<p>Hi there!
I like both schools but I can't find many differentiating factors b/w the two as they're pretty similar.
Why Swat over Pomona? (I don't expect Pomona over Swat since this is the Swat forum:p )
For the weather I'm leaning toward Pomona. But I feel that academic rigor and faculty wise, Swat would be a better option. Is this correct on my part?
I'm looking for some differentiating factors that I might have missed out on that might tip the scales in favor of either.
I'm looking for a good intellectual student body and a school with rigorous academics.
Thanks!</p>
<p>I think there are several differences besides the weather.
- Swarthmore is convenient to a major city. Philadelphia is an easy train ride away. It is much more of a hassle to get into Los Angeles from Pomona, at least without a car. Then there’s the legendary LA traffic to contend with.
- Pomona is part of the Claremont colleges. That means you have ~7,000 students in the immediate area, as opposed to the 1,500 students at Swarthmore.
- The personalities of the schools and their surrounding communities are different. I can’t speak to Pomona’s personality, but Swarthmore is a very academically oriented place - perhaps excessively so (e.g. misery poker). In our experience Swarthmore is best for students who are academically driven.
- Pomona is not necessarily easier to get in to. Of our kids who applied to both, they were both waitlisted at Pomona and admitted to Swarthmore.</p>
<p>Despite the fact that both are situated in wealthy old suburbs, as Dadx3 points out, the proximity of the other Claremont campuses gives the neighborhood around Pomona a more urban feel.</p>
<p>Pomona is perhaps the only LAC with a higher endowment per student than Swarthmore. Out here on the west coast, Pomona is very well respected and known for both its academic excellence and very difficult admissions.</p>
<p>Back in the day, Pomona was one of the few schools “worthy” of a student exchange with Swarthmore. Not sure if this still applies however.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t call Claremont urban; it is an upscale suburban town of >30K (including college ppn) immediately adjacent to the Pomona campus with a good number of places to eat and shop, a movie theater, galleries, businesses, and wine bars; some places do cater to student budgets. Pomona is close to the consortia colleges–no train or bus ride needed to take courses on those campuses; it’s a quick walk. Because of this, the feel is larger and not so isolated, and curricular choices feel more expansive. Swarthmore is nowhere as livable (IMO) for college students–it is barely a town, and the students are less likely to mix with and cross register at Haverford/BrynMawr/Penn because of the time it takes to get to those campuses. Swat has the arboretum; Pomona and suroundings are beautifully landscaped, but have no woodsy sections. Beyond the lush blooming irrigated gardens of Claremont the terrain is somewhat dry/rocky/desert-like. </p>
<p>If you need an urban experience occasionally, it will be easier to do from Swat than Claremont. LA is 45 min to over an hour away (or more if you hit freeway traffic) and also tough to navigate via public transport, whereas Philly is much closer to Swat and easier to get around.</p>
<p>Rigor might depend mainly on your major at both. Sciences at either (and engineering at Swat) are especially demanding majors because of lab hours. I do hear fewer complaints about grade deflation from Pomona. Pomona kids have a more laid back style and appear to have a little more fun–there are 3 campuses nearby for parties (not counting Scripps which is pretty quiet). </p>
<p>Maybe it’s the weather or maybe it’s East Coast intensity vs. LA-LA land influence, but I gather that overall Swatties work more intensely at academics. This is my impression from kids at both and having spent time at each.</p>
<p>Faculty attention will be great at both. Both will have excellent students. It becomes more a matter of what you put into it, and whether your peer’s intensity/work ethic is an important factor for your own success. Swat does seem to have an extreme reputation for the workload. </p>
<p>There is a domestic exchange program currently between Swat and Harvey Mudd.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t call Claremont urban; it is an upscale suburban town of >30K (including college ppn) immediately adjacent to the Pomona campus with a good number of places to eat and shop, a movie theater, galleries, businesses, and wine bars; some places do cater to student budgets. Pomona is close to the consortia colleges–no train or bus ride needed to take courses on those campuses; it’s a quick walk. Because of this, the feel is larger and not so isolated, and curricular choices feel more expansive. Swarthmore is nowhere as livable (IMO) for college students–it is barely a town, and the students are less likely to mix with and cross register at Haverford/BrynMawr/Penn because of the time it takes to get to those campuses. Swat has the arboretum; Pomona and suroundings are beautifully landscaped, but have no woodsy sections. Beyond the lush blooming irrigated gardens of Claremont the terrain is somewhat dry/rocky/desert-like. </p>
