Rice vs Pomona

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
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<p>Hi guys, I need your advice. I have been researching both of these schools and they appear to be quite similar to one another. My teacher even called Pomona the "Rice of the West" so I'm utterly confounded as to what will be a better choice for me. I'm from the East Coast so both schools appealed to me for being far away(I want a different experience).</p>

<p>I want to major in law, medicine, chemistry, economics, biochemistry, or physics. In other words, I want an all-rounded school that can cater to my academic tastes. This is perhaps the most important factor.</p>

<p>Both schools seem to be virtually alike in professor interaction, quality of life, weather, intellectual life, reputation, general happiness, academic quality, residential life, student body(though Rice must be given the edge in diversity), endowment, financial aid, and so forth. Rice offers me Houston while Pomona offers me the other four consortium schools, and LA is close by too so it's not too rural. I'm not much of a sport's person, nor do I care for Greek Life. Rice is much bigger than Pomona, but with its consortium I think both schools will be around the same size. Pomona is more selective and has an academically speaking stronger pool. I've heard both schools offer good opportunities for research, which I am interested in. </p>

<p>I visited Pomona for their Fall Weekend and FELL IN LOVE WITH IT. However Rice is just as appealing to me right now and I can't make up my mind. I can only apply to one of them due to time restraints and financial constraints.</p>

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<p>I’ll outline a few of the differences briefly:</p>

<p>[li] college vs university. (This is the big difference!) Rice has graduate students; Pomona doesn’t. I don’t know enough about Pomona to truly compare it to Rice. I’m hoping someone else here will.</p>[/li]
<p>[li] size: Rice is smaller (~3700 undergrads) than the Claremont Colleges combined (~5000 undergrads. And yes, it is larger than Pomona by itself because it is a university and not a college.</p>[/li]
<p>Rice’s residential college system is definitely a unique factor that cannot be overlooked. It was one of my deciding factors to apply to Rice and probably my favorite thing about the school now that I am here. The other big difference is their location. Rice is in the city of Houston, while Pomona is about an hour (and traffic in LA is bad) from the city of LA. I’m not sure what that means to you. Another thing to think about: do you want to be all the way on the other coast? It would make getting home a lot bigger deal (LONG flight!), but that might not be a factor.</p>

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<p>Hi Adamb, thank you for your response.</p>

<p>I have friends who attend Rice and they told me the focus there is on the undergraduates. They also told me it’s one of the most liberal-artsy national institutions due to the low student to faculty ratio. Also, it’s not like the Claremont Consortium lacks grads- there are two institutions devoted solely to grads there. So I don’t think the university vs LAC difference will be too important in deciding between them.</p>

<p>Rice has a residential college system, but Pomona has sponsor groups so they both function for similar things. Both allow students to build connections with a close group of people. Both have these groups living together so they create a pretty residential experience. Just like you said, I asked Pomona kids when I visited the school and they told me the sponsor groups were one of their favorite parts of the school.</p>

<p>Location IS a big factor, no doubt. But both Rice and Pomona have their merits. Pomona has mountains to the north, deserts to the east, beaches to the South, and LA/Disney Land to the west. It’s in my honest opinion the best place to spend one’s undergraduate experience. Rice has trees…beaches…that’s about it. But as you brought it up, traffic is a problem at LA. Rice is in the heart of Houston. Rice has Rice Village, Pomona has Claremont. My friends said Houston is a car-based city and the traffic can get bad.</p>

<p>I don’t care about home. I want to start a new life. I would prefer to get as far away from the East Coast as possible, so the South and the West really appealed to me. So I don’t think that’ll apply to me.</p>

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<p>If Pomona were a national university, it would rank among the top 10 if the prestige factor were taken out. Seriously. That’s how good it is academically speaking. The average Pomona student has about a 735 on each section on the SAT, and 1/4 of the class is valedictorian. It’s among the most selective colleges in the nation- far more than Rice is.
(Source: <a href=“Portal”>Error Page)</p>

<p>Rice is a fantastic place and rightfully deserves its top 20 position, but I don’t think it matches Pomona’s level. The only time I personally would choose Rice over Pomona is if I wanted to do engineering, which Pomona doesn’t have.</p>

