<p>I understand there may be some bias on this forum, but which do you think is more difficult to get into? Stanford or Pomona College.</p>
<p>Interesting question …</p>
<p>From my school, I know that in the last 5 years amongst those denied
at Stanford some have managed to get admitted to Pomona; It could
be that Pomona and Stanford look for different things; I am not
aware of anyone denied from my school at Pomona who got into
Stanford.</p>
<p>hmm … ?</p>
<p>(the numbers are so small it is not a statistically significant sample to
draw conlcusions from )</p>
<p>Stanford is much harder to get into due to its higher prestiege and superior academic programs (stanford has no weak department, only excellent ones). Also, this is not biased, I have numbers backing me up, look at the acceptance rates for each school and how many people apply to each (this year Stanford had 24k+ applicants, much more than Pomona).</p>
<p>Stanford
Taken from Stanford class of 2010 common data set
Total first-time, first-year (freshman) men who applied:11,107
Total first-time, first-year (freshman) women who applied:11,226
Total first-time, first-year (freshman) men who were admitted: 1,211
Total first-time, first-year (freshman) women who were admitted: 1,233
(2444/22333) = 10.9% acceptance rate</p>
<p>Range of 25th to 75th percentile of entering class
SAT Critical Reading 660-760
SAT Math 680-780
SAT Writing 660-760</p>
<p>Percent in top tenth of high school graduating class: 89%
Percent in top quarter of high school graduating class: 98%</p>
<p>Pomona
Taken from Princeton Review 2004 edition (couldn’t find common data set online)</p>
<h1>of applicants: 4,230</h1>
<p>% of applicants accepted: 23%</p>
<p>Range of 25th to 75th percentile of entering class
SAT Critical Reading 690-760
SAT Math 680-750 </p>
<p>Percent in top tenth of high school graduating class: 84%
Percent in top quarter of high school graduating class: 89%</p>
<p>I don’t really think it’s a question of bias. It is true that Pomona’s students have comparable SAT scores, but the percentage at the top of high school class is a bit lower than Stanford’s. In the end the most telling statistic, and the most relevant to your question, is the acceptance rate. Proportionally, Pomona accepts twice as many students as Stanford does. While the data might be skewed by the number of uncompetitive candidates who apply to Stanford for the big name, in terms of pure stats it is harder to get into Stanford. These stats also do not take EC’s or essays into account, so take that for what you will. I would say that if you get into one you have a decent shot at the other, but in the end Stanford is more difficult to get into.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>While it’s true that Stanford is an excellent school, I don’t think that really addresses the OP’s question. Pomona is also very strong, and offers a lot of things Stanford doesn’t (small, Claremont college system).</p>
<p>True Stanford has a lower acceptance rate, but as I explained earlier that acceptance rate COULD be a bit skewed. It is possible that the average Pomona applicant would have a 20% acceptance rate at Stanford because they are on average stronger. While the data doesn’t prove this, it does suggest that SAT scores and GPA are roughly comparable. In that way, it might be almost as hard to get into Pomona as Stanford because Stanford’s acceptance rate is deflated by the number of non-competitive applicants.</p>
<p>Also, using your logic, Arizona State University (20K applicants) is just as prestigious as Stanford, and much more prestigious than Pomona.</p>
<p>I agree that Stanford is generally more difficult to get into, but Pomona is by no means a cake-walk, and is harder than you might think.</p>