Pomona is a leading small liberal arts college in Claremont, California. They are known for attracting students who are intellectually curious and quite adventurous. Originally an ‘east coast’ school in California, Pomona encapsulates what many students love in a liberal arts school: exploration, opportunity, and a nurturing ethos. There are about 1,730 students, a 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio, and the average class size is 13. of students pursue research with faculty, and students are distributed across the humanities, natural science, and social sciences. The acceptance rate is 7%.
Students applying to Pomona can choose to submit their application Early Decision I, Early Decision II, or Regular Decision. Like many small schools, you best chance of acceptance comes through either of the Early Decision rounds. We highly recommend that students who are passionate about Pomona commit to applying Early Decision.
Pomona is also test optional, meaning that you can decide whether to submit an SAT or ACT score. Pomona doesn’t state a preference for applications with scores or no scores. “Students are encouraged,” , “to decide how best to present themselves.” Whether you are best presented with an application that includes scores ultimately boils down to what has made it through in the past. A strong SAT would be 1530+, and a strong ACT is 34+. If you can achieve higher, that is even better. For the fall of 2024, 50% of accepted and enrolled new first-years submitted either the SAT or the ACT. This underlines the power of a score — if you can hit the high bar.
In this post, we’ll be focused on the things that can’t be quantified, though. Through the Pomona supplements, you have the opportunity to spotlight the pieces of yourself, from upbringing to academic dreams, that make you stand out beyond your academic achievement. Below, we break down how to approach each supplement for your best outcomes.
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The Pomona supplement is made up of two questions, one short answer and one longer supplement with options. The first is short and purely academic.
What draws you to the subject(s) you selected as potential major(s)? If Undecided, share more about one of your academic passions or interests. (150 words or fewer)
First, let’s get one thing straight: you are not undecided.
You may be unsure of what you want to major in. For the purposes of this application, though, you are confident about your academic path. Remember, you aren’t married to what you put here. They aren’t going to call you into an office sophomore year when you go to declare a major and say, “Hey! That isn’t what you put on your application!” So, you need to pick something that makes sense for you given your interests and extracurriculars, and sell it.
To sell your academic interest, you want to start by telling a story. You only have 150 words, so this needs to be compact, but spotlight a moment when the subject you are focusing on really clicked for you and made you excited about digging deeper. Then transition to a few things about the program at Pomona that excite you. This could include a professor you hope to study under, a course or two you are particularly excited to take, or an academic extracurricular or opportunity related to the major that would be a dream come true for you.
Next up is the longer question.
Pomona is home to a diverse community of faculty, staff and students who, through close ties and collaboration, enable each other to identify and explore their greatest passions. Considering this, respond to one of the following in up to 250 words.
This supplement allows 250 words for your response. You also have three options to pick from as far as what you’ll be responding to, and selecting the right prompt for you is critical to writing a successful supplement.
Option 1: Reflecting on a community that you are a part of, what values or perspectives from that community would you bring to Pomona?
This is a great supplement for students who have committed a large amount of time to an activity or community beyond school. This could be a cultural community, a religious community, a hobby you are deeply passionate about and engage with others in, or even a community around a part-time job that you have had for at least one year.
Whatever you pick, it must be a community where you gather or work with others, not a solo experience. This will be spotlighted in how you write about it. Open the supplement with a story that spotlights coming together, whether it’s around a meal, a tradition, or trading playing cards at a local board game store and café. Then zoom out, contextualizing the moment you are focusing on. Give the where, what, and why, leading to how it has shaped who you are.
Remember to end with how you would bring what this community has built in you to Pomona. Be as specific as you can be. How would this experience impact you as a roommate, a peer, and a community member?
Option 2: Describe an experience you had outside the classroom that changed the way you think or how you engage with your peers. What was that experience and what did you learn from it?
This prompt is great for really any applicant because everyone does something outside of their classes — even academic things still related to their academic passions. So, pick an experience doing something that you love that made you rethink collaboration or teamwork. This can’t be about a solo endeavor, after all. The whole point of the prompt is to reflect on working with others.
Focus most of the supplement on telling the story of your experience, and conveying through the story the lessons you learned without having to hit the reader over the head with it. Then you should spend a quite small amount of space on summing things up. Bring it back to story in the end, underlining the themes you want the readers to walk away with.
Option 3: Choose any person or group of people in your life and share how they would describe you.
This is not our favorite supplement prompt, and it surely isn’t our favorite option for Pomona. We highly recommend picking option 1 or option 2 for this supplement, but if you are insistent on picking option 3, we recommend taking a creative approach to your response. You could write this as an interview, as a scene in a documentary film, or even a letter. By changing the form from a traditional essay response to a more creative approach, you are able to reframe a sometimes awkward set-up that can too easily come off as self-centered. That is precisely why we don’t love it. If you sound like you think a lot of yourself, that isn’t too complimentary as they are making their admissions decisions.
Getting into Pomona requires a strong understanding of what the college prioritizes. They care about community, togetherness, and an enthusiasm for exploring new things and discovering new subjects. Bring this perspective into each piece of your application to strengthen your pitch as a future Pomona student.
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