Rejecting Harvard?

College Search & Selection
21

<p>Don't listen to jackie! Go to POMONA! =) I think she got waitlisted or something so she wants to have a better chance at getting off the waitlist lol.</p>

<p>Fine, so Harvard gives you that instant credibility. Be true to yourself. If Harvard captivates your imagination, go for it. It's Harvard after all. The alumni network is unparalled. Its name resounds throughout Mother Earth. Its faculty is pretty amazing.</p>

<p>Hear me out on Pomona though.</p>

<p>Its one of the very best liberal arts colleges in the entire nation. If you want 'elite' schools, it's definitely up there with the best of them. Your classmates will almost all be incredibly talented (music, acting, sports) while at the same time incredibly smart and intellectual. Its just that we don't flaunt it, because we don't see the point. Better to be competitive with yourself than seek to be competitive with others. In addition, your classmates will almost all be incredibly friendly, open, inclusive and fun! Work hard, play hard I say.</p>

<p>The academic environment is fairly intense, but you will find yourself more than not collaborating with your classmates and professors - be it in assignments, papers, midterm preparation and what not. The faculty in all the departments is almost uniformly amazing - our media studies department and fine arts department get rave reviews from my friends. Our econ, history, english, politics, neuro, bio, chem, math (yes, math) departments all have great faculty with active research interests and a profound commitment to teaching.</p>

<p>You will be in a consortium with 4 other colleges, among them notably CMC (one of the best econ+govt schools ever) and Harvey Mudd (Yep, he who can rival the best in engineering, computer science and math). You can take classes at any other school. "Mathematics of Poker" at Pitzer, or "US Congress", a class where you simulate a congress with CMC students on one end and Pomona students on the other. Invariably, you will also meet many classmates or club mates or party mates from these schools. It's attending a school of 1600 with the feel of a university of 6000.</p>

<p>I'm sure you know about our weather. Sunny and not too hot. Snow just 45 mins away. Beaches just 1 hour away. LA is a metro train away - 45 mins. My friends go there pretty often.</p>

<p>And our endowment is pretty neat. Not to overemphasize it, but 1.8 billion for 1600 students is pretty...large. And it shows. Students get treated to Death by Chocolate, Ski-Beach Day, Alternabreak, Snack and lots of other activities that are either free or well below cost. We pay students to do internships every semester - about 100 each semester - all kinds of internships from business, to environment, to journalist work, to law work. Our career development office helps not only current but even students who have graduated 5, 10 years ago to find jobs.</p>

<p>Our grad school placements are among the highest in the nation per capita. Many may not know Pomona. But I assure you. Harvard knows us.</p>

<p>Frisbee on the Quad? French by the pool? Or gazing at the stars at our new "Sky Space" in the new psychology/cog sci building? Pomona offers you more than plenty of opportunities for you to do your own thing, get help when you need it, and succeed.</p>

<p>Ultimately, visit and decide what you really want. At this point, its your gut instinct which will guide you to the best school for you. PM me if you need more help. Good luck! =)</p>

22

<p>Go someplace that's going to make you the best, most interesting human being that you can be. I've found that interesting human beings make the best artists.</p>

<p>Will pandering to Ivy elitism really do that for you? Will going for prestige make you more artsy?</p>

<p>Go to Harvard if Harvard's what floats your boat, but do NOT go just because it's several people's idea of "best." Try to get a feel for what it's like to live and work at each of the different places you've gotten into, because it's going to be your artistic community for the next four years. If Harvard's the right place, then go for it.</p>

<p>Also, asking the Internet about major life decisions has a high likelihood of ending up with the Internet convincing you that it would be a good idea to see what crayons taste like, or something. Be careful about asking the Internet what to do on the big major things, because the Internet is full of lies.</p>

<p>I'm not lying, though. Right now, at least.</p>

23

<p>DT you are exactly right; i got waitlisted and i want in! yeah i'm mainly just green. go to the school you want to go to. i've heard of tons (TONS) of pomona alum going on to do fantastic things without the aid of a brand name degree. but of course you should visit both first if it's financially possible.</p>

24

<p>I think Harvard would be the best bet, but that's just me. It seems that if you are really interested in the arts, you'll be able to pursue your passion anywhere (i.e. HARVARD). For example Aaron Yoo (Disturbia) went to Upenn but now he's acting. In any case, I think that you'll be able to develop your artistic talent at Harvard and if you decide that it's not right for you, you still have a Harvard degree! :D</p>

25

<p>Honestly, many high school seniors don't know this, but for what you interested in doing, Harvard is BY FAR the only option you should be considering at this point. Many of the elite in Hollywood in the areas you are interested are Harvard grads. The same can't be said for any other school. Don't waist your acceptances on Pomona (LOL - which has produced like NO players or succesful people in Hollywood) or Amherst (basically likewise). For an anecdote, the writers for shows like The Simpsons, SNL, Friends, etc. are basically all Harvard grads. They often go straight from the Harvard Lampoon to the world of Hollywood and it is a very exclusive group to be in.</p>

26

<p>
[quote]
They often go straight from the Harvard Lampoon to the world of Hollywood and it is a very exclusive group to be in.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Honestly, many internet posters don't know this, but "satirist" is not the same as "artist"...</p>

