Do not send your child to Pomona if they are interested in a CS degree. The major is not guaranteed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a comparison locally, at UVa there is no guarantee that a would-be BACS major will be able to get the required pre-requisite courses or will be allowed to major in CS even if they do take all the pre-req courses. Further, Echols Scholars at UVa will have an edge getting the pre-req courses, as their course requests are processed by Carruthers Hall before the rest of the students in the College.

I am not a big fan of a lottery system, but if there aren’t enough faculty to offer the pre-req courses to all students who want them, then a lottery is not totally unreasonable.

I think the heads-up about limited CS students is fine. Students who really want only CS should be targeting direct-admit colleges, such as UMCP does locally.

DD is a rising 3rd year and CS major in College of Arts and Sciences at UVA and has never had an issue enrolling in a class. She does say lots of majors for the number of advisors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a comparison locally, at UVa there is no guarantee that a would-be BACS major will be able to get the required pre-requisite courses or will be allowed to major in CS even if they do take all the pre-req courses. Further, Echols Scholars at UVa will have an edge getting the pre-req courses, as their course requests are processed by Carruthers Hall before the rest of the students in the College.

I am not a big fan of a lottery system, but if there aren’t enough faculty to offer the pre-req courses to all students who want them, then a lottery is not totally unreasonable.

I think the heads-up about limited CS students is fine. Students who really want only CS should be targeting direct-admit colleges, such as UMCP does locally.

It’s difficult because I both see arguments for and against a lottery. While it is fairest to give the students who have the most experience the major, it’s also a liberal arts college and theoretically you’re supposed to have access to any major you want even if you have 0 experience

[Anonymous]

Updates on the campus: president just announced the college is shutting sh** down. There is a no encampment policy, all building have moved to ID card access only (big move for a residential open campus with almost no cameras and open access to all academic buildings previously), and security will be stationed all around campus along with security allowing a limited number of students to enter Alexander hall per day.

[Anonymous]

Hear hear….the liberals are finally understanding a need for safety and security for their students. Bravo!👏

[Anonymous]

Starting next semester, this will no longer be true. Pomona college has aggressively hired 3 tenured track and 2 visiting profs now so that every student who wishes to be a CS major can be a cs major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Starting next semester, this will no longer be true. Pomona college has aggressively hired 3 tenured track and 2 visiting profs now so that every student who wishes to be a CS major can be a cs major.

This is great news for the students and faculty. It seems that CS is crushing them a bit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Starting next semester, this will no longer be true. Pomona college has aggressively hired 3 tenured track and 2 visiting profs now so that every student who wishes to be a CS major can be a cs major.

Really?
We were just there a few days ago and spoke to an adult in the admissions office who said CS was an impacted major they was lotteried and not guaranteed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starting next semester, this will no longer be true. Pomona college has aggressively hired 3 tenured track and 2 visiting profs now so that every student who wishes to be a CS major can be a cs major.

Really?
We were just there a few days ago and spoke to an adult in the admissions office who said CS was an impacted major they was lotteried and not guaranteed.

Admissions is always behind. CS next semester is being run completely differently. They have two new intro courses for students who arent majors but who are interested in CS and they have enough faculty now for demand. You should’ve spoken to someone in the CS department

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starting next semester, this will no longer be true. Pomona college has aggressively hired 3 tenured track and 2 visiting profs now so that every student who wishes to be a CS major can be a cs major.

Really?
We were just there a few days ago and spoke to an adult in the admissions office who said CS was an impacted major they was lotteried and not guaranteed.

Admissions is always behind. CS next semester is being run completely differently. They have two new intro courses for students who arent majors but who are interested in CS and they have enough faculty now for demand. You should’ve spoken to someone in the CS department

It’s pretty appalling that the admissions office does not know this info. It’s not like it’s a fringe major.

It’s never occurred to me to schedule an appointment with someone from the dept DD wants to go to vs doing the tour / admission session. Yes, it’s our first rodeo at this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starting next semester, this will no longer be true. Pomona college has aggressively hired 3 tenured track and 2 visiting profs now so that every student who wishes to be a CS major can be a cs major.

Really?
We were just there a few days ago and spoke to an adult in the admissions office who said CS was an impacted major they was lotteried and not guaranteed.

Admissions is always behind. CS next semester is being run completely differently. They have two new intro courses for students who arent majors but who are interested in CS and they have enough faculty now for demand. You should’ve spoken to someone in the CS department

It’s pretty appalling that the admissions office does not know this info. It’s not like it’s a fringe major.

It’s never occurred to me to schedule an appointment with someone from the dept DD wants to go to vs doing the tour / admission session. Yes, it’s our first rodeo at this.

You’re doing the best you can! It’s honestly just not admission’s job- they promote the school, but there’s a lot changing major-by-major and the school is heavily promotional towards “more than a major” and not really emphasizing major selection until a student has gone through area requirements.

