Pomona College Top Questions

Professors definitely know your name and your personality. Even in my organic chemistry class of 90 students (by far the largest class on campus), my professor not only knew everyone, but even invited anyone over to his house for Thanksgiving dinner--an invitation that I accepted. I definitely have had meals with a bunch of my professors, and I've been to three of their homes. I would definitely consider a few of my professors to be my friends as well as my mentors. Students definitely study and work very hard most days, depending on your major. Science students are usually limited to partying on the weekends, but other students can be seen partying on some weekday nights as well. Students are not competitive with each other. In general, they support each other and always offer to help when able.

Professors have always known me by name because class sizes are small, the atmosphere is intimate. Students study almost every night of the week, but they always find time to party as well. Pomona students can party really hard Saturday night, then wake up Sunday and write a term paper. Many students believe they are having intelligent intellectual conversations outside of class, but most of the time it's just kids trying to show off or show they are better than someone else because many kids are cocky (and I'm being cocky by saying this, but I think it's true). Some kids are overachievers and full of themselves.

Academics at Pomona are largely great. Classes are small, participation is encouraged and sometimes even required, professors will pay as much attention to you outside of class as you need/want, and are almost entirely friendly, interesting and helpful people. As a music major, my classes tend to be even smaller, and the camaraderie between the few of us and our professors is a very cool thing most of the time. The flip side of that is that you spend a lot of time with the same people, which in my case is fine because I like all of them. I actually had three of my classes last semester with the same teacher, who also happens to be my advisor, and we're still speaking to each other. So I see it as being largely a positive thing. I think it's possible to work very little at Pomona and graduate. I also know that my last three semesters have been absurdly busy, although a lot of that is due to extracurriculars and work. The workload is definitely what you decide it's going to be though. Competition among students is pretty much nonexistent; people generally help each other out and want each other to do well. General education requirements are pretty lax, you basically have to take a class each in five very general areas, plus foreign language proficiency of some sort and a PE class. I never had trouble finding something I was interested in. The intellectual atmosphere is kind of a mixed bag. A lot of people definitely spend a lot of time getting wasted and pretend that they're not the dorks we all know we are, but there are plenty of people who have a pretty rich intellectual life outside of class. You just have to spend a little bit of time finding them. Academics, at least in the departments I've spent most of my time in (Music, Spanish, Japanese) are definitely geared towards academia and future academics. There's definitely a way things are done, and it's generally a good way, but it can be a little stifling if you want to do something more, say, practical sometimes. It depends a lot on your department though.

I get more individual attention at Pomona than I did in high school. Professors not only know your name, but they ask for you to come in and see them if they think you are having trouble. They view it as partly their fault if you don't get some of the subject material, and are willing to be available in their offices for more hours than you could imagine.

Small school, small classes, many amazing professors that you get tons of face time with. A lot of departments are absolutely overwhelmingly awesome, and rigorous to boot. There's grade inflation but it doesn't exist in every class or with every professor. The general education requirements are not very stringent, but unless you really like the idea of taking a foreign language, that requirement (third semester of a given language) is going to be the bane of your existence, much like it is for many current students. The only possible gripe one could have about Pomona on the academic side is that a lot of times it doesn't feel useful towards enhancing one's concrete workplace skills. As an economics major I seem to learn a lot of theory, but I have no idea how I'm going to be able to apply any of this... except in grad school. But if that doesn't bother you, all the better, I suppose.

The professors are for the most part amazing. I have had one or two profs. that weren't so talented but sometimes that is because it is a visiting prof. or just bad luck. Regardless of those not-so-great profs. all of my teachers have known me by first name and very accessible outside of class (and I highly recommend meeting with them). My favorite prof. so far was my instructor in my freshman seminar class: Muslim Literary Landscape. She was able to promote incredible discussion among her students and when she did speak she provided amazing insight. I had to read a ton for that class but it was a pleasure because the books were great. While that was a pretty hard class I would say that I typically studied/worked for class about 18-25 hours a week even though sometimes it might be less or more than that. I feel that the learning I have done here has been born out of Pomona's support for students' love of learning rather than simply getting a job. Despite that getting an education here is certainly an investment that is worth the cost.

