Year (Fall freshman) / Offered / On list / Admitted
2013 / 602 / 253 / 73
2012 / 634 / 283 / 11
2011 / 899 / 369 / 31
From some CC post in 2013.
2014 was
whatever/whatever/ZERO
mixed feelings about this…
I meant if ethnicity and gender X with major Y who got accepted declines the offer of admission, would they go to the waitlist and accept ethnicity X who’s majoring in Y.
Or would they do something like the guy who got accepted from ____ high school turned down the admissions offer so we’ll take the person from that school who was waitlisted
I’m sorry if this is confusing, I’m just really trying to figure out how the waitlist works.
It probably works like both of the scenarios you presented, maybe not as specific as ethnicity AND gender AND major or specifically what high school, but they consider the who of their admitted is attending, and the gaps in the class and fill them with the waitlist.
Variables:
-gender (ie: they want a “nicer” M:F ratio, so they may favor a specific gender when picking from the waitlist)
-ethnicity (they want them nice proportions yo)
-intended major (self explanatory)
-region (self explanatory)
-whatever the h*** else they can think of lol…
keep in mind I too am a waitlistee (word? I don’t care) also trying to figure things out
in your earlier post you typed “waitlisted” instead of “turned down admissions offer” which was confusing, but i gotchu now homie.
2014 / 651 / 324 / zero
Even with the uncetainty created by last year’s high yield, I would guess 1) the WL offers will stay the same for 2015, and 2) not even the admissions folks have a clue about how many of these will eventually be accepted.
As a fellow wait listed student and Pomona hopeful, I just want to ask those who are not totally committed to Pomona to please reconsider jumping on the wait list. Pomona is my dream college. Being wait listed was tough, but I’m hopeful that if they do happen to look for people to fill the spots, they will find a pool of wait listed students who actually know they want to go. I love Pomona and would turn down any other offer I had to go there so I’d honestly feel cheated if they offered the place to someone who didn’t quite care as much.
So please, if you are not 100% for staying on the wait list and hoping for Pomona, leave that spot for someone who knows they care and wishes to attend.
I don’t understand how staying on the wait list even if you are not interested makes a difference for others on the wait list. If they ask that person if he or she wants to attend and that person says no, then they’ll go to the next person they want. And if there’s no one else they want, then they stop asking.
Agree with EoftheW, if Pomona is your dream school I would really encourage you to stay in the waitlist this year. THe numbers match up and it’s very unlikely that the yield will jump 5% from the record high from last year.
Some waitlist advice from the NYT’s late-great “Choice” blog:
http://nyti.ms/HSHqRX
From what I have heard, Pomona would rather take a few off the wait list than have a massive over enrollment like last year’s. Hopefully, they estimated things better this year. I have found “Nostalgic Wisdom” to be a Pomona knowledgeable poster so listen to him.
If someone stays on the wait list but does not want to enroll, it isn’t very ethical but it should not affect anyone else. Pomona will move on to the next kid on the list.
My D is a freshman at Pomona. She accepted 2 wait list positions last year. Both were Ivy’s. She knew they were highly unlikely to come through but thought she would prefer them to Pomona. She was accepted to one other Ivy in RD but turned them down. She really wanted Stanford but was deferred in EA and then rejected in RD. Now, she is very happy and would not want to be anywhere else. Usually, kids are happy at the schools that wanted them and do not look back with regret.
Anyone who is wait listed at Pomona probably got into some pretty good schools. You will be happy if you jump in with both feet and take advantage of what those schools offer.
No need to pay attention to hearsay. Pomona did not miss its admission estimates last year. Actually, they admitted fewer students than in previous years (942 versus 996 and 966.) The differences stemming from the higher acceptance by the STUDENTS of the offer of admissions. They had fewer admitted students and did not have to go to the waiting list. In the previous year, the admissions number swelled because they also had to admit 73 students through the WL.
There is so much a school can do to predict its enrollment. It can increase its ED admissions as a crutch or rely on fewer March admits and working the WL actively. There is simply NO WAY that anyone can predict what 600 to 800 students will decide to do. Students who emerge from WL are usually able to weigh different offers, including WL from schools they like better. That is the domino game that impacts all the LACs.
