Pomona College

Claremont, CA · Private · 1,666 undergrads

Admit rate: 7.1% (12,121 applicants)
SAT middle 50%: 1490–1560 (ACT 33–35)
Undergraduates: 1,666 (13.7% international)
Average net price: $19,285 (per year after aid)
Graduation rate: 93% (within 6 years)

Deadlines

Early Decision: Nov. 8, 2026
Early Decision II: Jan. 8, 2027
Regular Decision: Jan. 8, 2027

Essays

Academic interest statement (150 words)

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, option 1 (choose one of three) (250 words)

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: Reflecting on a community that you are a part of, what values or perspectives from that community would you bring to Pomona?

Short response, option 2 (250 words)

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, option 3 (250 words)

Choose any person or group of people in your life and share how they would describe you.

Editor's notes

Your two Pomona essays do different jobs, so don't let them overlap. The 150-word statement is about ideas and the 250-word response is about people. If both describe the same club, you've wasted one.
Pomona says most of its class comes through Regular Decision, which is unusual for a school this selective. ED is still binding, so use it only if Pomona is clearly first, and remember ED II (Jan. 8) lets you show fall senior grades first.
If you send the ACT, it has to include Science. Pomona explains that the application gives you lots of room to show writing but no equivalent for science, which also tells you how much weight it puts on science preparation for every applicant.