<p>I love Pomona on paper; it seems to have the benefits of a SLAC while offering the resources of a large school. However, I live too far away to visit, and I've had a hard time determining the culture of the school. I know that there are many different types of students there, but I'm wondering what overall personality of the school emerges from it.</p>
<p>I'm looking for somewhere that is more quirky/nonconformist than preppy/jocky. Where does Pomona fall on this spectrum?</p>
<p>Pomona can’t be characterized. The student body is only unified by academic talent and passion. Some traits are more noticeable than others, such as liberal over conservative and hard-working over lazy. But there is no typical Pomona student. It may sound like a bad advertisement but it’s the seriously truth here. </p>
<p>Don’t take the “laid-back” or “happy” vibe that is often attributed to Pomona too seriously. We definitely have a fair share of the more uptight or cynical kids. Don’t take visits too seriously either- the halls vary widely in their overall personalities.</p>
<p>To answer your question: Pomona itself won’t fall within any spectrum. Your sponsor group might. My hall last year was the type that defied all identity. The group below termed themselves the “reserved radicals” and leaned towards the quirky, non-conformist type. The hall I stayed at during my weekend at Pomona was definitely jocky, party-type hall.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply, nostalgicwisdom. I’m aware that there’s a lot of variety at Pomona, but I’m in interested in the traits that are more prevalent, even if they don’t characterize everyone. Would you say that quirkiness is one such trait?</p>
<p>Also, given your response, I guess a corollary to my initial question could be: How easy is it to find nonconformists at Pomona?</p>
<p>I just asked my D who is a senior at Pomona your question. She says yes, the student body at Pomona definitely tends to be full of students who are quirky and nonconformists.</p>
<p>It’s difficult to say- I mean that honestly. Some traits are easily distinguishable, but there’s an apparent contradiction with others. Do Pomona students lean towards the quirky side? I would disagree. But I would also disagree that they lean towards the mainstream side. There are many complicating factors: the disparity in which group on either spectrum is more visible, the experience that others share (for instance, one Pomona student may think Pomona IS quirky based on their personal experiences. Another one could disagree. You can’t really discredit either opinion), the uniqueness of each student and the impact that plays at a school as small as Pomona (for instance, I think the Class of 2016 and the Class of 2017 are very different from one another)…</p>
<p>The best bet you can go with (for most traits) is that you can definitely find that personality type on campus, but it’ll seldom characterize the entire student body, or even most students. Pomona definitely has non-conformists. Being in the diverse 5-C’s also helps in finding more students of a particular type. </p>
<p>One thing I want to point out is that the above may wrongly present a picture that Pomona is “cliquey”. People don’t always tend to stick in groups that they feel familiar in; they cherish their differences and learn from one another. My friend group here is extremely distinct. In fact, I feel I would be highly undermining the complexity of the students here by labeling them by particular traits…people aren’t either non-conformists or jocks- you can definitely be both here!</p>
<p>Thanks; that’s very helpful!</p>