Anonymous
05/28/2026 16:38
Subject: What's the difference between Amherst and Pomona?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Pomona does have a huge endowment for its size and they spend a fair bit on students.
Both Amherst and Pomona are among a handful of schools that give every single student some degree of a subsidy to the full cost of attendance, even those who pay sticker price. Both schools spent over $135,000 per undergraduate last year.
Really? Can you share more about what this ends up looking like for full-pay families and whether/where this is advertised? We're a full-pay family with a kid headed to a different top 10 LAC next year but D also looked at Amherst and Pomona and toured and we didn't pick up on this info.
I am not that poster but my experience was that Pomona funds a lot of kids during the summer to do research (or research-like things) and there’s also a fair bit of money available for student activities and things (but it’s not really anything you could budget for as a parent).
Okay, thanks. The LAC our D is headed to offers those things too. I don't think it's that unusual among selective LAC's if that's what we're talking about. I thought the PP meant that Amherst and Pomona directly subsidize tuition to some degree for all students, which would be a surprise to me.
How Students Benefit from Pomona’s Endowment
The College spends roughly $140,000 per year to provide a Pomona education to each student. Student revenues from tuition and other payments account for about half that figure. The rest comes from the annual endowment payout, fundraising and other sources. Every student’s education is subsidized by the endowment.
https://investments.pomona.edu/endowment
Anonymous
05/28/2026 16:30
Subject: What's the difference between Amherst and Pomona?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Pomona does have a huge endowment for its size and they spend a fair bit on students.
Both Amherst and Pomona are among a handful of schools that give every single student some degree of a subsidy to the full cost of attendance, even those who pay sticker price. Both schools spent over $135,000 per undergraduate last year.
Really? Can you share more about what this ends up looking like for full-pay families and whether/where this is advertised? We're a full-pay family with a kid headed to a different top 10 LAC next year but D also looked at Amherst and Pomona and toured and we didn't pick up on this info.
I am not that poster but my experience was that Pomona funds a lot of kids during the summer to do research (or research-like things) and there’s also a fair bit of money available for student activities and things (but it’s not really anything you could budget for as a parent).
Okay, thanks. The LAC our D is headed to offers those things too. I don't think it's that unusual among selective LAC's if that's what we're talking about. I thought the PP meant that Amherst and Pomona directly subsidize tuition to some degree for all students, which would be a surprise to me.
Not at Amherst: They say 41 percent pay full tuition. (https://www.amherst.edu/admission/financial_aid). But everyone's eligible for summer internship subsidy.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 16:30
Subject: What's the difference between Amherst and Pomona?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Pomona does have a huge endowment for its size and they spend a fair bit on students.
Both Amherst and Pomona are among a handful of schools that give every single student some degree of a subsidy to the full cost of attendance, even those who pay sticker price. Both schools spent over $135,000 per undergraduate last year.
Really? Can you share more about what this ends up looking like for full-pay families and whether/where this is advertised? We're a full-pay family with a kid headed to a different top 10 LAC next year but D also looked at Amherst and Pomona and toured and we didn't pick up on this info.
I am not that poster but my experience was that Pomona funds a lot of kids during the summer to do research (or research-like things) and there’s also a fair bit of money available for student activities and things (but it’s not really anything you could budget for as a parent).
Okay, thanks. The LAC our D is headed to offers those things too. I don't think it's that unusual among selective LAC's if that's what we're talking about. I thought the PP meant that Amherst and Pomona directly subsidize tuition to some degree for all students, which would be a surprise to me.
They do. Real COA is somewhere in the $200,000 range. The budget is allocated every year to ensure families don't pay that.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 16:05
Subject: What's the difference between Amherst and Pomona?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Pomona does have a huge endowment for its size and they spend a fair bit on students.
Both Amherst and Pomona are among a handful of schools that give every single student some degree of a subsidy to the full cost of attendance, even those who pay sticker price. Both schools spent over $135,000 per undergraduate last year.
Really? Can you share more about what this ends up looking like for full-pay families and whether/where this is advertised? We're a full-pay family with a kid headed to a different top 10 LAC next year but D also looked at Amherst and Pomona and toured and we didn't pick up on this info.
