Pomona College Reviews

Awesomeness

I love Pomona because there are so many people here willing to help you. Study abroad, housing, food, financial issues, even the professors... they're awesome. The people here are generally really fun and party just as hard as they study, which I personally appreciate a lot!

Awkward Much?

I'll be honest... most guys are at least semi-awkward at Pomona. They're mostly nice, but generally not the most conventionally attractive bunch.

Wide Variety and Usually Pretty Good.

On campus dining is pretty good. You have 2 dining halls on Pomona that you can eat at plus the Coop Fountain. The always have salads, sandwiches, pizzas, the basics... then you get some cool 'exhibitions' like steaks, sushi, and burritos. The best part about the dining is that you can go to any of the other Claremont Colleges if you get tired of Pomona's.

I honestly feel that the academics...

I honestly feel that the academics are the best aspect of Pomona. You will certainly learn a lot if you come here. This doesn't say much for the social scene, though.

I think Pomona was pretty good,...

I think Pomona was pretty good, but I sometimes wish I went to a school that more lay-people had heard of. It’s so insulting to have paid all that money and still have people think you went to a two year community college. Alas.

I really like it, and I’m...

I really like it, and I’m incredibly glad that I came here. We really have it good here. Although people complain about stuff sometimes, it could be a lot worse. The school really takes care of us. We have good food, nice dorms, tons of activities, an incredibly lenient alcohol policy, and a beautiful campus. I could go on and on. The one complaint I have is that Pomona doesn’t have the name recognition it should. Hopefully, guides like this one will solve that.

Greek life is a joke. There are...

Greek life is a joke. There are two fraternities that are not even part of the Greek system. One of them has the same name as a national sorority, and the other one pretty much just gets high and drunk amongst themselves. It is perfectly possible to party at Pomona for four years without ever attending a Greek function.

I wouldn’t know. I have never been...

I wouldn’t know. I have never been to Greece.

The Campus Security realizes that...

The Campus Security realizes that students mostly know how to handle themselves, except the dumb freshman girls who add to the alcohol-poisoning stats at least once every week.

There are definitely good teachers...

There are definitely good teachers here, but you have to seek them out. I generally ask upperclassmen or people who have had the professor already before taking a class. On the whole, I have had more good profs than bad, and there are certainly some outstanding ones, but there are some less desirable ones, as well. You just have to be discerning.

The town is quiet, and generally,...

The town is quiet, and generally, it is an entirely separate community from the colleges. There are stores, restaurants, banks, and other services that college students use gladly and often, but they’re not specifically catered to the students. Visiting the other four Claremont Colleges adds a lot of variety to life and helps us meet new people. A lot of people take trips into LA on the Metrolink train, which has a station right in town. For about eight dollars round trip you can get to Union Station in LA, and from there take the light-rail line on your Metrolink ticket to places like Long Beach, Hollywood, and Redondo Beach. People also drive to the usual attractions like movies, the mall, and Disneyland. The ASPC office has discounted movie and theme-park tickets. We also have easy access to both skiing and beaches.

The town sucks! Most of it isn’t...

The town sucks! Most of it isn’t geared to college students, despite the fact that we have a significant presence in the town. There’s nothing to do at all. You need a car to seek any kind of off-campus entertainment.

The atmosphere is sunny and sleepy...

The atmosphere is sunny and sleepy in Claremont. It’s an upper-class retirement community. Thank goodness we have the other Claremont Colleges with which to socialize. It’s fun to go to Bert and Rocky’s ice cream place, and to browse the tiny shops in Claremont, but everything is too expensive to buy.

It’s fine. I never felt unsafe,...

It’s fine. I never felt unsafe, and I would frequently walk around at night alone. Naked.

Now that you are living in...

Now that you are living in Claremont, this will be a good time to expand your porcelain kitten collection.

The other four colleges of the...

The other four colleges of the Claremont Consortium are all within walking distance and drastically expand the social horizons of what would otherwise be an exceptionally small social group. The town of Claremont that immediately surrounds the colleges does not have much to offer students other than a few good places to eat. Fortunately, the college is near the mountains and a network of hiking/mountain-biking trails that provide plenty of opportunities for recreation if you like those types of activities. Also, the colleges are close enough to LA if that is more your style, as long as you don’t mind fighting the infamous Inland Empire traffic.

People should visit LA. (Like...

People should visit LA. (Like anyone’s going to go to Pomona and not go to LA.) They should go to the La Brea tar pits. They should go to the Norton Simon in Pasadena which is more interesting and ‘do-able’ than LACMA. They should go to the Getty when, and only when, the garden is in bloom. They should see Venice Beach. They should just drive around through LA and ponder its weirdness. They should also go to Joshua Tree and hike, rock climb, get dehydrated, and call it a spiritual experience or whatever.

The gym really sucks. I used the...

The gym really sucks. I used the Tulane gym all summer, and it has so many windows, new machines, wide treadmills, and other nice things. Not at Pomona. The Campus Center is charmless and creepy.

I have a friend who used to refer...

I have a friend who used to refer to the Smith Campus Center as ‘the Fascist Sublime.’ It is cozier than it used to be, I guess, especially now that they’ve gotten rid of all those cheap plastic chairs in the Coop, but it still seems to be designed more for trustees than for students. The mail room is only slightly larger than my bathroom. And why can’t we use the nice rooms? All the nice rooms are always locked.

Nice facilities; everything’s...

Nice facilities; everything’s up-to-date.

There are a lot of places in town....

There are a lot of places in town. There are traditional restaurants, like for Italian and American food, but there are also a couple of Greek places, some Mexican places, a Chinese take-out, and pizza joints. I don’t go into town to eat much, but when I do, I often get a boba drink from the Chinese place and a sandwich from Full of Life bakery next door.

Be sure to visit your prospective...

Be sure to visit your prospective room before you draw for it. Avoid Harwood 189, as its only window opens onto a concrete stairwell. You should also try to avoid the room next to the dormitory door. When people are too drunk to operate the card scanners, they will often pound on the nearest window until somebody comes out.

Everything is very nice. The...

Everything is very nice. The school renovates all the time. Smith Campus Center is only a few years old and has lots of good facilities and resources for students, like the Career Development Office, Student Government Office, study lounges, two restaurants, a store, an ATM, the mail room, and even a small movie theater in the basement.

All facilities are...

All facilities are state-of-the-art and well maintained.

The campus is considerably less...

The campus is considerably less diverse than the surrounding community and the nation at large. There are different kinds of diversity—racial, sexual, biological, ecological, geographical—and Pomona can boast only approximately equal numbers of men and women.