Why is Pomona so special?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a little concerned that Pomona is a recruiting ground for Antifa. More than one Antifa agitators arrested lately seem to have privileged backgrounds and Pomona on their resume.

You should be more concerned that their most famous alum is known as someone who is married to Ted Cruz. That's how far Claremont can take you.

You name the school, I’ll name an idiot who went there.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Jobs and grad school.

It's 10 year out median earning is mediocre at $69,149

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?121345-Pomona-College

This can’t be true. 22-year old Accounting majors from JMU or Loyola make that.

Accounting is a pretty good major.

Pomona is not special.

If Pomona isn't, no LAC is. Is that a fair assessment?

LACs are overrated in general

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a little concerned that Pomona is a recruiting ground for Antifa. More than one Antifa agitators arrested lately seem to have privileged backgrounds and Pomona on their resume.

You should be more concerned that their most famous alum is known as someone who is married to Ted Cruz. That's how far Claremont can take you.

You name the school, I’ll name an idiot who went there.

+1 Exactly. Might make for a fun thread.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Location isn't that great either. Very far from the beach and downtown LA, very smoggy.

It's one of those cases where "it's great because everyone thinks it's great".

Basically the beaches are at one end of LA county and the school is at the other. DD really liked the campus - as well as Pitzer - but the drive from our hotel in Santa Monica to the Claremont campuses, then back in one hot afternoon was not lost on her.

Yeah, it makes sense that the beaches are in part of LA county that’s … by … the … ocean.

LA is one of the US' largest counties and is roughly 800 square miles larger than a combined Delaware and Rhode Island. Most 17 and 18 year olds don't know that. They hear LA, they think of Hollywood, the beaches, so yeah, they are not imagining driving 50 miles from one end of the county to the other.

Why does everyone assume this is why a student wants to go to Pomona OR that students/families who consider Pomona do not know where it is located? Perhaps your view if LA is beaches and Hollywood...but that doesn't mean everyone else's does.

Our child is interested in Pomona and the only way LA is remotely involved is that it makes it close enough to transportation so that getting there from accoss the country is not a nightmare. They have no interest in the beach or Hollywood. They like the idea of nice weather and are far more interested in exploring internal land features of CA via trips while they are there (Joshua Tree/Yosemite/Redwoods/Desert). They like the school because of the small size of the college with access to 7000 kids over multiple schools. They like a place where kids live on campus 4 years as a community.

Please. DC lives on the East coast and had never been to California, but is a creature of social media. So yeah, thoughts of the beach popped when they first heard that Pomona, which was suggested to them by their college counselor, is in LA. That doesn't seem so far-fetched.

DC ultimately decided they wanted a school that was not that far from home as well as easily accessible to the outdoors - right outside their dorm door. They are now at a top NESCAC.

So you are saying that in addition to your child's initial misconceptions, that you would not have gone out to Pomona to visit and see for yourself what it really is? This is what people are constantly implying is true for everyone. That's fine if that's the case for your child (who seems like they may have never applied? or maybe applied but it wasn't high on their list?). But it is NOT the case for most kids that genuinely choose Pomona. Our child has been to CA enough for family to know exactly what it is - and never had beaches in mind.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The factors that make it #1 on this ranking that includes both LACs and universities explain at least part of it.

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/blog/6/

That is a very odd list.

I thought it was an interesting set of criteria, and one that I think my kid would also value in a school (small class sizes yet also a wide variety of available courses; diversity among both professors and the student body; well-educated professors; general student satisfaction). It's at least as valid as the factors that US News values heavily.

But the results are ridiculous, which suggests the methodology is flawed. Garbage in, garbage out. Way too much emphasis (as always nowadays) on diversity, especially when all these schools are committed to diversity. Anyone who chooses a school based on diversity stats is a true imbecile

There's actually a wide diversity of success in achieving diversity on college campuses. And how can a methodology be flawed based on someone's opinion of the results? It is what it is, just like USNWR.

I think even the diversity stats could be misleading- I noticed west coast schools fared relatively well- this could just be a result of a higher level of Hispanics and Asians in California. Is Scripps better than Williams because of that?

It's better than Williams in terms of diversity, but diversity isn't everything. The ranking shared above is based only 20% on diversity, though, so Pomona beats out Williams (and everyone else) based on the totality of the specific set of factors included. If you prefer USNWR's factors, use that. If you like Niche (not sure why you would), use that. If you like Barron's or Forbes or whatever, use them. Or, as ranker above says, make your own list.

