Pomona College is located in the desert of the Inland Valley of Southern California. The school is modeled on the New England Ivies, but the architecture is all California (an hour away from the Mojave Desert, LA, Pacific Ocean and the San Gabriel Mountains!). It is in a college town that might remind someone of Nothampton, MA (minus the winter!). This a small (1,500 students) private, liberal arts college which is considered a part of the Claremont College system (including Claremont-McKenna, Pitzer, Harvey Mudd, and Scripps). The school prides itself in personal touch with a student:faculty ratio of 8:1 and the average class size is 14. Our tour guide said it is the norm to get an email from a professor when you miss class. Additionally, all freshmen are assigned a Sponsor Group – a sophomore who essentially “looks out” for a group of new students this helps students settle in quickly and gain needed support right away. Students also can sign up to live in living and learning communities where dorm mates have common interests.
In addition to Sponsor Groups, Pomona takes pride in its extremely low freshman attrition rates – very students who enroll leave the school (95-100%). There are also offices focused on the retention of African-American, Latino/Chicano and 1st Generation College students. This must contribute to Pomona having such a low graduation rate gap between White and African-American students. The class entering in 2008 is reported 8.7% African-American, 11.5% as Latino. The school is 50/50 male to female ratio.
Pomona is purely an undergraduate institution and professors teach all the classes, this includes freshman seminars. Freshmen must sign up for 1 of 24 “Critical Inquiry” seminars with 15 classmates. The school has General Education requirements and students are expected to be able to high level and original research upon graduation – Senior Thesis is a culminating piece of work. Students have take a “Breadth of Study Course” in each of 5 areas and demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language – beyond meeting requirements in their major. The school prides itself in students doing community service learning and field work. High percentages of Pomona students go on to graduate study and over 90% are admitted to graduate school on their first attempt.
Pomona is a highly selective college median SAT scores for admitted students are: CR 680-770, Math 680-760 and Writing 690-770. 53% of applicants receive scholarships and 19% are 1st generation college students (23% of enrolled students are from the Northeast portion of the U.S.). Applications are evaluated based on 10th, 11th and 12th grade courses. Students need to take the SAT I or ACT with writing, and two SAT IIs. Basically, admissions officers at Pomona are looking to see that a student has taken full advantage of the academic program available to him or her at their school (AP, Honors, Dual Enrollment, etc.). Minimally, 4 years of English and Math (to calculus), 3 years of language, 2 years each in laboratory and social science are expected. recommended. Additionally, a student’s character and community involvement are discerned through teacher/counselor recommendations and personal statements. Regular admissions has a deadline of the first week in January (www.pomona.edu/admissions). Students submit Common Application and Pomona supplement.
Pomona was ranked 5th Best College Value by Kiplinger Magazine, 5th by Hispanic Magazine and 7th by The Blacks in Higher Education Journal. It is also ranked 1st as per capita college endowment (which is great for overall financial resources and aid).
Tuition is over $46,000. Nearly $33,000 per student is the average financial aid award and the school just adopted a “no loan” program (www.pomona.edu/financialaid).
The College Road Trip Never Ends