Academics at Pomona are fantastic: I challenge you to find a better overall environment. All of my professors know not only my name, but what my major is, what extracurricular activities I do, what type of material interests me most, what dorm I live in, and what my life is like. I have lunch with my professors on a weekly basis, and come in for office hours frequently. There are many activities in the evening geared toward professor involvement - they come in to the dorm lounges to have discussions with students about a wide range of topics. It's hard to pick a favorite class so far, I've already had so many good ones. First semester, I took "Philosophy through History" with Professor Erickson, and it was an amazing choice. The class was comletely lecture-based, so I expected it to be boring, but it was far from that. The class changed the way I look at the world on a daily basis; I couldn't wait to hear more of what the professor had to say. My least favorite class so far was "Macroeconomics" with Professor Chincarini, and he was just a god awful professor. There are not many of those at Pomona. Students have an extremely good mix of work and play at Pomona - there is a lot of work to be done, and I'm a workaholic, but I still have plenty of time to socialize with friends. Class participation is obviously common; Pomona students are extremely smart and intellectually curious. What I like most is that students have frequent discussions outside of class. My most common cause of sleep-deprivation is staying up until 3am talking with my friends about some interesting topic that just came up. It's where the real learning happens. For such an academically rigorous college, the students are not at all competitive. Because most classes are not graded on a curve, students have no problem collaborating to get help. I'm majoring in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics - a combined program at Pomona. Pomona and UPenn are the only two colleges that offer this major, and it's truly a fantastic one to learn how the world works. Although it emphasizes breadth over depth, it still gives great coverage of the important material. I love the structure it provides. Aside from my major, I have to fulfill Pomona's academic breadth requirements by taking one class in each of five fields. My major and personal interests easily cover three of those fields, so I'm left with having to take one math class and one science class I wouldn't normally take. However, those requirements are not burdensome. I'm taking Introduction to Geology next semester, and very much looking forward to it! Generally, Pomona is a liberal arts college and not a vocational school. It is geared toward learning for its own sake rather than toward getting a job. Although, with an education like the one I'm getting, finding a job will not be difficult.

Classes are excellent, I've only had one teacher that I patently didn't like. Studies are done not because we feel compelled to prepare ourselves for successful careers, but because we feel there is something inherently worthwhile and stimulating about the classes we are taking and the subjects we have studied. While this is not universally true, I think it marks a difference between Pomona and other schools with similar numbers. We are in SoCal afterall.

Academics are rigorous, but professors work with you. Classes are definitely geared toward participation and conversation. Students are very competitive and very smart. Exam days can be very nerve-racking because everybody around seems to know everything. Professors love to have you in office hours and it seems that they expect you to come to office hours. Academic requirements apparently lightened significantly in the past few years; I've had no trouble with fulfilling the handful of breadth of study requirements. Classes are small-- I've had a few with 7-10 students, which is pretty awesome. However, that makes it very difficult to skip class.

Everything is great, but I believe EA needs to be it's on department. EA is a crucially important major considering the environmental crisis that this world is facing or will face. Pomona would be doing an injustice if it's not its own department.

All of my professors, including most of my past professors, know my name. Students study as much as they need to, then they party and have fun or whatever. People talk about interesting stuff but not about competition and grades and shit.