I get the idea that we can all draw our own conclusions but we look to these lists because we think they have some kind of credibility or value. Even if I cared a great deal about diversity, I would be hesitant to rely on the particular metrics used. Maybe for example these west coast schools have much lower Black student and professor populations. They are just score well because there are a lot more Hispanics and Asians out west. A methodology is only as good as what it produces, and a cursory glance at this list makes it seem very fishy. Like is Richmond a high diversity school?

You've got it reversed. What is produced is only as good as the methodology. The methodology perhaps seems fishy because you've always assumed USNWR's method defines some absolute truth. It doesn't, and this ranking shows how different the outcome can be if you care about different factors than USNWR does. It also actually encourages you NOT to use it for yourself but to create your own list, which is something I've never seen any other ranking do. They even give suggestions on how to make your own ranking. Why would you not want to do this for something you're going to spend over $100k on?

BTW, Richmond doesn't show up on the diversity lists they provide, so that's not the criteria that give it its high ranking. It's #1 on the class size list, though, and also does well in terms of student happiness.

What this amounts to is really just telling kids to come up with their own list of criteria and run the screens on that. I don’t like it because a kid might have a sense of what he or she prioritizes but the metrics they choose may not perfectly capture that. This list for example has a west coast and all female skew. Given the priorities embodied in the criteria, I don’t think the list does it justice.

One thing about USNWR is that it does at least assign weight even if indirectly to things of practical importance that may not be trendy. Things like test scores, which reflect student quality and should be more heavily weighted, and endowment per capita, which reflects resources. And academic reputation. Real variables. So I think it is bad advice to tell a young person to devise their own goofy methodology (where data quality can be iffy and lead to misperceptions) and then take that list seriously. I would be pretty upset if some adult authority figure convinced my kid that Scripps was a better option than Williams. Because every grown up in the real world knows it’s not and if some kid chose Scripps over Williams based on this advice, that kid will be pretty resentful when she turned 25 and realized her college degree has less value in the real world than it could have.

A few thoughts:

1) You're arguing that data shouldn't have yielded the results it did. But data is what it is, so you're arguing that your opinion reflects reality better than data does.

2) Suggesting you know the opinion of "every grown up in the real world" regarding Scripps vs. Williams seems pretty presumptuous, as does saying you know that Williams would have greater value for every student than Scripps.

3) You argue that USNWR uses real variables, but imply that those used by this ranking and any created by an individual for themselves are not. Why are you so convinced USNWR has "the truth", and no one else is capable of discovering other ways of looking at the world?

4) I really like the idea of each kid creating their own ranking. If my kids' education is going to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, I want their choices to be based on what matters to them, not what some "authority figure" (as you say) says should matter to them. How is an authority figure (USNWR) saying Williams is better than Scripps any better than another authority figure saying the opposite?

1) Because the specific metrics might not be perfect ways to capture the thing you are hoping to measure. For example, one might look at "acceptance rate" as a measure of selectivity--but it is distorted by things like a large percentage of garbage international applications, yield control games and doesn't reflect quality of the applicants. I noted how diversity metrics could skew favorably towards west coast schools because of larger Asian and Hispanic populations but that might not really capture what the student is thinking. The devil is in the details with these metrics and as you noted some schools don't even report. Arbitrary cutoffs like 10% or 20% can be problematic. The fact that you are referecning some data set doesn't make the analysis higher quality--just provides a false sense of scientific precision. Common sense can tell you which schools have better or worse diversity, paired with a sensible interpretation of various metrics. I really think all these schools are aggressively committed to diversity for the most part, so it shouldn't be a variable.

2) I am indeed making an assumption that most grown up who live in the real world understand one school has a significantly stronger reputation and alumni network than the other. Ok, so maybe Scripps has a better Aztec pottery program than Williams. Who cares?

3) I am saying USNWR uses important variables that any sensible person would consider. I cant' get into an epistemological debate over the nature of truth. Folks can agree or disagree with my judgment call here.

4) I am all for kids using their own judgment. My advice to a kid would be to look at the best schools they can get into in a conventional sense such as USNWR and then within fairly wide bands pick the one that is most appealing to you. So if you are top 10 LAC kid, focus on the ones you like best. If you are 10-30, focus on those. 30-50 focus on those. But don't pick a 50th ranked school when you got into Amherst because you ran some goofy screen. You don't have to be a slave to the conventional perceptions but don't ignore them. You will regret having done so when you hit the real world 5-10 years later. In general, the conventionally higher ranked schools have stronger students, more resources, better networks and better reputations. All of which means they have more to offer everyone. This doesn't mean automatically favor school 11 over school 12 just because it is ranked higher.

