Pomona College

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Economics
Minor: Math
Student Self Identifies as: Asian Straight Female

Summary

I am a sponsor, which is kind of like a resident advisor, but I can’t get people in trouble. I just help the first-years integrate and I live with them.

Background

Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Asian, I’m Half-Chinese and Half-Indian
Sexual Orientation: Straight

High School Experience: Public high school in Berkeley, CA with a graduating class of about 1,000 students. The culture of going to college depended on who you were friends with. With my friend groups, everybody was going to college. But, there was a strong demographic of first-generation immigrants who were going to community college or didn’t know if they would apply to four-year institutions.
First-Generation College Student: Yes
Major: Economics
Minor: Math

Extracurricular Activities: I am a sponsor, which is kind of like a resident advisor, but I can’t get people in trouble. I just help the first-years integrate and I live with them.
What impact has being a sponsor had on your experience?
It’s pretty fun. I get to know the first-year class really well whereas if I lived with my friends in a suite I wouldn’t know them nearly as well. Most of my friends and I met through our sponsor group, so now most of us are sponsors because we wanted to see other friendships build and establish that for other people.

Academic Experience

Can you describe the weekly coursework for your Economics major?
This semester I’m taking Microeconomic Theory which has one problem set a week and Econometrics which has one problem set every other week. My major graded assignments are exams.
Is there anything you feel the Economics department does especially well or especially poorly?
I’d say it’s pretty average. There are a few really good professors and a few really terrible ones. There are student-mentors who lead tutor sessions usually the night before the problem sets are dude, which is helpful.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s definitely more collaborative. People still want the best grade, but they’re willing to help you with homework.
How accessible are your professors?
They’re very accessible. If I email a professor I always get a reply. They have office hours, which are sometimes during class, so you can just book an appointment with them if you can’t make those.
Do you feel people are open to multiple schools of thought in the classroom?
I haven’t taken many humanities classes, but I do think my friends who are in the humanities aren’t very open to other schools of thought.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I applied to Pomona as a Computer Science major but then decided I didn’t like it so I decided to do Math. Then my Math grades in college weren’t as good as they were in high school and it was too hard, so I dropped that because I didn’t want to take the hit to my GPA. I like Economics because it’s more so applied math and math in college is very theoretical, which I don’t like, so I feel like it’s the topic I like the most.
How was transitioning academically as a first-generation college student? Were there any resources or systems in place that helped you adapt?
Pomona is a small private school with a lot of very, very rich people. That was more shocking because people talked about where their parents went to college and my parents didn’t. Or, my friends would ask their parents for help with essays but I can’t do that. In terms of resources, I think there are resources for people who have families who were raised in America. But for different stories like me, you make friends who aren’t first-generation students and roll with that. [Socioeconomically, 14% of students come from the top 1%.]

Reasons to Attend

1) It’s small so you get a lot of attention from professors, the school, and from financial aid.
2) It’s a tight-knit community. I can almost guarantee that everyone here makes really good friends.
3) The food here is good and student health is good.
4) The academics are manageable as long as you’re good with time management.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) If you want a big school with Greek life, you’re not going to find that. The only people who I know who have transferred are people that want more Greek life and a bigger school.
2) If you want to be located in a city and not in a suburb.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: Harwood Court in a single and most of the people on my hall were in singles.
Sophomore: Lyon Court in a single. If you’re a sponsor, you get a single.
How was transitioning from Berkeley, CA to Claremont, CA?
It was fine. I didn’t have much of an issue because both of them are suburban areas. The Five College Bubble is such a thing. The campus is so safe and there are no issues at all. The town of Claremont is also very safe because it’s mostly older people who live there. Then, if I want to go to L.A. or drive anywhere else, I see the less nice parts of California, but that’s just how it is at home.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
It’s very safe. There’s campus security on their golf carts all the time and there is the blue light system. If you feel unsafe at a party, then that’s the only unsafe thing I’ve encountered here.

