Swarthmore vs. Pomona: Compare and Contrast

College Search & Selection
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<p>I've done a fair amount of research for both of these schools, but I still can't nail down which is best for me. So, I figured I'd ask you guys for help.</p>

<p>Both schools seem to provide rigorous academic programs with intellectual atmospheres outside of the classroom--exactly what I'm looking for. Both schools claim to harbor close relationships between professors and students (with the student-to-teacher ratios to back it up). Again, this is what I want. After that, however, things get a little blurry.</p>

<p>I've heard comments that both Pomona and Swarthmore have mostly "quirky", "nerdy", "liberal", "activist" -type students, which sounds awesome to me, but I really have to see it for myself. I'm going to visit both schools within the next month (I hope), to get a better feel of the social environments.</p>

<p>There are obvious geographic differences between the two... and if I had to select between the two on climate alone, I'd stick with Pomona.</p>

<p>But, that's pretty much my understanding of both schools, and as you can see, they seem very similar. So, I ask you: what are the similarities and differences (or the pros and cons) between the schools (other than the ones I just listed)?</p>

<p>Any help is appreciated :)</p>

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<p>My daughter looked at these two schools. Following her overnight there she reported that Pomona was part of an active social scene, with the other nearby schools. A bit fast for her actually, at the time.</p>

<p>She did not find the same at Swarthmore. But she didn't overnight there, and in any event a day someplace is different than being there.</p>

<p>Perhaps a related point, Pomona seemed to play up their high ratings in student satisfaction surveys. I do not recall Swarthmore trumpeting anything similar, though it may in fact be the case that students are well satisfied there as well.</p>

<p>FWIW, she elected to join the "quirky", "nerdy", "liberal", "activist" -type students at Oberlin, where she is happy so far.</p>

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<p>monydad, how many "white bread" type students are at Oberlin?</p>

1 Like
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<p>I just came back from there, actually. I saw several student-types eating pancakes at a pretty-decent but small off-campus restaurant. I did not notice anyone eating white bread.</p>

<p>Hope that helps. (????)</p>

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<p>What percentage of students are blonde?</p>

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<p>I've only seen a small number of students. I don't think my daughter wants me anyplace near her friends.</p>

<p>Her roommate is blonde. and her best friend last year was blonde. She isn't.</p>

<p>There are relatively a lot of New Yorkers at Oberlin. There may well be more dark hair at Oberlin than at Pomona or Swarthmore. I don't know.</p>

<p>Hope that helps. (????)</p>

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<p>There are some notable differences. The music department at Pomona is a good bit larger, with quite a bit more student participation in the orchestras, etc., and in theatre. Athletics are more prominent at Pomona - which is not to say they are big (they aren't), but there is a football team and a homecoming weekend, etc. etc. The foreign language departments are more robust at Pomona (especially when you add in Scripps), and they have "living language" centers, dorms where specific languages are spoken. The campus is more compact (or at least feels that way), and makes it feel a little livelier. The Honold library is far larger than Swarthmore's, though I doubt that makes any difference (both will have most everything you need.</p>

<p>By far the biggest difference is the weather, though.</p>

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<p>Swarthmore and Pomona are so similar that the decision really boils down to location. A distant "inland empire" suburb of Los Angeles and a close-in old suburb of Philadelphia are very different environments. In addition to that, you have to consider logistics -- which will depend on where you live. Part of these logistics will depend on whether you have a car. LA is really only accessible from Pomona with a car. Downtown Phila is an 11 mile train ride from a train station on Swarthmore's campus. A car is not necessary at all. In fact, it's a pain in the butt to have one.</p>

<p>If you want to get down to the level of hair-splitting. Swarthmore is somewhat more "academic" in orientation, whereas Pomona is somewhat more "pre-professional". Pomona produces more lawyers. Swarthmore produces more PhDs. About the same for MDs. Not a big difference, but a difference.</p>

<p>Swarthmore has more diversity. 62% U.S. and white versus 69% U.S. and white -- this despite the fact that California schools draw from a more diverse population and are usually more diverse than East Coast schools. This difference is mostly in Asian-American and International enrollment.</p>