FACULTY/ADMNISTRATION KNOW YOUR NAME 1. I ran into Bruce Poch (Dean of Admissions) once this fall and introduced myself and he interrupted me with "I know." It was a little shocking, but also comforting. The Admissions Officers here really read your applications thoroughly and thoughtfully. 2. The syllabus for my English class reads: "I want to encourage everyone to visit me during office hours early and often during the semester. I am also quite happy to have lunch with you, individually or in groups, whenever possible, and regardless of whether you have a specific topic that you wish to discuss." There is some insane percentage of professors who have meals with students, whether on campus or in the professor's home nearby in Claremont. 3. A few other students and I won a "game night" with two of the best politics professors at Pomona through an auction for charity. I ran into one of the two professors the other day and he remembered my name. I told him that I was worried that I wouldn't make it into his class next semester, and he told me he didn't think it would be a problem. It ended up actually coming quite close--there were three spots left after I signed up. The next day, out of nowhere, I got an email from that professor saying he was glad I'd made it into the course, apologizing for his cavalier attitude with regard to how hard it would be, and wishing me luck with finals and a great summer. I love Pomona. 4. My econ professors has literally interrupted her phone conversation on the sidewalk to answer my questions. 5. My personal favorite: I took an intro English/Religious Studies course called the Bible as Literature, and it was the biggest class you'll find here at Pomona (about 50 students). On the first day my Professor asked us all to say our names once. She then proceeded to go around the room and repeat each of our names. She only got 2 or 3 wrong. I can't guarantee that all professors here have the ridiculous memory she has, but those who teach larger classes do make an effort to keep the small feel that is so valued at Pomona.

Classes tend to be small, so professors know your name. Class participation is usually a must.

Small classes, brilliant professors and stellar facilities describe most of the academics here. Think wisely about your major however as they very greatly in requirements, time commitment and difficulty. We have intellectual conversations outside class, see Indie films and attend on-campus talks, but we also know when to just let loose and have fun (you'll find a lot of people who study outside in the sunshine.) You almost certainly will become best friends with one of your professors.

Pomona classes are the perfect size. Professors know who you are and want you to understand the material. I have found some of the courses very challenging, but that is part of going to a school like Pomona. It is also nice to be able to take classes from the other schools.

None of my classes have more than 20 people; all my professors know who I am, I've had coffee/ lunch with many of them. They've always been extremely helpful. The two complaints I have are the General Education requirements which means I have to waste classes on subjects I'm not that interested in, and that classes fill up very fast. You get screwed over a lot as a freshman and even as a sophomore.

Classes are hard. But usually very interesting. I want to do most of the readings I am assigned, it's just a matter of how much time i have to do them in. And I would rather play frisbee in the quad. But they are still interesting. All my professors know my name, even in my organic chemistry class (which is the biggest class pomona offers, I think, at 80-90 students). But Professor O'Leary knew all of our names within the first 2 weeks of class, I think, and could call us out for napping during his lectures. But most classes are small, so it's really obvious if you didn't do your reading. Students aren't very competitive, which was a nice break from my high school. There are a lot of group projects assigned, especially in labs. And study groups are a very common phenomenon. Pomona has the best graduation requirement ever- 5 breath of study requirements that are really easy to fill (I'm a sophomore and I have finished all of mine without even trying) and a foreign language requirement (that you can test out of) and a PE requirement (best ever!). My favorite PE class? Playground games. We play kickball twice a week for an hour.

Professors always know your name. Favorite classes are always the subjects you are interested in and least favorites are always the requirements you have no interest in. Students do study a lot but it's not really competitive, it's more collaborative in nature. Yes, we do have intellectual conversations outside of class. There's a class on altered states of mind, but i haven't taken it. I'm a Spanish major which is one of the easiest with a very supportive department. The school gives professors money for lunches that they can only use if they go with students. I think the requirements are fine, but some majors have way more work than others. I think the education is more geared toward learning for it's own sake.

The classes are small, which is absolutely amazing. Every professor knows every one of their students, and they actually make an effort to get their students interested in the course. We're all over-achievers at heart, so intellectual conversations definitely don't stop outside of the classroom, but people aren't cutthroat. I highly recommend taking creative writing w/David Foster Wallace (if you can get in). It was one of the best courses I've ever taken. Classes aren't too difficult, but there is usually a good amount of work. And you should expect to actually DO the work. Everyone else will, and you'll look like an idiot in your discussion class if you never do the reading.

