Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The scenery and nightlife are probably closer to what people think of as San Bernardino than what people think of as LA (beaches, downtown, Hollywood, etc).

I don't understand the point of these sweeping generalizations. Most people in LA County don't live near the beaches, Hollywood, or Downtown. The county overall is extremely complex and diverse in landscape. San Bernardino County is similarly difficult to characterize as it hosts some of the wealthiest communities in SoCal as well as some of the poorest and underserved.

Claremont is simply its own place as a town dominated by colleges. I can't think of any other place nearby with that same emphasis.

You forgot the "etc."

The point isn't just that Claremont is closer to San Bernardino County than to the beaches, downtown, or Hollywood. It's closer to San Bernardino County than to any of the other LA County areas most people from out of town have heard of. When you map the edge of Pomona College to the edge of San Bernardino County on Google Maps, it's like 500 feet. I for one feel it's a bit misleading to tell people the colleges are in LA County without making clear it's really on the border, further from anything else in LA County they may be familiar with than to the start of San Bernardino County.

I like the Claremont Colleges. I personally would not want to live in Claremont itself again-- I already did. I found it hotter and to have worse air quality than most other parts of LA that I have lived in, though that's mostly an issue in the summer, not during the academic year. The online almanac I'm looking at the moment says 61 unhealthy days in 2021 for San Bernardino, 26 for Los Angeles. If you've lived in Claremont, you know the air quality there is far more accurately described by the San Bernardino figure. Here's the link:

http://www.laalmanac.com/environment/ev01a.php

WHO CARES?!! Enough already, you are so tiresome.

People will visit Claremont if they are interested in the 5 C's and they will SEE FOR THEMSELVES where it is located.

The same would be true for any New England, Upstate New York remote school.

The OP explicitly said tell me the differences "except for geography".

The amount of energy you put into this Claremont location point is mind boggling.

Who cares about air quality? A lot of people. Your using all caps won't change that. Nearly everyone I've ever known who lives in Claremont expressed concern about it, and I lived there for years. I would think someone *could* be interested in that before planning an expensive and time consuming trip. If they are not, they are free to ignore. Geez. Oh, and OP isn't the only person reading this thread (though I would be surprised if not caring about geography meant not caring about air quality.) I think lots of people reading this care about their location, and I only interjected after I saw someone (you?) going on about how it really, truly, absolutely is in LA County when in fact its mere feet from San Bernardino, the county with the second worse air quality in the nation, per the link.

As I said previously, I'm a fan of the Claremont Colleges. But ignoring their shortcomings serves no one and seems to go against the spirit of a forum that exchanges advice in the hopes of everyone finding the best fit for their own family.

By the way, I had only posted twice before you went off. Chill out. Overdoing the promotion of a college or area can backfire.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The scenery and nightlife are probably closer to what people think of as San Bernardino than what people think of as LA (beaches, downtown, Hollywood, etc).

I don't understand the point of these sweeping generalizations. Most people in LA County don't live near the beaches, Hollywood, or Downtown. The county overall is extremely complex and diverse in landscape. San Bernardino County is similarly difficult to characterize as it hosts some of the wealthiest communities in SoCal as well as some of the poorest and underserved.

Claremont is simply its own place as a town dominated by colleges. I can't think of any other place nearby with that same emphasis.

You forgot the "etc."

The point isn't just that Claremont is closer to San Bernardino County than to the beaches, downtown, or Hollywood. It's closer to San Bernardino County than to any of the other LA County areas most people from out of town have heard of. When you map the edge of Pomona College to the edge of San Bernardino County on Google Maps, it's like 500 feet. I for one feel it's a bit misleading to tell people the colleges are in LA County without making clear it's really on the border, further from anything else in LA County they may be familiar with than to the start of San Bernardino County.

I like the Claremont Colleges. I personally would not want to live in Claremont itself again-- I already did. I found it hotter and to have worse air quality than most other parts of LA that I have lived in, though that's mostly an issue in the summer, not during the academic year. The online almanac I'm looking at the moment says 61 unhealthy days in 2021 for San Bernardino, 26 for Los Angeles. If you've lived in Claremont, you know the air quality there is far more accurately described by the San Bernardino figure. Here's the link:

http://www.laalmanac.com/environment/ev01a.php

WHO CARES?!! Enough already, you are so tiresome.

People will visit Claremont if they are interested in the 5 C's and they will SEE FOR THEMSELVES where it is located.

The same would be true for any New England, Upstate New York remote school.

The OP explicitly said tell me the differences "except for geography".