This said it is extremely doubtful that Pomona will not have to go to the WL with fewer than 800 currently admitted.
Just wanna share some stats to give people a glimmer of hope (and by people I mean me). Last year’s yield was unusually high, about 48%. They have less than 800 kids admitted, so if they’re expecting the yield to be the same, then no more than 384 kids would enroll… That leaves 21 spots open if they want a class of 405! In past years their yield hovered around 40% so maybe there’s a possibility their yield will go down and last year’s was just really funky? The yield for the class of 2018 jumped 8% from the class before and that’s just highly suspect to me! I’m being so optimistic here haha. But having done the math Pomona admitting students from the waitlist is highly probable! 
oh man, didn’t realize someone already talked about stats in this thread…my bad!
I visited Pomona over the weekend and spoke with an admissions officer about the prospects of those put on the wait list. He basically told me they don’t believe they will have to go “heavily” to the wait list to fill the gaps. So I suppose they’re expecting to turn to the wait list but not to fill a multitude of empty spaces.
I also want to note that he said Pomona is not a school that bloats their wait list–being put on the wait list really does mean something, according to him.
Good luck everyone 
Recent post on Pomona College Class of 2019 Facebook page from someone working in admissions:
“I don’t know who is spreading this BS but the class is not yet overenrolled
We have a good yield but we’re not at the target class size of 405 people yet. There’s a likely chance the waitlist will be used- it just depends on how many of the remaining spots are filled by May 1st.
To those people who are going to enroll- please get your deposit in by May 1st. Otherwise you may lose your spot.”
Heard that the yield rate is 47% this year. That would suggest they will pull at least 30 people off the wait list to reach a class of 405. Possibly more depending on the number taking a gap year.
I JUST GOT OFF THE WAITLIST I AM SO SHOCKED AND EXCITED STATS LATER TOP STOKED RIGHT NOW hopefully I can afford it tho!!!
Congrats!! Did you do anything besides tell Pomona that you wanted to go there? Any additional materials?
@hjsroscoe I sent them a one-page letter that basically included some accomplishments, aspects about me I felt were not highlighted in my original app, what Pomona could do for me and what I could do for Pomona, and that I was very interested in the school. I did not say I would attend if admitted, however. I asked if I could submit anything else to increase my chances, but my admissions counselor said that the letter was sufficient. Thankfully they didn’t ask for grades because I have definitely been slacking 
Various stats if anyone is interested:
- Female from a relatively unknown location in the Midwest (a.k.a. not a Chicago suburb), 33 ACT, I don't believe I sent in SAT subject scores because they sucked
- said I'd major in econ
- in the top 5 out of about 300 students in an "underprivileged" school, UW GPA 3.86 (...at the time I applied, lol). I say "underprivileged" because my school has an accelerated program and we definitely have smart people in it (a handful of kids are going to Top 20 universities and many to state flagships, out of 80 seniors in the program) but most of the school is not necessarily at the same level educationally speaking and socioeconomically speaking and...yeah, it's quite a divide
- rigorous course load, last year all but 1 of my classes were AP's, this year all of them are
- I think my Common App essay would probably be a 9/10, I was very vulnerable in it and described my struggle with body image, how I overcame it, and how it affects my art and my mission in life
- Supplemental Essay...7/10...not that great imo
- letters of rec were probably 10/10, written by my English teacher and art teacher
- submitted an art supplement (my art is unique in that I focus on female empowerment, body image, etc.)
- unique EC? (I run a body positive comics blog)
- other EC's: publicist for both Key Club and NHS; I design a lot for both, as well as for other organizations in my school, also have a lot of volunteer hours
- family's income is around the higher end of middle class but it would still be a stretch financially so I realllllyyyy hope Pomona gives me sufficient aid to attend!!
I honestly didn’t think I’d have a chance, especially since Pomona has enough females as it is, and <10% ACCEPTANCE RATE WHAT???, but it happened!!! GAHH!!! :DDD
also I’d like to add I was waitlisted/rejected basically everywhere (Northwestern, WashU, Brown), even though people assured me I would get in…I’m so thankful Pomona has given me this opportunity!! Don’t give up hope if you’re in the same boat as me guys! 