I have had an amazing academic experience at Pomona. I am a Gender Studies Major with an Emphasis in Politics and a Minor in Spanish. I have felt comfortable in every class room to speak up and be heard. All of my professors over the last four years have learned my name, and I have been to most of their office hours. I've taken classes from Geology to Sociology and enjoyed them all. I have had the epitome of the Liberal Arts education, and its been perfect for ME.

The class size at Pomona is one of the biggest reasons I chose Pomona. All my professors know my name, since their largest classes, other than introductory chemistry classes, have maybe thirty students. Most of my friends and I seem to study all the time, but maybe it only seems that way because we also have work-study jobs and are involved in social justice groups on-campus, which eats up all our free time. Most students aren't competitive. My major is Asian American Studies, which is really unique for such a small college to have, since most major universities are only JUST getting their first one or two Asian American Studies courses. It's really impressive that for a consortium of colleges of maybe 4,000 students, we actually every semester have a rotating variety of about 15 Asian American Studies courses. Unfortunately, the education at Pomona, it being a liberal arts college, is geared more toward learning for learning's sake; many of my friends and I as seniors are now lamenting that liberal arts won't get us a job.

All my professors know my name and are interested in what I have to say. I look forward to classes everyday and genuinely enjoy my outside readings. It's a great academic atmosphere in that people are just learning about what they are interested in and are so passionate about it.

Professors are excellent, as are class sizes. I've never had a problem with too large a class. In fact, my history research seminar has 5 students in it, which is perfect. Academics is not particularly competitive, but definitely challenging.

Academics are definitely the strong point at Pomona College. The professors are hired for both their teaching and researching ability, which is unusual. At most liberal arts colleges, professors are there to teach, and at larger universities, professors purely do research and have TA's teach their classes. The benefit of Pomona's approach, however, is that not only will a student have the best instruction in the classroom, but when he wants to work on his resume over the summer, he will have lots of options to help professors do research. Pomona is able to make this possible with the best professors because it pays them high salaries compared to their peers in other colleges, not to mention that Claremont is rated one of the best towns in which to live and it is sunny 350 days out of the year in Southern California.

I've taken classes in about every department here, and one thing I've noticed is the learning process isn't focused as much around learning how to do things but why we do them, which is fantastic, because it shapes Pomona's grads to be leaders in the world. We're trained to be thinkers in whatever discipline we choose. We get the practical education, but the focus is definitely on systems of thought, which I don't think is very true for a lot of colleges.

Professors are amazing. They are accessible, kind, and focused on teaching. I have not complaints about the overall quality of our professors. I think it should be noted that professors should be paid differently according to what they could make otherwise. It is a a simple problem that if someone can make significantly more in the business world than teaching they need some incentive to work here. The pay for a finance professor has to be more than that of an English professor for the simple reason that the finance professor will not work at Pomona when they can work elsewhere (including other colleges) for more.

Classes are amazing here! They're very small, and the professors quickly learn who everyone is. There's a lot of studying and homework, but it's all doable and helpful. Pomona students have some of the nerdiest, most intellectual conversations ever.

I have loved my classes here and have learned a great deal. I'm premed and the premed track here has excellent classes and professors. Almost all the professors I've had know me by name and they are very accessible. This accessibility is extremely valuable.

The Econ department is one of the most popular, with over 40 senior majors. I am one of the few female majors, which doesn't really bother me but I think is wierd. Though I've never gotten engaged in outside research, I've seen plenty of opportunities to work with professors in the department. Students are not overtly competitive, which is really nice - you can always find a study group, and people almost never talk about grades. That said, you know that most people are working their butts off to do well, so you'd better also. There is a fair amount of grade inflation outside of the science departments, so in the end, kids usually do fine in classes. Pomona students, and classes, are largely geared towards learning for its own sake, which is a great environment to be in for four years. I really feel like I've learned how to think, not how to memorize and repeat information on a test. We could use a few more practical classes, but if you really want to learn advanced accounting or finance, there's always CMC for that (if they let you in!) And, I think employers really respect the experience of Pomona grads, so it's really not a disadvantage in the job market. In the last year, I've scored an internship at a top investment bank and a full-time position at a top consulting firm, as have many of my friends.

