lmpw

Claremont McKenna has a reputation of being conservative and more Republican that all of the other Claremont Colleges. But, I understand students who don't fit this profile do well there as well.

ErlindaP

My daughter is a very liberal CMC student and I worried that the atmosphere at CMC wouldn't suit her. Our experience is that the level of dialogue at CMC is very high and that the kids respect each other's right to a different opinion. I can't say enough good things about the academics at CMC. I know Pomona has the hotter reputation, but it's hard to imagine the standards are THAT different there. CMC students in general seem to me to be very active and outgoing pragmatists, as well as being extremely bright. I've found I like the idea of a real dialogue among the students rather than having them confirming each other in whatever preconceived ideas each side brings to the table.

arizonamom

There is tolerance at Pomona for everyone and it is very liberal, both are true. And many middle of the road students do become more liberal but that is true at most colleges. CMC is actually more middle of the road because of the business aspect but I believe there is tolerance on both campuses for students to be who they are. I have heard some Pomona students complain that there is hyper focus on being "politically correct" Both schools are wonderful and my son was involved in many outside school activities and work study programs at CMC . You could not go wrong at either. The benefit of Pomona is that it is larger slightly and is focused across the board with more breadth of classes. My son chose Pomona over CMC after attending admitted students day and spending a night. All other possibilities ceased to exist.

treesnogger

CMC did a survey of the distribution of students' political orientations a year or two ago, asking them whether they were very liberal/liberal/moderate/conservative/very conservative, and wound up with an almost-perfect bell curve. That may seem equitable but it's actually pretty uncommon for a prestigious liberal arts college. It's very conservative compared to all of its peers.

As a member of the Claremont community, I can attest to the conservatism inherent in the school overall--they're constructing a business school and tearing apart a lot of their strongest departments in the process. Their real intention in teaching and recruiting is to send as many students as possible on to become politicians. Don't get me wrong, it's a great climate if that is what you want to do, but whatever the distribution of their students' political orientation may indicate, Pomona is a far more balanced place.

donjuan78

so true, i am in los angeles (45-60 mins from PC) and i can agree with that statement. Most people in my area do not know of pomona college. When i was talking to some kid from san diego, he didnt even know about it either, and pomona is only 2 hours away lol. Can you imagine 8 plane hours (for east coasters)?

Most kids think its cal poly pomona or a community college near cal poly pomona lol

MotherLove

Years ago my brother turned down Yale for Swarthmore. Everyone thought he was crazy to turn his back on an Ivy, but he loved Swarthmore and never looked back. It was at that time that he first mentioned Pomona, saying what a great school he had heard it to be, calling it "a laid-back Swarthmore."

A few years ago, when it came time for my kids to apply to college, they looked at Yale but didn't like it, they checked out Swarthmore but felt it wasn't for them, and instead applied to Pomona, where they are both happy as clams.

My opinion, for what it's worth: Pomona is a fabulous, fabulous school, and a very caring place, offering top-notch, personalized academics in a spectacularly beautiful setting.

arizonamom

People who matter know Pomona. It truly is just an ego boost to have neighbors and people off the street say wow, you must be smart to get into that school. Of course it is nice , we all like that, but we don't need it, more important to have 4 top notch, fulfilling, enriching years abound with opportunities. Employeers and grad schools love Pomona and hold the college in high regard

emma111

Go to Harvard! Pomona is very good for a small liberal arts college, but it does not come close to what Harvard can offer in terms of working with Professors who are at the cutting edge of their fields. There are many good professors at Pomona, but it is not a research institution. A Harvard degree will take you much further.

lmpw

Emma, I beg to differ. Pomona is far superior to Harvard for an undergraduate education. Just recently, there was an article in the NY Times (sorry I don't have time to look up the citation) bemoaning the lack of attention undergraduates get. research professors like to work with graduate students, not undergraduates. It's a big myth that these students work with well known professors. I recall when I was at Harvard, senior professor had to teach at least one undergraduate course - and that was because so few did or wanted to. You want your professors to know you as an undergraduate. Pomona is first -rate.

D.T.

that's the wonderful thing about Pomona. You are given the opportunity to do so many things (other than the great academic scene) - like internships. Whoever heard of doing an internship in freshman first semester? (actually its not even that uncommon among freshmen lol) A few of my friends got to do internships in education/media this semester. Some of my classmates just received grants to go to Peru this summer to do research with an anthropology professor. We're having a Wall Street Weekend in 2 weeks where nobel-laureates are coming to give seminars on finance and economics.

I wouldn't say that Pomona is better than Harvard for an undergraduate education, but I wouldn't say its inferior either. The article lmpw mentioned was out on NYT. Apparently many of the professors were unhappy with the way undergrads were treated and they want to engage with these students more, in the style of Williams College and LACs.

as for people mistaking it for cal poly pomona - yeah, it's amusing, and sometimes irritating. But again, what does it matter? people who matter know pomona and that's really good enough to set you up for success in the future. arizonamom definitely has that right. It's really weak logic to go on anecdotal evidence and then expand it to include the entire East Coast demographic and assume we're unknown - we known far more than what many give us credit for.

pmyen

"I wouldn't say that Pomona is better than Harvard for an undergraduate education, but I wouldn't say its inferior either."

I would very much agree. It depends upon the student. I grew up in NE so Pomona/Stanford were not on my radar. I was accepted by Yale and Amherst. Visted both and felt much more comfortable at a LAC. For me it was the right choice and I have never looked back. The LAC education prepared me well for my professional school (my top choice) and for life. My brother went to Harvard and enjoyed his experience so I am not knocking attending there. Besides name recognition, there are incredible students, profs, and resources. On the other hand, one can go there for grad/professional school. As far as undergraduate education, if one wants a closeknit community with peers and profs, I believe that the LAC experience, especially at a place like Pomona, is unbeatable. But it may not be for everyone.

brassmonkey

On Internships - Pomona will pay you $10/hr to take an unpaid internship off campus, and provide you with a car to drive there. (As well as pay you for gas AND travel time). A significant proportion of students take advantage of this program (PCIP) every semester.

Find another school that does that...

pekingnese09

A year ago I was so caught up with prestige, name recognition, the whole nine yards (shame on me :P); however, this year Pomona has just been gaining so much momentum in my College Choices and the more I do research on the school, the more excited I become about the prospects of attending it.

Though, it somewhat irks me when people come up to me asking "Stanford or Pomona?" and respond negatively when I say "Obviously Pomona"

briguy

For those of you who were accepted at Pomona or have children going there...do you know anything about their international relations program? How is it?

SarahsDad

Schools with good International Relations programs often receive a large number of Fulbright Awards. From Wikipedia:
Pomona has the highest Fulbright Awards per capita in the country.

Fulbright Awards, 2007-2008
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 37
Yale University 27
Pomona College 25
Brown University 25
Northwestern University 24
University of California-Berkeley 23
Cornell University 21
Harvard University 21
University of Chicago 20
Boston College 18
Stanford University 18
University of Wisconsin-Madison 18
Johns Hopkins University 17
University of Pennsylvania 17
Arizona State University at Tempe 16
Smith College 14
Columbia University 13
Princeton University 13
Tufts University 13

https://us.fulbrightonline.org/docum...hronicle_1.pdf
https://us.fulbrightonline.org/docum...ronicle_ba.pdf