But yes, all departments at Pomona have academic coordinators who can get you in conversation with the professors! Profs love talking to students’ families who decide to visit their class! Best of luck on your college application journey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starting next semester, this will no longer be true. Pomona college has aggressively hired 3 tenured track and 2 visiting profs now so that every student who wishes to be a CS major can be a cs major.

Really?
We were just there a few days ago and spoke to an adult in the admissions office who said CS was an impacted major they was lotteried and not guaranteed.

Admissions is always behind. CS next semester is being run completely differently. They have two new intro courses for students who arent majors but who are interested in CS and they have enough faculty now for demand. You should’ve spoken to someone in the CS department

It’s pretty appalling that the admissions office does not know this info. It’s not like it’s a fringe major.

It’s never occurred to me to schedule an appointment with someone from the dept DD wants to go to vs doing the tour / admission session. Yes, it’s our first rodeo at this.

You’re doing the best you can! It’s honestly just not admission’s job- they promote the school, but there’s a lot changing major-by-major and the school is heavily promotional towards “more than a major” and not really emphasizing major selection until a student has gone through area requirements.

But yes, all departments at Pomona have academic coordinators who can get you in conversation with the professors! Profs love talking to students’ families who decide to visit their class! Best of luck on your college application journey.

❤️
Thank you! Very helpful and really glad to know she doesn’t need to cross it off her list.

[Anonymous]

From Pomona's Computer Science Dept website TODAY (4/20/25):

CS is a high-demand major at Pomona with a fixed number of seats available in the required courses. Not every student interested in majoring in CS is guaranteed to be able to do so. Starting in Fall 2025 whether a student can major (or minor) in computer science depends solely on whether or not they are able to enroll in CSCI 51 in one of their first three semesters. Every student who enrolls in CSCI 51 in one of their first three semesters is guaranteed to be able to complete the major (or minor) as long as they enroll in appropriate CS courses in subsequent semesters.

[Anonymous]

And regarding the above info from Pomona's CS website, the ability to enroll in CSCI 51 is limited, so enrollment in the major is still limited.

Also from the website (4/20/25):
"We allocate a fixed number of seats in CSCI 51 each semester for each class year (first years, sophomores, etc.). If the seats fill up for your class year, you should join the waitlist for the class and we will revisit the list if seats become available."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And regarding the above info from Pomona's CS website, the ability to enroll in CSCI 51 is limited, so enrollment in the major is still limited.

Also from the website (4/20/25):
"We allocate a fixed number of seats in CSCI 51 each semester for each class year (first years, sophomores, etc.). If the seats fill up for your class year, you should join the waitlist for the class and we will revisit the list if seats become available."

Only 2 students in the class of 2027 aren’t able to enroll by that time. Currently, everyone from 28 has been able to enroll and the lottery is disappearing next semester (something you didn’t notice but is clearly missing from the website). It is very easy to get into Cs51 as a sophomore, even with a bad registration time. Please listen to those us of with boots on the ground, who know the situation. The faculty list hasn’t even been updated for fall, yet and next semester 4 different intro classes are being taught.

Pomona, unlike other top LACs, is located in California, and students are very interested in CS. No other lac has dealt with nearly 1/4 of their class majoring in CS unless they were built for that demand (HMC). It’s getting ridiculous seeing the amount of energy spent on false information on threads like these.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And regarding the above info from Pomona's CS website, the ability to enroll in CSCI 51 is limited, so enrollment in the major is still limited.

Also from the website (4/20/25):
"We allocate a fixed number of seats in CSCI 51 each semester for each class year (first years, sophomores, etc.). If the seats fill up for your class year, you should join the waitlist for the class and we will revisit the list if seats become available."

Only 2 students in the class of 2027 aren’t able to enroll by that time. Currently, everyone from 28 has been able to enroll and the lottery is disappearing next semester (something you didn’t notice but is clearly missing from the website). It is very easy to get into Cs51 as a sophomore, even with a bad registration time. Please listen to those us of with boots on the ground, who know the situation. The faculty list hasn’t even been updated for fall, yet and next semester 4 different intro classes are being taught.

Pomona, unlike other top LACs, is located in California, and students are very interested in CS. No other lac has dealt with nearly 1/4 of their class majoring in CS unless they were built for that demand (HMC). It’s getting ridiculous seeing the amount of energy spent on false information on threads like these.

DP. It’s not “false information” if the website has been updated for next year (“Starting in Fall of 2025”) and is still saying “Not every student interested in majoring in CS is guaranteed to be able to do so.” Read the first FAQ below. Far more logical to go with what’s on the official website than what’s on an anonymous forum. That said, an admitted student trying to decide could always reach out to the dept to ask if they mean what they already say on the site.

https://www.pomona.edu/academics/departments/computer-science/faqs