Social Opportunities

What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you participate in at Pomona?
We have this thing called Beer League where people play baseball with beer during the day on Saturday. I do that a few times a semester and it’s a lot of fun. In terms of nightlife, there are Five C parties basically every weekend and like all of the freshmen from all of the five colleges go to them. Second year, most of your weekend get-togethers are with your friends and mutual friends in someone’s room because all of the Five C parties repeat each year and they are repetitive.
How has being part of the Claremont Consortium impacted your nightlife experience?
It’s definitely better than if it was just Pomona here because there are people at the parties you can meet and it’s not just the tight little group of Pomona people that you know at the party.
What nights of the week do you regularly do things?
Most of the parties are on Thursdays and Saturdays because if athletes have games on Fridays than they can’t go out on Friday night.
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
If I don’t go out, I usually just hang out with my friends. We’d watch TV or we’d try to study in my room together or someone’s room together. The school really pushes the fact that not everybody likes to go to parties on Saturday nights and there is the Smith Campus Center that hosts events.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Pomona? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I’m pretty happy with them. First-year was definitely very fun. This year at first was a little bit difficult because there were all of the same parties again and it seemed repetitive but it’s gotten better because all of my friends and I will do our own thing or go off-campus.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
Through my sponsor group. We all lived on the same hall together.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Pomona?
Well, there are only about 400 students per grade so it can be interesting. There’s not a clear social pyramid or ladder, which I saw a lot in high school. Because it’s so small everyone has to be friendly with each other because you learn everyone’s name and you’re stuck with them for four years. It’s hard to ignore people you don’t like or normally wouldn’t talk to. Normally, if people aren’t good at making friends, they’ll make friends here which is good. The size can get uncomfortable at times but I think it’s a good environment for a college.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
There is no social order here, so everyone has to talk to each other. But, the friend groups definitely divide by socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and race. My friends are very similar to who I am. In terms of gender, it is mixed in that I have a lot of guys and girls in my friend group. But, the friend groups really depend on how people are raised.
How would you describe the student body at Pomona?
It’s diverse. If you look at our stats, we’re very diverse. Most people realized within their first week that everybody here is weird. Even the stereotypically popular people all have quirks to them. Everybody has a quirk and after two or three days of talking to them you can realize they’re here because they have this passion. [9% of students are Black, 14% are Asian, 16% are Hispanic, and 35% are White.]
Do you feel like you’re more so a student at Pomona or a student of the college consortium?
I definitely feel like a Pomona student and wouldn’t identify as a Five C student. Pomona’s stereotype is that we’re very elitist and really like Pomona. We don’t use the Five C resources much because Pomona is a very self-sufficient school, so I feel like most Pomona students wouldn’t say they’re Five C students.
How do you like the size of Pomona in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has that impacted your experience? [There are about 1,670 students.]
It’s small but I really like it. I like knowing everyone. We could have one or two hundred more people, and I think we would be fine. But, I think the small community is pretty good for almost everyone here. [The average class size is 15.]

Careers

Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
Our alumni network isn’t that great and our CDO isn’t that great, but I also could be biased just because I’m a sophomore and a lot of my friends are having trouble getting internships. I got an internship through an alum but he’s not a normal alum, he’s a trustee of the school so he is really willing to help the students. Just because the school is so small, I’m not sure how far you could get with the alumni network.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
I’ve been to the Career Development Office (CDO) for resume help. Most people will tell you that they’re not that helpful because they’ll just tell you to go on Handshake, which is our job portal, and search there. They have practice interviews which I’ve never done but those seem interesting.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
I learned R in my Statistics courses and I learned Stata in my Economics courses.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, accommodating was the office to your needs?
Yes, I’m on financial aid. There have been a few times where the forms were confusing so they sent everybody who was on aid a warning letter and most of my friends and I had to go and they just fixed it. They’re very friendly.