Pomona College (September 25, 2024)

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Pomona College

9.25.24 Campus Visit Report

Spencer Barr - Santa Barbara High


Pomona College - https://www.pomona.edu/

  

ADMISSIONS

  • +/- 7% acceptance rate

  • Optional supplements for the application, mostly in the arts

  • Permanently test optional

  • What makes a good Pomona candidate:

    • Not having a niche

    • Love of learning for the sake of learning

    • Broad curiosity of the world


ACADEMIC

  • Major and minor only on Pomona campus

  • 60% of classes must be taken at Pomona

  • Study Abroad can be taken from any of the schools

  • Can study abroad for a semester or a year and can do so from 2nd year on

  • 6 area requirements

  • Writing intensive, large paper with 30 sources

  • Students get mentors and academic advisors

  • 2 semester of PE required

  • Pomona celebrates friendly discourse

  • Orientation lasts 1 week


SOCIAL

  • Village area very close to school. Local community area with shops and restaurants

  • Intramural sports open to students, faculty/staff

  • Smith campus center, home of affinity centers

  • No frats or sororities

  • wall painting ceremony for incoming students 


CAMPUS

  • academic quad setup in a square

  • Transportation. Zip cars, no 1st year parking

  • bus and metro link free for students

  • 4 first year dorms, south campus

  • 14 dorms on campus in total

  • Mandatory for 1st and 2nd years to live on campus

  • 98% of students live on campus all 4 years

  • Singles, doubles, and triples are options each year

  • Upper year dorms are mostly doubles or suites

  • 7 dining halls in the consortium

  • many coffee shops on campus

  • 10 free counseling sessions

    • Will send you off campus after 10 sessions and reimburse your therapy costs

  • Benton Art Museum lets local students show their work, free to the community and for students. 

  • Free music lessons at the music building, Thatcher music


FINANCIAL

  • Flex dollars can be used almost anywhere


INFO ABOUT ALL CLAREMONT SCHOOLS

  • Based loosely on Oxford/Cambridge system

  • About 6 thousand total student population between 5 schools

  • Heavily academic institutions

  • Cross registration is the norm

  • 2,700 classes available to take in the consortium

  • Academic deans work together

  • Same academic calendar

  • Strong benefit of being with students who would not normally have selected a certain college

  • Core requirements for all colleges, but will be different across the campuses 

  • Lived and social interactions

  • Share about 300 clubs and orgs

  • Share musics, dance, and speaker series. 

  • Shared health services and athletics

  • Division 3 athletics

    • 6th street rivalry

    • Pomona/Pitzer vs CMC/Harvey Mudd/Scripps

  • Access to alumni resources across all 5 schools

  • All offer ED options

  • Use CSS profile

  • All consortium schools within 1 square mile

  • Scooby doo analogy: 

    • Pomona is Scooby, 

    • Harvey Mudd is Velma, 

    • CMC is Fred, 

    • Scripps is Daphne, 

    • Pitzer is Shaggy

  • Strong relationship with City of Claremont (known as the city of trees and degrees)

  • Library shared amongst all schools

  • Career services, same as other schools

 

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