OP, in terms of the personal features Pomona is seeking out, I think their admissions office does a good job: https://www.pomona.edu/admissions/apply

Evidence of:
Investment and involvement in a community or passionate pursuit
A love for learning, and a willingness to challenge yourself and go outside your "comfort zone"
An openness to new ideas and rejection of easy answers
An appreciation for a collaborative learning environment
Personal character — be it grit, kindness, diligence or serving others
Risk-taking and adventurousness
Creativity and innovation
Appreciation for the visual and/or performing arts

I think they have an especially personal admissions process in which they are less stats-driven compared to some schools, but are really looking to build a diverse class of motivated, curious students who are eager to learn and explore in a rich environment. Diversity is a pretty significant factor and the slightly lower testing than peer schools is because Pomona has the highest % URM of any top LAC or university along with one of the highest % first gen/low-income students- groups that don't test as highly. The statistics are that African identifying students of any background had a 13% acceptance rate compared to 8% for all students, for example.

Applying early can help your daughter stand out among a smaller applicant pool. Once they get to the thousands they wade through in RD, the impression the reader gets is pretty critical to whether or not you're passed along to the committee, and they get tougher with their standards. They really do read the recommendations and essays in detail, so be sure those pieces are giving them impressions of the traits mentioned above. Otherwise, honestly it's a reach for everyone driven by a subjective process. I feel that in a different year, I might not have gotten accepted, so I wouldn't take anything too personally with them. There are a bunch of similarly outstanding SLACs with students who are much the same, so depending on what attracts your D to Pomona, she could look into some of them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Harvey Mudd. They're all one big campus. I took classes at McKenna and Pomona. Scripps and McKenna are probably less "prestigious" than Pomona, if that bothers you.

Frankly can't understand why OPs daughter would prefer Pomona to Princeton. If she got into both, Princeton would be a no-brainer choice.

How did you like the classes? Were the classes well taught?

Did you have a reasonable amount of fun?

Not the PP, but I graduated from Pomona recently and took a lot of courses at Harvey Mudd as well. The educational system at both is phenomenal with interesting and engaging professors across the colleges who are dedicated to supporting the undergrads. I consider just about everyone I took a course with to be a close friend, and I found a great deal of mentorship and advising that has helped me in my STEM based career. The learning community is highly collaborative filled with smart people who're motivated, share insightful contributions, and cross across disciplines to share their enthusiasm and love of learning. Teaching is absolutely phenomenal and I wish I were a student for longer to take many courses- there are star professors across all the colleges and just not enough room to take everything. One of the best features for me is the pop-up/independent classroom structure. Pop-up classes are basically these courses that are highly aligned with contemporary events and have professors spending two hours or so a week covering and discussing topics- it's not an official class you take with assignments, just a way to broaden your horizons. Independent study allows you to create any class of your choosing with a professor, so you could do directed readings, independent research, or whatnot and get credit for it. The faculty accessibility and their dedication to undergrads naturally forges these conversations in which you build further classes with them to hone in on topics of interest.

One difference between Mudd and Pomona that I've seen is that the courses at Harvey Mudd always find some sort of connection to science and technology, even the ones that are social science/humanities oriented. Their student body is reminiscent of Caltech/MIT, so the professors feel compelled to tie STEM to the curriculum somehow. Pomona is a more traditional LAC with the departments standing independently for the most part; there is some cross-linking but it's usually student directed. I didn't feel Mudd courses were harder or easier, but Mudd is inherently more rigorous because their students are taking 6-8 courses a semester while the students at the other schools usually take 4, sometimes 5.

The social scene is really great. It's definitely 5C in nature. Most clubs are open to students across the colleges, so if you do a cappella, join theater, perform in an orchestra, play certain 5C club sports, or whatnot, you'll naturally meet people from the colleges. I wouldn't say it's your typical party school, but there is a bit of a drinking culture and major parties most weeks. The campuses have enough to keep you entertained, but sometimes you want a change and that's when you hop onto the train to Downtown LA, which is close to Pomona's campus. Claremont is nice, but boring compared to the 5Cs. There are a lot of great restaurants and cafes if you want a change of pace, but it's more the place you take your parents to get a nice meal when they're visiting.