I am not that poster but my experience was that Pomona funds a lot of kids during the summer to do research (or research-like things) and there’s also a fair bit of money available for student activities and things (but it’s not really anything you could budget for as a parent).
Okay, thanks. The LAC our D is headed to offers those things too. I don't think it's that unusual among selective LAC's if that's what we're talking about. I thought the PP meant that Amherst and Pomona directly subsidize tuition to some degree for all students, which would be a surprise to me.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 15:55
Subject: What's the difference between Amherst and Pomona?
Amherst wanted us to be full pay, wasn't worth it for us but if you get subsidized education through aid, good value. They don't have merit scholarships.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 15:55
Subject: What's the difference between Amherst and Pomona?
Anonymous wrote:Too few students submit an SAT to Pomona. Of those who do, too many score too low.
For you, not the rest of us. Trust, they have enough applications coming in that it is okay if you choose to not apply.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 15:53
Subject: What's the difference between Amherst and Pomona?
I can't comment on Pomona much but Amherst campus felt like a big scenic private high school. Great faculty and alumni though.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 15:50
Subject: What's the difference between Amherst and Pomona?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Pomona does have a huge endowment for its size and they spend a fair bit on students.
Both Amherst and Pomona are among a handful of schools that give every single student some degree of a subsidy to the full cost of attendance, even those who pay sticker price. Both schools spent over $135,000 per undergraduate last year.
Really? Can you share more about what this ends up looking like for full-pay families and whether/where this is advertised? We're a full-pay family with a kid headed to a different top 10 LAC next year but D also looked at Amherst and Pomona and toured and we didn't pick up on this info.
I am not that poster but my experience was that Pomona funds a lot of kids during the summer to do research (or research-like things) and there’s also a fair bit of money available for student activities and things (but it’s not really anything you could budget for as a parent).
Anonymous
05/28/2026 15:50
Subject: What's the difference between Amherst and Pomona?
Anonymous wrote:I don't want vague comments about prestige but actual concrete differences between the students, the culture, the academics, the campuses, etc.
Weather. Also at Amherst athletes, blacks, LGBTQ self segregate from others. I find it ironic considering Amherst supports diversity, even though majority is white, wealthy and athletic.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 15:48
Subject: What's the difference between Amherst and Pomona?
Too few students submit an SAT to Pomona. Of those who do, too many score too low.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 15:26
Subject: What's the difference between Amherst and Pomona?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Pomona does have a huge endowment for its size and they spend a fair bit on students.
Both Amherst and Pomona are among a handful of schools that give every single student some degree of a subsidy to the full cost of attendance, even those who pay sticker price. Both schools spent over $135,000 per undergraduate last year.
Really? Can you share more about what this ends up looking like for full-pay families and whether/where this is advertised? We're a full-pay family with a kid headed to a different top 10 LAC next year but D also looked at Amherst and Pomona and toured and we didn't pick up on this info.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 15:14
Subject: What's the difference between Amherst and Pomona?
Anonymous wrote:Pomona does have a huge endowment for its size and they spend a fair bit on students.
Both Amherst and Pomona are among a handful of schools that give every single student some degree of a subsidy to the full cost of attendance, even those who pay sticker price. Both schools spent over $135,000 per undergraduate last year.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 15:11
Subject: What's the difference between Amherst and Pomona?
The access to the 5C is unmatched and makes Pomona the standout.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 14:39
Subject: What's the difference between Amherst and Pomona?
Pomona does have a huge endowment for its size and they spend a fair bit on students.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 14:39
Subject: What's the difference between Amherst and Pomona?
Anonymous wrote:Pomona has much better facilities in my experience and the town and access to the consortium (along with the social life) is better. But Amherst is the more prestigious school. You’ll have to work harder from Pomona to access doors that are easily opened at Amherst (IB, quant, etc).
Agree that the students attending both are pretty much indistinguishable in terms of political leaning, character, quality, etc.
Note if you're interested in tech or want to ever enter the west coast, this is flipped on its head. Pomona experienced years of preferential hiring at Google and grads are all over the tech scene.