads in wonder at our CC addiction :)</p>

<p>I agree it was a great day (even if slightly traumatic for parents): campus looked gorgeous and the upper class students were so friendly and fun. I believe Pomona will truly take good care of our kids.</p>

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<p>FauxNom, how fabulous that you all met up! My husband rolled his eyes when I put “CC rickmanfan” on my name tag. so I know about family members shaking their heads, LOL! </p>

<p>I don’t know what I was thinking (obviously, I wasn’t), there were more people than I expected, too. It is amazing that the three of you found each other! NJ Mom of 2, did you meet anyone? Maybe I’ll do better at the Family Weekend. Hope everyone is home safe and sound!</p>

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<p>I also didn’t meet anyone but I was without a nametag for at least half of the day. People have asked me if I am feeling sad about dropping my S off. How can anyone be sad when they see their child so utterly ecstatic about their new school! ???What a wonderful day and a gratifying experience to know that you have launched your child into such a wonderful environment.</p>

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<p>Calmama, sorry I missed you! And I know exactly what you mean. My friends and family were certain I’d fall to pieces. But it has been just the opposite. I know I’ll miss her, but I am completely confident that she is going to have the most fantastic college experience possible. I have never seen her so thrilled and so fearless. Who can feel badly about that??? I can’t wait to watch her grow!</p>

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<p>rickmanfan, I looked for you all day, but with so many family members there, it’s no wonder we never ran into each other. As FauxNom mentioned, we had lunch with her and her beautiful D, and ayzdad and his wonderful family. At the reception I met geo_wally and her sweet D1, and NJ Mom of 2 – she and her H were very nice; they were off to a little vacation before returning home.</p>

<p>Pomona is even more amazing to me know than it was before. Is that possible?</p>

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<p>I agree completely!! Just change “daughter” to “son”, and I could have written this.</p>

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<p>Well said! I am sad, but I’m reassured that this is the best place he could possibly be right now. I am so happy for him!</p>

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<p>Hi all - just returned tonight from our Cali adventure rested and happy:) Bengalmom - so great to meet you and your hubby - I wish I could have met the rest of you - maybe in February. My D is having the time of her life. She LOVED her OA and the few times I have spoken to her we don’t get to complete our conversation as she is pulled by someone to go have fun. I’m afraid she won’t be calling as much as I had hoped -too much fun and too busy. I miss her already, but I’m so glad she is finally in her element.</p>

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<p>Welcome back, NJ Mom of 2!! It was great meeting you and your H, too! I hope you had a great time exploring a bit of Southern Cal. It sounds like my S is having the same experience as your D – we have spoken to him very little, and he is always running off to the next thing. But he sounds just thrilled to be there. I love Pomona! :)</p>

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<p>Delighted to hear that you and your students are happy! Just a reminder to make your hotel reservations (and even plane reservations) for Family Weekend as soon as possible, especially if you want to stay at the Doubletree. Not sure about the Doubletree, but the Sheraton Fairplex should offer a Pomona discount at that time. Sitting in on a class with the students on Friday gives you the opportunity to see how wonderful the faculty are.</p>

<p>My in-laws decided to join us the first year, and they loved learning all about Pomona. We even experienced a minor earthquake while on campus - a first for my in-laws - that made the visit even more special! :slight_smile: Subsequent years, I was fortunate to be able to schedule business trips to SoCal around the same time as the weekend.</p>

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<p>Hi folks:</p>

<p>Just checking in to this site for the first time since returning from our own Pomona College rollercoaster ride last Tuesday night. I, too, am sorry I didn’t have the good fortune to connect with you at the various events on move-in day. It was a hectic and emotional time to be sure, but I’m happy to discover that all of you seem to have had the same very positive experience we did.</p>

<p>rickmanfan’s comment in particular resonated with me:</p>

<p>“I know I’ll miss her, but I am completely confident that she is going to have the most fantastic college experience possible. I have never seen her so thrilled and so fearless. Who can feel badly about that??? I can’t wait to watch her grow!”</p>

<p>I could not have said it better myself. Being a wimp at heart, throughout the lead-up to the “day of reckoning” I was quite worried I was going to “lose it” in front of our daughter and cause a potentially embarrassing scene. But from the moment we arrived in Claremont and reacquainted ourselves with the beautiful and inspirational 5-C campus environment I sensed her inner happiness and burgeoning confidence. Her obvious contentment, and the fact that every one of her fellow students and the administration people with which we came into contact could not have been friendlier or more helpful, served to ease my mind greatly and make the whole process of disengagement less painful. </p>

<p>She’s in the very best of all possible worlds and surrounded by responsible mentors and motivated, like-minded, proven achievers – what parent wouldn’t feel a sense of inner satisfaction and happiness at that prospect? </p>

<p>Anyway, I was proud to have kept my emotions in check and to have restricted my uncontrollable blubbering to the final goodbyes… :-)</p>

<p>I hope to see you all at the Family Weekend in February, where I am sure we will have much in common and many positive tales to tell.</p>

<p>Meantime, I have a question for anyone who might be able to help: What are your impressions of and experiences with the Ontario Airport? The reason I ask is that we have booked our daughter on two future flights out of Ontario and our reconnaissance mission during our visit left us less than impressed. Admittedly, it was at 9 pm on a Sunday night, but the place looked run-down, entirely deserted and more than a bit dodgy. The thought of our daughter landing there alone late in the evening and trying to rustle up a cab to campus was worrisome. </p>

<p>If any of you can reassure me that I’m just over-reacting and it’s all good, I would sure appreciate it!</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.</p>