The amount of energy you put into this Claremont location point is mind boggling.

Who cares about air quality? A lot of people. Your using all caps won't change that. Nearly everyone I've ever known who lives in Claremont expressed concern about it, and I lived there for years. I would think someone *could* be interested in that before planning an expensive and time consuming trip. If they are not, they are free to ignore. Geez. Oh, and OP isn't the only person reading this thread (though I would be surprised if not caring about geography meant not caring about air quality.) I think lots of people reading this care about their location, and I only interjected after I saw someone (you?) going on about how it really, truly, absolutely is in LA County when in fact its mere feet from San Bernardino, the county with the second worse air quality in the nation, per the link.

As I said previously, I'm a fan of the Claremont Colleges. But ignoring their shortcomings serves no one and seems to go against the spirit of a forum that exchanges advice in the hopes of everyone finding the best fit for their own family.

By the way, I had only posted twice before you went off. Chill out. Overdoing the promotion of a college or area can backfire.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The scenery and nightlife are probably closer to what people think of as San Bernardino than what people think of as LA (beaches, downtown, Hollywood, etc).

I don't understand the point of these sweeping generalizations. Most people in LA County don't live near the beaches, Hollywood, or Downtown. The county overall is extremely complex and diverse in landscape. San Bernardino County is similarly difficult to characterize as it hosts some of the wealthiest communities in SoCal as well as some of the poorest and underserved.

Claremont is simply its own place as a town dominated by colleges. I can't think of any other place nearby with that same emphasis.

You forgot the "etc."

The point isn't just that Claremont is closer to San Bernardino County than to the beaches, downtown, or Hollywood. It's closer to San Bernardino County than to any of the other LA County areas most people from out of town have heard of. When you map the edge of Pomona College to the edge of San Bernardino County on Google Maps, it's like 500 feet. I for one feel it's a bit misleading to tell people the colleges are in LA County without making clear it's really on the border, further from anything else in LA County they may be familiar with than to the start of San Bernardino County.

I like the Claremont Colleges. I personally would not want to live in Claremont itself again-- I already did. I found it hotter and to have worse air quality than most other parts of LA that I have lived in, though that's mostly an issue in the summer, not during the academic year. The online almanac I'm looking at the moment says 61 unhealthy days in 2021 for San Bernardino, 26 for Los Angeles. If you've lived in Claremont, you know the air quality there is far more accurately described by the San Bernardino figure. Here's the link:

http://www.laalmanac.com/environment/ev01a.php

WHO CARES?!! Enough already, you are so tiresome.

People will visit Claremont if they are interested in the 5 C's and they will SEE FOR THEMSELVES where it is located.

The same would be true for any New England, Upstate New York remote school.

The OP explicitly said tell me the differences "except for geography".

The amount of energy you put into this Claremont location point is mind boggling.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The scenery and nightlife are probably closer to what people think of as San Bernardino than what people think of as LA (beaches, downtown, Hollywood, etc).

I don't understand the point of these sweeping generalizations. Most people in LA County don't live near the beaches, Hollywood, or Downtown. The county overall is extremely complex and diverse in landscape. San Bernardino County is similarly difficult to characterize as it hosts some of the wealthiest communities in SoCal as well as some of the poorest and underserved.

Claremont is simply its own place as a town dominated by colleges. I can't think of any other place nearby with that same emphasis.

You forgot the "etc."

The point isn't just that Claremont is closer to San Bernardino County than to the beaches, downtown, or Hollywood. It's closer to San Bernardino County than to any of the other LA County areas most people from out of town have heard of. When you map the edge of Pomona College to the edge of San Bernardino County on Google Maps, it's like 500 feet. I for one feel it's a bit misleading to tell people the colleges are in LA County without making clear it's really on the border, further from anything else in LA County they may be familiar with than to the start of San Bernardino County.

I like the Claremont Colleges. I personally would not want to live in Claremont itself again-- I already did. I found it hotter and to have worse air quality than most other parts of LA that I have lived in, though that's mostly an issue in the summer, not during the academic year. The online almanac I'm looking at the moment says 61 unhealthy days in 2021 for San Bernardino, 26 for Los Angeles. If you've lived in Claremont, you know the air quality there is far more accurately described by the San Bernardino figure. Here's the link:

http://www.laalmanac.com/environment/ev01a.php

Anonymous wrote:NP and let's try a different tact.

Amherst was the first school to shut down for Covid. At an admissions tour during last spring (spring 2022) the admissions officer proudly said that they led Harvard in the shutdown.