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<p>That brings another important point too. How good are your stats? Pomona is a reach for nearly everyone, while Rice has its matches. If you think you have a better shot at Rice, I’d say apply there…The chance it’d be a waste of a slot for you is less than at Pomona.</p>

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<p>I think I have a good shot, but I understand that it’s hard to get into both schools. I have a 4.5 W 3.9 UW, a 2390 SAT(790 Math), 800 on all, three of my SAT 2(Math 2, Chem, US), rank within the top 5% of a nationally renowned school. I have had a lot of difficulties in life which separate me from a lot of the applicants in both pools, so I think my essays will be unique and good. My recommenders really know who I am as a person, not just a student, and they’re known for writing excellent rec letters so I think I’m set there too. My extracurriculars are limited because of the aforementioned difficulties, but those that I did do, I honed in them for all 4 years. I’m Bhutanese but was born here.</p>

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<p>Dude, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Here are Rice’s stats from the last admission cycle: [Admission</a> Statistics](<a href=“Office of Admission | Rice University”>Office of Admission | Rice University) The acceptance rates, yields, and SAT scores are nearly identical. Rice’s admit rate will probably dip below Pomona’s this year considering the spike in ED apps this past autumn. I have a friend at Rice who chose it over Pomona. I also have a friend in one of the Claremont colleges who didn’t like it very much because of the location. She also never took advantage of the consortium. Though it was beautiful, she thought it was really inconvenient to get anyplace. Rice is located in the heart of the 4th largest US city and has a great shopping/dining district across the street. Rice has more national recognition. Rice has a much larger faculty and grad student, which means more diversity of ideas. Rice is just Rice. It’s a national university that is growing noticeably stronger every year. Pomona? Not so much. Pomona is a small LAC – a good one, but it’s not Rice.</p>

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<p>@debakianmj: You’re right: Rice is very undergraduate focused. But it’s nice to have grad students around, in the same institution. (I don’t know how much Claremont Grad students actually mix with the undergrads, since they are separate colleges.) This past fall, there was actually a undergrad and grad research mixer. If you want to do research, Rice probably has more funding since it is a research university: every professor is required to do research in addition to teaching undergrads.</p>

<p>You really should research residential colleges more. It’s totally different than sponsor groups (which are called O-Week groups at Rice). Completely different. Residential colleges are a four year thing. Do some research here in the forums or on Rice’s website. I really don’t think you fully understand them, and I really want you to as it is one of the defining elements of Rice. Feel free to ask more questions if you’ve got them.</p>

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<p>No offense Owl, but with your name it’s clear that you’re biased towards Rice. I like both Rice and Pomona, in fact, Rice is my first you choice because Houston is a great city and I wouldn’t mind living there for 4 years. I lived in California and I want to go somewhere else for college.</p>

<p>The acceptance rates, yields, and SAT scores are nearly identical.

  • 13% vs 19% is a big jump. Yields are identical, don’t deny that. I’ll give you the SAT point too, but Pomona is still a bit higher…it’s 7th after HYPMC and Harvey Mudd.</p>

<p>Rice’s admit rate will probably dip below Pomona’s this year considering the spike in ED apps this past autumn.
-That will NEVER happen. Rice’s admit rate has always been around 18-22%. Pomona’s has always been decreasing. Look at the New York Time’s Early Decision chart. Pomona’s ED rate boomed up 33%, one of the biggest on the list. Granted, Rice is not on it, but I doubt it’ll be in the 33% boom, and I doubt it’ll have a selectivity of less than 25% for ED1.
(Source: [The</a> Early Line on Early Applications for the Class of 2016 - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/early-admission-2011-2/]The”>The Early Line on Early Applications for the Class of 2016 - The New York Times))</p>

<p>I have a friend at Rice who chose it over Pomona. I also have a friend in one of the Claremont colleges who didn’t like it very much because of the location. She also never took advantage of the consortium.
That’s her problem. </p>

<p>Rice is located in the heart of the 4th largest US city and has a great shopping/dining district across the street. Rice has more national recognition. Rice has a much larger faculty and grad student, which means more diversity of ideas.
The first is a good point and I don’t deny it at all. As the OP stated above, location is an important factor for him and perhaps the most important. The second is not true. Look at the feeder lists and Pomona nearly always pulls above Rice. Pomona’s faculty is top-notch as well, look at RateMyProfessors and Pomona’s average for the professors is much higher than Rice. Diversity of ideas? It’s not like Pomona lacks that. Grad students tend to hinder the experience, not enhance it.</p>

