Pomona College

333 N College Way, Claremont, CA 91711 | (909) 621-8000

#7 (tie) in National Liberal Arts Colleges | Overall Score 90/100.0

Overview

School Details

Claremont, CA Explore Map

2017 Quick Stats

  • Tuition & Fees $49,352 (2016-17)
  • Room and Board $15,605 (2016-17)
  • Total Enrollment 1,663
  • Application Deadline Jan. 1

Pomona College is a private institution that was founded in 1887. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,663, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 140 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Pomona College's ranking in the 2017 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, 7. Its tuition and fees are $49,352 (2016-17).

Pomona College is located in Claremont, California, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles near the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Pomona’s founders envisioned "a college of the New England type" when they created this school with small classes and strong student-faculty relationships. Pomona is a member of the NCAA Division III Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. On-campus housing is guaranteed if requested, and more than 97 percent of students live in the 14 residence halls, two-thirds of which contain single rooms. Pomona offers more than 200 student organizations. A well-known secret club called "Mulfi" has left cryptic notes with social commentary around campus since the 1940s. Students can also get involved with the three campus fraternities.

Pomona College has around 45 majors and offers a 8:1 student-faculty ratio. Pomona students can also take classes at the other six colleges in the Claremont Colleges consortium: Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, Claremont Graduate University and Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences. More than half of Pomona students study abroad through the nearly 50 programs Pomona offers in approximately 30 countries. "Ski-Beach Day" takes advantage of Pomona’s unique location: Students ski at a local resort in the morning, and spend the afternoon at a beach in Orange County. Notable alumni include former New York Times executive editor Bill Keller and renowned choral conductor Robert Shaw.

General Information

  • Private, Coed school type
  • 1887 year founded
  • N/A religious affiliation
  • Semester academic calendar
  • Suburban setting
  • $2,098,703,000 2015 endowment

School Mission and Unique Qualities

Content is provided by the school.

Located next to Los Angeles, the largest metropolitan area of Southern California and the creative capital of the United States, Pomona College offers unequaled resources for educational, cultural and recreational activities. Pomona students are highly talented and venturesome by choice. They are also exceptionally collaborative, driven to discover the best within themselves, not to best one another. They choose from 48 majors from music to math, English to environmental analysis, and media studies to international relations. Students and faculty members challenge and support each other in laboratories, classrooms and co-curricular pursuits, and everyone benefits from the energy generated by a community of diverse and daring minds. Indeed, the extraordinary ethnic and social range of Pomona s student body gives the College a greater mix of backgrounds than nearly all comparable institutions. And Pomona s role as one of the five close-knit undergraduate institutions of The Claremont Colleges provides opportunities both educational and social far beyond the means of most liberal arts colleges and on a more individual scale than most universities.

2017 Rankings

Pomona College is ranked #7 in National Liberal Arts Colleges. Schools are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence.

See all scores and key indicators.
Read more about how we rank schools.

Undergraduate Information

Applying

When applying to Pomona College, it's important to note the application deadline is Jan. 1, and the early decision deadline is Nov. 1. The application fee at Pomona College is $70. Scores for either the ACT or SAT test are due Jan. 1. It is most selective, with an acceptance rate of 10 percent.

For more information about the tests, essays, interviews and admissions process, visit the Applying to College knowledge center.

Selectivity: Most selective

Selectivity: Most selective

Fall 2015 acceptance rate: 10%

Fall 2015 acceptance rate: 10%

Application deadline: Jan. 1

Application deadline: Jan. 1

SAT/ACT scores must be received by: Jan. 1

SAT/ACT scores must be received by: Jan. 1

Priority application deadline:

Academic Life

The student-faculty ratio at Pomona College is 8:1, and the school has 67.8 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at Pomona College include: Mathematics, General, Economics, General, Biology/Biological Sciences, General, Neuroscience and Political Science and Government, General. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 98 percent.

Class sizes :
Classes with fewer than 20 students 67.8%
20-49 31.3%
50 or more 1%

Student-faculty ratio: 8:1

Student-faculty ratio: 8:1

4-year graduation rate: 91%

4-year graduation rate: 91%

Student Life

Pomona College has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,663, with a gender distribution of 50 percent male students and 50 percent female students. At this school, 98 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated or -affiliated housing and 2 percent of students live off campus. Pomona College is part of the NCAA III athletic conference.

Student gender distribution:
Male 50%
Female 50%

Total enrollment: 1,663

Total enrollment: 1,663

Collegiate athletic association: NCAA III

Collegiate athletic association: NCAA III

Full-time degree-seeking students:

Cost & Financial Aid

At Pomona College, 55% percent of full-time undergraduates receive some kind of need-based financial aid and the average need-based scholarship or grant award is $45,774.

Paying for college doesn't have to be difficult or devastating. Go to the Paying for College knowledge center to get advice on raising cash and reducing costs, or use the U.S. News 529 Finder to choose the best tax-advantaged college investment account for you.

Financial aid statistics:
Applied for need-based aid
69%
Need was fully met
100%
Received need-based financial aid
55%
Received need-based self-help aid
55.5%
Average percent of need met
100%

Tuition and fees: $49,352 (2016-17)

Tuition and fees: $49,352 (2016-17)

Room and board: $15,605 (2016-17)

Room and board: $15,605 (2016-17)

Minimum credits per term a student can take for full-time tuition price:

Campus Safety

Campus safety data were reported by the institution to the U.S. Department of Education and have not been independently verified. The numbers for criminal offenses reflect reports of alleged offenses to campus security and/or law enforcement authorities, not necessarily prosecutions or convictions. Experts advise prospective students and their families to do their own research to evaluate the safety of a campus as well as the surrounding area.

Campus Services

Pomona College offers a number of student services, including nonremedial tutoring, women's center, placement service, health service, health insurance. Pomona College also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, student patrols, controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc). Alcohol is permitted for students of legal age at Pomona College.

Students who have cars on campus: N/A

Students who have cars on campus: N/A

Health insurance offered: Yes

Health insurance offered: Yes

Nearest airports (miles):

U.S. News College Compass

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Undergraduate data are based on the 2015 school year.

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