Photo: Adam Jones (CC BY 2.0)
School data & stats
Outcomes
Cost
Community
Overview
Pomona is the founding member of the Claremont Colleges consortium east of Los Angeles, a small liberal-arts college whose students cross-register freely at four adjacent campuses — Harvey Mudd, Scripps, Claremont McKenna, and Pitzer. That arrangement pairs small-college intimacy, tiny classes and close faculty relationships, with a course catalog, dining options, and social scene far larger than Pomona's own enrollment would suggest, an unusual combination among elite liberal-arts colleges.
Academics
Sciences and economics are particular strengths, and the consortium model means a Pomona student can take engineering at Harvey Mudd or media studies at Scripps while still earning a Pomona degree and staying anchored to Pomona faculty advising. Class sizes stay small and discussion-driven even as the broader Claremont ecosystem expands what's available, and Pomona's own endowment supports generous research funding and study-abroad access.
Campus & student life
The sunny, walkable residential campus sits directly alongside the other Claremont colleges, so student life blends Pomona's own traditions with shared dining halls, clubs, and events across the consortium — a student's social world is rarely limited to Pomona alone. The setting is suburban and easy, with the San Gabriel Mountains as a backdrop and Los Angeles itself reachable for a day trip, a contrast to the more remote rural campuses common among peer liberal-arts colleges.
Getting in
Pomona's process is holistic and highly selective, with generous need-based aid a consistent part of its pitch to admitted students, including a no-loan financial aid policy. Essays and specific intellectual interests matter, and the college looks for students who will make active use of the consortium rather than staying inside Pomona's own gates.
After graduation
Graduates go on strongly into finance, consulting, law, and graduate study in the sciences, aided by a small but well-networked alumni base concentrated in California, especially Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Pomona's career office leans on that West Coast alumni density for internship placement.
Worth knowing
The Claremont consortium is the defining practical fact about Pomona: a student choosing it is choosing both a small college and effectively a shared cross-campus community, which is unusual among elite liberal-arts schools and worth understanding before committing to the smaller-college feel Pomona otherwise projects.
Admissions
Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)
Applying (2026-27 cycle)
Apply through Coalition (Scoir), Common App, or QuestBridge.
Early Decision I and Early Decision II are both binding and evaluated the same way, with Early Decision II sharing its January deadline with Regular Decision.
Supplemental essays (4)
Academic Interest Statement
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.
Short-Response Essay — Option A
Reflecting on a community that you are a part of, what values or perspectives from that community would you bring to Pomona?
Short-Response Essay — Option B
Describe an experience you had outside the classroom that changed the way you think and/or how you engage with your peers. What was that experience and what did you learn from it?
Short-Response Essay — Option C
Choose any person or group of people in your life and share how they would describe you.
Your fit, with your own numbers
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- Deadline countdowns where verified application dates are on file.
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