<p>After visiting the colleges i was accepted to i have narrowed it down to Pomona or UCLA. I am really on the fence because Pomona offers me great financial aid, close contact with staff, all the other 5Cs, etc. However, when i visited UCLA i was immediately enamored with the university. I intend to major in econ but i don't know the strengths of either college in that department. Any advice is welcome and the sooner the better as its almost May 1.</p>
<p>I feel qualified to reply, since I am a Pomona Alum as well as a UCLA parent.</p>
<p>The answer to your question lies within you and you alone. What are you looking for in school? Is your intended major offered at Pomona? What about extra curricular activities? Are you interested in big time sports? </p>
<p>For my son, he was interested in engineering, which Pomona doesn't offer. He was also really big in marching band, and Pomona doesn't have one. So he chose UCLA over Pomona.</p>
<p>For myself, I chose Pomona because I wanted to live in Harwood Court (which is more of a Palace than a dormitory) and go to concerts in Little Bridges. I accomplished both, and even got married in Little Bridges.</p>
<p>Go with your heart, you will be happy with your decision. Good Luck to you. Chirp!!</p>
<p>Pomona's econ department is very strong, and has excellent placement into PhD programs, banking/consulting, as well as business/law school. </p>
<p>UCLA econ isn't necessarily going to hold you back either though. </p>
<p>The choice shouldn't be made on the strength of the department, but rather on which you'd rather fit into. Pomona is a true college campus, with lots of green space, and a tight-knit community of students, professors and staff. </p>
<p>UCLA is obviously very different, and has big-time sports as a pull. </p>
<p>Prestige-wise, more people have heard of UCLA, but people who know both schools, and the caliber of the average student at each, know that Pomona students in general are stronger academically.</p>
<p>I turned down Berkeley for Pomona (didn't apply to UCLA).</p>
<p>
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I intend to major in econ but i don't know the strengths of either college in that department.
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<p>Here is more info about the Pomona Econ dept
General</a> Information</p>
<p>When I attended Pomona, the Econ dept was in the Carnegie building, the most beautiful building on campus.
<a href="http://www.arcsfoundation.org/LosAngeles/photos/Pomona.jpg%5B/url%5D">http://www.arcsfoundation.org/LosAngeles/photos/Pomona.jpg</a></p>
<p>There was a great view of Marston Quadrangle out the window, which was a good thing, because I was bored out of my gourd most of the time. :) </p>
<p>Here is a bit of info about the UCLA Anderson School of Business and Economics. The Anderson School ranks above Yale, Duke, Cornell, and USC</p>
<p>Search</a> - Business - Best Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report</p>
<p>Undergraduates Business/Econ majors are allowed to take classes at Anderson Graduate School, and it is one of the most popular major at UCLA</p>
<p>S graduated from UCLA (design|media arts '05) and enjoyed his major courses because the department was small - only 55 students accepted for his class. He didn't enjoy, though, the impersonal feel of the GE classes that were huge; most of his contact in those courses were with the TAs and not the profs.</p>
<p>D (Pomona'09) considered UCLA briefly but decided against it because it was too large for her. What she enjoys most about Pomona is the opportunity to get to know her professors in and out of the classroom setting.</p>
<p>Both schools do a great job making you feel like part of the community, and their campuses are equally beautiful. You really have to go with your gut in terms of where you see yourself - physically, emotionally, and academically.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>It seems like nearly every CA resident at Pomona I've talked to turned down Cal and/or UCLA to come here, and couldn't be happier with their decision. Though I'm sure there are people at Cal who turned down Pomona; nearly everyone at Pomona got into Cal, but I doubt a significant proportion of Cal/UCLA's entering class had the opportunity to attend Pomona.</p>
<p>If you can afford it, Pomona.</p>
<p>Pomona is actually more affordable for me than UCLA. They will pay for almost everything.</p>
<p>Doesn't get any better the that! (IMHO).</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. I finally went with Pomona. It was the logical choice but i still love UCLA. It came down to a coin toss :P Thanks again for the advice.</p>
In 2016, this is still relevant today. DD turned down UCLA for Pomona. Loved both however, but it was going to be hard to get the classes she wanted without a Regents Scholarship. Its hard for students to complete required coursework for their majors at UCLA in four years. Westwood is beautiful however and the housing at both is great! Both wonderful schools, but in the end, Pomona was a better fit with better matriculation.
@prepparent Out of curiosity, what do you mean about it being hard to get your classes without a Regents Scholarship or hard to complete coursework in 4 years? My experience with UCLA is not recent.
Well, when we went to Admitted Students Night for UCLA in our area, the administration told us most kids have to take an extra term or quarter to get required courses in. Our oldest daughter is a Regents Scholar at Berkeley and as such gets priority for registering for classes. Without it, it would be difficult to register for required courses for your major and finish up in 4 years. Our second child decided without a Regents scholarship to UCLA and priority registration, it would be too hard to get the classes she needed to graduate within 4 years. My H went to UCLA so we have some perspective from him. Huge school with lots of kids competing for class registration makes it difficult. She decided to keep it mind for graduate or medical school instead.
Well, when we went to Admitted Students Night for UCLA in our area, the administration told us most kids have to take an extra term or quarter to get required courses in. Our oldest daughter is a Regents Scholar at Berkeley and as such gets priority for registering for classes. Without it, it would be difficult to register for required courses for your major and finish up in 4 years. Our second child decided without a Regents scholarship to UCLA and priority registration, it would be too hard to get the classes she needed to graduate within 4 years. My H went to UCLA so we have some perspective from him. Huge school with lots of kids competing for class registration makes it difficult. She decided to keep it mind for graduate or medical school instead.
Well, when we went to Admitted Students Night for UCLA in our area, the administration told us most kids have to take an extra term or quarter to get required courses in. Our oldest daughter is a Regents Scholar at Berkeley and as such gets priority for registering for classes. Without it, it would be difficult to register for required courses for your major and finish up in 4 years. Our second child decided without a Regents scholarship to UCLA and priority registration, it would be too hard to get the classes she needed to graduate within 4 years. My H went to UCLA so we have some perspective from him. Huge school with lots of kids competing for class registration makes it difficult. She decided to keep it mind for graduate or medical school instead.
Well, when we went to Admitted Students Night for UCLA in our area, the administration told us most kids have to take an extra term or quarter to get required courses in. Our oldest daughter is a Regents Scholar at Berkeley and as such gets priority for registering for classes. Without it, it would be difficult to register for required courses for your major and finish up in 4 years. Our second child decided without a Regents scholarship to UCLA and priority registration, it would be too hard to get the classes she needed to graduate within 4 years. My H went to UCLA so we have some perspective from him. Huge school with lots of kids competing for class registration makes it difficult. She decided to keep it mind for graduate or medical school instead.
Interesting, thanks for the details. I remember some people complaining about getting their classes in my day and the registration lottery (which at the time was a phone-based system where you were given a window to register and might have to get up in the middle of the night and enter about a million digits to see what you got, trying separately for each possible discussion group, etc. – I’m sure it’s better on that front now). I honestly never found it a problem overall – there were always multiple options to fulfill elective requirements and by the junior year as a major you always got your required courses. Plus you could just lobby the professor if necessary and it worked 99% of the time – too few people ever tried the personal human approach, which made it easier for those of us who did. I came in with 0 AP units and easily finished in four years though I did take some summer courses for one or two of the years.
Still, overall, an utterly different experience than an LAC like Pomona. Congrats to your D.