Pomona College Top Questions

A lot of the nightlife focuses on drinking, because there is not a lot else to do, but there are many groups that sponsor non alcohol related activities on the weekends. Clubs are pretty accessible and well funded, and sports teams provide a great way to stay active and form bonds with students across disciplines. PE classes are a fun way to stay active and meet people while learning a whole new sport, and Pomona does a great job of providing a wide spectrum of classes to choose from.

There are three frats, active on campus but generally taken with a grain of salt. They don't have houses. The Sponsor system highly influences social groups for all four years of school. Freshmen are put into sponsor groups, headed by two sophomores and grouped by interests. Actually a great system that really helps ease students into social life in college. There are plenty of non-drinking activities, but attendance is limited unless people show up drunk. It can be frustrating to do things off campus because public transportation is awful and limited students have cars.

Obviously you can find a range of types of people and what they like to do (although most people are quite seriou about their studies during the week). Keep in mind that Claremont is not LA - things happen on campus, or you drive into the city; Claremont doesn't seem to realize it's a college town. With 5 schools to choose from, you can find stuff to do every weekend, though it can get monotonous. In terms of extracurriculars, most people have a couple things that they are very passionate about. I tend to gravitate towards less manic people, who have a variety of interests but don't really go nuts over any one thing - and there are plenty such people at Pomona as well.

I've come to love social life at Pomona, but I didn't always. Freshman year, most people end up hanging out with people in their sponsor group (basically, people they live near). This works great for some, but it didn't for me. My sponsor group was a very weird mix of people that didn't work very well together, and it quickly broke into factions, none of which I liked very much. Because I was dating someone in my sponsor group (avoid this), I didn't branch out and meet other people, and I really regret that. Sophomore year I finally found a great group of friends and started loving my social life. Since then, I've started working harder, playing a lot harder, and actually getting better grades.

People are very involved. Sports are accessible to most students. Students remain on campus most of the time. Students study fairly hard, but certainly make time for leisure. Partying is usually saved for weekends, and most people get involved when the time comes.

Pomona has lots of activities! They pay for all sorts of stuff, like bringing moonbounces to campus and showing movies and bringing cool speakers. It's great. The social life is okay. The parties are pretty monotonous, just a DJ, a keg with some dude checking student IDs, and drunk kids dancing. Lots of kids drink, and sub-free kids are somewhat stigmatized. One of my closest friends is my freshman roommate, the others I met through mutual friends. I met older students playing beach volleyball in the spring. Fraternities and sororities aren't a big deal, which I like. If you don't want to drink on a Saturday night, they have pretty fun activities from 8-11 or 12 which I go to sometimes even if I'm going out drinking afterwards (or before).

Pomona students are very social. If you're not into the regular lively party scence (and there is a decent minority that isn't) there is still no end to the number of social events provided by the administration adn various student groups and any given day. Pomona does not have loners. We do homework together, lie outside together, play sports at every level, get drunk and dance at parties accross the five c's, curl up on twin XL beds to watch movies, play boggle late at night, and simply sit around and talk to eachother constantly. People always leave their doors open. The only frats could be better described as "drinking clubs" that host weekly parties. Dating occurs rarely, most people are either in committed relationships or hooking up often and randomly with a variety of people (with a majority of students falling into the later catagory). There are dance parties virtually every weekend, and the perenial favorites are Simley 80's and Harwood Halloween, where everyone goes all out.

Athletic organizations are quite popular on campus, even though some teams aren't that competitive. There are a ton of organizations of campus and most people are involved in one or two. People leave their doors open and love when people come to visit. We have quite a few great quest speakers. People party Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays... but sadly there aren't too many BIG parties a year. There are a couple great parties and then a lot of beer pong. There are no sororities, but there are a few fraternities - but they don't play a great role in social life on campus. Most people stay on campus for parties on the weekends, yet many people go to LA for concerts and other things.

Because Pomona's a part of the Claremont Consortium, the access to clubs and organizations and other activities is unparalleled. 5 colleges worth of groups with different interests provides an amazing number of options, from standards such as acappella groups (6 of them) and debate teams, to more unique interests like the climate change awareness group and the investment club. You like it? You'll either find it here, or you'll find a few other people that like it too and you can found the club (which, speaking from experience, is easy and really fun). The social life is enhanced by how amazing the people are here, but can be dampened by how hard everyone works. There's a T-shirt you can buy from the biology department that says "I can't, I have lab," the last word of which could be substituted for "too much work", "rehearsal", "an essay to write", etc. You'll hear one of those versions, among others, fairly often. That said, there are students who go out 4 nights a week, and generally, the student body knows how to enjoy themselves one way or another. The primary social scene involves college sponsored parties, and you can find one at one of the 5 colleges every Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night. These are often themed dance parties with a DJ and a few kegs (with beers served to 21+ students, who then hand them to their 21- friends and go back for their own cup). There are also unsponsored parties, but they usually attract smaller crowds and usually head for the bigger parties by the end of the night. While that may be the biggest deal, there are lots of options for non-drinkers in the social scene too. Pomona's "That Saturday Group" plans at least one alcohol-free event every Saturday evening, giving those not interested in the dance party an alternative. Additionally, many students choose to just hang out, watch movies, play video games, etc. with their friends rather than party hard on weekends. Depends on the person, the night, the mood, and the weather (rain can really kill a party down here, but thankfully it almost never rains).

Pomona is a very social place. Students usually leave their doors open, and it's easy to strike up a conversation with most people. The social scene on weekends is very alcohol centric, so "sub-free" students often find little to do.