UChicago vs Pomona College vs Amherst College

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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Feeling extremely fortunate to have been accepted to Amherst + UChicago (Pomona I was wait-listed). In the case of Pomona, i’m debating whether or not to state that I would go to the school if offered admission in my continued letter of interest. I understand that there’s a large chance I won’t get into Pomona via the wait-list, but in case I do I’d really appreciate some insight into the school. I am extremely conflicted on where to attend.

Short bio:
I’m an international student interested in majoring in Economics, and potentially double majoring in Public Policy. However i’m extremely excited about studying liberal arts as I have a wide range of academic interests (also really into chemistry, IR, human geography, and I would love to explore subjects such as philosophy + CS through electives). I’m also very interested in urban studies/policy which really draws me towards UChicago because of their Urban labs initiative + Urban education institute. Besides academics, i’m into dance (mainly Ballet + contemporary) + music and I hope to further pursue these hobbies at university.

If you have researched about the any of the schools or are an alum/ currently enrolled student, please feel free to give me your 2 cents on the following:

Location: Internship opportunities, Job opportunities,
Academics: Strongest and weakest departments, degrees of competition or collaboration, research opportunities, faculty involvement
Social: general atmosphere, fixed hierarchy/fluidity, time to pursue EC’s and socialize amidst the worklad
Future preparation: Job placement, name recognition

Some of my current thoughts:

  • I’m extremely indecisive on whether I would prefer UChicago’s core as opposed to Amherst’s flexible curriculum with no requirements. UChicago’s core sounds absolutely fantastic to me but i’m also worried that it might restrict my ability to pursue certain subjects that I would be able to at Amherst.
  • I do think I would work well in a small LAC - forging close relationships with the professors, having a more intimate/engaging work environment etc, but I also feel like UChicago may offer a large variety of research opportunities a small LAC wouldn't be able to, especially those pertaining to urban policy.
  • One thing i'm slightly worried about at Amherst is the social divide between athletes and non-athletes (especially seeing as the small school of 1800ish has about 70% athletes) I've heard some people say it's not that bad and others say it's quite bad.
  • I've generally heard that Amherst has a much bigger pull in the job market than Pomona due to having a larger alumni connection (since the school is older). After I graduate, I plan on working in the U.S (hopefully..) before going to grad school, so UChicago's international reputation isn't as huge of a + to me. Being an international student however, I do feel my perception on all three school's reputation may be a bit skewed, so any insight into this would be greatly appreciated.
  • Pomona's + Amherst's job internships sound amazing and it seems the school's have an excess of opportunities in this area. Does anybody know what it's like at UChicago? especially since it's a bigger school etc.
  • Pomona seems to be the school that is most invested in the arts (dance, music etc) and their dance program seems really really great.
  • I'm drawn much more to Pomona's consortium than Amherst's as it seems to be a lot more integrated. Most Amherst students i've spoken to haven't ventured to the other colleges and at Pomona the specializations of the colleges seems much more diverse - HMC CS/Sciences, CMC Econ/Gov, etc
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hey! i’ll be attending uchicago in the fall as a freshmen and i have a friend who will be attending amherst, so i thought i’d throw in my twopence.

First of all: I don’t even think you should bother with Pomona. I’m not sure what career you’re looking to pursue in the future, but in terms of recruiting it has nothing on Chicago (4th in the nation) or Amherst (which is arguably the most prestigious LAC) and in terms of reputation it just doesn’t match up at all. Whether or not you believe in stats, these will come to define opportunities in the future. The only reasons I could see for choosing to wait for Pomona would be if you have some need to go to school in California or… ??? That’s all I got for you.

While Chicago is a larger school, it is very liberal arts based because of the core. There’s a large percentage of their classes which are smaller, which you can find online if you look. It is located in Chicago, which means that you are in a world class city for internships and job opportunities, and it is considered a target school for a lot of ibanking/other things (if that is what you’re interested in). If you are planning on majoring in economics, there is literally no other school that can match up to Chicago other than probably Harvard or LSE, and I am being 100% serious about that. We literally have our own school of economics. Furthermore, I believe the poli-sci department is doing extremely well. Placement into grad programs is top-notch and I’ve heard the Career Advancement Center of the college is enormously helpful. While it does have that reputation that follows it around, the University of Chicago has changed rapidly within the last decade or so. There’s a far larger emphasis on the college experience and as a result, a far more diverse selection of students entering the classes rather than hardcore academics. I wouldn’t worry about a lack of social life. That being said, it is probably one of the most academically rigorous schools in the US and that should be taken into account!

