Pomona College Top Questions

The newspaper is a great organization to get involved in if you want to make good friends and publish something of value each week. Students often leave doors open. There are TONS of traditions, but there almost all open, non-offensive celebrations like pancake supper during finals and Harwood Halloween. There's plenty to do in the area since it's relatively close to LA and some students go into the city every or every other weekend. There is no Greek scene.

Partying is pretty common at Pomona, but it is easy to avoid it. If you want to go off campus, the best place to go is the village, and sometimes it's fun to drive to Pasadena.

If you're awake at 2am on a Tuesday you're probably sitting out in the hall playing cards/ Catch-phrase/ Cranium with your friends, or pretending to do work while really discussing your future/ the state of the world/ politics.

Traditions? On your birthday, we throw you into a fountain. And then give you a towel and cake so you forgive us. I'm on the swim team and love it. My closest friends are on that team, and even when we're not in season we hang out all the time. Just last night I fell asleep on my training buddy's bed while she was writing an essay. But sports definitely don't dominate the campus. if anything, I wish there was more school-spirit centered around sports teams. I also don't think sports teams are clique-ish or exclusive. I hang out with lacrosse players and basketball players and non-athletes all the time. People usually stay on campus on weekends, which is nice. Day trips to the beach or into LA are also common. Because we have the other schools, sponsored-parties are usually big and well-attended. There is definitely a drinking scene, but you can get away from it without much effort.

Most popular group is the outdoor club, and then the committee for campus life and activites, etc. Most students leave their doors open except for the students that live in substance free halls. Athletic events aren't that popular. guest speakers more so, theater not very much. You might feel limited in your dating choices but there are 4 other schools to choose from! I've met my closest friends by living with or near them and through friends. If i'm awake at 2am on Tuesday i am most definitely studying and wanting to be asleep. We have a ton of school sponsored parties that happen every year, and people party thurs/fri/sat nights and sometimes tues/wed. frats/sororities practically do not exist. on a typical weekend i'll go on an outdoor trip or stay on campus and party. there's the saturday night group which sponsors non alcoholic activites.

I don't know which group is the most popular--each one kind of has its own members and they're really not limiting. I'm involved in Nu Alpha Phi, one of the 3 fraternities on campus. Ours is co-ed and filled with hippies, and it is really more of a social organization than any sort of serious frat. In general, frats just aren't very important--half of the student body probably doesn't even know that they exist. If I were awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I would probably be drinking. I might be studying, but I'm a nerd at heart and tend to get most of my work done early in the evening. I met my closest friends in random ways--some were in my sponsor group, some are in my frat, and some I discovered just wandering drunkenly through campus. It's a small school, so you get to know people quickly. Last weekend: I spent Friday afternoon at the Wash (my frat's weekly party), and that night I went to a party in the Mojave Desert (only about 2 hours away) and then went to an Honor-Society Induction the next afternoon. After that, I went to an alumni-thrown party.

Despite an increasing rash of thefts and burglaries across campus, there are still students who leave their doors unlocked. More often in the freshmen dormitories the students leave their doors open to visitors when they're there. Athletics is NOT a big thing here, but it's available if you enjoy it. People seem to party almost all the time; free alcohol is readily available six nights of the week. A good number of people start getting drunk and rowdy on Wednesday night and continue through Saturday night. Other than drinking, you can catch a $2 movie at our movie theater or go off-campus for food. There's a group here that tries to sponsor non-alcoholic events, but I don't know anyone who goes. Also, there is no real dating here on campus. The general trend is that people study together, eat together, party together and then wind up in bed together: "Oh, I guess we're dating now!" but no actual DATING happens.

OTL on-the-loose is the outdoors organization of the Claremont Colleges. It's a great club. They lend camping, surfing, skiing, biking, ... outdoors gear to students who want to get off campus. Its all free and we'll even provide cars for transportation. The club runs hundreds of trips per semester and its a really friendly bunch of people. Sports are mostly there for the enjoyment of the athletes. Friends attend games/events but there's not an exceptional amount of school pride. Its mostly apathetic. Guest speakers are very popular. There's also a farm where you can grow you're own food and there's a chicken coop! The dating scene consists mostly of long term relationships and random hook-ups. There's not much in between but of course if you're looking for something, you'll probably find it. One of the best traditions is on you're birthday where you're friends/ hallmates throw you into one of 4 fountains on campus. It's lots of fun. You should also get out to Joshua Tree National Park and summit Baldy (our local mountain). People party constantly. The biggest ones are on Thursday and Saturday nights. The school funds most parties and people get pumped about the themed ones like Harwood Halloween and Smiley 80's. Frat's are not important at all though they do exist. As for non-alcholic events, That Saturday Group throws events every Saturday night like lazer tag, tie-die, carvivals, movies, etc. that are sub free. There's also substance free housing where you can meet a bunch of people who are not super into drinking and hang out, play games, have bonfires at Huntington beach, go buildering...

The Football team at Pomona is fairly popular, especially with the administration. They are definitely not a good team, yet they garner most of the athletic emphasis from the administration. It's nice to have athletics recognized at Pomona, but when it's only one team, and not even one that's winning, other sports teams often feel marginalized. The administration and student body have gotten better about this since I've been here, but the discrepancy is apparent to some athletes. I'm sorry guys, but there are very, very few attractive girls on this campus. The few that there are will seldom talk to you, unless you're a football player or a complete asshole. Luckily, the other 4 Claremont Colleges are adjacent to the campus and there are a lot more people to meet than just at Pomona.

There is no Greek system here. After visiting friends at big frat schools, I think our lack is a very good thing. The nightlife here is pretty laid back, but everyone has a great time.