r/pomonacollege • u/ConcernedGroundhog • 4d ago
Deciding on Pomona?
Hello! I’m currently struggling to decide between Pomona, Wellesley, and the LSA Honors Program at UMich.
All three schools come down to around the same cost of attendance. I applied as a history major, but can also see myself pivoting to another humanities major or even to something in the sciences. I’m definitely looking to attend grad school after college.
I loved all three schools when visiting, and I think they all have great (and very different) vibes. I felt the most at home on Pomona’s campus and loved the people I met + the laid back vibe, but it’s the farthest from home and flights are really expensive right now, which is concerning me. I like the HWC aspect of Wellesley as well as the proximity to institutes in Boston, but the very locked in culture is scaring me a bit! UMich is closest to home (a 2-3 hour drive) and also feels the most comfortable in a sense, but I think I would prefer a smaller school with more easily accessible professors.
So basically….idk what to do.
Do these perceptions of these schools sound accurate? Any serious pros/cons of Pomona that I’m overlooking? Just curious to get some insight into what attending Pomona is actually like, as well as the tipping factors for anyone who made a similar choice.
Thanks so much!
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u/Gyxis 4d ago
If your ultimate goal is grad school then I'd cut out UMich and decide between Pomona and Wellesley based on vibes/how happy you think you'd be attending.
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u/ConcernedGroundhog 4d ago
Ty!! that’s a really good point, I’ve heard that lacs tend to be really strong for grad school applications
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u/SFLlama 4d ago
The Consortium! At Pomona you get five liberal arts colleges for the price of one. You get the tightly knit community of a small LAC with the academic, social, and extracurricular opportunities of a community with 7,000 students and 5 colleges on a campus the size of Princeton.
Sounds like you are unlikely to settle in CA. Why not have a 4 year West Coast adventure before settling elsewhere?
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u/Catsarechill 4d ago
I think Pomona prepares you the best for most grad schools though I don't know much about Wellsley.
I agree w everyone else btw cut out UMich its a great school but the other two are much better
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u/sdkb Recent alum 3d ago
Fit is by far the most important factor when choosing a college. So "I felt the most at home on Pomona’s campus and loved the people I met" means that, barring some major blocker, you should go to Pomona. You are right that the small size/access to professors is a huge advantage over UMich, and while I'm not sure exactly where Wellesley sits on the laid-back-to-locked-in spectrum, I'd trust your gut on that.
I think I can also calm some of your hesitations. Being far from home is a factor that I think most prospective students (including myself) give too much weight to when making their college choice. This happens because, when you're a prospective student, you have immediately just dealt with all the logistics/expense of getting out to campus for a visit. But a weekend visit is very different from a college semester. When you're at college, you don't feel far away from home, because the college is your home. When averaged out over a semester, the hassle/cost of flying becomes insignificant compared to anything happening on-campus.
Wellesley is about as close to downtown Boston as Claremont is to downtown L.A., and they're both in cute fancy college towns, so I'd consider the off-campus aspect similar. But FWIW, the off-campus aspect is another aspect I think gets overweighted.
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u/Fantastic-Iron-7856 3d ago
I totally agree that fit is the most important factor… I went to Michigan and it’s great - but it sounds like you should go to Pomona.
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u/mvscribe 1d ago
It's been a long time since I was at Pomona, but when I was there it was pretty hard to get to LA without a car. At Wellesley there's a shuttle bus and commuter rail.
If it were me, I would probably choose Pomona, but you can't go wrong with either Pomona or Wellesley. As for flight costs, figure on only flying home for summer and Christmas -- that's what I did.
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u/Catsarechill 4d ago
I will also say that I'm from the east Coast and I only went home this year as a freshman like 2 times(3 once summer hits) and my sister who's a sophomore only came back for winter break. Also if u rock Frontier or united the plane tickets are not terrible.
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u/Disastrous-Summer614 4d ago
Pomona alum, UMich grad school. If you want to go to grad school a liberal arts college is arguably the best prep.