I'm not confident anyone but you and me are taking the time to read this, but here goes.

1a) "Because the specific metrics might not be perfect ways to capture the thing you are hoping to measure."

Yes, this is true, and it's equally true for USNWR as has been discussed in many forums both inside and outside DCUM.

1b) "The fact that you are referencing some data set doesn't make the analysis higher quality--just provides a false sense of scientific precision."

See response to 1a.

1c) "Common sense can tell you which schools have better or worse diversity."

Why would anyone want to rely on 'common sense' when the colleges provide the data for us in their common data sets?

1d) "I really think all these schools are aggressively committed to diversity for the most part, so it shouldn't be a variable."

Yes, they are all committed to diversity, but that doesn't mean they're all equally successful at achieving it (although it looks like Scripps and Williams aren't all that different). This matters to some people. Nothing says you have to use it for your own ranking.

2) Even if you're right about this, many people don't care about reputation and alumni network as much as they do about other factors that might be better at Scripps. Despite your derisive Aztec pottery comment, Scripps has a lot to offer that beats Williams hands-down.

3) I guess I'm not sensible then, and if more than one percent of people who use USNWR actually read the methodology and gave it thought, many of them would be considered not sensible, too. But for those it does make sense to, use it.

4) So the young woman who wants an empowering environment for women without competition from men in the classroom, hates the cold and loves the sun, has the numbers to earn a scholarship offer at Scripps so that it costs $20k less than Williams, loves the idea of having the resources of a university while having the feel of a small college, likes the coach of her sport way better at Scripps, etc. should always pick Williams over Scripps because it's a guarantee that her life will be better 5-10 years later?

The merit aid possibility is the most persuasive thing you said.

Look-- I think what this comes down to is I am kind of old school about college. It's a very big investment. The more reputable a school is, the better. The conventional rankings do a good job of ranking the schools primarily by selectivity and resources. There are certainly many other variables to consider and emphasize but I think 17 years olds may be at risk of overweighting what I might consider minutia. I consider Aztec pottery minutia. I consider the percentage of professors with this or that skin color minutia. I think kids should find the best school for them that pairs with their academic caliber. So if you are going to turn down Williams for Scripps, you should be able to make a really compelling case and discuss it with a lot of well informed people.

+1. Williams has a much better name. And, yes, I got into Scripps and my sister went there. Go to Williams

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Location isn't that great either. Very far from the beach and downtown LA, very smoggy.

It's one of those cases where "it's great because everyone thinks it's great".

Basically the beaches are at one end of LA county and the school is at the other. DD really liked the campus - as well as Pitzer - but the drive from our hotel in Santa Monica to the Claremont campuses, then back in one hot afternoon was not lost on her.

Yeah, it makes sense that the beaches are in part of LA county that’s … by … the … ocean.

LA is one of the US' largest counties and is roughly 800 square miles larger than a combined Delaware and Rhode Island. Most 17 and 18 year olds don't know that. They hear LA, they think of Hollywood, the beaches, so yeah, they are not imagining driving 50 miles from one end of the county to the other.

Why does everyone assume this is why a student wants to go to Pomona OR that students/families who consider Pomona do not know where it is located? Perhaps your view if LA is beaches and Hollywood...but that doesn't mean everyone else's does.

Our child is interested in Pomona and the only way LA is remotely involved is that it makes it close enough to transportation so that getting there from accoss the country is not a nightmare. They have no interest in the beach or Hollywood. They like the idea of nice weather and are far more interested in exploring internal land features of CA via trips while they are there (Joshua Tree/Yosemite/Redwoods/Desert). They like the school because of the small size of the college with access to 7000 kids over multiple schools. They like a place where kids live on campus 4 years as a community.

Please. DC lives on the East coast and had never been to California, but is a creature of social media. So yeah, thoughts of the beach popped when they first heard that Pomona, which was suggested to them by their college counselor, is in LA. That doesn't seem so far-fetched.

DC ultimately decided they wanted a school that was not that far from home as well as easily accessible to the outdoors - right outside their dorm door. They are now at a top NESCAC. [/quote


Well, that's foolish. As the crow flies, it's 35 to 48 miles to the beach, depending on the beach, but the traffic there is horrendous. You aren't going to borrow someone's car and go to the beach on a lark. Just getting from LAX is a nightmare. Don't even mention John Wayne. And Ontario requires too many connections. I moved out from that area and never go back

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Jobs and grad school.

