Pomona vs Dartmouth vs Middlebury [for ED]

Applying to College
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Hello! I’m currently trying to decide where to apply Early Decision I and Early Decision II for the 2027 admissions cycle. Right now, I’m choosing between Pomona College and Dartmouth College for ED1, and I’m strongly considering Middlebury College for ED2—although all of this is still subject to change.

I’m from the Chicago suburbs and am extremely interested in pursuing a liberal arts education, particularly with a focus on urban planning. I love spending time outdoors and would really like to be at a college with a strong community of outdoorsy, adventurous people. I’m also an extremely social and outgoing person. While I’m not especially drawn to Greek life—particularly when it becomes exclusionary or overly status-focused—I could see myself participating if the culture felt welcoming and aligned with my values.

Ultimately, my goals for college go beyond academics. I want college to be the place where I learn who I am, build lifelong friendships, and genuinely have fun. I want to leave feeling like I’ve grown into a more confident, interesting, and well-rounded person. At the same time, I also want to build a strong community and position myself well for career opportunities in what feels like an increasingly competitive job market.

On paper, Pomona sounds like an absolute dream, but I do have a few concerns.

First, I’m worried that I might be missing out on the quintessential New England small college experience that schools like Dartmouth and the NESCACs are known for. At first, it seemed like Pomona offered the best of both worlds—a tight-knit liberal arts community with incredible Southern California weather—but I’m not sure whether it can truly replicate that classic New England feel.

Second, I’ve heard throughout my life about the stereotypical “fake California” culture, and I wonder whether there’s any truth to that at Pomona. I really value genuine, kind people and would love to hear whether that stereotype matches reality or is completely off base.

Finally, I’m a little concerned about the political climate. I’m politically liberal, but I appreciate environments where people can respectfully disagree and have thoughtful conversations. I don’t enjoy spaces where discussions become hostile or judgmental if someone isn’t extremely progressive, and I’m generally not very interested in identity politics. I’d love to hear whether Pomona’s campus feels intellectually open or if political conversations tend to be more one-sided.

Beyond those concerns, everything else about Pomona—and especially the Claremont Consortium—sounds absolutely incredible. The ability to take classes across five colleges while still belonging to a small, close-knit community seems almost too good to be true.

My concerns with Dartmouth are much simpler. I’ve grown to dislike Chicago winters, and I’m worried that Hanover’s long, cold winters might eventually wear on me. It may sound like a small factor, but weather genuinely affects my mood and quality of life. On the flip side, Dartmouth’s outdoor culture is incredibly appealing to me. The idea of skiing in the winter, hiking, and being surrounded by people who love being outside sounds like an amazing way to spend four years.

One additional factor is that I’m Jewish (very Reform and not particularly religious), and I’m curious whether that meaningfully shapes the experience at either school. I’d love to hear from Jewish students—or anyone familiar with campus life—about whether they felt welcomed and found a strong community.

My brother attends Middlebury and absolutely loves it. Because of a few personal circumstances that I can’t really discuss here, I also think I have a somewhat stronger chance of admission there, which is why I’m currently planning to apply there through ED2.

So here’s my question: Which school do you think I should choose for ED1?

At this point, I’m not just trying to figure out which school is “better” academically. I’m trying to decide which environment will help me grow the most as a person. I want a college experience where I can discover more about myself, build an amazing community, have an unforgettable four years, and graduate with strong opportunities afterward.

If you attended either school—or seriously considered both—I’d love to hear your thoughts. What do you think each college does especially well? Which one do you think best fits the goals I’ve described? Im also open to putting midd at ed1 if that makes the most sense, i just thought I would give my shot at these other options as I want to shoot for the moon a bit. I am a competitive applicant (I think) for all these schools with a 35 ACT and good course rigor and solid grades, good narrative too. I come from a decently large public high school.

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Are you sure you prefer Pomona and Dartmouth ahead of Midd? If you got in, Midd is out of the picture? Seems like you have a good chance at Midd.

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I guess I’m wondering why, if Pomona and Dartmouth are your top 2 choices, you’re not considering ED at Dartmouth and ED2 at Pomona.

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Dartmouth College doesn’t offer a bachelor’s degree in urban planning but they do offer a geography major and an urban studies minor. From what I’ve gathered, Pomona College doesn’t offer it either but does offer a major in environmental analysis.

I would apply to Dartmouth ED1. You have already some concerns about Pomona College. Your brother is loving Middlebury & you are very likely to love it also but you could end loving Dartmouth (or Pomona) much more! Plus, it doesn’t sound like Middlebury is your first choice; you would be applying ED1 to follow an application gaming strategy. I doubt that the winters at Dartmouth are going to feel much like Chicago winters. For me, winters in NYC didn’t feel anything like winters in upstate New York, a place where I actually enjoyed the snow! Plus, at Dartmouth, you’ll be completely immersed in the new college environment, your new home away from home.

Dartmouth also currently enrolls the highest population of Jewish students of the three: approx. 400 undergraduate and 200 graduate students.

I would reach out to the Hillel, Center for Jewish Life, at every school you apply to if this is a major factor in your final college selection.

