Pomona vs. Bowdoin? HELP!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Pomona College
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<p>well... I'M IN!!! and I'm so excited! After getting rejected from Yale and then waitlisted at both Brown and Williams, finally some really good news (and these schools are most likely the best fit for me anyways!)</p>

<p>BUT!!! I'm having trouble deciding! AND I'll be going to France on a school trip from April 8-18!!! (I know, poor me, lol) But this makes making a decision very difficult. We will probably still go out to California to visit, but I'll still have very very very little time to make a decision!</p>

<p>I live in MA, but have a lot of family in CA, so I'm okay with moving across the country. Still, I just really don't know! I mostly know NorCal, not SoCal, and as much as I hate winter, I'm so comfortable out here... </p>

<p>Please help! What's different about the two schools. What are the pros and cons of each?</p>

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<p>I don't know Bowdoin except for what I have read so I'll ask , what are you wanting in a college, what is most important, of course the fact that Pomona has 4 other colleges with resources to add to what is has is a huge factor in its favor.
And comfortable ...hmmm is that what you are wanting..
And of course I am extremely biased...My S feels going to Pomona was one of the best decision of his life and I love how he is thriving there. I interview for a top college and have another child in another CA school and Pomona still never ceases to amaze me with its resources, professors, catering to students. Congradulations on 2 great choices!!</p>

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<p>I guess I'm looking to love college. I know that's a lot to ask, but my brother (soph at Grinnell) just adores his college. He's loved it from the start and always wishes he were there. A lot of college kids I know seem to have had to make adjustments and compromises when they went to college and now they "like" it. See, I want to be head over heels, just like my brother. </p>

<p>So, to love college... I really want a place with really close student teacher interaction. I want my teachers to really care about me and I want to be interested in their classes. I also want a friendly, close knit student body that's not just a larger version of high school. (ie not cliquey etc). I'm a pretty smart kid and I work just hard enough at school. I don't like stressed out people. I don't want people who will be locked in the library. I also want really nice dorms and a really beautiful campus. (See, I know Bowdoin has these...) One thing that worries me about Pomona, I know it's superficial, but so many core things are almost identical in these two school... Are there tons of streets running through campus? I don't really want to be dodging traffic. The more green the better, as far as I'm concerned.</p>

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<p>pomona~ stanford (more prestigious, closer to metro, more resources)
bowdoin~ dartmouth (beautiful campus, cold, historical?)</p>

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<p>alscharr--</p>

<p>I've been on both campuses, and it was the difference between the old world and the new world. Bowdoin's campus was much more East Coast traditional, and Pomona's has the Spanish-influenced architecture with the red tile roofs. Major differences include the Claremont Colleges (consortium) and the weather. We've had relatively mild weather in MA this year, but remember last year with the 86 inches of snow? Plus, spring comes to MA sooner than it does in ME. In CA, it's spring (and summer) year-round.</p>

<p>Good luck with your choice!</p>

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<p>I have also read that Pomona is fairly conservative, a trait which Bowdoin does not share.</p>

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<p>From what I have experienced (D is a first-year), Pomona doesn't strike me as being conservative. It's definitely not the most conservative college in the consortium, and I would hazard a guess that students see themselves as more liberal than anything else. There's a wide mix among the students, but that's due to diversity of opinion.</p>

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<p>I think I was confusing it with Claremont-McKenna perhaps?</p>

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<p>Maybe so. As for Pomona's campus--it's really beautiful. Nice walking paths and some cross streets that, although marked by street signs, don't have much traffic, if any, because they dead-end on campus. They're pretty negligent. There's even a green building (sciences) on campus.</p>

<p>Photo taken during Family Weekend--view of snow-capped mountains in the background with the red-tiled buildings and palm trees in the foreground! You won't see that at Bowdoin.</p>

<p>There's a lot of student-teacher interaction at Pomona. D also has a great relationship with her faculty advisor. As for the library, I think she's been there maybe twice this year (at least that's all I've heard). Much of the studying can be done outside in the sunshine, especially if you have a laptop. I think you can also get access to the library on-line as well.</p>

<p>Just my two cents' worth.</p>

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<p>yea, i'm 99.999% sure that you read about claremont-mckenna, the other .001% being the probability that my first year of college was all an allusion and i just dreamed that pomona was liberal. but yea, pomona is def. NOT politically conservative</p>

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<p>they both are great, almost as good as kenyon.</p>

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<p>If you want to truly love a college then go to Pomona. my 2cents worth!!</p>

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<p>I don't know about Pomona, but I'll try to answer your questions with regards to Bowdoin:</p>

