Pomona v. Rice v. Williams

Colleges and Universities A-Z Pomona College
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<p>So it is decision time for me. I am posting this to see if my pros/cons about these three schools are valid. I have posted before and am interested in biology/pre-med/biomed engineering with an interest in attending medical school or Public Health School.</p>

<p>Williams: (+) Personal academic experience, outdoorsy and athletic students, diversity, grad school placement, tutorials, students, ability to run track
(-) lack of Public Health curriculum, lack of prominent research, cold, small, facilities seemed less nice than others, expensive, lack of name recognition, grade deflation</p>

<p>Pomona: (+) personal academic experience, outdoory students, diversity, california weather, ability to run track, campus beauty
(-) lack of Public Health curriculum, lack of prominent research, overly liberal students, large city and pollution, lack of name recognition</p>

<p>Rice: (+) tons of research, wide curriculum, cheapest, diversity, residential colleges, campus beauty, warm
(-) so many texans, more pre-professional, less liberal-art curriculum, Houston/Pollution, less outdoor opportunity, can't run</p>

<p>Do you think these are valid points?
How many students from Pomona go to Harvard Med and other top med schools each year (I have seen the WSJ rankings but want to know how good med school prep is)?
Do any kids study public health?</p>

<p>Thanks and sorry if I am thinking out loud.</p>

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<p>why are texans a minus? (not being defensive, just curious)</p>

<p>And there’s lots of room to run, and there’s a track around the Rice campus that borders the downtown Houston streets, so you don’t have to worry about that. I would say if you are verrry research and medically orienented, pick Rice, because the opportunity there is crazy. You’ll be close to one of the biggest hospital systems in the US, and there are plenty of chances for research, shadowing doctors, etc. But I have to admit, public transportation sucks. Thier working on it though! :)</p>

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<p>wow seems like a lot of kids from Phoenix got into Pomona :O</p>

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<p>IF you’re considering medical school or further education after undergrad ALL THREE Schools are BIG NAME SCHOOLS.
The only people who don’t recognize the names of the schools don’t really matter to your intended goal, and it’s kind of ironic tha you would even apply to Pomona and Williams if that was 1 of your concerns.</p>

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<p>Pomona isn’t in a large city itself, just close-ish to one (an hour, more or less, depending on traffic). Houston is “larger” (depending what you measure by, I guess) than Claremont.</p>

<p>And, despite a lack of “prominent research” (which may be scarce at LACs - not their purpose) there are pleeeenty of opportunities to get involved with research, including SURPs (summer undergraduate research programs - they pay you a stipend) and a required original thesis for science majors.</p>

<p>Also note that the Claremont Graduate University has a school of Community & Global Health ([Welcome</a> to Global Health](<a href=“http://www.cgu.edu/pages/5647.asp]Welcome”>http://www.cgu.edu/pages/5647.asp)). Not sure how much of that would be available to you, though.</p>

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<p>It really isn’t hard to cross-enroll at CGU.</p>

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<p>thanks for the info about public health! I never even thought about cross-enrollment.</p>

<p>About being a “city,” I just prefer the rural for outdoor opportunities and lack of pollution.</p>

<p>So are there many students going to top med schools? How many kids go to places like Harvard, Hopkins, and UWash each year? Does anyone know how this compares to williams? Are there hospitals around? Are there global health study abroad options?</p>

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<p>I live in the area near claremont and i can testify that pollution is not a big deal as it may seem, generally it is pretty clear. I have asthma, and the only breathing problems i have occur when I’m sick or after very strenuous exercise.</p>

<p>EDIT: This is in regard to Pomona College, lol forgot to mention that.</p>

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<p>UCSF seems to be popular, though I think there’s at least one senior who will head to Harvard or Hopkins this year.</p>

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<p>They’re both pretty much equal in Med School admissions, with Williams having a very slight edge (probably just because of the difference in student populations).</p>

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<p>liek0806 is right. For continuing on to grad/professional school, all three schools are powerhouses.</p>

<p>Pollution’s not that bad. Claremont’s a retirement community; I think the retirees will have more problems than you might.</p>

<p>Public health problems abound in the sprawling megalopolis that is called LA. In other words, there should be plenty of public health programs for you to intern with during a semester or summer.</p>

<p>Consider also the sunshine and quality of life. People at Pomona are very chill, and dare I say, perhaps more so than those at Williams. It’s easy to run around in flip flops year round. I did it.</p>

<p>You’ll get more flexibility at Pomona and Williams than at Rice. </p>

<p>Pomona also has the consortium where you can meet the larger student body. Pomona’s like 1500 students total, but there are 4 other schools. So you can go out there too.</p>

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<p>I wouldn’t say students at Pomona are overly liberal. There’s a liberal slant, but not greater than that of most elite college campuses.</p>