Hopefully you can get someone to talk more about Amherst, since I don’t really know enough about it.

Congrats!!! These are two incredible schools so it’s really going to come down to what you want out of your college experience.

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'“I’m not sure what career you’re looking to pursue in the future, but in terms of recruiting it has nothing on Chicago (4th in the nation) or Amherst (which is arguably the most prestigious LAC) and in terms of reputation it just doesn’t match up at all.”

Sorry, but you’re way off. Pomona is tied with A/W/S as the most prestigious LAC. Don’t talk about a school you don’t know anything of, as is evidenced by “The only reasons I could see for choosing to wait for Pomona would be if you have some need to go to school in California” or “Hopefully you can get someone to talk more about Amherst, since I don’t really know enough about it.”

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To the OP-

I’d choose Amherst due to your broad range of interests. Lack of a common core vs. an intense one is the most noticeable difference between the institutions. I turned down both Amherst and U’Chicago down for Pomona, but if I had to decide between the two, I would go to Amherst for its much more caring and intimate vibe due to the exclusive undergrad focus. U’Chicago has the pull of an urban experience and university resources (which are incredible to say the least), but on an undergraduate experience Amherst strikes me as the better fit for you.

It doesn’t matter if Amherst doesn’t have its own school of economics- presque doesn’t seem to understand the difference between undergraduate experiences in the liberal art colleges and heavy research universities. Amherst graduates do exceptionally well and are accepted to the best PhDs in the country. Amherst is the most diverse LAC in the country and I’m pretty sure more diverse socioeconomically and racially than U’Chicago as well. I wouldn’t worry about the athletic vibe- people at Amherst are much warmer and friendly than U’Chicago students, or that’s the vibe I got (I’m not really an athlete, don’t play varsity)

I would say U’Chicago has a heavier academic culture and Amherst has a more well-rounded culture. I prefer the latter. Amherst is fantastic in the arts as well, especially music. The experiences you will get from Amherst will make you an exceptional candidate for top regarded urban study internships in the country.

Stay in Pomona’s waitlist. I think it strikes a good balance in what you’re looking for from both schools (urban but flexible, rigorous and prestigious). Because they took 100 students less than usual, I’m pretty sure they will use the waitlist.

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At Amherst, you will have a lot of athletic recruits, because although DIII sports is important there. That is a part of the culture

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@EndOfTheWorld‌ Thanks for the reply. It’s nice to get some insight on the student body since I haven’t visited the campus.

Also, congratulations on Pomona! As of now I’m extremely drawn to Pomona over Amherst, particularly because of its consortium. Unlike Amherst, I feel Pomona you really do reap the benefits of a large university because of how close-knit the colleges are - in terms of clubs/ organizations (for dance or music), social life and taking classes to fill in areas that a small LAC may not be able to etc. Amherst it seems the students don’t socialize much or participate in activities much with students from the other colleges.

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“One thing i’m slightly worried about at Amherst is the social divide between athletes and non-athletes (especially seeing as the small school of 1800ish has about 70% athletes) I’ve heard some people say it’s not that bad and others say it’s quite bad.”

Ummm… where did you get that figure? About 30 percent of Amherst students participate in athletic teams. A whole lot more do intramural sports with friends, but that is true for all colleges.

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  1. A very close young friend of mine graduated from Amherst five years ago. Completely not an athlete -- actually a minor physical disability made significant participation even in intramural athletics difficult. I don't think there was ever any sense of a problem or exclusion over this person's non-athlete status. The student absolutely loved Amherst, and is successfully pursuing an "impossible dream" kind of career today thanks in part to Amherst's small but very powerful and engaged alumni network. I have a cousin there now, also completely not an athlete (basically completely a nerdy student, not the Amherst cliche at all).