I loved my time at Pomona! Feel free to ask me anything. I'm currently on break from graduate school (about to head out soon), so I have some time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Harvey Mudd. They're all one big campus. I took classes at McKenna and Pomona. Scripps and McKenna are probably less "prestigious" than Pomona, if that bothers you.

Frankly can't understand why OPs daughter would prefer Pomona to Princeton. If she got into both, Princeton would be a no-brainer choice.

Wrong. From The Claremont Colleges—“Each academic institution has its own campus.” They may bleed into each other, but they are separate.

How is "bleed into each other" (i.e., meld, intermix, blend in, run together) considered "separate" (i.e. disconnect, sever, discriminate, distinguish)?

Every third white guy owns a “past season” XL TJ Maxx polo shirt.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pomona has a very small class, and they want to make it as diverse as humanly possibly. Get all states represented, a significant number of foreign students, a significant URM representation, significant first gen representation. Lots of different talents, extracurriculars, and enough varsity athletes to fill out their teams. They are 12% international, and almost 30% AA or Hispanic. 32% White. Over 20% first gen. The 75% SAT was 1510.

https://www.pomona.edu/sites/default/files/pomona-college-admissions-profile.pdf

So here is who you don’t want to be: a white or Asian female from the DMV with SAT scores below the 1510– unless you are first Gen.

If about 1/3 of the class is white, that’s maybe 130 kids. 65 admittees will be white women. Some number of these will be first Gen. Some will be athletes. What’s left is 40-50 spots for white women based on merit. They may take 1 or 2 from the DMV.

Go into it with your eyes open. Apply ahead for the best shot. But white and Asian high performers from the DMV have a statistically better shot at an Ivy or Stanford than Pomona. For these kids it’s a lottery school. And honestly, the SAT score will hurt her.

And I am saying this with zero snark. I have a white male in the DMV, I would love to sent to Pomona. Very high performer at TJ with mid 1500 SATs. And he knows getting in is unlikely.

Has she considered one of the other Claremont Colleges? Pitzer or Scripps (all women) or even CMcKenna might give her a better shot. Same campus. Same facilities, can still take classes at Pomona. I know DS is looking at CMKenna or Pitzer as plan B (probably Pitzer given his area of interest).

Thanks for your detailed response! The thing is, based in Naviance, Pomona's admission process seems completely unpredictable. There are a bunch of students with near perfectvscires who've gotten in but more who didn't, and there are some still strong students with lower stats who got in. So we're guessing stats don't matter much and likely won't retake the SAT. You mentioned diversity and how they're looking to build a distinct class- do you think there are certain traits they look for that she should emphasize in the required supplement?

I would be very happy to have her at Pomona, even if she got into Princeton. I'll share what you wrote so she can understand their process a bit more. She has looked into Scripps but isn't willing to go out west unless its Stanford or Pomona, and she has a friend at Scripps who said that Pomona is far richer and has much more in the way of resources than the other colleges do specifically for their students.

I am beginning to wonder if this is a Pomona troll or something to get a plug. Someone with a Princeton background wouldn't be using DCUM as college resources. He or she would have more knowledge - and pull than this.

Dumb post.

Anonymous wrote:I went to Harvey Mudd. They're all one big campus. I took classes at McKenna and Pomona. Scripps and McKenna are probably less "prestigious" than Pomona, if that bothers you.

Frankly can't understand why OPs daughter would prefer Pomona to Princeton. If she got into both, Princeton would be a no-brainer choice.

