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Pomona College
333 North College Way

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Location: Suburban Claremont, CA 91711

Total Enrollment: 1,688 Remove from Add Notes for

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Undergraduates: 1,688

Male/Female: 47/53
The finest liberal arts college in the West, and one of the few that Easterners will travel across the country to attend. Offers
Financial Aid: 56% twice the resources of stand-alone competitors with access to the other Claremonts. A haven for the otherwise-minded,
though not to the same extent as nonconformist neighbor Pitzer. Strong across the academic spectrum.
Pell Grant: 20%

Expense: Private $$$ Fiske RATINGS

Student Loans: 25%
Academics:
Average Debt: $

Applicants: 10,401
Social:

Accepted: 7%

Enrolled: 54% Quality of Life:

Grad in 6 Years: 93%

Returning Freshmen: 97% Expense: Private $$$

Percent Accepted: 7%
Overlap Schools
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 Brown University

UC Berkeley Description

UC Los Angeles
Pomona College, located just 35 miles east of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, is the undisputed star of the Claremont Colleges
Harvard University and one of the top small liberal arts colleges anywhere. This small, elite institution is the top liberal arts college in the West. But the
school’s prestigious reputation doesn’t go to the heads of Pomona’s friendly students. “Students here are very open about different
University of Southern California types of people—Pomona prides itself on its diverse community,” chirps one Sagehen (the school’s mascot).

Stanford University
The architecture is variously described as Spanish Mediterranean, pseudo-Italian, or, as a sophomore puts it, “a perfect mix of
Northeastern Ivy and Southern California modern.” One certainly notices more than one stucco building topped with a red tile roof on
Yale University
campus, as well as eucalyptus trees, canyon live oaks, and an occasional “secretive courtyard lined with flowers.” The numerous open
Dartmouth College courtyards and gardens are popular study spots. By virtue of its location and beauty, Pomona’s campus has served as the
quintessential collegiate milieu in various Hollywood movies. Recent campus projects include Andrew Science Hall, which features a
host of cutting-edge spaces and equipment, including a digital planetarium and electron microscope, and the new Pomona College
Admissions Information Museum of Art, which opened in 2020.

Address: Pomona was founded in 1887 by Congregationalists who wanted to import “New England–type” education to Southern California. In
333 North College Way
order to graduate, students must take at least one course in each of six Breadth of Study areas: criticism, analysis, and contextual
study of works of the human imagination; social institutions and human behavior; history, values, ethics, and cultural studies; physical
Claremont, CA 91711 and biological sciences; mathematical and formal reasoning; and creation and performance of works of art and literature. The required
Critical Inquiry seminar emphasizes thoughtful reading, logical reasoning, and graceful writing; students choose from more than two
Website: www.pomona.edu dozen offerings, with subjects such as Adventures with Russian Books and Statistics in the Real World. Students must also complete a
senior exercise in their final year. A five-day freshman orientation program divides the new arrivals into groups of six to 12 students
Admissions: (909) 621-8134 headed by a sophomore. “We provide a great deal of support in acclimating students to a college environment,” says a senior.
Economics, mathematics, computer science, neuroscience, and public policy analysis are the most popular majors; international
Email: admissions@pomona.edu
relations is well regarded.

Strongest Programs “Although classes can be difficult, students help each other out, and the classroom environment is an enjoyable one,” offers one
economics major. Students often form study groups in an effort to help one another through the demanding curriculum. One undergrad
Economics
estimates the average student spends 20 to 30 hours a week studying outside the classroom. Classes are small—70 percent have
Mathematics
fewer than 20 students—and the faculty makes a point of being accessible. An ever-popular take-a-professor-to-lunch program gives
Computer Science
students free meals when they arrive with a faculty member in tow. Better still, “We do not have graduate students or TAs teaching
Neuroscience
class,” says a senior.

Public Policy Analysis

International Relations Educational enrichment opportunities abound at Pomona. Students can spend a semester at Colby or Swarthmore, pursue a 3–2
engineering plan with the California Institute of Technology or Dartmouth College, or spend a semester in Washington, D.C., working
for a congressperson. Half of the students take advantage of 60 study abroad programs offered in 35 countries. Fifty-three percent
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conduct research mentored by a faculty member, and the Summer Undergraduate Research Program provides funding to more than
200 students to pursue such opportunities each summer.