It's 10 year out median earning is mediocre at $69,149

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?121345-Pomona-College

This can’t be true. 22-year old Accounting majors from JMU or Loyola make that.

Accounting is a pretty good major.

Pomona is not special.

If Pomona isn't, no LAC is. Is that a fair assessment?

LACs are overrated in general

College, in general, is overrated. They take smart, already well-off, kids and they try not to screw them up too badly. They serve as talent sorters and aggregators for the (mostly temporary employment) kids get right out of undergrad, but they are mostly high school substitutes in a world where grad/professional school is the new undergrad.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Location isn't that great either. Very far from the beach and downtown LA, very smoggy.

It's one of those cases where "it's great because everyone thinks it's great".

Basically the beaches are at one end of LA county and the school is at the other. DD really liked the campus - as well as Pitzer - but the drive from our hotel in Santa Monica to the Claremont campuses, then back in one hot afternoon was not lost on her.

Yeah, it makes sense that the beaches are in part of LA county that’s … by … the … ocean.

LA is one of the US' largest counties and is roughly 800 square miles larger than a combined Delaware and Rhode Island. Most 17 and 18 year olds don't know that. They hear LA, they think of Hollywood, the beaches, so yeah, they are not imagining driving 50 miles from one end of the county to the other.

Why does everyone assume this is why a student wants to go to Pomona OR that students/families who consider Pomona do not know where it is located? Perhaps your view if LA is beaches and Hollywood...but that doesn't mean everyone else's does.

Our child is interested in Pomona and the only way LA is remotely involved is that it makes it close enough to transportation so that getting there from accoss the country is not a nightmare. They have no interest in the beach or Hollywood. They like the idea of nice weather and are far more interested in exploring internal land features of CA via trips while they are there (Joshua Tree/Yosemite/Redwoods/Desert). They like the school because of the small size of the college with access to 7000 kids over multiple schools. They like a place where kids live on campus 4 years as a community.

Please. DC lives on the East coast and had never been to California, but is a creature of social media. So yeah, thoughts of the beach popped when they first heard that Pomona, which was suggested to them by their college counselor, is in LA. That doesn't seem so far-fetched.

DC ultimately decided they wanted a school that was not that far from home as well as easily accessible to the outdoors - right outside their dorm door. They are now at a top NESCAC.

you...are not making the point you think you are lol

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I’m a little concerned that Pomona is a recruiting ground for Antifa. More than one Antifa agitators arrested lately seem to have privileged backgrounds and Pomona on their resume.

You should be more concerned that their most famous alum is known as someone who is married to Ted Cruz. That's how far Claremont can take you.

That's unfair, anyone considering a career that requires balancing a coke habit, should have CMC on their list.

That’s a wrap folks! 👏🏼

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The big university comparison with those top few liberal arts colleges, just for comparing how the SLACs relate to each other, does kind of make sense and is interesting to think through for minute. Williams would be the Harvard OG; Amherst the Yale with great recognition and reputation but always comparing itself in relation to the rival OG; Swarthmore the Princeton that is maybe the best of the group now and farther south but without quite as much name recognition and history as a non-rival; and Pomona the up-and-coming western Stanford.

Princeton grad here- sort of bristling at the comparison to Swat although Princeton is also pretty close to Philly. Curious though why one would assert that Swat is now the best of the group? (My beef with Swat is that it seems to have a rep of being painfully competitive and dull - a real grind)

Swat is highly selective and has tended to win the head-to-head admissions "battles" against Amherst and Williams (pretty significantly on the imperfect Parchment site). I guess I'm probably off about Princeton being that way relative to Yale and Harvard though. Looking at Parchment, both are preferred to Princeton by a statistically significant margin. Swat might not like that comparison now other than the more southern location . It was mostly that the primary names and rivalry in the Ivy League involve Harvard and Yale (and not Princeton), despite Princeton being a great school that many find at least on par with the other 2 for undergrads). It is like that for SLACs where Williams and Amherst have a huge rivalry (that carries on in sports today too) and many mention them if they only say two names and are asked about the best small schools.

