Should I do Early Decision II to Pomona College?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi I am a female Asian living in socal.
I am strongly considering doing ED II to Pomona college. I know with deadline right around the corner, it is extremely late to be still thinking about this but I have been thinking about this for months and visited the campus twice but I still can't decide.
I just think doing ED II will really help me get accepted and it is one my top choices so why not? But there are still some parts that I am not completely sure about.
First of all, I won't go into details but I have 3.8 uw and 4.5 weighted. SAT: 2260(single) 2300(superscore) took 10 APs including senior year (took ap chem, ap bio, ap physics c) got all fives on aps. my strongest extracurricular is traditional photography and science olympiad (heavily involved; won a pretty big award for photography) tutored other students for four years; first generation immigrant from Korea and low income. I think my essays are pretty strong. No major academic awards though (NHS and ap scholar with distinction..)
I want to do Pre-dentistry.
Pros of Pomona: It's an hour away from where I live and I get to visit my parents every week
AMAZING academics... I can probably get into a lot of good dental schools
Small school (I'm definitely shy so would it be easier to make friends and make contact with professors?)</p>

<p>Cons: Not enough diversity? I come from a very urban place so it might be a shocker.
Pomona "bubble"...
smalllll school.... (I'm shy and I'm not too fond of participating every single day in class!!)
AMAZING academic... meaning I have to work my butttttt off to maintain a good gpa for dental school.
it's in california... I want to venture out a bit too... </p>

<p>wow so I contradict myself a lot hahaha. But I am so conflicted and I cannot seem to find an answer... please help me!!!!</p>

<p>P.S. if I somehow got accepted to an Ivy League like Columbia or UPenn, I wouldn't hesitate to go there but I know my chances are extremelyyy low.
My only chance of going to a very prestigious school seems to be ED to Pomona.</p>

<p>Would it be better to go to a slightly less selective school and get a 4.0 or go to place like pomona for dental school?</p>

2

<p>You don’t just “go to to a slightly less selective school and get a 4.0” you’re still going to be taken the same classes, same pre requisite classes and likely same level of difficulty. Apply ED II if your parents are supportive financially and Pomona is truly your number 1 choice. </p>

<p>As far as I know, undergraduate school prestige does not really matter for dental school admissions and you need about a 3.5 GPA/BCPM GPA to be competitive for dental school and students with less GPA even get in because what’s also very important is your DAT score (dental admission test), workload, recommendation letters, and extracurricular activities (job shadowing, etc).</p>