Pomona students “tend to be high-achieving, confident, verbal students with a fairly liberal political ideology,” says a senior. “Students
are laid-back in a very Southern California kind of way,” adds another. Twenty-seven percent are Californians, and a growing number
venture from the East Coast; 11 percent come from abroad. Ten percent are African American, 17 percent are Hispanic, 16 percent are
Asian American, and 7 percent are multiracial. There is a healthy mix of liberals and conservatives on campus, though the leftists,
especially the feminist wing, are much more vocal. The student government is active, and the administration is credited with respecting
students’ opinions. One interesting way students voice their concerns is by painting the Walker Wall. Anyone is allowed to paint any
message they want on the wall, and the school will even provide groups with the paint. Pomona is need-blind in admissions and meets
the full demonstrated financial need of all those who attend. Although there are no merit or athletic awards, the college has replaced
loans with grants in an effort to reduce the debt burden for families. The college also participates in the QuestBridge and Posse
programs.

Virtually all Pomona students (98 percent) live on campus all four years. The dorms are co-ed, student-governed, and divided into two
distinct groups. Those on South campus are family-like and fairly quiet, offer spacious rooms, and house freshmen and sophomores,
while those on the North end have smaller rooms with a livelier social scene and house juniors and seniors. “Pomona’s dorms are like
palaces,” says a student. The two newest residence halls, Dialynas and Sontag, are LEED Platinum and feature suite-style apartments
for upperclassmen. Oldenborg Center is a language dorm with wings for speakers of Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Japanese,
Spanish, and Russian, and Pomona also has established language tables at lunch. Boarders must buy at least partial meal plans. The
food is good, with seafood certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, humanely raised beef and cage-free eggs, and ice cream for
dessert every day. Students generally feel safe on campus. “The worst that usually happens are bike thefts,” says a junior.

Social life begins in the dorms, where barbecues, parties, and study breaks are organized. There are movies several nights a week,
and students also enjoy just tossing a Frisbee on the lawn. One student wanted to be sure that incoming freshmen and transfers knew
of the Coop’s (student union) “best milkshakes west of the Mississippi,” pool tables, and large-screen TV and gaming system. Students
often spend Friday afternoons relaxing with friends over a brew at the Greek Theater. Pomona is unique among the Claremont
Colleges in that it has three nonnational fraternities (two co-ed; there are no sororities). As for booze, “I haven’t noticed any pressure
to drink here,” reports one student, but “alcohol is definitely present in the social scene.”

“I appreciate the diversity and depth that the five-college community brings to the social life,” says a student. “You are guaranteed to
meet new and interesting people whenever you step off campus.” Five-college parties happen nearly every weekend. During midterms
and finals, however, the campus is a “social ghost town.” Harwood dorm throws the five-college costume party every Halloween.
Freshman orientation gets interesting too. “First-years have to run through the gates of Pomona with blue and white carnations while
upperclassmen throw water balloons and shoot water at them,” says a student. It helps to have a set of wheels here because “it’s
virtually impossible to get around in Southern California without a car,” according to one student. Every February or March, hundreds
of students spend the morning at a nearby ski resort, then head to a local beach to swim, and end the day with an oceanside cookout.

There once was a time when the Pomona Sagehens were an athletic powerhouse; the football team even knocked off mighty USC on
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 Thanksgiving Day back in 1899. Currently, men’s and women’s water polo and track and field are strong programs, as are women’s
soccer and tennis. Intense rivalry exists between the Claremont Colleges; basketball games between Pomona–Pitzer and CMS
(Claremont–Mudd–Scripps) are “particularly heated.” Pomona–Pitzer enjoys a lively rivalry with Occidental College as well.
Intramurals, including hotly contested inner-tube water polo matches, attract many participants, and the Outdoor Education Center
facilitates numerous outdoor adventures.

“Pomona offers a unique and desirable juxtaposition of rigorous academics and a comfortable social atmosphere,” says a student. The
strongest link in an extremely attractive chain, Pomona continues to symbolize the rising status of the Claremont Colleges—and the
West in general—in the world of higher education. There are few regrets about coming to Pomona. Says a senior, “We’re in California.
The sun is always shining. What’s the problem?”

Application Requirements

If You Apply To > Pomona: Early decision I and II, regular decision. Accepts the Common Application with supplement. Please consult
Pomona’s website for the most up-to-date information regarding standardized test requirements.

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