Columbia or Pomona

[Anonymous]

I know they are fundamentally very different. Can you all help me create sort of a cohesive comparison pros/cons list? Thanks! Any experience from either would be great.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you start with your pros/cons list, and then we'll respond.

[Anonymous]

You’re right that they’re fundamentally different. Columbia is as urban as you can get. Pomona claims to be 45 minutes from LA (and it is) but it’s also pretty isolated. Columbia has the core curriculum. Pomona also has distribution requirements but they are not as strict. The schools are probably in the same tier of quality/prestige but on the East Coast, the Columbia name carries more clout. Pomona is much more dedicated to the undergraduate experience whereas Columbia sometimes has a reputation of ignoring undergrads in favor of grad students. It really depends on what you want. Can’t go wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You’re right that they’re fundamentally different. Columbia is as urban as you can get. Pomona claims to be 45 minutes from LA (and it is) but it’s also pretty isolated. Columbia has the core curriculum. Pomona also has distribution requirements but they are not as strict. The schools are probably in the same tier of quality/prestige but on the East Coast, the Columbia name carries more clout. Pomona is much more dedicated to the undergraduate experience whereas Columbia sometimes has a reputation of ignoring undergrads in favor of grad students. It really depends on what you want. Can’t go wrong.

This all makes sense right up until “can’t go wrong”. If they are fundamentally different then I submit there is at least a decent chance one of them is wrong for some kids.

[Anonymous]

I went to Pomona & absolutely loved it. However, at least when I went there (90s) it had absolutely zero career counseling & the alumni network, although a great source of lifelong friends, has never been beneficial to my career. I think that is a major difference I'd consider, depending on the field your DC wants to study/work in.

[Anonymous]

Very different schools. SLAC vs Big research university/ivy league school. Columbia carries more clout if DC wants to work in finance/consulting on the East Coast, especially NYC. DS works at Goldman and half of his team is from his class at Columbia (not sure by chance or by design but a lot of his friends work there). Pomona probably doesn't have as many distribution requirements as Columbia with its notorious core curriculum that takes up your first two years in college. Probably it's a bit more laid-back, there is more campus and community spirit, and feels less intense (competition-wise) and pre-professional than Columbia.

[Anonymous]

Go to Pomona. Not because it's better, but because it's so different from the east coast urban scene. People who have lived in different parts of the country are richer for that experience. I grew up on the west coast and went to the east coast for college. I am so glad that I had that experience. My friends who also went away for college have much more diverse experiences and seem more worldly and informed, and frankly, more interesting.

[Anonymous]

Columbia values a combination of brilliant and social. The place is intentionally edgy and someone who wants a more intimate college environment could be crushed. At Columbia, a solid 75+% of the total course load you take to graduate is required courses or your major (the core required courses stretch into junior year - the most extensive of any traditional liberal arts curriculum in the US). Columbia, university-wide, is well over 2/3 graduate and professional students. Columbia values GPA. The #1 subway line stops in the center of the Columbia/Barnard footprint. Columbia is in the north/south geographic center of a Manhattan, and the City is running 24x7 literally one footstep outside of most of the dorm footprints. Columbia does not care where you come from (much), and if you are flat on your back they will cover all your costs and pay you a stipend as long as you are in good standing. Columbia is big and busy and hurried and everyone you deal with will learn your name, and you should learn their’s.

You can do almost anything (probably pretty well) and figure out almost anyone if you go to Columbia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don't you start with your pros/cons list, and then we'll respond.

+1 🙄 lame, OP

[Anonymous]

Bumping this old thread for new thoughts

[Anonymous]

East coast diploma mill vs west coast diploma mill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bumping this old thread for new thoughts

Following. Same choice here. For a non-STEM, non-Econ major.

[Anonymous]

Unless the kid really wants urban, it would be Pomona. Columbia faculty don't give a rat's @ss about undergraduates. Pomona is idyllic, a wonderful community that has the advantage of the 5Cs for additional resources.

[Anonymous]

Kids at school (and some teachers), as a slight paraphrase: “Columbia of course. It’s more prestigious. Nobody has heard of Pomona.”

Kid: “Everyone except for you (parents) think Columbia is more prestigious.”

Response?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids at school (and some teachers), as a slight paraphrase: “Columbia of course. It’s more prestigious. Nobody has heard of Pomona.”

Kid: “Everyone except for you (parents) think Columbia is more prestigious.”

Response?

Columbia certainly has much better name recognition, if that's your priority. But Pomona is a T-5 SLAC that offers a superior undergraduate education, a nice community, and also has great resources. If this is the choice though, I'd let my kid make the decision after visiting both. They could not be more different!