Pomona Housing Crisis: Money, Internships traded for dorms

[Anonymous]

So they’re going to house more students and the current students have rooms. What’s the fuss?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:During room draw this past week for fall 2026 housing, students at Pomona College have reported trading and bidding for housing selection times — including thousand-dollar bids and internship offers.

The essay is here: https://tsl.news/pomona-students-report-buying-and-trading-room-draw-times-due-to-housing-crisis/

What a horrible experience and source of stress!

Side note: we visited the 5Cs in March (to visit after being admitted) and it was 97 degrees and it felt so, so hot. I didn't realize SoCal got that hot so early. Most dorms don't have AC and the ones in the 5Cs that just added room AC units (e.g., CMC), the students told us they didn't work well.

At night it drops to 60°. Understand that this has been true for decades. You think people on The west coast aren’t smart enough for AC?

I grew up in a Los Angeles suburb and now moved back to California but this time on the coast. Only poor people in that area don't have air conditioning because it gets unbearably hot even as early as March. On March 17th in Pomona the high was 96° and the low was 64°. At 5 pm it was 91 degrees. I would be furious paying that much money.

Are fans not allowed in the school?

They're allowed, yes. And the reason many dorms don't have AC is because they're old (one is from 1920s) and would require an extensive renovation to install central AC. All the newer dorms on campus have air conditioning. Most historic dorms all over the country don't have AC.

Students who have a medical condition can request AC dorms or a special window unit.

Currently in mid-April, the weather in Claremont is 50-70 all week. It's like that for 75% of the school year. August- mid October, is when it's extremely hot but then it calms down all the way into May.

The problem right now is that Pomona has expanded roughly ~150 students from a decade before while not building any new dorms, and Oldenborg which was an AC dorm and housed 120 students is getting torn down. In 2 years, the new global center will have 200 students to help make up for the initial surplus, but until it's done there are going to be tight housing problems at Pomona. These sort of issues get exacerbated at small LACs where the focus is on residential living.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand how people trade internships. If you're hired, you can't send a friend in your place!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:okay there is definitely a troll here on the pomona waitlist. every week theres a new post trying to paint pomona specifically in a bad light

As strategies go, its not a bad one as there is little parents can do at this point. If a few DCUM kids turn down Pomona and your kid moves up the WL, at least you did something LOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:During room draw this past week for fall 2026 housing, students at Pomona College have reported trading and bidding for housing selection times — including thousand-dollar bids and internship offers.

The essay is here: https://tsl.news/pomona-students-report-buying-and-trading-room-draw-times-due-to-housing-crisis/

oh, wow ... reminds me of Soviet Union's barter economy in the 1980s

Kids sell class slots at UCLA and UCB.

yeah but those are bargain, massive, public schools with much lower expectation's When you're paying $95k are different. Service at Maison Cheryl should be different than McDonald's.

What does this mean? How do you sell a "class slot"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand how people trade internships. If you're hired, you can't send a friend in your place!

That’s true unless your father is the one to give out the internship…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:During room draw this past week for fall 2026 housing, students at Pomona College have reported trading and bidding for housing selection times — including thousand-dollar bids and internship offers.

The essay is here: https://tsl.news/pomona-students-report-buying-and-trading-room-draw-times-due-to-housing-crisis/

What a horrible experience and source of stress!

Side note: we visited the 5Cs in March (to visit after being admitted) and it was 97 degrees and it felt so, so hot. I didn't realize SoCal got that hot so early. Most dorms don't have AC and the ones in the 5Cs that just added room AC units (e.g., CMC), the students told us they didn't work well.

At night it drops to 60°. Understand that this has been true for decades. You think people on The west coast aren’t smart enough for AC?

I grew up in a Los Angeles suburb and now moved back to California but this time on the coast. Only poor people in that area don't have air conditioning because it gets unbearably hot even as early as March. On March 17th in Pomona the high was 96° and the low was 64°. At 5 pm it was 91 degrees. I would be furious paying that much money.

Are fans not allowed in the school?

They're allowed, yes. And the reason many dorms don't have AC is because they're old (one is from 1920s) and would require an extensive renovation to install central AC. All the newer dorms on campus have air conditioning. Most historic dorms all over the country don't have AC.

Students who have a medical condition can request AC dorms or a special window unit.

Currently in mid-April, the weather in Claremont is 50-70 all week. It's like that for 75% of the school year. August- mid October, is when it's extremely hot but then it calms down all the way into May.

The problem right now is that Pomona has expanded roughly ~150 students from a decade before while not building any new dorms, and Oldenborg which was an AC dorm and housed 120 students is getting torn down. In 2 years, the new global center will have 200 students to help make up for the initial surplus, but until it's done there are going to be tight housing problems at Pomona. These sort of issues get exacerbated at small LACs where the focus is on residential living.

Also, from DC's friend at CMC, for older dorms all you can try to do is put in a portable room AC unit. They tried that last year for the first time in CMC and those units are more trouble then they're worth, take up a lot of room, and don't work great!

Take a big fan instead!!! Common areas typically do have better AC. Dorms seem like everyone's lowest priority even though there has been excessive heat waves (over 100 degrees) for days and weeks.

[Anonymous]

I'm tired of reading about Pomona and it's claremont siblings. Too many threads and none make me want my DC to go there.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for pointing out that student newspapers are a great resource for people to learn about what's going on at a school! But you can probably stop the daily updates from Pomona's student paper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:During room draw this past week for fall 2026 housing, students at Pomona College have reported trading and bidding for housing selection times — including thousand-dollar bids and internship offers.

The essay is here: https://tsl.news/pomona-students-report-buying-and-trading-room-draw-times-due-to-housing-crisis/

oh, wow ... reminds me of Soviet Union's barter economy in the 1980s

Kids sell class slots at UCLA and UCB.

yeah but those are bargain, massive, public schools with much lower expectation's When you're paying $95k are different. Service at Maison Cheryl should be different than McDonald's.

What does this mean? How do you sell a "class slot"?

People with early slots grab the seat and then they do a coordinated drop/add in the middle of the night. Waitlists aren’t automated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm tired of reading about Pomona and it's claremont siblings. Too many threads and none make me want my DC to go there.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm tired of reading about Pomona and it's claremont siblings. Too many threads and none make me want my DC to go there.

No one is asking you, personally, to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:During room draw this past week for fall 2026 housing, students at Pomona College have reported trading and bidding for housing selection times — including thousand-dollar bids and internship offers.

The essay is here: https://tsl.news/pomona-students-report-buying-and-trading-room-draw-times-due-to-housing-crisis/

oh, wow ... reminds me of Soviet Union's barter economy in the 1980s

Kids sell class slots at UCLA and UCB.

yeah but those are bargain, massive, public schools with much lower expectation's When you're paying $95k are different. Service at Maison Cheryl should be different than McDonald's.

What does this mean? How do you sell a "class slot"?

People with early slots grab the seat and then they do a coordinated drop/add in the middle of the night. Waitlists aren’t automated.

Pomona and the colleges don’t have waitlists. It’s either a class is open/closed by enrollment/school/year and you have to PERM if you want to get into a closed course.

[Anonymous]

My kid went to Irvine which is usually a little cooler than Pomona. When she moved in there were heat waves over 100 for multiple days. I think Pomona got up to 107. SoCal is a dessert unless you on the coast.

[Anonymous]

How would offering an internship for a more favorable time slot even work??? I see paying $4000 but how can someone give out an internship?? lol