<p>Someone on this site kindly recommended Pomona as a match for my junior D. I have lived in 11 states (across the country) and even do alumni interviewing for an Ivy. I had never heard of the school. Imagine my surprise when I did some research. How can this extraordinary school be so under the radar in the Midwest and Northeast? Could a MN kid from a very large HS be happy there? She will be a history, poli sci, or similar major and would most likely swim for the school given what I see on the web site. Thanks.</p>
<p>If your daughter would like going to school in a more intimate environment with California weather and some of the most talented and friendliest people, then yes, she would probably like Pomona. Pomona is academically pretty strong across the board, and the swim team is a very tight-knit group of people; I know because I almost joined and one of my close friends and neighbors last year is a member.</p>
<p>Thanks! It seems to be a wonderful school with selective admissions. I hope you don’t mind if I ask a few questions:
Is the swim team DIII varsity?<br>
Does Pomona “feel bigger” because of the consortium?<br>
Are there a lot of non-CA students?
I am so excited to have my daughter check out the school (electronically for now). Thank goodness for this website!</p>
<p>Well, we didn’t know either. Received a brochure in the mail with flip flops on it during my D’s soph year. First we laughed, then we started to do some research. Two years gone by, D was admitted to 9 out of the 10 schools she applied to, including her dream Ivy, but she’s enrolling at Pomona. She didn’t even visit until she was accepted, but fell in love after spending 24 hours on campus. She thought the kids were the nicest she had ever met. Yes, hardly anyone on the east coast has heard of Pomona, but it is true, that those that matter know… I am so excited for her!</p>
<p>Pomona used to be one of California’s secret (along with Harvey Mudd and Cal Poly SLO) </p>
<p>The school is superb . . .and was only under the radar for so long because 1) east coast LAC parochialism and 2) only recently has the “market” for colleges gone national.</p>
<p>being part of the Claremont colleges it feels bigger . . . there allow limited cross-registration and while the social scene centers on the college there’s a lot of social sharing with the other 4 schools</p>
<p>it’s about 1/3 native Californian</p>
<p>mnmomof2:</p>
<p>Glad to hear you discovered Pomona. Our daughter will be attending in the Fall and couldn’t be more excited. She had a similar experience to NJ Mom of 2’s daughter –*fell in love with Pomona and the people there after just one visit.</p>
<p>She started a Facebook page for her future 2014 classmates, so if your daughter wants to have a look, see how nice they are and where they come from, direct her to:</p>
<p>Pomona College Class of 2014 | Facebook</p>
<p>Best of luck to her as she goes through the always arduous and emotionally draining college selection process. Here are some helpful Pomona threads you might wish to explore:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pomona-college/911533-pomona-consortium-relationship.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pomona-college/911533-pomona-consortium-relationship.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pomona-college/904086-yes-thread-reasons-you-chose-pomona.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pomona-college/904086-yes-thread-reasons-you-chose-pomona.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pomona-college/897112-pomona-vs-ivy-stanford.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pomona-college/897112-pomona-vs-ivy-stanford.html</a></p>
<p>Not sure if that Facebook link worked. Try this:</p>
<p>[Pomona</a> College Class of 2014 | Facebook](<a href=“Facebook Public Group | Facebook”>Facebook Public Group | Facebook)</p>
<p>Many thanks, everyone.</p>
<p>Welcome to the “excited about Pomona” crew! Our daughter in an incoming freshman. We began looking at colleges two years ago and went to the Claremont Colleges specifically to see Harvey Mudd (daughter will be a physics major). We were “just looking”, and didn’t take a tour. HM is not visually impressive, and we made the mistake of not visiting the other CC campuses and left unimpressed. Then we began reading about Pomona (online and in the Princeton review) and decided we needed to visit again. After spending the night on campus last February, our daughter knew without a doubt that it was the college for her. The atmosphere was overwhelmingly friendly and helpful, and the campuses are beautiful. Even HM looked better the second time around! The prospect of being able to take classes at the other campuses was icing on the cake. She turned down scholarships at three UC’s, and also Penn, Cornell and Brown for Pomona, and from all we’ve read of other student experiences, that is not at all unusual. Besides, who can resist being a Sagehen dork bird? Good luck with your searches and applications!</p>
<p>
</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Yes.</p></li>
<li><p>Definitely. The consortium adds a lot more people, classes, organizations and speakers to the “5C campus.” It’s the reason I applied to Pomona and CMC and no other liberal arts colleges.</p></li>
<li><p>CA students definitely make up a fair amount of the student population, around 25-33%, but the majority of students are from out of state.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>My son graduated last weekend. The school is absolutely awesome.</p>
<p>One thing that surprised me- almost all of my son’s friends have jobs they’re excited about. At graduation, you see all the awards and honors the grads have earned, and you really get a sense of how talented and accomplished these kids are. I was very impressed. And they’re all so nice and unassuming.</p>
<p>They are also very close. Many kids stayed an extra night after graduation to hang out on the campus “beach” together for one last good-bye.</p>
<p>D graduated in 2009 and came from a HS of 1,930 students. She had no problem with the size and enjoyed having small classes and getting to know both students and faculty members. The consortium does give a feel of being in a small university of about 5,000 students with diverse populations. Pomona is a well-kept secret that has leaked out to more and more people, hence the 10 percent increase in applications this year.</p>