Although we are in the midst of a global health crisis brought on by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the work of the admissions office has gone on with the selection of the new 鶹ý Class of 2024. Student applicants across the U.S. and the world will be able to see their decisions via secure online access starting at 5 p.m. PDT on Friday, March 20, 2020.
“During this unprecedented time in history, college admission decisions remain a constant in helping guide young people towards their bright future. I want to acknowledge how truly talented, special and frankly, awesome, our new admitted students are. We celebrate the possibility of their time at Pomona, a place where we know they’ll have so much to contribute,” said Seth Allen, vice president for strategy and dean of admissions and financial aid. “I am more heartened than ever by all of the hard work that the Admissions Committee at Pomona has invested in selecting our new Class of 2024.”
About the Class
Pomona will offer admission to 745 students who come from 49 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico, and from 45 other countries.
Eight students were admitted in a previous year and deferred enrollment until this year. A 鶹ý-Cambridge University Downing Scholar will also join the class.
The admitted students are 52% female and 48% percent male.
The group is exceptionally diverse, consisting of 58.8% domestic students of color — 19.3% identified as Latina/o, 17.9% as Asian American, 14.2% as Black, 6.6% as multiracial and 0.8% Native American — while 25.1% are white and 2.6% declined to state, and 13.6% are international. Of the Native American students, five are American Indian/Native Alaskan and one is Native Hawaiian. Also, 17 students note Native heritage as part of a multiracial identity.
First-generation college students — meaning neither parent has a four-year college degree — make up 20.7% of those admitted to the Class of 2024.
In addition, the College admitted 26 transfer students. Twelve of the admitted transfer students currently attend a community college, and 10 are first-generation students. Two new transfer students are Kaplan Leadership Scholars, one is a semi-finalist for the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship and one has been awarded a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship. Four military veterans were admitted this year, one of whom is currently serving. Two of the admitted military veterans are affiliated with Service to School (S2S), and the admitted veterans represent three branches of the armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps and Navy.
Academics
Students admitted to the Class of 2024 are academically exceptional. Of those who attend high schools that rank students, 90% are in the top 10% of their class. The middle 50th percentile SAT scores are 700-760 for Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) and 710-790 for Math. The middle 50th percentile ACT score is 32-35.
Students identified a broad range of academic interests, with 22.2% of admitted students indicating a first major choice in the humanities, 18.9% in the social sciences, 29.8% in the natural sciences, 23.6% in interdisciplinary fields and 5.5% undecided about their field of study.
Where They Come From
The top U.S. states that students come from are California (174), New York (53), Illinois (43), Texas (36), Washington (32), Florida (27), Massachusetts (18), New Jersey (17) and Maryland (15). Admitted international students hail from 45 countries, with the largest representation from China (19); India (8); Hong Kong, Kenya, Turkey and the United Kingdom (7 each); Canada (6); Singapore and South Korea (5 each); Brazil, Greece and Japan (4 each). In all, admitted students come from 634 schools worldwide.
Recruiting the Class
Reaching out to a deep and talented pool of applicants, Pomona admissions officers visited more than 671 high schools in 41 states and many more around the world to meet with students, parents and high school college counselors.
An additional 26,297 students and visitors were hosted on campus for and information sessions.
Pomona’s commitment to increasing access bore fruit, with six admitted students from surrounding communities having participated in the Pomona Academy for Youth Success (PAYS), an intensive, three-year college preparation program run by the College’s Draper Center for Community Partnerships. In addition, 16 admitted students were matched through Pomona’s partnership with and 20 students were admitted through the . Also, 127 admitted students reported working with a community-based organization (CBO), including , , , and .
As part of its commitment to increasing access to higher education, Pomona has built relationships with additional organizations that help colleges connect with applicants from under-resourced schools. They include , the and as well as numerous local and regional programs.
Alumni played a key role in recruiting this class as well. More than 470 Pomona alumni admissions volunteers conducted a total of 1,014 interviews with students in 41 U.S. states and 29 different countries.
About Pomona
Located in Claremont, Calif., about 35 miles east of Los Angeles, 鶹ý emphasizes a challenging curriculum, intellectual curiosity, small classes with close student-faculty interaction and opportunities for undergraduate research.
With 48 majors in the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences, as well as interdisciplinary studies, 鶹ý is one of a handful of institutions which practice need-blind admissions and provide need-based financial aid that meets 100% of demonstrated need.