Rejection nearly always stings, but getting an Early Decision rejection from a dream school is particularly frustrating. If you recently heard from Pomona that they don’t have a space for you, it is understandable if you feel turned upside down. You had a plan and being rejected wasn’t part of it. Now, you have to figure out what comes next.  

In this post, we’re going to give you the best next steps to get yourself back on track towards a dream school acceptance. We’ll also break down what may have gone wrong with your Pomona application such that you can avoid the same mistakes in the future. First, though, let’s talk some numbers. 

Over the past few years, Pomona has received number of applications. Unsurprisingly, they have also experienced a record low acceptance rate. For the Class of 2029, the acceptance rate was 7%. The college does not release the Early Decision acceptance rate, but they are known for accepting a significant percentage of the first-year class in the ED rounds and only deferring a small number of applicants to the regular decision round.

But that’s all in the past, obviously. So, let’s get into what comes next.

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Applying to college isn’t a science, but that doesn’t mean that clear steps are not massively helpful. This is especially true when you are navigating disappointment and need to get back on a trajectory towards success.

Step One: Take a Break

First, you need to do nothing. We’re serious about this. The worst time to make big decisions is immediately after bad news. So, you need to give yourself some space to process and, honestly, to heal. Catch up on sleep, go out to pizza with a good friend, or take your dog on a long walk. Do something that helps you recharge and recenter. This will be good for your body, great for your brain, and lead to your best possible outcomes in the Regular Decision (and possibly EDII!) round.

Step Two: Strategize

The next step is to build your strategy. Maybe you had a backup plan before applying to Pomona, but you almost certainly thought of it as a plan you probably wouldn’t have to use. But now you need a plan that isn’t just a back-up — it’s the real deal.

In order to come up with your perfect strategy, though, we need to figure out what may have gone wrong with Pomona. Of course, we haven’t seen your application. Without eyes on the app, we can’t diagnose what went awry. However, there are a few things that often come into play when there is an ED rejection.

The most glaring is quantitative. Unlike many schools, Pomona has a minimum course distribution. If you have not done the coursework to meet that required minimum, you are — except in exceptional circumstances — disqualified from admission. Frustrating? Yes. But there’s nothing you can do about it except to make sure that you don’t put schools on your RD list that you won’t be seriously considered by simply because you don’t check the course boxes.

Another quantitative issue that may have come into play is standardized testing. Pomona does not require SAT or ACT scores, but of recently accepted students submitted scores. This underlines that Pomona does care about scores. They aren’t the end-all be-all by any means, but they matter. A middle-of-the-pack SAT for accepted students is 1530 and a similarly middling ACT would have been a 34. If you were below either of these thresholds and submitted scores, the scores did not work in your favor.

Even a lower standardized test score or an imperfect transcript can be helped, though, by exceptional writing. Every year, we see how writing can make an application. It isn’t everything, but strong writing goes a long way. If you have the grades and the scores for Pomona, your writing was most likely the problem.

Step Three: Essays

As we’ve said, essays can’t get you into a college if you don’t have the basic building blocks (like grades and scores). But strong writing can be a difference-maker if application readers are on the edge of saying yes but aren’t quite sure yet. We work with our students to create written work that does precisely this.

Ultimately, outstanding writing is personal. There are a few things, though, that are common across great work. The first is structure. Strong writing has a clear structure, and each response should be treated like a stand-alone essay. If you were to remove the prompt, the writing should be able to stand alone without it — and the reader should be able to tell what you are focusing on without the prompt to guide them.

Strong writing is also story-centric. Each supplement or essay should have a core story that drives the response through narrative. This helps the reader build a connection to your writing, and to you. It gives them memorable moments that they can return to and share with other admissions officials in their office.

Lastly, you need to be authentic. One big problem that we see in applications that were rejected in the ED round is that they feel performative. These applications read like the applicant is saying what the college wants to hear, not representing who they truly are. This is a fundamental structural problem, but it’s also a solvable one through fresh writing.

Step Four: Ask For Help

The final step is to ask for a fresh perspective. Getting expert eyes on your work can be a difference-maker between an acceptance decision, a waitlist decision, or a rejection. It can be overwhelming, too. We get that. You likely have a strong idea of how you want your applications to look, and the idea of someone else coming in and giving you guidance and direction can be intimidating. This is especially true after an Early Decision rejection. But don’t let that keep you from listening to those who have been through this time and again. Great advice leads to outstanding outcomes.

You can still get into a dream school after an ED rejection. Learn more.