4+7 Things I Realized About Pomona as a Sophomore

image of psych class on zoom
By Chris Meng ’23 It’s hard to believe that I am starting my second semester of my sophomore year. At the end of May, I will be halfway done with college, and I will have somehow reached the age of 21. Over my nearly two-month winter break, I spent a lot of time with family and friends (mostly virtually), having conversations with them and myself that gave me a chance to ref...
Read More

PP vs. CMS: A Small but Tough Rivalry

Pomona-Pitzer Sagehen mascot
by Sophia Augustine ‘23 Most of my friends from back home attend large state universities with flourishing and very prominent sports cultures. This means endless tailgates as well as rowdy and boisterous football/basketball/hockey games galore. I never really prioritized that avid sports culture when applying to colleges, and I think it’s fair to say that Pomona and the ...
Read More

Emergency!! There Are Too Many Interesting Classes

student working on problems with paper and pencil
By Chris Meng ’23 Help! It’s a new semester, which also signals the climax of uncertainty around class schedules. You would think that schedules are mostly set by the time classes start. For some students, that is the case. Major and general education requirements often shape the direction of some students’ semesters. However, in general, Pomona students have an amazing amou...
Read More

Chloe’s Top 10 Favorite Dining Hall Desserts

man holding up cupcake
By Chloe Mandel ’23 As the proud owner of a humongous sweet tooth, there’s nothing that brings me joy and comfort at the Claremont Colleges’ dining halls like their desserts do. With that said, I bring you my official top 10 ranking of 5C dining hall desserts, the tempting offerings that have propelled me through exams and essays and sweetened days of relaxation. Apologies i...
Read More

To Cheese, or Not to Cheese?

Sophia and her spiblings
By Sophia Augustine ‘23 One of my fondest memories of my entire freshman year (as trivial and silly as it may sound) was taking my very first bite of creamy, delectable mac ’n cheese at Harvey Mudd’s Hoch-Shanahan dining hall. The “long” walk (all the 5Cs are located within a single square mile of each other…) that my friends and I usually never dared to embark on was co...
Read More

A Pitch for the Liberal Arts

students having dinner at a professor's house
By Chris Meng ‘23 “Why would you choose Pomona over a more well-known school?” As a tour guide and summer fellow for the admissions office, my peers and I discuss the most common questions we get during tours and other interactions with prospective students, and this is one of them. While my neighbors in Pennsylvania may not know Pomona, graduate schools and employers cer...
Read More

Decoding the Claremont Consortium

Pomona College gates
By Chloe Mandel ’23 When I first began researching the Claremont Colleges, the word “consortium” didn’t really register. I spent way too much time stalking Niche.com’s description of each individual college (while keeping an eye out for one of the most important factors in my college search process, the letter grade used to denote the quality of every school’s food) without ...
Read More

The Best Last-Minute Decision of My Life

Siena with friends on Claremont hike
By Siena Swift ‘22 My journey to Pomona College seems to be a little different from those around me. A lot of my friends applied early decision or knew that Pomona was one of their top choices. In my case, I applied to Pomona on a whim of sorts. My dad suggested that I check out the Claremont Colleges because he knew of them from attending UCLA. However, I had my heart set o...
Read More

Making a Change For the Better

Sunrise members protesting
By Ben Reicher ‘22 When I started college, there was a lot I didn’t know, and I’m sure there still is. But I knew that there were a lot of problems in the world, and I knew I couldn’t just stand by and watch them happen. I knew the planet was on fire, and that I had to do what I could, no matter how small, to help extinguish the flames. If you’re an incoming or prospectiv...
Read More

Icky Introductions

Move-In Day crowd
By Oluyemisi Bolonduro ‘23 “What’s your name?” “Oluyemisi.” “Do you have a nickname?” “No, just Oluyemisi.” “Can I give you a nickname?” “No, I don’t do nicknames.” My whole life prior to Pomona, I went by a nickname; it was how I tried to assimilate. It was a tool I used to make people comfortable when interacting with me. I decided to go by my full name, ...
Read More