<p>If you need an urban experience occasionally, it will be easier to do from Swat than Claremont. LA is 45 min to over an hour away (or more if you hit freeway traffic) and also tough to navigate via public transport, whereas Philly is much closer to Swat and easier to get around.</p>
<p>Rigor might depend mainly on your major at both. Sciences at either (and engineering at Swat) are especially demanding majors because of lab hours. I do hear fewer complaints about grade deflation from Pomona. Pomona kids have a more laid back style and appear to have a little more fun–there are 3 campuses nearby for parties (not counting Scripps which is pretty quiet). You won’t have engineers in the mix at Pomona; they go to Mudd. </p>
<p>Maybe it’s the weather or maybe it’s East Coast intensity vs. LA-LA land influence, but I gather that overall Swatties work more intensely at academics. This is my impression from kids at both.</p>
<p>I really think the overwhelming difference between Swarthmore and Pomona is the geography. Pomona is suburban LA. Desert. Freeways. Cars. Sunbelt weather. West Coast access. West coast vibe. Swarthmore is wooded, east coast. Four seasons. Train access to Philly and New York. East coast, NY vibe. Quite honestly, the vibe differences are as simple as New York versus Los Angeles. Totally different. Both have their pluses and minuses, I guess.</p>
<p>That’s really the A-level distinction and one that each student and family has to evaluate, totally independent of things like academics or taking courses at a nearby school. Where are you from? Where do you want to go do school?</p>
<p>Pomona and Swarthmore have the two largest per student endowments for liberal arts colleges in the United States. Both have enormous resources and focus those resources on a boutique-scale undergrad educational experience that is truly exceptional. I would be hard pressed to argue that one is “better” than the other. If anyone were lucky enough to have that choice, it would really boil down to individual preferences – starting with east coast versus west coast.</p>
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<p>It’s a quick walk because they’re all basically within the same square mile radius; the foot traffic is more constant than anything a Swattie would be familiar with, especially at night, going to and from the library (which is shared by 6,000 other students.) That’s what I meant by “urban”.</p>
<p>Perhaps largely irrelevant, because overwhelmingly steeped in character as elite modern liberal arts college, but in origin,</p>
<p>Pomona: Congregationalist</p>
<p>Swarthmore: Quaker</p>
<p>at minimum, subtle strains remain. Both share staunch liberal traditions, in the broadest sense, but some of the facets described in these posts, as well as others, may emanate in part from this difference.</p>
<p>In addition to having the two largest per student endowments, Pomona and Swarthmore share another defining characteristic. Both were founded as co-educational colleges at a time when women were not typically a part of the picture in higher education. Being historically co-ed is arguably one of the most important characteristics that have shaped Pomona and Swarthmore in different directions than their traditionally-male peers among elite LACs. For example, being co-ed probably plays a role in the somewhat lower emphasis on varsity sports and on the somewhat lower binge drinking rates at Pomona and Swarthmore.</p>
<p>Swarthmore alum, James Mitchner, once wrote that the presence of women at Swarthmore – both in the student body – and with 50/50 representation on the Board of Managers, was one of the five defining characteristics of the school. I believe that’s true and I believe that it has probably shaped Pomona in similar ways. Swarthmore was co-ed for more than a century before the all-male colleges accepted women.</p>
<p>Student Exchange Programs
From Swat’s website:</p>
<p>"To provide variety and a broadened outlook for interested students, the College has student exchange arrangements with Harvey Mudd College, Middlebury College, Mills College, Pomona College, Rice University, and Tufts University. With each institution, there are a limited and matched number of exchanges. Students settle financially with the home institution, thus retaining during the exchange any financial aid for which they are eligible. </p>
<p>Application for domestic exchange should be made to the registrar. The application deadline is Oct. 15 for exchange in the following spring semester; the deadline is March 15 for exchange in the following fall semester. Selection is made from among applicants who will be sophomores or juniors at the time of the exchange. Exchange arrangements do not permit transfer of participants to the institution with which the exchange occurs. </p>
<p>Credit for domestic exchange is not automatic. Students must follow the procedures for receiving credit for work done elsewhere, including obtaining preliminary approval of courses and after-the-fact validation of credit by the relevant Swarthmore department chairs."</p>