Hmmm. I don't think Parchment is really accurate or scientific. I've seen some really odd results there. I don't know of anyone who did or would choose Swat over Williams/Amherst and can't imagine why you would (maybe because of science or engineering?) Swat seems most often compared to Chicago-- very academic, intense, intellectual, maybe not so fun. Princeton has ranked #1 on US News for decades. I really don't think it lags H or Y in any sense and trounces them both in terms of the focus on undergraduate education and endowment per capita. Certainly, different students will be drawn to different schools, and culturally they can be very different. I think Princeton/Dartmouth are more like Williams (a little more traditional and up the middle and pre-corporate), while Amherst/Brown are more like Yale (artsty and lefty). I don't know what Harvard is. Prob closer to Amherst too.

Endowment per capita is another fairly unimportant stat that gets reported and thrown around a lot. Endowment isn't ever used by a university on any per student basis except to a degree in some types of aid. A lot of endowment $$ also can't even easily be accessed or used for more than a few specific things.

Princeton is a USNWR darling but isn't in Harvard's league as an overall university and doesn't fully want to be (unlike Yale). Harvard does more across disciplines and does most of it better at the grad school level than Princeton, as does Stanford. Princeton and Dartmouth are an odd middle because the grad programs are not as strong across the board and you still have the PhD students doing a lot of the best research work available for students (unlike at an Amherst, Swarthmore, Pomona, Williams). You get a little more focus on undergrad education but the profs are still dragging their feel having to teach some of the classes.

PP, you may have liked Princeton's town and accessibility to a place like Philly. That environment might very well appeal to you over, say, New Haven. Swarthmore is in a quaint suburban town as I recall and has a train station right on campus to get into the city. Williams on the other hand is in a small NE town with pretty much nothing around. Amherst has a little more in the nice town but Springfield, MA isn't exactly Philadelphia. Likewise, Cambridge might have a tougher winter and be bit more grey than Princeton, which is true of Swarthmore versus Amherst and Williams too. In these situations where you are picking between 1AB&C, other preferences students have matter. For perspective, USNWR has only ever ranked those 3 SLACs #1 for multiple years since starting their rankings and the lowest Amherst and Swarthmore have ever been ranked is 4 while Williams has never even been below 3). Pomona is also great and has never been ranked below 7 by USNWR since 2000. When choosing between these types of schools if you want an amazing small college out west or with warm weather or with a bigger group of cooperative colleges, you could 100% choose Pomona over any other school.

I know people who picked Pomona over Amherst, Williams, Dartmouth and Stanford for several of those reasons. Another picked Pomona over Stanford because of the strong academics and ability to play college tennis. There is no "wrong" choice when you are only looking at great schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a little concerned that Pomona is a recruiting ground for Antifa. More than one Antifa agitators arrested lately seem to have privileged backgrounds and Pomona on their resume.

You should be more concerned that their most famous alum is known as someone who is married to Ted Cruz. That's how far Claremont can take you.

That's unfair, anyone considering a career that requires balancing a coke habit, should have CMC on their list.

That’s a wrap folks! 👏🏼

Should everyone with a Koch habit go to MIT? https://mitathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/larry-anderson/312

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:The big university comparison with those top few liberal arts colleges, just for comparing how the SLACs relate to each other, does kind of make sense and is interesting to think through for minute. Williams would be the Harvard OG; Amherst the Yale with great recognition and reputation but always comparing itself in relation to the rival OG; Swarthmore the Princeton that is maybe the best of the group now and farther south but without quite as much name recognition and history as a non-rival; and Pomona the up-and-coming western Stanford.

Princeton grad here- sort of bristling at the comparison to Swat although Princeton is also pretty close to Philly. Curious though why one would assert that Swat is now the best of the group? (My beef with Swat is that it seems to have a rep of being painfully competitive and dull - a real grind)

Swat is highly selective and has tended to win the head-to-head admissions "battles" against Amherst and Williams (pretty significantly on the imperfect Parchment site). I guess I'm probably off about Princeton being that way relative to Yale and Harvard though. Looking at Parchment, both are preferred to Princeton by a statistically significant margin. Swat might not like that comparison now other than the more southern location . It was mostly that the primary names and rivalry in the Ivy League involve Harvard and Yale (and not Princeton), despite Princeton being a great school that many find at least on par with the other 2 for undergrads). It is like that for SLACs where Williams and Amherst have a huge rivalry (that carries on in sports today too) and many mention them if they only say two names and are asked about the best small schools.