Before our admissions tour we walked from a parking lot to a tent, and had to sign that we were vaxxed (and I think we also did that upon booking the tour). I was fine with that. They issued me a KN-95 because I had a lesser mask. Fine.

We walked up the hill to the main quad area, and there was a huge tent. I wasn't thrilled bc the weather was lousy, but okay. Then, the chairs were socially distanced. I was thinking, wow, we are all vaxxed and OUTSIDE in KN-95s, in socially distant chairs, in 2022 this is pretty intense.

The first part of the admissions tour was about how they are the most (agressive in) keeping their students safe. At this point I realized we were not going to get to go inside any buildings. I wasn't thrilled about that--we'd driven a long way and (total tangent but ironically for this thread, we came from Los Angeles).

Then a parent asked where the bathrooms were and they were directed to porta-potties, I was suddenly completely furious and I hid it from my kid. Could not wait to get out of there. I felt that at this point, Amherst's ego and identity/culture on the issue of covid safety was overriding the science.

I believe that due to this, the chances that Amherst will shut down in the future for the slightest covid resurgence is high. That is great news to some people and not great for other people, so all I'm saying is to factor in your own family's covid tolerance when looking at Amherst; because it is really a standard deviation or two away from the norm.

Anyways, my DC ended up not liking it for other reasons: that they were so free-flowing about no required classes and "some kids even triple-major...we don't recommend it, but we'll let them, because we don't like to say no to our kids." DC said this was the wrong school as she needed structure.

So I don't know how Pomona compares on those two fronts, but wanted to mention what I did learn about Amherst.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The scenery and nightlife are probably closer to what people think of as San Bernardino than what people think of as LA (beaches, downtown, Hollywood, etc).

I don't understand the point of these sweeping generalizations. Most people in LA County don't live near the beaches, Hollywood, or Downtown. The county overall is extremely complex and diverse in landscape. San Bernardino County is similarly difficult to characterize as it hosts some of the wealthiest communities in SoCal as well as some of the poorest and underserved.

Claremont is simply its own place as a town dominated by colleges. I can't think of any other place nearby with that same emphasis.

You forgot the "etc."

The point isn't just that Claremont is closer to San Bernardino County than to the beaches, downtown, or Hollywood. It's closer to San Bernardino County than to any of the other LA County areas most people from out of town have heard of. When you map the edge of Pomona College to the edge of San Bernardino County on Google Maps, it's like 500 feet. I for one feel it's a bit misleading to tell people the colleges are in LA County without making clear it's really on the border, further from anything else in LA County they may be familiar with than to the start of San Bernardino County.

I like the Claremont Colleges. I personally would not want to live in Claremont itself again-- I already did. I found it hotter and to have worse air quality than most other parts of LA that I have lived in, though that's mostly an issue in the summer, not during the academic year. The online almanac I'm looking at the moment says 61 unhealthy days in 2021 for San Bernardino, 26 for Los Angeles. If you've lived in Claremont, you know the air quality there is far more accurately described by the San Bernardino figure. Here's the link:

http://www.laalmanac.com/environment/ev01a.php

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP and let's try a different tact.

Amherst was the first school to shut down for Covid. At an admissions tour during last spring (spring 2022) the admissions officer proudly said that they led Harvard in the shutdown.

Before our admissions tour we walked from a parking lot to a tent, and had to sign that we were vaxxed (and I think we also did that upon booking the tour). I was fine with that. They issued me a KN-95 because I had a lesser mask. Fine.

We walked up the hill to the main quad area, and there was a huge tent. I wasn't thrilled bc the weather was lousy, but okay. Then, the chairs were socially distanced. I was thinking, wow, we are all vaxxed and OUTSIDE in KN-95s, in socially distant chairs, in 2022 this is pretty intense.

The first part of the admissions tour was about how they are the most (agressive in) keeping their students safe. At this point I realized we were not going to get to go inside any buildings. I wasn't thrilled about that--we'd driven a long way and (total tangent but ironically for this thread, we came from Los Angeles).

Then a parent asked where the bathrooms were and they were directed to porta-potties, I was suddenly completely furious and I hid it from my kid. Could not wait to get out of there. I felt that at this point, Amherst's ego and identity/culture on the issue of covid safety was overriding the science.

I believe that due to this, the chances that Amherst will shut down in the future for the slightest covid resurgence is high. That is great news to some people and not great for other people, so all I'm saying is to factor in your own family's covid tolerance when looking at Amherst; because it is really a standard deviation or two away from the norm.