I would apply to all three options for competing financial aid offers, in case you don’t get admitted to your top ED choice; leverage to negotiate. I would also consider applying to at least two additional schools; perhaps add Brown University as a regular option, which offers urban studies & is very liberal. Brown also offers its flexible “Open Curriculum.” Brown has a higher Jewish student population and surrounding Providence offers access to nature. You likely would need to deal with a few harsh winters here too.

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Given your goals, I would not put Middlebury ahead of the other two unless you’re planning to do a semester or two abroad. Dartmouth has the oldest, largest, and best funded outdoor outing club in the country. It seems made to order for your interests.

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Agree Dartmouth should be #1 and ED, but Snowbowl > Skiway

Many of the reasons to go to Dartmouth hold for Midd if you don’t get in. Outdoors, geography major, climate etc.

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Do fraternities and sororities matter (positively or negatively) to you?

At Dartmouth, an estimated 60-70% of undergraduates join fraternities and sororities, while that percentage is around 5% at Pomona and 0% at Middlebury (they are not allowed at Middlebury).

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ED1 Pomona, ED2 Midd. I would not even consider Dartmouth if you feel it might affect your mental health.

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My son is [barely] Jewish, went to Dartmouth, and absolutely didn’t have any issues regarding that. Chicago winters suck (I went to Northwestern) but New Hampshire winters seem gentler. And Dartmouth people have a lot of fun with winter!! – check out Winter Carnival weekend. The fraternity scene is fairly low-key. Son joined one but he certainly had friends who didn’t join that one and who didn’t join at all.

If you attend Dartmouth, your parents can easily visit both you and your brother in one trip.

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The bottom line is which school do you think provides the best environment for you? Your other goals are all achievable at any of these three schools.

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I’ve never heard an upper-middle-class Caucasian alum utter a single word of regret about Dartmouth winters or attending Dartmouth in any way; it’s one of those schools that choose you - not the other way around. ED2 is an excellent way of gaining admission to a NESCAC that resembles an impossible-to-get-into Ivy (Wesleyan for Brown; Middlebury and Colby for Dartmouth; there might be others.) Pomona is its own template just as California tends to be its own ecosystem. Here’s a Thought Experiment: “I think Stanford and Berkeley are the two best colleges in the world.”

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I don’t understand why you need to ED anywhere.

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Have you visited all three?

My opinion: You don’t enjoy cold weather and are not drawn to Greek life. You want to study urban planning. Why is Dartmouth even on your list?

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I was thinking you should just apply to Dartmouth and Middlebury in whatever order you preferred until you got to the bit about winter weather affecting your mood.

I think for some people that is just an adaptation thing, maybe learning how to effectively use layers.

For a minority of people, though, long dark winters are a more serious issue. Like, they have SAD, or at least something similar. And there is a well-documented correlation between SAD or similar causes of winter depression and latitude, which makes sense.

So I would not personally recommend upper New England colleges like Dartmouth and Middlebury to people like that. I would actually recommend considering striking them from their list entirely. In your case, that could mean keeping Pomona and then looking at other LACs without SAD being a concern.

Like, as an example, the University of Richmond is an LAC which has cross-appeal for some Dartmouth/Middlebury sorts of kids in my circles, and they have a really beautiful campus, and a Geography major and minor (also a Sustainability minor that might be of interest):

I am mentioning minors in part because they also have the Jepson School, which operates as a sort of internal honors college and you major in something they call Leadership Studies:

It is a very cool program for the right sort of kids, and it is the kind of thing that an urban planning kid could like. In fact . . .

Richmond the city also has a lot to do, and then there are the Blue Ridge Mountains not too far away, and the coast is accessible as well.

Of course this is just one example. And maybe you will decide the long dark winters in upper New England are not actually a concern.

Still, I do think you might want to investigate options like this before actually committing to anything via ED.

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If you don’t like cold weather, why are both Dartmouth and Middlebury on your list?

Would you like more suggestions for colleges that might have more “pleasing” climates, and for your interests?

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I would to Dartmouth. What if greatatious ends up with one admit, one rejection, & one waitlist, assuming she applies to just these three schools? The best outcome would actually be to get deferred from Dartmouth, then admitted through RA & get admitted to 2 or 3 schools for competing financial aid. The absolute worst outcome would be all three rejections.

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I think Early Decision gives me a massive advantage at Middlebury and Its less of reach compared to the other two.

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because im not completely opposed to the cold weather, IF the vibes are right as it pertains to skiing, coziness, people getting excited around it etc… Also, Dartmouth is prestigious, and has that “name brand” which could help me in the long run?! Not sure

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Because Dartmouth operates on the D-plan (4 quarters - of which you pick any 3), a student never has to spend a single winter in Hanover, NH. Fall term ends before Thanksgiving and Spring term begins in late March, just in time for mud season. :hugs:

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The great thing about the Dartmouth location for anyone who loves adventuring in the outdoors is that you sit first in the Connecticut River Valley, which is great for water sports. (I know someone who canoed all 410 miles, pitching his tent overnight.) you sit between the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Green Mountains of Vermont. Great for hiking, camping, mountain biking, etc. But even better is that just a hop, skip, and a jump farther to the east and west are the Maine North Woods and the Adirondack Mountains, which is the largest public park (6 million acres) in the lower 48. And to the north are the Eastern Townships of Quebec with quaint towns and more mountains.

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