Pomona vs. Ivy/Stanford

enkephalon
Sat, 03 Apr 2010 01:54:43 +0000

Don’t believe a word about “easier classes” or less than stellar academics when compared to Harvard, Stanford, et al. In addition to what’s been mentioned already, here a few more good reasons to attend Pomona:


Pomona College has fostered more Fulbright Scholars per capita than any other US academic institution 3 out of the last 4 years.
Pomona College ranks 15th nationally as a producer of PhD grads: (within 0.7% of Harvard, Princeton and Yale)
despite its smaller student body, from 2005-2007, Pomona had 9 Goldwater Science scholars, placing it above CalTech (5), MIT (8), Berkeley(6), Carnegie Mellon(6) and Michigan(6). 08/09 brought another 4, putting it in excellent company with MIT(7), Cornel(6)l, Berkeley (3)
at 165, LSAT scores of Pomona students are one above Stanford’ 164, tied with Yale and Swarthmore and one behind Harvard’s 166. In other words, there is no statistical difference between the schools in prepping their grads for Law School
Pomona students are often cross-admitted to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, et al., but many choose Pomona for their undergrad study because of its reputation for providing an intimate classroom setting (avg. class size 14), the chance to get to know and work closely on research with their professors, and a safe and caring environment for undergrads. You might want to check up on Harvard and Stanford in that regard – they are much larger institutions that are not particularly geared to undergrads and the (admittedly anecdotal) expressions of regret from unhappy – but stuck – attendees is plentiful.


Finally, I remember reading a post on this site some time back that articulated the conundrum of name recognition vs. quality vs. prestige quite well:

" 99.9% of the American public will readily recognize (read: familiarity) Micky D’s Big Mac or Quarter Pounder (over a billion served!) vs., say, the “21” burger at the 21 Club (New York)… but does that Ronald McDonald more prestigious? Hardly.

Many people know (shop) at Wal-Mart vs. Bergdorf Goodman, but that hardly qualifies Wal-Mart to be categorized as “prestigious”

… don’t confuse the two terms: less familiarity doesn’t = less prestige. Just because your Bud-Light-loving neighbor hasn’t heard of Château Margaux doesn’t mean it isn’t prestigious - less familiar? Perhaps, but not less prestigious.

I would suggest that when it comes to undergraduate study, Harvard’s current reputation is as much a function of longevity and Eastern Ivy bias as it is academics. It made the transition from school to status symbol long ago. Stanford is another great school, but to the average person, it is known less for its academics, than for its maniacal devotion to, and success in Div I athletics.

If you’re looking for a stellar education at a top tier school with a 14:1 student teacher ratio; a place where you can actually interact with and get to know your professors; in a safe and healthy environment where you can work WITH – not in bloodthirsty competition against – your equally talented, intelligent and ambitious classmates, you simply can’t go wrong with Pomona.