Pomona is a small liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It is a member of the Claremont Colleges, so Pomona students can take advantage of resources at Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, and Pitzer – all of which are within walking distance. Pomona stopped reporting their acceptance rate, but know that it is incredibly difficult to get into. The acceptance rate for the class of 2023 was 7.4%, and we imagine it is even lower now.
Before you begin writing, read through the entire supplement. One of the first things that you should take note of is that some of the questions are optional. We have said this before, but we’ll say it again: there is no such thing as an optional supplement, especially at a highly competitive school. You’ll also see quite the range: you will be asked about diversity, community, and potatoes. There are supplements that lend themselves to lighthearted and even funny responses, and there are those that require seriousness and vulnerability. All of the questions are important, but before you start, decide which ones speak to you and make sure that you’re saving your less serious responses for those that feel less consequential. Moving on to their supplement:
If there are aspects of your identity that you feel are not captured elsewhere in this application, please provide that information below. (50 words or less)
In about two sentences, use this space to expand on essentially any part of yourself. If understanding your identity is closely linked to something such as your race, religion, or gender, that’s fair game. But if your role in your family or an aspect of your job has impacted who you are, you can also write about something like that.
If not captured elsewhere in your application, please share with us how you have overcome challenges in your life. (50 words or less)
Some kind of challenge, big or small, will likely come to mind here. It might be helpful to think about learning experiences from failures or missteps, and then work backwards to identify the challenge. Something to keep in mind: if you wrote an additional information section essay about an extenuating circumstance, do not double down on it here because that would be repeating information.
Before jumping into the required essays, you have the option to show us a little more of your personality. You can answer one, two, three, or none of the following questions. (1-50 words each)
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
For this hot take, stick with advice that has actually been given to you and made some kind of an impact. Quotes that you read online by thought leaders don’t fall under of advice that has been given you, and you’ll end up picking something impersonal if you go that route. Stick with something that made a difference.
What’s your favorite way to eat a potato?
Time to get SPECIFIC! “Baked” will not work here. Well it might, but you should definitely include your preferred toppings. How are they cooked? What spices are being used? Dare to be brave!
You’re relaxing on a Friday night. Suddenly, your favorite song pops into your head. What is it?
Don’t overthink this one. Make a list of your ten favorite songs and then pick the best one.
Next, you’ll choose one of the following two bolded prompts. Again, read both before you pick one!
Tell us about an experience when you dealt with a disagreement or conflict around different perspectives within a community.
If this prompt speaks to you, you need to think small. This is a great option for someone who has had a conversation with someone who is different from you. We would avoid writing about major conflicts because it’s not a good sign if every new perspective brings about a fight, even if you were in the “right.” So, think about a when you learned something new, from someone who is not the same as you. Maybe you met someone at a protest or had a discussion with someone about a viewpoint that you’ve had for a long time.
The goal with this prompt is to show Pomona that you’re smart enough to be able to evaluate your own opinions when offered new information. Another goal? Proving that you’re able to make room for empathy. By the way, you do not need to have changed your mind after the conversation or disagreement that you write about. Instead, respond by telling the story of what happened from start to finish. And don’t forget to cover those moments when you held space for another person.
Tell us about one of the communities you belong to and what it means to bring that shared belief and/or perspective to Pomona.
One of the reasons why we asked you to read through the entire supplement is because this (optional) question is eerily similar to the mandatory prompt below. You should always be introducing new information about yourself, so don’t answer this question unless you have two ~distinct~ communities that are extremely meaningful to you.
Strong responses to this prompt will show genuine enthusiasm about a community that you’ve belonged to for a significant amount of time. You should not write about something that you did for a month. If a TKG client felt called to answer this question, we would spend 100% of our time answer this part: “Tell us about one of the communities you belong to” and 0% of our time writing about shared beliefs and/or perspectives. Allow the second part of the question to be answered through the story that you tell about your community. As for choosing which story to tell, think about memorable experiences, a “day in the life,” or even a tricky situation that ultimately made you a better community member.
The prompt below is mandatory:
Helen Keller once said, “The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes of each honest worker.” Whether you aspire to be a hero or an honest worker, what impact do you want to have in the Pomona community, your community back home, or any new community? (200 words or less)
ALERT: you need to write about the impact you want to have on Pomona’s community, not back or home or any new community. Colleges do not like to feel like stepping stones, and writing about how you’ll use Pomona’s resources to improve things elsewhere is like taking an interview at Apple and telling them how you can’t wait to spruce things up at Samsung.
There are two steps to successfully answering this question:
Figure out what you’re doing now. If the words hero and honest worker are giving you anxiety, try thinking about the communities that you’re regularly contributing to and the hobbies you’re constantly working on. Are you gardening? Tutoring? Leading some kind of group? You can’t pick a random way to “give back” because whatever you choose to write about needs to make sense within the context of the rest of your application.
Write about how you’ll be “contributing,” aka bringing that skill, hobby, talent, group, or team to Pomona. If Pomona already has a tutoring society that works with high school kids in the LA area, research the group and then write about how your unique skill set will improve the current club. If the “thing” that you’re hoping to bring to Pomona does not exist there yet, write about how you’ll help it come to fruition.
Long supplements are time-consuming, but they can work to your advantage if you’re thoughtful with regard to where you’re putting all of the information. Make a plan before you start writing!
We love helping students craft unique essays. Contact us here if you need help.