<p>We are trying to decide between WashU, Rice, Pomona, and Davidson. S thinks he'll pursue some sort of health sciences major and a premed track. So I had a few questions that extend beyond the most obvious, and often manipulated, statistic people tend to use, which is the percentage of students accepted to medical schools. Here we go.</p>
<p>1 - While opportunities for research and volunteering/shadowing in the medical field are plentiful at schools like WashU and Rice, we fear that Pomona, and Davidson for that matter, may offer fewer such choices. So is it relatively common for Pomona students to engage in research? If yes, where and when? Within their departments? During the school year or over the summer?<br>
2 - Does Pomona actively support premed students in seeking co-curricular activities in the field of medicine?
3 - Does anyone have a sense for how many students start out on the premed track vs. how many actually end up applying to medical school? In particular, could a current student comment on practices such as "weeding-out" and grade inflation/deflation at Pomona?
4 - How strong would you say is Pomona when it comes to advising--premed or otherwise? For example, WashU is known to create a nurturing environment for its undergraduates, in large part through careful and early advising.
5 - Does Pomona have a pre-medical committee and, if yes, what is its role? For example, at Davidson the committee reviews your academic record and letters of recommendation, interviews you, etc., in effect pre-screening you (which would explain their medical school acceptance rate of over 90%).</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for any input you might have.</p>
<p>I am a prospective premed student facing a similar decision between Pomona and two major national research universities – and I am leaning heavily toward the former. I have many of the same concerns you mentioned and can only provide a partial answer. From what I’ve heard, though…</p>
<p>1 - Pomona students are engaged in scientific research, many even during their freshman year. When professors spot a student in the classroom that they think might be interested in their research, they may directly invite the student to work with them in their laboratories. Professors are easily accessible and talking with them is just one great way to find lab positions. As there are no graduate students at Pomona, Pomona undergrads are major contributors to professors’ research. If working in a professor’s lab isn’t enough and a student has his or her own unique idea, he or she may additionally apply for summer research grants to conduct his or her own independent research.
5 - No, Pomona does not have any sort of premedical committee. Students are in no way screened. :)</p>
<p>I’m sorry I wasn’t able to give the complete answer you wanted. I’m just as curious about many of these questions. Hopefully someone else can address the points I missed?</p>
<p>@ultraMASTODON
Someone sent me a private message with helpful answers to these questions. Based on all the information I got to date, my conclusions are that:</p>
<p>1 - Scientific research opportunities definitely exist.
2 - Volunteering can be arranged at a local hospital. Additionally, a program called “Shadow a Sagehen” may put students in contact with Pomona alumni who work in the medical field.
3 - Academics are tough at Pomona, but weeding out and grade deflation don’t seem to be part of a concerted effort.
4 - Advising in general seems to be wonderful.
5 - Although a premedical committee may actually exist, its role is likely not to screen medical school applicants.</p>
<p>It looks like you have your questions answered but I thought I would add to several points. Im a premed at Pomona and am very satisfied with the program.
-My adviser (who used to be on the premed advising committee) told me that all premeds who do at least average (Bs and As) will get into med school somewhere, and that I shouldn’t worry about being rejected. As a point of reference, my science GPA is 3.6 right now (and will soon drop coming out of ochem…)
-I interviewed an alumna from Pomona College who is now a doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota (through the Shadow a Sagehen program). She said Pomona prepared her for med school/doctor stuff as well as anywhere, though she did think Pomona did particularly well on teaching you how to write.
-Pomona has so many opportunities for research. By sophomore year for sure you are working in a professor’s lab if you have taken the initiative to ask. It’s an independent study so you could work one or two afternoons a week helping them with their research or you could pursue your own project. Most science majors also stay at least one summer on campus doing a SURP or similar program with the faculty. It is not difficult to find an open position.<br>
-Pomona also has PCIP, which is when you get paid to do an internship. Some premed options include working at City of Hope, UCI Medical Center, the Chaparral Veterinary Hospital, and the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. Every semester about 100 of 170 PCIP applicants get into the program (if I remember correctly…).<br>
-And then, Pomona has a nice premed advising committee that is experienced and helpful. They organize your letters of recommendation, write their own cover letter, and interview you prior to your real interviews so that you are prepared. They also have a list serve where you get almost daily emails about premed events and topics going on.</p>
<p>I have a quick question regarding the pre med experience at Pomona. </p>
<p>From what I saw on the web, it seems like pomona is rather “isolated” from cities. Does that inconvenience make it more difficult, in any way, to obtain health related volunteer opportunities and internships? </p>
<p>Does pomona offer pre meds more than enough opportunities to gain first hand clinical experience?</p>
<p>Also, how diverse are the communities around pomona? I heard it’s a rich middle-class community, so would that hinder pre meds from gaining experience in interacting with various ethnic groups?</p>
Not sure how you would come to this conclusion - Claremont is in LA County! Sure, it’s not actually in the middle of a city like Harvard or NYU is, but it’s nothing like Dartmouth or Cornell. Claremont itself is wealthy, but working-class neighborhoods are a few minutes away - we are way too close to the city for there to be massive tracts of wealthy suburbia.</p>
<p>so in your opinion even pomona students without cars can get volunteer opportunities outside of claremount (health-related, specifically) pretty easily?</p>
<p>I’m not pre-med and have not talked with any pre-meds about the subject of hospital volunteering, so I really don’t feel like I can honestly say one way or another. There is a hospital under ten minutes away in Montclair, and another about twenty minutes away in West Covina. If you don’t have a car, you can get to Montclair very quickly on a bike. Not so sure about West Covina. The only real downside IMO of Pomona’s location is the lack of decent public transportation in LA.</p>
<p>I’d like to jump in on the discussion if I can, as I’m a Pomona hopeful planning on being pre-med. I know that Pomona is supposed to be phenomenal as far as the pre-med route, and that a very large number of med school applicants are accepted.</p>
<p>My question is, are graduates going on to TOP med schools? I read an “after Pomona” thing a while ago on the school’s site, and many were going to med school, but very few to “prestigious” schools.</p>
<p>I have dreams of going onto a very prestigious med school; can anyone comment on how well Pomona will prepare a student for fulfilling such an aspiration?</p>
<p>I don’t want to make this sound so negative/critical, BUT, if you really want to be a doctor, you should be prepared to go anywhere. </p>
<p>a true pre med does not care where he/she will end up because they care about serving people, not getting into prestigious schools and showing off doctor degrees</p>
<p>with that said, you being able to get into a good med school depends on you. If you are GOOD, you will get into a top med school from any undergrad (well, at least from any colleges within top 100). </p>
<p>on a chart rating the importance factors, 1 being lowest and 5 being highest (most important), college reputation/selectivity is only a 2. </p>
<p>the most important factor, surprisingly, is INTERVIEW RECOMMENDATION. then the GPA SCIENCE, then COMMUNITY SERVICE HEALTH-RELATED, then MCAT, then some other stuff</p>