<p>Rice is just Rice. It’s a national university that is growing noticeably stronger every year. Pomona? Not so much. Pomona is a small LAC – a good one, but it’s not Rice.</p>

<p>Pomona is just Pomona. It’s the west coast’s finest LAC that is growing noticeably stronger every year and is gaining reputation. Rice? Yes, it’s gaining reputation too, but not so much as Pomona. Rice is a research university-- a good one, but it’s not Pomona.</p>

<p>I rescind my initial post that Pomona was on a different scale, because Rice is a top notch facility too. But I still think Pomona is the stronger school overall.</p>

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<p>Thanks for clearing me with the difference on residential colleges and sponsor groups. It’s clear that residential colleges have more impact and are longer lasting. But Pomona has the consortium, which in my humble opinion I prefer over the residential college. Do I want to talk to smart, independent women? Scripps it is. Politically active and somewhat conservative jocks? Welcome to CMC. Hippie activists? Pitzer. Nerdy and ready to change the world? Harvey Mudd. Intellectual yet laid back super kids? Pomona. The student body at the consortium is probably the most diverse any college can be, and that’s something that really appeals to me. You’re right though that the grad school is a separate institution, so I’ll do some research and see how much the graduates at Rice supplement the Rice experience.</p>

<p>Owl2012, I plan on taking the full advantage of the consortium. Pomona is in a perfect place- a cute suburban location so the bustle isn’t too much for me, and pretty much everything the world has to offer. Do I want to ski? Mount Baldy is only 25 minutes away. Do I want the city? LA, Hollywood, and Anaheim. Beaches? The pacific ocean is nearby. Deserts? The Mojave desert. National Parks? Joshua Tree. Is Rice in a particularly urban part of Houston? Or is it in a secluded location? </p>

<p>Nostalgic, I thank you for your insights and agree with you that Pomona is academically speaking the better school. However I think it’s attributed to the fact that the Pomona student body is more talented than Rice’s, not because Rice has worse professors/etc. In the end the academic difference between the top 10 LACs and the top 20 national universities is so slight that other factors become more important.</p>

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<p>

This is just… laughable, pathetic, and wildly uninformed. Go to Pomona, please; after all RateMyProfessors.com says it’s better!! Good going CC.</p>

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<p>Oh, and, nostalgicwidsom: please use your wisdom and visit the thread where it’s discussed how Rice’s ED admit rate was, in fact, less than 25% this year ;)</p>

<p>There were 1,231 ED applicants to Rice. How many at Pomona? 304. Yes, a 33% “boom” from last year’s record of 228. In a year, nearly 80 whole people learned about Pomona. Congratulations!</p>

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<p>Owl2012, the reason I said Pomona was more academically better was simply due to the SAT scores. I did say later on the difference is so tiny that it doesn’t matter. I know I’ll be getting a world-class education at both. I agree that RatemyProfessors is an unreliable measure of education so I said later on that Rice having lower SAT scores than Pomona does not mean its professors are any worse. </p>

<p>I did some more research on residential colleges and have a few questions. Are you assigned to the same place for all 4 years or do you get different ones each year? Do they have their own inclusive events or is everyone welcome to attend?</p>

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<p>I see. You are trying to determine which school is “more academically better.” How about you apply to both and be happy if either one takes you? The answers to all your questions can easily be found by taking 10 seconds and searching this forum. This thread has turned into a senseless informational nightmare because of you two. And by the way, Rice’s SAT scores aren’t lower than Pomona’s (in fact the middle 50% is higher at Rice).</p>

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<p>Go to Pomona, please; after all RateMyProfessors.com says it’s better!! </p>

<p>-You’re misunderstanding my post. RateMyProfessors is just one indicator out of the many there are. It’s clear by the numbers that Pomona has the better teachers. 3.5 average vs 3 average is a sizable gap. The fact that those statistics come from students themselves gives them much more merit than any ranking could.</p>