Anyway, I think it’s true that because of Amherst’s small (tiny) size, athletic tradition, and large number of sports teams it fields, there is a high participation rate in varsity sports. I thought it was in the vicinity of 50%. And because everyone has friends who are athletes, there’s a lot of following sports because you are following your friends. But it’s not remotely a clique thing. Any athlete who wanted to go to college where being an athlete was a big deal and socially exclusive would have many, many, many options to choose over Amherst.

  1. As others have said, Pomona and Amherst are close equivalents in terms of reputation and prestige. Pomona is as big a deal on the West Coast as Amherst or Williams is on the East Coast, and anyone in any part of the country who understands the US college system would recognize Pomona as a tippy-top name.
  2. There's no question that the Claremont Colleges consortium (of which Pomona is one) works better than the Five College consortium in Amherst, because they're effectively all on one campus. That said, there are lots of multi-college consortia that exist only on paper, and that isn't true of the Five Colleges at all. It's very do-able at Amherst to take classes at Smith or at UMass, and lots of people take advantage of that to get courses Amherst cannot offer.
  3. The Claremont Colleges have, among them, about the same number of undergraduates as the University of Chicago, so to that extent Pomona and Chicago offer equivalent experiences. However, Chicago's graduate programs are much bigger, and much more high-powered, than anything at Claremont/Pomona, and that makes a meaningful difference. It means that the community of people interested in a topic is much smaller, and there's no level of intermediate people between undergraduates who know little or nothing and the small number of professors who know everything, or close to it. Some undergraduates resent graduate students being around and grading their papers (and vice versa, of course, except for the paper grading), but most smart ones get tremendous benefit out of being around people only a few years older than they, who are in the process of specializing and working like dogs to really understand a field. Grad students help professors to more, and more sophisticated, work, too, and undergraduates benefit a lot from that when they get involved in research.
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@ThankYouforHelp‌ I got this from a couple of my high school’s alumni who are 2nd years at Amherst now. Yeah i should probably state that by 70% i’m including club sports and varsity sports. He mentioned that the amount playing varsity is 30%.

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@JHS‌

  1. Yep, the general consensus i’m receiving from replies is that the divide is not as bad as I have read from reviews on college niche.
  1. One thing though is that i'm more drawn to the colleges in the claremont consortium - HMC for trying out CS electives (which students at Amherst have been telling me are weak in the college, but steadily improving), and CMC for finance + government courses (I had also applied to CMC but got wait-listed). Though i'm sure Smith or UMass have strong departments/ courses, I should probably do more research into that.
  2. I'd never actually seen the positives of having a graduate school in that respect. I'll keep note of this, thanks.
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“@ThankYouforHelp‌ I got this from a couple of my high school’s alumni who are 2nd years at Amherst now. Yeah i should probably state that by 70% i’m including club sports and varsity sports. He mentioned that the amount playing varsity is 30%.”

Guess what. The percentage of students at Chicago who play intramurals or varsity sports is also 70%, but no one would ever accuse the U of C of being a “jock school.”

https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/studentlife/activities/intramural-sports

Again, three great schools. I am an alum of the U of C, and my daughter seriously considered both Pomona and the U of C before choosing to go to Amherst. You won’t go wrong at any of them, so don’t fret. There are differences, of course, but all three are great choices.

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Congratulations on your admissions to Amherst and UChicago with a possibility at Pomona. I am writing from the perspective of a university academic in a non-economics business field. I am an alum of the college at UChicago.

UChicago is superb at teaching how to think in a way such that doing research comes naturally to you. You will have the opportunity to learn directly from the thinkers who are shaping the direction of their discipline.

As you study economics you will see that interfacing with ideas and methods in other fields (i.e. sociology, statistics, psychology) can be very helpful. Chicago is an unmatched powerhouse in the social sciences and you will be exposed to important developments in disciplines related to your own.

UChicago’s common core was wonderful in that it exposed me to thinking in a wide range of disciplines. You don’t realize how helpful this can be until you need to solve a problem and a tool or technique from another field does the job. UChicago gives enough exposure to many fields such that you feel comfortable dipping into them and pulling out what you need. UChicago has experts in many fields so that you will find your wide ranging academic interests will be satisfied. You said Amherst’s curriculum was “flexible” with no requirements. I believe that is a negative for intellectual development.

You mention Amherst reportedly has a social divide between athletes and a non-athletes. Personally, I exercise for at least an hour each day but I can think of nothing so boring as listening to sports fanatics ramble on about games, teams, and players.