Anyways, my DC ended up not liking it for other reasons: that they were so free-flowing about no required classes and "some kids even triple-major...we don't recommend it, but we'll let them, because we don't like to say no to our kids." DC said this was the wrong school as she needed structure.

So I don't know how Pomona compares on those two fronts, but wanted to mention what I did learn about Amherst.

Wow! Thank you for typing so much. I on the contrary am more confident to trust them with my kid now.

Anonymous wrote:NP and let's try a different tact.

Amherst was the first school to shut down for Covid. At an admissions tour during last spring (spring 2022) the admissions officer proudly said that they led Harvard in the shutdown.

Before our admissions tour we walked from a parking lot to a tent, and had to sign that we were vaxxed (and I think we also did that upon booking the tour). I was fine with that. They issued me a KN-95 because I had a lesser mask. Fine.

We walked up the hill to the main quad area, and there was a huge tent. I wasn't thrilled bc the weather was lousy, but okay. Then, the chairs were socially distanced. I was thinking, wow, we are all vaxxed and OUTSIDE in KN-95s, in socially distant chairs, in 2022 this is pretty intense.

The first part of the admissions tour was about how they are the most (agressive in) keeping their students safe. At this point I realized we were not going to get to go inside any buildings. I wasn't thrilled about that--we'd driven a long way and (total tangent but ironically for this thread, we came from Los Angeles).

Then a parent asked where the bathrooms were and they were directed to porta-potties, I was suddenly completely furious and I hid it from my kid. Could not wait to get out of there. I felt that at this point, Amherst's ego and identity/culture on the issue of covid safety was overriding the science.

I believe that due to this, the chances that Amherst will shut down in the future for the slightest covid resurgence is high. That is great news to some people and not great for other people, so all I'm saying is to factor in your own family's covid tolerance when looking at Amherst; because it is really a standard deviation or two away from the norm.

Anyways, my DC ended up not liking it for other reasons: that they were so free-flowing about no required classes and "some kids even triple-major...we don't recommend it, but we'll let them, because we don't like to say no to our kids." DC said this was the wrong school as she needed structure.

So I don't know how Pomona compares on those two fronts, but wanted to mention what I did learn about Amherst.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP and let's try a different tact.

Amherst was the first school to shut down for Covid. At an admissions tour during last spring (spring 2022) the admissions officer proudly said that they led Harvard in the shutdown.

Before our admissions tour we walked from a parking lot to a tent, and had to sign that we were vaxxed (and I think we also did that upon booking the tour). I was fine with that. They issued me a KN-95 because I had a lesser mask. Fine.

We walked up the hill to the main quad area, and there was a huge tent. I wasn't thrilled bc the weather was lousy, but okay. Then, the chairs were socially distanced. I was thinking, wow, we are all vaxxed and OUTSIDE in KN-95s, in socially distant chairs, in 2022 this is pretty intense.

The first part of the admissions tour was about how they are the most (agressive in) keeping their students safe. At this point I realized we were not going to get to go inside any buildings. I wasn't thrilled about that--we'd driven a long way and (total tangent but ironically for this thread, we came from Los Angeles).

Then a parent asked where the bathrooms were and they were directed to porta-potties, I was suddenly completely furious and I hid it from my kid. Could not wait to get out of there. I felt that at this point, Amherst's ego and identity/culture on the issue of covid safety was overriding the science.

I believe that due to this, the chances that Amherst will shut down in the future for the slightest covid resurgence is high. That is great news to some people and not great for other people, so all I'm saying is to factor in your own family's covid tolerance when looking at Amherst; because it is really a standard deviation or two away from the norm.

Anyways, my DC ended up not liking it for other reasons: that they were so free-flowing about no required classes and "some kids even triple-major...we don't recommend it, but we'll let them, because we don't like to say no to our kids." DC said this was the wrong school as she needed structure.

So I don't know how Pomona compares on those two fronts, but wanted to mention what I did learn about Amherst.

Thanks for this-as a physician parent I am appalled. I think it’s great to know how these colleges are managing Covid in the modern day. Will be telling for the next variant that comes along, or the next contagion..

I don’t know specifically how handled at Pomona, but the California schools generally have been very strict with Covid. The uc schools were fully remote for a year and were still requiring masks when inside this summer (as did the two California private schools we visited this summer).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP and let's try a different tact.

Amherst was the first school to shut down for Covid. At an admissions tour during last spring (spring 2022) the admissions officer proudly said that they led Harvard in the shutdown.