Wrong. From The Claremont Colleges—“Each academic institution has its own campus.” They may bleed into each other, but they are separate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pomona has a very small class, and they want to make it as diverse as humanly possibly. Get all states represented, a significant number of foreign students, a significant URM representation, significant first gen representation. Lots of different talents, extracurriculars, and enough varsity athletes to fill out their teams. They are 12% international, and almost 30% AA or Hispanic. 32% White. Over 20% first gen. The 75% SAT was 1510.

https://www.pomona.edu/sites/default/files/pomona-college-admissions-profile.pdf

So here is who you don’t want to be: a white or Asian female from the DMV with SAT scores below the 1510– unless you are first Gen.

If about 1/3 of the class is white, that’s maybe 130 kids. 65 admittees will be white women. Some number of these will be first Gen. Some will be athletes. What’s left is 40-50 spots for white women based on merit. They may take 1 or 2 from the DMV.

Go into it with your eyes open. Apply ahead for the best shot. But white and Asian high performers from the DMV have a statistically better shot at an Ivy or Stanford than Pomona. For these kids it’s a lottery school. And honestly, the SAT score will hurt her.

And I am saying this with zero snark. I have a white male in the DMV, I would love to sent to Pomona. Very high performer at TJ with mid 1500 SATs. And he knows getting in is unlikely.

Has she considered one of the other Claremont Colleges? Pitzer or Scripps (all women) or even CMcKenna might give her a better shot. Same campus. Same facilities, can still take classes at Pomona. I know DS is looking at CMKenna or Pitzer as plan B (probably Pitzer given his area of interest).

Um, each school in the cobsortium has a, um, uh, different campus.

I've been to the campus (as a visitor.) One large campus with 5 colleges and 2 grad schools. It's one single campus, allowing students to cross-register. Each college has it's own dining service. Students can take meal at any of the 7 dining halls.

F-f-f-false. Each entity has its own campus.

Anonymous wrote:I went to Harvey Mudd. They're all one big campus. I took classes at McKenna and Pomona. Scripps and McKenna are probably less "prestigious" than Pomona, if that bothers you.

Frankly can't understand why OPs daughter would prefer Pomona to Princeton. If she got into both, Princeton would be a no-brainer choice.

How did you like the classes? Were the classes well taught?

Did you have a reasonable amount of fun?

Don't break your backs trying to get into Pomona!

I genuinely don't know much about Pomona other than it's a very good school. And what would my Princeton background about admissions tell me about how SLAC admissions work? I know about their process a bit so I don't need advice about Princeton. I don't know about Pomona and the tools available to look into acceptances/rejections don't show any sort of discernible pattern.

But sorry if I want my daughter to get into her current top choice with some advice from parents whose child might have gotten in?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pomona has a very small class, and they want to make it as diverse as humanly possibly. Get all states represented, a significant number of foreign students, a significant URM representation, significant first gen representation. Lots of different talents, extracurriculars, and enough varsity athletes to fill out their teams. They are 12% international, and almost 30% AA or Hispanic. 32% White. Over 20% first gen. The 75% SAT was 1510.

https://www.pomona.edu/sites/default/files/pomona-college-admissions-profile.pdf

So here is who you don’t want to be: a white or Asian female from the DMV with SAT scores below the 1510– unless you are first Gen.

If about 1/3 of the class is white, that’s maybe 130 kids. 65 admittees will be white women. Some number of these will be first Gen. Some will be athletes. What’s left is 40-50 spots for white women based on merit. They may take 1 or 2 from the DMV.

Go into it with your eyes open. Apply ahead for the best shot. But white and Asian high performers from the DMV have a statistically better shot at an Ivy or Stanford than Pomona. For these kids it’s a lottery school. And honestly, the SAT score will hurt her.

And I am saying this with zero snark. I have a white male in the DMV, I would love to sent to Pomona. Very high performer at TJ with mid 1500 SATs. And he knows getting in is unlikely.

Has she considered one of the other Claremont Colleges? Pitzer or Scripps (all women) or even CMcKenna might give her a better shot. Same campus. Same facilities, can still take classes at Pomona. I know DS is looking at CMKenna or Pitzer as plan B (probably Pitzer given his area of interest).