Hmmm. I don't think Parchment is really accurate or scientific. I've seen some really odd results there. I don't know of anyone who did or would choose Swat over Williams/Amherst and can't imagine why you would (maybe because of science or engineering?) Swat seems most often compared to Chicago-- very academic, intense, intellectual, maybe not so fun. Princeton has ranked #1 on US News for decades. I really don't think it lags H or Y in any sense and trounces them both in terms of the focus on undergraduate education and endowment per capita. Certainly, different students will be drawn to different schools, and culturally they can be very different. I think Princeton/Dartmouth are more like Williams (a little more traditional and up the middle and pre-corporate), while Amherst/Brown are more like Yale (artsty and lefty). I don't know what Harvard is. Prob closer to Amherst too.

Endowment per capita is another fairly unimportant stat that gets reported and thrown around a lot. Endowment isn't ever used by a university on any per student basis except to a degree in some types of aid. A lot of endowment $$ also can't even easily be accessed or used for more than a few specific things.

Princeton is a USNWR darling but isn't in Harvard's league as an overall university and doesn't fully want to be (unlike Yale). Harvard does more across disciplines and does most of it better at the grad school level than Princeton, as does Stanford. Princeton and Dartmouth are an odd middle because the grad programs are not as strong across the board and you still have the PhD students doing a lot of the best research work available for students (unlike at an Amherst, Swarthmore, Pomona, Williams). You get a little more focus on undergrad education but the profs are still dragging their feel having to teach some of the classes.

PP, you may have liked Princeton's town and accessibility to a place like Philly. That environment might very well appeal to you over, say, New Haven. Swarthmore is in a quaint suburban town as I recall and has a train station right on campus to get into the city. Williams on the other hand is in a small NE town with pretty much nothing around. Amherst has a little more in the nice town but Springfield, MA isn't exactly Philadelphia. Likewise, Cambridge might have a tougher winter and be bit more grey than Princeton, which is true of Swarthmore versus Amherst and Williams too. In these situations where you are picking between 1AB&C, other preferences students have matter. For perspective, USNWR has only ever ranked those 3 SLACs #1 for multiple years since starting their rankings and the lowest Amherst and Swarthmore have ever been ranked is 4 while Williams has never even been below 3). Pomona is also great and has never been ranked below 7 by USNWR since 2000. When choosing between these types of schools if you want an amazing small college out west or with warm weather or with a bigger group of cooperative colleges, you could 100% choose Pomona over any other school.

I know people who picked Pomona over Amherst, Williams, Dartmouth and Stanford for several of those reasons. Another picked Pomona over Stanford because of the strong academics and ability to play college tennis. There is no "wrong" choice when you are only looking at great schools.

Princeton doesn't have professional schools, like Harvard and Yale, if that is what you mean. Undergraduates are the primary focus of the university and it probably does a better job than any school in America of providing an intensive small LAC environment with the resources of a large research university. The professors do not drag their feet. The accessibility to Philly is less relevant than the accessibility to NYC. Princeton is the gold standard for undergraduate education in America.

Endowment per capita is extremely important because endowment distributions are what fund about half the budget of these schools. The larger the endowment, the more money gets spent on students. Princeton's endowment per capita dwarfs all others.

[Anonymous]

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Princeton doesn't have professional schools, like Harvard and Yale, if that is what you mean. Undergraduates are the primary focus of the university and it probably does a better job than any school in America of providing an intensive small LAC environment with the resources of a large research university. The professors do not drag their feet. The accessibility to Philly is less relevant than the accessibility to NYC. Princeton is the gold standard for undergraduate education in America.

Endowment per capita is extremely important because endowment distributions are what fund about half the budget of these schools. The larger the endowment, the more money gets spent on students. Princeton's endowment per capita dwarfs all others.

But schools are not spending on a per student basis for most endowment expenditures beyond aid, especially once you reach different levels of scale. The metric has meaning but I'd still take Harvard's endowment!

Princeton isn't within 3 of Harvard or Stanford in any of the larger scale university rankings:
https://www.phdportal.com/ranking-country/82/united-states.html

Their graduate schools are good but not on the same level plus they have no professional schools. My partner and I would choose to spend another 6 years in Palo Alto doing it all over again. Princeton does have the most impressive set of eating clubs!

[Anonymous]

Check out a somewhat dated virtual tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yM4MSU4eI0
I'm interested in Pomona now but hadn't thought to apply!

[Anonymous]

Princeton isn’t really accessible from Philly—you’d have to get off at Trenton, West Trenton or Yardley and Uber 15 minutes to campus. That’s an hour train ride then Uber or bus if there is one.