Pomona students are unique in that they can engage most people in most conversations. They can talk to a five year old about bugs or they can talk to a US President about economic and social change in the US. They attempt to know many things about many subjects but yet are generally motivated in one subject that they are passionate about. At the same time the competitiveness is left mostly on the athletic field against our biggest rivals, CMS (the three schools across the street). We are more competitive internally when it comes to academics and we use the academic success of others to motivate us to do better. When you come to Pomona you can know exactly what you want to do or you can be open to everything. Although some majors can be limiting most leave you a little bit of discovery room. There are a few majors which have a high percentage of students making Pomona seem to be eared towards economics, politics and english but there are 45 majors at Pomona. Most of my professors know my name and all of them genuinely care about me and push me to be a better student.

Professor definitely know your name and I've been to two of my professor's houses for dinner. Freshman get to take a really interesting freshman seminar of their choice and I took Dangerous Books, which was as interesting as the title sounds. Students study A LOT and if you don't learn how to skim reading then you may be in trouble. That said, it's really easy to learn how to balance your study time with a social life. Class participation is really important even in math and science classes on the whole because the class size is so small! Students NEVER talk about their grades and therefore aren't competitive with each other about grades, although they are very competitive with themselves. The academic requirements are pretty relaxed and can be fulfilled completely freshman year. The education is geared to learning for the sake of learning but Pomona students usually have no trouble finding a job once they graduate.

professors here are great for the most part. they are always willing to go the extra mile to help you out. most of my friends know professors on a informal level and will have meals with them outside of the academic setting. i've really enjoyed the upper level science courses here. students here do a lot of work. however, most of it is very interesting reading and there is a lot of choice for assignments such as papers and projects. there is almost no busy work. students definitely have intellectual conversations outside of class. there is some compitition, but in general, students aren't pitted against each other for performance, so there is a lot of collaboration when it comes to studying. the neuroscience program is not yet a department, but it is one of the largest majors at pomona, and growing. as a premed student, the requirements to be a neuro major are fairly easy to accomplish, so about half of us are premeds. the academic requirements are fairly well balanced so that you get a well-rounded education while still having time to take classes for interest. there is a lot of emphasis on learning at pomona, and a lot of the preparations we take for after colleges are geared toward high education.

Almost all of your professors will know your name, which can be good if you want them to write reccommendations for you, or bad when they email you to ask you why you weren't in class... Most students study all the time. Pomona's academic requirements are so loose it's beautiful. There are only 5 very broad categories, and I fulfilled them all during my freshman year. Education at Pomona is definitely geared toward learning for its own sake. If anything, it prepares you for grad/med/law school but no particular occupation.

I'm pretty sure every professor I've ever had has known my name. The class sizes are very small and the professors are open to discussion and to giving help outside of class. I think most professors here really love to teach and believe that the best way to do that is to connect with students as much as possible. I do spend some time with professors outside of class. Usually for advising meetings or department events but some also go to sports games and lunches. In class participation is greatly encouraged, even in lecture classes. There are also many discussion based classes in which the students contribute as much if not more than the professors. I think Pomona students are apt to this kind of set up because it does seem like there is a fair amount of intellectual conversations outside of class. But I definitely wouldn't say people are serious all the time.

Your professors are your best friends. They actively want you to succeed and if you take the time to get to know them, they will actively include you in research and help you find internships.

Any professor I've had knows my name within two or three class periods. Students study a good amount of the time, we are pretty hardworking people. The academic requirements make perfect sense for a Liberal Arts college such as Pomona. We have to fulfill a breadth of study that is sensible, not to hard to complete, and forces people to take classes they might not otherwise have taken. I'd say the emphasis is really on learning for its own sake. The Liberal Arts perspective really provides for an environment in which you can learn a diverse amount of subjects and not feel too bogged down in one, set "career-path"