Before our admissions tour we walked from a parking lot to a tent, and had to sign that we were vaxxed (and I think we also did that upon booking the tour). I was fine with that. They issued me a KN-95 because I had a lesser mask. Fine.

We walked up the hill to the main quad area, and there was a huge tent. I wasn't thrilled bc the weather was lousy, but okay. Then, the chairs were socially distanced. I was thinking, wow, we are all vaxxed and OUTSIDE in KN-95s, in socially distant chairs, in 2022 this is pretty intense.

The first part of the admissions tour was about how they are the most (agressive in) keeping their students safe. At this point I realized we were not going to get to go inside any buildings. I wasn't thrilled about that--we'd driven a long way and (total tangent but ironically for this thread, we came from Los Angeles).

Then a parent asked where the bathrooms were and they were directed to porta-potties, I was suddenly completely furious and I hid it from my kid. Could not wait to get out of there. I felt that at this point, Amherst's ego and identity/culture on the issue of covid safety was overriding the science.

I believe that due to this, the chances that Amherst will shut down in the future for the slightest covid resurgence is high. That is great news to some people and not great for other people, so all I'm saying is to factor in your own family's covid tolerance when looking at Amherst; because it is really a standard deviation or two away from the norm.

Anyways, my DC ended up not liking it for other reasons: that they were so free-flowing about no required classes and "some kids even triple-major...we don't recommend it, but we'll let them, because we don't like to say no to our kids." DC said this was the wrong school as she needed structure.

So I don't know how Pomona compares on those two fronts, but wanted to mention what I did learn about Amherst.

Thanks for this-as a physician parent I am appalled. I think it’s great to know how these colleges are managing Covid in the modern day. Will be telling for the next variant that comes along, or the next contagion..

Anonymous wrote:NP and let's try a different tact.

Amherst was the first school to shut down for Covid. At an admissions tour during last spring (spring 2022) the admissions officer proudly said that they led Harvard in the shutdown.

Before our admissions tour we walked from a parking lot to a tent, and had to sign that we were vaxxed (and I think we also did that upon booking the tour). I was fine with that. They issued me a KN-95 because I had a lesser mask. Fine.

We walked up the hill to the main quad area, and there was a huge tent. I wasn't thrilled bc the weather was lousy, but okay. Then, the chairs were socially distanced. I was thinking, wow, we are all vaxxed and OUTSIDE in KN-95s, in socially distant chairs, in 2022 this is pretty intense.

The first part of the admissions tour was about how they are the most (agressive in) keeping their students safe. At this point I realized we were not going to get to go inside any buildings. I wasn't thrilled about that--we'd driven a long way and (total tangent but ironically for this thread, we came from Los Angeles).

Then a parent asked where the bathrooms were and they were directed to porta-potties, I was suddenly completely furious and I hid it from my kid. Could not wait to get out of there. I felt that at this point, Amherst's ego and identity/culture on the issue of covid safety was overriding the science.

I believe that due to this, the chances that Amherst will shut down in the future for the slightest covid resurgence is high. That is great news to some people and not great for other people, so all I'm saying is to factor in your own family's covid tolerance when looking at Amherst; because it is really a standard deviation or two away from the norm.

Anyways, my DC ended up not liking it for other reasons: that they were so free-flowing about no required classes and "some kids even triple-major...we don't recommend it, but we'll let them, because we don't like to say no to our kids." DC said this was the wrong school as she needed structure.

So I don't know how Pomona compares on those two fronts, but wanted to mention what I did learn about Amherst.

Anonymous wrote:NP and let's try a different tact.

Amherst was the first school to shut down for Covid. At an admissions tour during last spring (spring 2022) the admissions officer proudly said that they led Harvard in the shutdown.

Before our admissions tour we walked from a parking lot to a tent, and had to sign that we were vaxxed (and I think we also did that upon booking the tour). I was fine with that. They issued me a KN-95 because I had a lesser mask. Fine.

We walked up the hill to the main quad area, and there was a huge tent. I wasn't thrilled bc the weather was lousy, but okay. Then, the chairs were socially distanced. I was thinking, wow, we are all vaxxed and OUTSIDE in KN-95s, in socially distant chairs, in 2022 this is pretty intense.

The first part of the admissions tour was about how they are the most (agressive in) keeping their students safe. At this point I realized we were not going to get to go inside any buildings. I wasn't thrilled about that--we'd driven a long way and (total tangent but ironically for this thread, we came from Los Angeles).

