Pomona vs. Ivy/Stanford

enkephalon
Mon, 05 Apr 2010 01:58:24 +0000

My pleasure, drying. Like everyone else on this thread, I’m happy to help.

I can relate to your indecision and anxiety, since our daughter went through the same agonizing process. In the end, she chose Pomona over Stanford and a few of the Ivies because she felt at home there from the moment she stepped on campus. After meeting some students, sitting in on a few classes and speaking with the profs, she was hooked.

Listen: You’re obviously a highly intelligent, ambitious and accomplished individual – or you wouldn’t have earned that slew of impressive admission offers. I have absolutely no doubt you will be a success in life no matter where you go for undergraduate study. Having said that, one variable which can make a difference at this stage in a HS graduate’s personal and academic evolution is that frustrating intangible known as “fit”. I believe that fit, or overall comfort level, is a critical determinant of success when choosing/attending a college – particularly if you are attending out-of-town and out-of-state institutions. After all, it stands to reason that if you’re happy with the environment, pleased to be with your new friends and classmates and closely engaged with your professors, you’ll perform at your highest level. And feel like a human being while you do so, not merely an academic automaton.

For what its worth, I believe Pomona (and other top LACs) offers a distinct brand of education that focusses on the needs of the undergraduate and helps them realize their inner potential over four important developmental years of their life. Orientation Adventure Week is one of many great examples of the lengths to which Pomona goes to welcome you, and to ensure you feel comfortable and part of the Pomona family from “day one”. Add in smaller classes (avg. 14 students per) taught by the best professors; lots of personal interaction with same and you have a wonderful, resource-rich academic incubator for horizon-widening and the development/refinement of critical thinking. And ultimately, a proven springboard into the finest grad and professional schools in the world.

But that’s just MY opinion. In the end, it’s up to YOU to decide what is best for you. The answer to that question may be Pomona, it may be Harvard or Stanford. Or someplace else. But whatever that final decision is, YOU must be happy with it, and make it – not to favour anyone else’s prejudices, wishes, or desires, but because you feel in your heart it is right for you. If you make it using those parameters, how can it be anything but the right one?

As Victor Frankl said: “The last of the human freedoms: to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Good luck, drying, and please accept my best wishes for a wonderful college experience and a happy life!