You mention LAC’s as being strong in enabling the forging of relationships between professors and students. At UChicago faculty seemed to have an open door policy and I was able to develop excellent individual relationships with them.

If you wish to go to graduate school in economics and you do your undergraduate work at Chicago you are coming from the best. Also, you will likely have an advantage in applying to UChicago’s PhD or MBA programs you will not have if you attend Amherst or Pomona.

The arts scene at UChicago is outstanding and there is close access to downtown Chicago’s array of theater, ballet, opera, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, etc.

You have an interest in urban policy. I would be concerned that this is not a strong area at Amherst.

You mentioned an interest in working in the U.S. after graduation. I believe UChicago has a deservedly outstanding reputation in the U.S. job market. Unfortunately, in the workplace (especially outside the east coast) you will meet with many people who are not familiar with the high standards at Amherst.

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@ThankYouforHelp‌ True. My perception is mainly based off of what students at Amherst have told me. It might be that there are more at Amherst participating in varsity sports. Anyhow, i’m a lot less concerned about this now after having received these replies.

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If you care about high-quality academics, rigor, and research go to UChicago. UChicago has fun dance and ballet groups but academics take priority over anything here, and arts are really on the sideline here. Econ is strong, rigorous and competitive, Pub Pol is more relaxed and easy. I can’t say about Amherst or Pomona’s departments.

If you care about a positive, less oppressive and more intimate student-life go to Amherst. You will have more time for fun, friends, and social things at Amherst. Amherst doesn’t have the city, but if you don’t have time to go out, then what is it worth to you?

Job placement: great no matter what, UChicago will have more prestige for Econ and more opportunities for Urban research, but “degree pedigree” will be the same

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@PAGRok When you describe the econ major as competitive, do you mean the nature amongst students? I generally had the impression that UChicago was a pretty collaborative environment.

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It’s competitive as in many people take it and take it serious. It’s a hardcore major, people buy econ courses from others to get into classes, it’s much more pre-professional than other majors. Obviously no one is stabbing you in the back to get ahead, but it has a competitive atmosphere about it.

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One step which might help you decide is to look up the individual faculty members on the economics department webpages of Pomona, Amherst, and UChicago. Which school’s economics faculty has the most publications on significant and interesting (to you) topics appearing in the highest quality journals? Which would be the most interesting and from which you feel you could learn the most given their research output? Which will carry the most weight with graduate school admissions committees when you are a senior and asking them to write recommendation letters? If you are serious about a career in economics it is the personal and professional qualities of the economics faculty that matters. This is the group you will interact with and who will have a major impact on your college education and who may help inform your future career decisions.

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From reading your bio, I would advocate U of C (Am attending so take the bias as you will). In terms of general academic firepower and prestige of faculty, this school is easily top 5 in the nation. There’s plenty of fluidity in terms of social life, if you want to go out to frat parties there’s usually something going on every weekend, and if you want to stay in having deep intellectual conversations there’s plenty of people doing that too. People on CC love to maintain this “fun goes to die” stereotype, but honestly it’s not that academically rigorous so long as you manage time effectively. Econ major is somewhat difficult but not excessively so. In terms of Urban focus, you’re in one of the biggest cities in America, so obviously the number of available internships and research opportunities is immense. Our career services department is pretty excellent, and so long as you don’t completely slack off it wont be hard to get summer internships and jobs.

With regards to Pomona and Amherst, I would honestly find the small class size a huge limitation in terms of social life and future prospects. Half the college experience is meeting highly motivated successful peers and thus enriching yourself through knowing them. Within houses and greek life, there’s no shortage of community at UC, and your classmates are incredibly smart connected people. Small schools, especially athlete heavy ones like Amherst, would probably have a much more rigid, stifling social scene than U of C, which is very open and inclusive.

Personally, I’m very happy at UC and I would choose it over either of those schools without hesitation.

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Also getting close relationships with professors isn’t difficult at all at uchicago. Most hold open office hours and those are very underutilized by the student body. Another plus is that dance is huge at UC, with at least half a dozen different groups that perform a number of styles.

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Just so you are aware, acquiring a work visa after graduating has become a lot more difficult now: only 30% of applicants get it. UChicago’s international reputation may be more important to your future.