Student Profile
Danno
- Class: Junior
- Major: International Relations
- Gender: M
- High School: Highland Park Senior High School
- Transfer Student: N
Big Picture
Pomona is a fantastic fit for me. As shallow as it may be, weather helps a lot. 90% bright sunny days out of the entire year makes for great relaxing weather, and at least personally I find it hard to be motivated to do just about anything when it is dreary and cloudy out. Especially coming from cold and snowy Minnesota, spending 8 months of the year in the beautiful SoCal climate is a wonderful change. It also makes outdoor sports an option for recreation year round, which is a boon to players of frisbee, basketball, soccer, beach volleyball, etc. Pomona also maintains a good balance between being a small liberal arts school of 1500ish students while being a member of the 5 Claremont Colleges for a total students body of 4-5 thousand students. The consortium offers the resources of a bigger school (larger student body to interact with, huge library access, cross registration at all the schools) while the smaller college allows for personal contact with the admin and small class sizes. The college's location in relatively close proximity to LA (and the beaches!) while reisiding in a small town lends offers the opportunities of a major city and the safety and community of a smaller suburb with its own flavor. Except for a slight tendency to be a little too activist-oriented on what to me are trivial political correctness issues, Pomona has no major faults.
Academic Life
Academically, Pomona is certainly rigorous, but not competitive between students. Cooperative projects and work is common, and most people relish the ability to bounce ideas off each other and to constructively critique each other's work. Classes can be hard sometimes, but hey, you aren't coming to Pomona if you don't expect to be academically challenged.
Student Body
The student body has numerous organizations tailored for every imaginable minority, most of which are funded through the school as it promotes diversity to an extreme degree. Students of all backgrounds interact freely and comfortably with one another. About 50% of students are on financial aid of some kind, and while economic issues occasionally limit social options (weekend trips, going out to meals, etc.), economics does not divide the campus body. Politically, the campus leans left, but with a libertarian twist.
The Best Things
Weather, Social Scene, Academics
The Worst Things
Lack of name recognition, Private school tuition