<p>A third difference is that Swarthmore will have a smaller, more cohesive "feel" despite the fact that the schools are similar in size. As a part of a five-college campus, Pomona is going to be more on the scale of a mid-size university.</p>

<p>BTW, whichever one you choose, you can sample the other. They have a semester-exchange program which would be an opportunity to sample the best academic West Coast LAC and the best academic East Coast LAC.</p>

<p>If I were choosing a college, Pomona and Swarthmore would probably be my top two choices. The decision would really depend on location and "feel".</p>

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<p>Beyond alot of the great points above, I believe a big difference between the schools is the Claremont consortium vs. the Swarthmore's relationship with Haverford/Brynmawr/Penn.</p>

<p>At Pomona, the 4 other schools are contiguous and although separate institutions, the form one large campus. While close, the schools "connected" to Swarthmore are physically separate.</p>

<p>This "physical connection" I think gives you far more activity at Pomona/Claremont in the social context. Pomona and Pitzer form one athletic department and Claremont, Mudd and Scripps form a second, so there is always some event taking place. Each school has its own concert, music and other programs, along with joint "5C" events.</p>

<p>Also, at Pomona you can eat at the dinning halls at any of the 5 schools (about 11 choices in all I beleive). You can even live in the dorms of another school if they have room. the dorms at Pomna btw are excellent, not familiar with Swarthmore's. The Claremont schools also share things from library facilities to health care and so while each school is relatively small, together they form a student body of around 5,000.</p>

<p>In addition, With some limits you can take classes at any of the 5 Claremont schools. All in all you are truly getting 5 schools "for the price of one" in attending Pomona/Claremont colleges (if you choose, you can, of course, limit your experience to just your given school).</p>

<p>I realize that Swarthmore has reciprocal arrangements with Haverford/BM/Penn, but I don't beleive it is as extensive as at Pomona and the Claremont colleges and is not so "immediate" given that the schools are not physically adjacant as with the Claremont colleges.</p>

<p>I can't imagine you can go wrong at either place. I would favor Pomona though personally. It is an amazing school in a great area and a very unique situation with the 5 colleges and all. You can't beat the weather. Los Angeles is about 45 minutes away. They even have an event where you snow ski in the morning and go to the beach in the afternoon; and, the campus is beautiful, people are friendly beyond belief (not to imply anything negative about Swarthmore by comparison).</p>

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<p>Both Swarthmore and Pomona have an unbalanced relationship with their consortium members. Swarthmore's endowment dwarfs the endowments of Bryn Mawr and Haverford. Pomona's endowment dwarfs those of the other Claremont Colleges. As a result, the other schools in each consortium probably benefit more from the relationships than Pomona and Swarthmore do.</p>

<p>If you have particular interests that are best served by taking courses at other consortium schools, then Pomona is certainly going to be the most convenient. Swarthmore is about a 20 minute trip to Haverford, Bryn Mawr, or Penn -- slightly shorter than most trips between the Amherst/Smith/UMass 5-college consortium. However, most Swatties don't take courses at the other schools very often.</p>

<p>I think that, if you visit both Swarthmore and Pomona, you will probably like both. However, the choice will probably be pretty easy based solely on which "ambience" you prefer and where you want to go to college. Either would be a terrific choice.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the insightful comments!</p>

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<p>bullwinkle's descriptions jive exactly with my own now-refreshed recollections.</p>

<p>Pomona was the college on my daughter's list that I liked the best. Unfortunately she didn't, for various reasons of her own.</p>

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<p>Although my experience was 20some years ago, my three years at Swats and junior year at Pomona mirrors much of what was written previously. I did find Swarthmore more academically intensive (self-imposed by students). Swarthmore's connection with Haverford and Bryn Mawr is much more remote than the Pomona/Claremont Colleges relationship. An advantage of Pomona is the ease of taking classes at the other colleges, which makes the choice of classes much larger than you would typically get at a smaller school. At Swarthmore the lack of cars for most students makes campus the focus of life; Pomona College also has a good campus life, although more spread out and students do tend to get off campus more.<br>
Either school will give you the opportunity for a great education; the big difference I see is the East Coast vs. California atmosphere.</p>