Then a parent asked where the bathrooms were and they were directed to porta-potties, I was suddenly completely furious and I hid it from my kid. Could not wait to get out of there. I felt that at this point, Amherst's ego and identity/culture on the issue of covid safety was overriding the science.

I believe that due to this, the chances that Amherst will shut down in the future for the slightest covid resurgence is high. That is great news to some people and not great for other people, so all I'm saying is to factor in your own family's covid tolerance when looking at Amherst; because it is really a standard deviation or two away from the norm.

Anyways, my DC ended up not liking it for other reasons: that they were so free-flowing about no required classes and "some kids even triple-major...we don't recommend it, but we'll let them, because we don't like to say no to our kids." DC said this was the wrong school as she needed structure.

So I don't know how Pomona compares on those two fronts, but wanted to mention what I did learn about Amherst.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP and let's try a different tact.

Amherst was the first school to shut down for Covid. At an admissions tour during last spring (spring 2022) the admissions officer proudly said that they led Harvard in the shutdown.

Before our admissions tour we walked from a parking lot to a tent, and had to sign that we were vaxxed (and I think we also did that upon booking the tour). I was fine with that. They issued me a KN-95 because I had a lesser mask. Fine.

We walked up the hill to the main quad area, and there was a huge tent. I wasn't thrilled bc the weather was lousy, but okay. Then, the chairs were socially distanced. I was thinking, wow, we are all vaxxed and OUTSIDE in KN-95s, in socially distant chairs, in 2022 this is pretty intense.

The first part of the admissions tour was about how they are the most (agressive in) keeping their students safe. At this point I realized we were not going to get to go inside any buildings. I wasn't thrilled about that--we'd driven a long way and (total tangent but ironically for this thread, we came from Los Angeles).

Then a parent asked where the bathrooms were and they were directed to porta-potties, I was suddenly completely furious and I hid it from my kid. Could not wait to get out of there. I felt that at this point, Amherst's ego and identity/culture on the issue of covid safety was overriding the science.

I believe that due to this, the chances that Amherst will shut down in the future for the slightest covid resurgence is high. That is great news to some people and not great for other people, so all I'm saying is to factor in your own family's covid tolerance when looking at Amherst; because it is really a standard deviation or two away from the norm.

Anyways, my DC ended up not liking it for other reasons: that they were so free-flowing about no required classes and "some kids even triple-major...we don't recommend it, but we'll let them, because we don't like to say no to our kids." DC said this was the wrong school as she needed structure.

So I don't know how Pomona compares on those two fronts, but wanted to mention what I did learn about Amherst.

Thanks for this-as a physician parent I am appalled. I think it’s great to know how these colleges are managing Covid in the modern day. Will be telling for the next variant that comes along, or the next contagion..

Anonymous wrote:NP and let's try a different tact.

Amherst was the first school to shut down for Covid. At an admissions tour during last spring (spring 2022) the admissions officer proudly said that they led Harvard in the shutdown.

Before our admissions tour we walked from a parking lot to a tent, and had to sign that we were vaxxed (and I think we also did that upon booking the tour). I was fine with that. They issued me a KN-95 because I had a lesser mask. Fine.

We walked up the hill to the main quad area, and there was a huge tent. I wasn't thrilled bc the weather was lousy, but okay. Then, the chairs were socially distanced. I was thinking, wow, we are all vaxxed and OUTSIDE in KN-95s, in socially distant chairs, in 2022 this is pretty intense.

The first part of the admissions tour was about how they are the most (agressive in) keeping their students safe. At this point I realized we were not going to get to go inside any buildings. I wasn't thrilled about that--we'd driven a long way and (total tangent but ironically for this thread, we came from Los Angeles).

Then a parent asked where the bathrooms were and they were directed to porta-potties, I was suddenly completely furious and I hid it from my kid. Could not wait to get out of there. I felt that at this point, Amherst's ego and identity/culture on the issue of covid safety was overriding the science.

I believe that due to this, the chances that Amherst will shut down in the future for the slightest covid resurgence is high. That is great news to some people and not great for other people, so all I'm saying is to factor in your own family's covid tolerance when looking at Amherst; because it is really a standard deviation or two away from the norm.

Anyways, my DC ended up not liking it for other reasons: that they were so free-flowing about no required classes and "some kids even triple-major...we don't recommend it, but we'll let them, because we don't like to say no to our kids." DC said this was the wrong school as she needed structure.

So I don't know how Pomona compares on those two fronts, but wanted to mention what I did learn about Amherst.