Brown vs Pomona?

CranberryOrange
Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:47:19 +0000

Let’s see…
I was really bothered by the sponsor group system (you live in a group of 10-20 freshmen and they’re supposed to be your “family away from home”). I didn’t fit in very well to my sponsor group but the way the system was set up, it felt like I had to hang out with them even though I didn’t want to/they pressured me to and it was harder to meet other people because it felt like they already had their predetermined group. Also, the freshmen are much more isolated from nonfreshmen than they are at other schools: you all live in four or five buildings on the same street and eat in the same dining hall on the South side of campus.

That sort of freshmen isolation coupled with the isolation of the campus itself really frustrated me. Because nearly all students live on campus, there are fewer options for chill, off campus house parties. Claremont has a few restaurants and a lot of clothing boutiques, but you can’t get what you need without a car, which I never would have been able to have while at Pomona. I missed public transportation and the East Coast attitude/stereotype.

I also just found it sort of weird that instead of frat parties, Pomona/the 5Cs had these campus-wide parties run by the college where (at least if at Harvey Mudd or CMC) campus security would hand you free alcohol without an ID. I guess that’s cool, but it’s just not real life. I felt like I was at summer camp living a fake life. Sure, Brown is in a bubble as well, but not in the way Pomona felt like to me.