campus – Voices

My Favorite Places on Campus

Posted on April 19, 2021April 16, 2021 by Darien Corrales Barrantes

view of bare legs on lawn chair facing pool

By Darien Corrales ‘22 Coming from North Carolina, I found the Southern California atmosphere a warm welcome. Without the worry of freezing temperatures or heavy rainfall, most outdoor places lend themselves as study places or hangout spots. With this in mind, here is a list of places where you are likely to find me on campus. (1) The Library Honnold Mudd Library is un...

How I Made My College Decision Without Visiting Pomona

Posted on April 8, 2021April 7, 2021 by Chris Meng

illustration of Cecil the Sagehen with a Pomona parachute

By Chris Meng ’23 Getting a phone call telling me that I was admitted off the Pomona waitlist was incredibly exciting. The downside: I had just one week to make my decision, and I would not have the opportunity to visit campus in that week. Let me lay out my rough recollection of my actions that fateful week in mid-May in hopes that they will be helpful to you. Celebrat...

It’s the Culture for Me

Posted on February 15, 2021February 8, 2021 by Sonam Rikha

By Sonam Rikha ’24 Ever since I was a little kid, I dreamed of going to Los Angeles and walking down Hollywood Boulevard. When, as a high school senior, I stepped out of the LAX airport, I was greeted by California palm trees and the L.A. heat. Even though Pomona is in Claremont, 35 miles from the glamorized city of Los Angeles, the laid back and sunny environment in Claremo...

Southern California Weather: What’s It Really Like?

Posted on August 3, 2020August 3, 2020 by Chloe Mandel

By Chloe Mandel ’23 Coming from the Northeast, I pictured Southern California as the warm, sunny paradise depicted in movies and TV shows. Though I expected some cold nights, I mostly stuffed my suitcases for college with tank tops, jean shorts, and sandals, throwing in a few sweaters “just in case.” A few months into the semester, however, I realized just how surp...

Leaving the South

Posted on July 15, 2020July 15, 2020 by Darien Corrales Barrantes

By Darien Corrales '22 Beyond being accepted at Pomona, getting the chance to visit campus remains one of my most personal and cherished experiences. I applied to Pomona through QuestBridge, a program for high-achieving, low-income students to apply to colleges where their full financial need will be met. As part of the QuestBridge application, I had to rank schools from a l...

The Chronicles of “MUDD2FRIED”

Posted on July 7, 2020July 7, 2020 by Sophia Augustine

By Sophia Augustine ‘23 As I’m sure you all know from doing your extensive Pomona research (and from many of my peers’ blog posts) all the first-years at Pomona are placed into groups called “sponsor groups,” which consist of the people you live in a hallway with your first year. Two sophomores (or, in my special case, three because our sponsor group was super cool like that...

Decoding the Claremont Consortium

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Chloe Mandel

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 ...

Making a Change For the Better

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Ben Reicher

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...

Missing Home Away from Home

Posted on June 8, 2020 by Hayeon Lee

By Hayeon Lee '23 As coronavirus has moved us all back home, here are some updates from current Pomona first-year students and how they have been coping during these unprecedented times! Alyssa Zhang ‘23 Alyssa Zhang is a rising sophomore at Pomona College. She is from Buffalo Grove, (Chicago-area), IL and is currently undecided about her major. Alyssa is interested in...