<p>We only have a handful of streets that run across campus, and they aren't that busy. You never have to dodge cars though, because Maine drivers have this crazy idea that cars should wait for pedestrians and not vise versa. One of the hardest things to get used to.</p>

<p>There isn't particularly much green space on campus outside of the quads and the sports fields (in terms of lawns) because the campus is pretty compact and much of the open space is filled with pine trees. So it depends on your definition of green. The buildings are almost entirely brick, but have a wide variety of architectural styles. The brick makes the campus look really cool in the snow.</p>

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<p>mm claremont actually has a balanced political spectrum -- pomona is liberal, and i think harvey mudd (don't quote me on this) is the conservative college. anyway, pomona is NOT conservative. most smart colleges aren't ;) (kidding.. don't turn this into a political debate)</p>

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<p>Well, I haven't visited many schools. I've just been too busy. My parents went to UC Berkeley, so that is my definition of amazing campus! (If too gigantic a school for me!) I fell in love with Bowdoin just from walking around. So I know I love Bowdoin's campus already. It's green to me. Mount Holyoke's campus was also great. Brown was too urban for me, even with the few quads. </p>

<p>Plan A right now is to beg my parents to buy me a ticket to Claremont so I can visit Pomona. Then hopefully I'll get to stay overnight and get a feel for the students and campus and all. Then stay overnight sometime at Bowdoin (not a big deal, it's only 2.5 hours drive from my house) and get a feel for the students (something I didn't get to do on my other visits which were all during vacations). THEN, decide based on that, which student body I would fit into best. good plan?</p>

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<p>Congratulations! I have never been to Bowdoin so can't comment on it. </p>

<p>My D is a freshman and loves Pomona - really loves it. The sponsor groups are a wonderful way to fit in with a group of friends very quickly. They do a lot of things together and her sponsor leader has been incredible. She even emailed all my D's teachers after D was sick for a week. Can't say every sponsor leader will do that, though. After she was sick, her Dean even called to ask how she was doing. We are impressed with the individual, caring attention she has received. Also, D has been very happy with her classes and professors. HS was pretty easy for her and she finds that she's studying more, but she still has time to snowboard, to go to the beach (on the weekend), and to go to most of the 5C functions. Pomona is a small, friendly college with bright and interesting students - and it has the added benefit of 4 other colleges right next door. She has met a lot of students from the other colleges.</p>

<p>Pomona has a really beautiful campus with wide, grassy spaces, big shade trees (and even a few palms, as Little Mother mentioned!) and lots of flowers. And, even better, it looked that way in February! The Spanish flavor is not overwhelming - there's a mix of different building types, and as one of the oldest campuses in the West, it looks very "collegiate". I don't think you'd be disappointed.</p>

<p>The car traffic seems to be confined to the perimeter of campus. There's a really nice, small quaint shopping area a couple of blocks off campus. You can read one of the other posts about some of the new stores and attractions coming to the area next year. Nothing huge or major, but one new offering will be a small movie theater. I think these new additions will only increase the desirabilty of the area. </p>

<p>My D has a very nice, large dorm room with airconditioning and a walk-in closet. That's a plus for her. One of her friends turned her closet into a small study nook. I don't know about the other dorms, though.
She's been very lucky with her roommate, perhaps due to the extensive housing questionnaire all freshmen fill out. They get along very well and are now good friends. In fact, I haven't heard of any problems at Pomona with roommates (although I'm sure there are some), but we have heard many horror stories from HS friends at other colleges. </p>

<p>For what it's worth, the food has been a pleasant surprise, too. Not to mention the 10:00 study snacks - that's better than her CocaMom provided! She also enjoys going to the other campuses to eat. Scripps has great sushi, I hear. </p>

<p>My D was very lucky with her college acceptances. She was admitted to some other very selective and prestigious colleges, and has never regretted her decision to attend Pomona. As others have said, you should really try to make a visit. Good luck with your decision!</p>

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<p>Claremont McKenna, known for its business & accounting programs, is usually considered the more conservative of the five Claremont colleges. Perhaps true, perhaps not, it is often said to be about 60% Republican.</p>

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<p>actually, mudd is about 55/45 liberal/conservative</p>

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<p>I am going to Pomona and I am conservative. My question lies in an a quatation found online stating that Pomona makes those who are conservative uncomfortable. Is this true?</p>

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<p>It's hands down, Pomona. Climate alone is enough of a reason, but the Claremont consortium ends the discussion. 5500 undergrads, more course offerings, more social life. Don't think twice.</p>