<p>Oh, and, nostalgicwidsom: please use your wisdom and visit the thread where it’s discussed how Rice’s ED admit rate was, in fact, less than 25% this year.
-I don’t care for your hypothetical driven data. Give me the cold numbers, and back them up. Given Pomona’s ED rate last year was 22% vs Rice’s 30%, it’s nearly impossible that Rice would have a lower ED rate than Pomona, especially when both schools saw nearly the same sizable boost in their ED pool. </p>

<p>There were 1,231 ED applicants to Rice. How many at Pomona? 304. Yes, a 33% “boom” from last year’s record of 228. In a year, nearly 80 whole people learned about Pomona. Congratulations!</p>

<p>-Absolute numbers don’t matter when you look at the size of the school. Pomona is MUCH smaller than Rice is. A 33% increase is a 33% increase that WILL shrink the acceptance rate even more than it was last year, around 13%. While Rice may have that same increase, the fact that it had a 19% rate last year means it won’t overcome Pomona’s acceptance rate.</p>

<p>Honestly, you’re being fanatical about Rice and completely undermining Pomona. Why not do your research? Both schools are fantastic and it’s not like this argument is linear.</p>

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<p>I see. You are trying to determine which school is “more academically better.”
No, he or she clearly said both were excellent academically and he(will use from now on) would be happy at either academics wise. </p>

<p>How about you apply to both and be happy if either one takes you?
Can you not read? He said at the end of the post he could only apply to one.</p>

<p>The answers to all your questions can easily be found by taking 10 seconds and searching this forum.
There are not that many opinions on Pomona vs Rice. Those that are available are clearly biased towards one school. </p>

<p>This thread has turned into a senseless informational nightmare because of you two.
You’re the one who made it senseless by completely demeriting Pomona.</p>

<p>And by the way, Rice’s SAT scores aren’t lower than Pomona’s (in fact the middle 50% is higher at Rice).
No, Pomona’s average is higher. Rice’s average on the SATs are around 719 vs Pomona’s 735.</p>

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<p>Oh look, the pot is calling the kettle black.</p>

<p>Edit:
What does this even mean?

</p>

<p>Rice: Middle 50% of SAT and ACT Scores for Accepted Students - SAT **1410-1540<a href=“Critical%20Reading%20+%20Math”>/B</a></p>

<p>Pomona:
SAT Critical Reading
Middle 50% 700 – 790
+
SAT Math</p>

<h1>Middle 50% 700 – 780</h1>

<p>1400-1570</p>

<p>.:. the average accepted Rice student has higher SAT scores than at Pomona. Let it go.</p>

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<p>“Oh look, the pot is calling the kettle black.”
Nope, nothing hypocritical about this post. I give reasonable rebuttals to your posts and you don’t reply with anything vaguely helpful.</p>

<p>EDIT- someone can’t do basic math.
1410+1540/2= 1475
1400+1570/2= 1485</p>

<p>Anyways debakian, to answer some of your questions-</p>

<p>Is Rice in a particularly urban part of Houston? Or is it in a secluded location?
Rice is a secluded oasis in the midst of an urban location. On the campus you wouldn’t get the impression you were in a city. It’s in a great location for Houston, very conveniently located near the Museum District, the Texas Medical Center, and Downtown Houston. Pomona can’t match that type of convenient access. Do note that Rice gives you unlimited usage of Metrobus/rail so exploring Houston isn’t as much of a hassle as exploring LA is.</p>

<p>Are you assigned to the same place for all 4 years or do you get different ones each year?
You’re assigned to the same residential house for all of your undergraduate years.</p>

<p>Do they have their own inclusive events or is everyone welcome to attend?
Both. Each residential college has its own unique events, but Rice has many events open to everyone. So you’ll get the best of both.</p>

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<p>Deep breaths, everybody.</p>

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<p>You guys can argue about stats all you want: the bottom line is that a statistic is just a number and really isn’t going to help someone choose a college. So please stop and do that elsewhere. Thanks.</p>

<p>So back to the OPs question: At Rice, you are assigned to one residential college. This is your home for all four years. (You can apply to transfer, but it is a rather involved process, and very few people want to.) Each college plans their own events, some of which are public events open to the entire Rice community. The college is much more than a home, because of the faculty living in the college as well and the student governance. You can become completely involved with your residential college or just passively live there. They don’t force you to get involved (but you’ll get a lot more out of it if you do.)</p>