Thanks for your detailed response! The thing is, based in Naviance, Pomona's admission process seems completely unpredictable. There are a bunch of students with near perfectvscires who've gotten in but more who didn't, and there are some still strong students with lower stats who got in. So we're guessing stats don't matter much and likely won't retake the SAT. You mentioned diversity and how they're looking to build a distinct class- do you think there are certain traits they look for that she should emphasize in the required supplement?

I would be very happy to have her at Pomona, even if she got into Princeton. I'll share what you wrote so she can understand their process a bit more. She has looked into Scripps but isn't willing to go out west unless its Stanford or Pomona, and she has a friend at Scripps who said that Pomona is far richer and has much more in the way of resources than the other colleges do specifically for their students.

I am beginning to wonder if this is a Pomona troll or something to get a plug. Someone with a Princeton background wouldn't be using DCUM as college resources. He or she would have more knowledge - and pull than this.

*perfect scores, sorry

Anonymous wrote:Pomona has a very small class, and they want to make it as diverse as humanly possibly. Get all states represented, a significant number of foreign students, a significant URM representation, significant first gen representation. Lots of different talents, extracurriculars, and enough varsity athletes to fill out their teams. They are 12% international, and almost 30% AA or Hispanic. 32% White. Over 20% first gen. The 75% SAT was 1510.

https://www.pomona.edu/sites/default/files/pomona-college-admissions-profile.pdf

So here is who you don’t want to be: a white or Asian female from the DMV with SAT scores below the 1510– unless you are first Gen.

If about 1/3 of the class is white, that’s maybe 130 kids. 65 admittees will be white women. Some number of these will be first Gen. Some will be athletes. What’s left is 40-50 spots for white women based on merit. They may take 1 or 2 from the DMV.

Go into it with your eyes open. Apply ahead for the best shot. But white and Asian high performers from the DMV have a statistically better shot at an Ivy or Stanford than Pomona. For these kids it’s a lottery school. And honestly, the SAT score will hurt her.

And I am saying this with zero snark. I have a white male in the DMV, I would love to sent to Pomona. Very high performer at TJ with mid 1500 SATs. And he knows getting in is unlikely.

Has she considered one of the other Claremont Colleges? Pitzer or Scripps (all women) or even CMcKenna might give her a better shot. Same campus. Same facilities, can still take classes at Pomona. I know DS is looking at CMKenna or Pitzer as plan B (probably Pitzer given his area of interest).

Thanks for your detailed response! The thing is, based in Naviance, Pomona's admission process seems completely unpredictable. There are a bunch of students with near perfectvscires who've gotten in but more who didn't, and there are some still strong students with lower stats who got in. So we're guessing stats don't matter much and likely won't retake the SAT. You mentioned diversity and how they're looking to build a distinct class- do you think there are certain traits they look for that she should emphasize in the required supplement?

I would be very happy to have her at Pomona, even if she got into Princeton. I'll share what you wrote so she can understand their process a bit more. She has looked into Scripps but isn't willing to go out west unless its Stanford or Pomona, and she has a friend at Scripps who said that Pomona is far richer and has much more in the way of resources than the other colleges do specifically for their students.

Anonymous wrote:I went to Harvey Mudd. They're all one big campus. I took classes at McKenna and Pomona. Scripps and McKenna are probably less "prestigious" than Pomona, if that bothers you.

Frankly can't understand why OPs daughter would prefer Pomona to Princeton. If she got into both, Princeton would be a no-brainer choice.

Not really. I know people who've picked Pomona- culture and location.

And it's not all one big campus. Pomona has a beautiful campus. You know when you're stepping into CMC next door, which is uglier. Mudd/Scripps is easy to tell apart. And Pomona tends to be pretty insulated and self sufficient from the other 4Cs.

I went to Harvey Mudd. They're all one big campus. I took classes at McKenna and Pomona. Scripps and McKenna are probably less "prestigious" than Pomona, if that bothers you.

Frankly can't understand why OPs daughter would prefer Pomona to Princeton. If she got into both, Princeton would be a no-brainer choice.