<p>You can spell "artist" from the letters in the word "satirist," though, so we'll give you partial credit.</p>

27

<p>
[quote]
Honestly, many internet posters don't know this, but "satirist" is not the same as "artist"...</p>

<p>You can spell "artist" from the letters in the word "satirist," though, so we'll give you partial credit.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>To be honest, the shows that the person listed is more in the range of the field I want to go into...</p>

<p>But I appreciate your advice, nevertheless!</p>

28

<p>I think D.T. made a fabulous plug for Pomona right there :)</p>

29

<p>I agree.</p>

<p>...Which just makes my situation worse. :(</p>

30

<p>"Honestly, many high school seniors don't know this, but for what you interested in doing, Harvard is BY FAR the only option you should be considering at this point. Many of the elite in Hollywood in the areas you are interested are Harvard grads. The same can't be said for any other school. Don't waist your acceptances on Pomona (LOL - which has produced like NO players or succesful people in Hollywood) or Amherst (basically likewise)."</p>

<p>I have to disagree; Sylvain White is a Pomona alum and he directed Stomp the Yard in 2007 which grossed a bajillion ($61,000,000,000) dollars. Richard Chamberlain starred in Shogun (nice connection to OP's name haha), 3 musketeers, bourne identity, among others. A writer for Star Trek, Joe Menosky, attended Pomona. There are a lot of others; just type in pomona college on wikipedia.</p>

31

<p>Is anyone giving you money and do you need money?</p>

<p>If not, I think it's between Harvard and Pomona. There may only be one Harvard but Pomona is great too. I don't think the rest can compete with these two.</p>

32

<p>HARVARD!!!!!!!!!!
dur</p>

<p>I think they have really good arts programs! My aunt was in plays there. And, Natalie Portman went there.</p>

33

<br>


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<p>Reminds me of that old joke:</p>

<p>Q: What do they call the guy who graduates last in his class at Harvard?
A: A Harvard graduate. </p>

<br>


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<p>Hey, Pomona College is an excellent school, but you do NOT want to get into a Distinguished Alumni fight with Harvard. You will lose.</p>

34

<p>Gaaah</p>

<p>Well, I am looking at Harvard's graduate school options. I don't see anything visual arts related? :(</p>

35

<p>But most ppl that go to Harvard undergrad don't go to Harvard grad. </p>

<p>(Says I who has absolutely know factual basis for this).</p>

36

<p>Haha, it's true that everyone wants to be able to say, "Yeah, we just hired a harvard grad..." for graduate school in visual arts maybe you should look at risd? for undergrad follow your heart (and your wallet). i don't think it will matter all that much 10 years from now where you went to college, just that you enjoyed it. also harvard and pomona are like two of the best financial aid providers of all colleges so you really scored.</p>

<p>sorry i'm giving you all this advice like i'm some authority figure. im sure you will make the right decision!</p>

37

<p>Stick it to the man. Go to Brown or Amherst or NYU and study what you love. There's no one who'll sneer at a diploma from any of those. You've already proven your capability by getting into such great schools. You don't need to enroll at a poorer fit just because of its prestige.</p>

38

<p>i went to Pomona for a visit, and absolutely fell in love. ( i also saw Claremont McKenna). it's gorgeous, the school isn't as small as you would think it is,the weather is unbeatable and the community seems to be very close knit. People actually said hi to each other while walking around on campus ( that CANNOT be said of UCLA, where i go rather frequently to pick up my sis, everybody just looks harrassed and stressed/dressed to the nines to go to clubs) and the students there are incredibly friendly ( they would ask how i was doing and give me advice on colleges, my dad literally grabbed this kid of the road and he was really enthusiastic and wanted to me to apply). He also raved about being able to go to other campuses to eat food ( this is a big thing for me as i'm a rather picky eater) and the opportunities to go to LA, beach or mountains every other weekend. Go visit, and see whether or not you'll love the school. i totally understand the whole prestige v. happiness thing ( my parents are dead set against me going to a liberal arts college because of the whole prestige game in my stupid family, they want me to go to an ivy ) so if you have the choice to determine your own happiness, go for it. Best of luck, and congrats on your choice. Many kids (including me!) will kill to be accepted into such good schools.</p>

39

<p>I went to Pomona for undergrad and Harvard for grad.</p>

<p>I wouldn't have enjoyed Harvard when I was an undergraduate. It's great for some, though.... it's a really personal thing.</p>

<p>As for Pomona and visual/cinematic arts, the media studies dept. is very strong. Plenty of grads are active in film and related media. You can get internships at major film companies while you are an undergrad. (Obviously, the location is ideal for this.) Harvard will also open a lot of doors for you in this realm, but in a different way.</p>

40

<p>Three amazing options - if you make the worst-possible choice from among the three, it'll still be fabulous. All that you're looking for is at Harvard, if you can do the urban university setting as comfortably as the LAC. In fact, Harvard College is really smaller and more intimate than most people realize. Be aware of this, though - your other choices are great colleges that offer great educations. But Harvard offers a significant addition to your identity. You will be, for the rest of your life, "Shogun from Harvard." And I'll be very surprised if Harvard isn't cheapest unless you don't qualify for any financial assistance.</p>