<p>Hi...I'm a rising senior from New York. I just recently came across Pomona College in my college search, and it seems like an awesome place (small classes, high student satisfaction, and great climate). Unfortunately, with fall sports starting in a week and then school (without a long break until just before the RD deadline) I may never be able to see the campus until I became an accepted student. Will this prevent me from getting into the school? I might be able to schedule an alumni interview, will this help? BTW, my stats are 94 uw gpa, mostly honors AP, 800 CR 740 M 680 W, and Pomona seems to really like my school and last year (according to naviance) accepted kids with similar or slightly lower stats. I also have decent-good EC's, with 750+ hours of community service and a few varsity letters, and a couple leadership positions. Anyway, does anyone have any advice/chances for someone in my situation?</p>
<p>i didn't see the campus until i was admitted RD and didn't even have an interview, yet was admitted with comparable SATs and a lower GPA, it looks like everything is in line for you to have an excellent shot at admission, just make sure you show in your essays how much you want to attend, or consider applying ED or ED2</p>
<p>Thanks for the vote of confidence brassmonkey52088. It is possible I will visit just before the RD/ED2 round...Anyone known if alumni interviews are offered and/or if the school has a preference for on-campus interviewees....ahh kind of frustrating that I found out about this school and the claremont colleges so late in the game, better now than never I guess....I have visited many northeastern colleges, could anyone tell me what Pomona's student body is most similar to out here? Is it very leftist such as that of wesleyan or is it more middle-grounded like say bowdoin or hamilton, or 'preppy' like Colgate...I tend to hold left-of-center political views but I've been told I dress and act 'preppy' (I'm not exactly sure what this means, and I hate labels but hopefully you get the gist of what I'm like)...will a person such as me fit in at a place like Pomona...I ask only because I want to know if it is worth the application fee if I cannot make a visit to the campus.</p>
<p>Not having visited campus won't hurt you at all. It might not get you "bonus points," but it won't be a negative factor, especially if you take the chance now to get in contact with the admissions office in other ways. Simply explain that you've just recently learned about the school and are interested but not yet able to visit...is there a way you could talk on the phone with a current student, schedule an alum interview or meeting, and so forth. You can ask whether a campus rep will be visiting your high school or city and when it will be. There are plenty of ways to get your name on the radar without having to travel to Claremont.</p>
<p>When I was applying to schools, I didn't bother visiting those "big reach" schools that were inconvenient for me to get to. I figured it was silly to fly across the country for one school that I stood such a small chance of getting into. I just decided I would cross the "campus visit" bridge when I came to it (and save $$$ in case I never did)! From the few stats you give, you look like a great application candidate, but I wouldn't call Pomona a sure bet for anyone. </p>
<p>It's hard to say how you would fit in at the school without a little more info, but nothing stands out to me as abnormal or troublesome. And if you're a fan of northeastern colleges, then you'll probably like Pomona's physical campus, which is modeled similarly. Just ask some more specific questions, do some web research, and go 'head and apply if you're still interested. You have nothing to worry about...I continued learning about various colleges all the way through fall of my senior year!</p>
<p>Some college books will also provide info like "Students also look at and often/sometimes/rarely prefer ______." On this board alone, I've seen many comparisons between Pomona/Williams and Pomona/Bowdoin, but I don't know enough about east coast LACs to give my two cents. Somewhere on CC there's actually a thread about "Which east coast LAC is Pomona most like," but I don't remember the conclusion.</p>
<p>I love Claremont...I would say apply ;-)</p>
<p>There is no preference given to whether you have an on-campus interview or an alumni interview. For info on scheduling an alumni interview, go to <a href="http://www.pomona.edu/adwr/admissions/Visiting/Visiting.shtml#ALUMNI%20INTERVIEWS%5B/url%5D">http://www.pomona.edu/adwr/admissions/Visiting/Visiting.shtml#ALUMNI%20INTERVIEWS</a>. Should you be accepted, there are days when accepted students are invited to campus plus, depending where you live, there are also accepted student receptions around the country.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Don't worry, I'm not visiting any of my schools till I'm accepted:) It will not affect you what soever.</p>
<p>yea, i didn't visit anywhere until i got accepted, and it for sure won;t hurt your chances</p>
<p>I think you might actually be better off interviewing with an Alumni (I did). The on-campus interviews are conducted by students who talk kids on a regular basis and as such probably have a higher threshold for being impressed.</p>
<p>As far as Pomona's student body goes, I would place it firmly in the center-left bracket. There are fringe elements in both directions, but the school as a whole is never out of control.</p>
<p>If Pomona's interviews are conducted by students, which very well may be true, then that's a recent-ish change. Mine was definitely conducted by regular admissions staff, but that was 4-ish years ago. </p>
<p>I might be way out of the loop, but it's something to look into :-)</p>