Many great schools offer a second opportunity to apply ‘early decision,’ and Pomona is one of them. Pomona College is one of five private liberal arts colleges in Claremont, California, aka the Claremont Colleges. If you are looking for an elite small college as your ED2 choice, Pomona is a great one.

We advise all our students to make an ED2 plan. ED2 (aka Early Decision 2) is much like the first ED round. However, instead of happening in November, it coincides with RD deadlines… so it's not really so “early.” Pomona’s deadline for ED 2 is January 8th. So why should you apply ED2? It comes down to acceptance rates.

Last year, Pomona’s overall acceptance rate was just 6.7%, and its ED acceptance rate was more like 12.5%. Both of these rates are very competitive. However, if you are a qualified candidate, applying during ED will increase your chances of getting in. Trust us, with a 6% acceptance rate, not every great candidate gets in. If you are serious about Pomona, you should strongly consider applying ED2.

Okay, so we have convinced you. What’s next? Well, even if you apply ED2, you need to be a great candidate, and part of that is crafting a standout supplement. Pomona’s is a little confusing, so we wanted to help break it down.

Pomona asks applicants to write Three essays. The first essay asks:

What do you love about the subject(s) you selected? If Undecided, share more about one of your academic passions.* (150 words) 

The hardest part of this essay is the length. It is short, and you need to pack in good content. There is also a trick to this essay. While they say you can be undecided, don’t be undecided. If you really don’t know what you want to study, take a best guess and fake it. Trust us, no one will hold you to what you write in this essay. Choose a major and write about it like you are 100% sure it is the discipline for you.

Once you have chosen your major, tell a short personal story about how you first fell in love with the subject. Then, talk about how you have explored it since. For example, if you want to study Biology, you could tell a story about how you took a CPR class with your Girl Scout troop and became interested in anatomy. Continue by telling them how you took an online class, signed up for AP Bio,  volunteered at a hospital and/or participated in your regional science fair with a research project in biology. This essay is short, but we should feel your passion and come away with some concrete examples of how you explored the subject outside of class.  

For the second and third questions, Pomona allows you to choose from a short list of prompts, and we recommend some more than others. 

Please choose one of the following three prompts to respond to with an essay of no more than 150 words. 

1. At Pomona, we celebrate and identify with the number 47. Share with us one of your quirky personal, family or community traditions and why you hold on to it.

We really like this prompt. The biggest trick here is actually to tell them about something quirky. You can’t be afraid to get a little odd, but you still need to keep it charming.  Whatever story you tell here shouldn’t appear or even be hinted at anywhere else in your application. It needs to feel quirky, meaning it must also feel wholly new.

Get specific and personal. For example, loving Halloween isn’t specific enough, but if you sew matching costumes for you and your sister every year based on something she designs, now we are getting somewhere.  

2. What item are you excited to bring with you to college?

This question has a secret follow-up question, “why?” Make sure you answer both of them. This prompt is really fun, but it can be a little bit tricky. You need to choose something that is both unique and meaningful. Similar to the prompt above, your essay should feel like new information.

For example, if you are the captain of your volleyball team, don’t say a volleyball… that doesn’t let us get to know you more or feel interesting. The item you bring should allow you to talk about yourself and an interest that you hope to showcase. Ideally, this interest should be one that you haven’t talked about yet. For example, if you are an avid gardener, maybe you will bring a basil plant that you propagated from your garden at home. The plant is really just an excuse to talk about your hobby.  

3. Describe a time when you felt empowered or on top of the world.

Cards on the table: this is our least favorite of the three prompts. There isn’t anything wrong with the question, but it is extremely hard to answer in only 150 words. Because of its low word count, we recommend choosing a small but significant moment if you decide to take on this prompt. Again, it is best to showcase something they don’t already know.

For example, if your activities section includes being the QSA president, writing about winning the presidency won’t feel like new information and might be too big of a topic for 150 words. Instead, it might be easier to zero in on a specific moment. For example, maybe as the QSA president, you got to speak to the middle school about coming out, and a student thanked you afterward. It's a small moment, but it's one that could have been really impactful, and that is what we are looking for here.

The second question introduces three new prompts and a slightly longer word count. 

Please choose one of the following three prompts to respond to with an essay of no more than 250 words.*

1. In the past few years, is there something you have changed your mind about? Why?

This is a great moment to show some vulnerability. At 18, you don’t know everything and being able to speak to that shows a humble side that many are afraid to show. The “why” here is also really important and cannot be skipped. This essay should tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end. We need to know what you initially thought, what happened to make you change it (aka why), and what you think now. We need to see your growth: it is what will make your essay strong.

While many topics can work for this essay, smaller/more nuanced takes are generally easier to pull off. You don’t need to get political either (though you can, if you believe you can pull it off; just don’t get too hot button.) For example, you could write about thinking you hate foreign films, but because your friend loves them, going to a film festival and realizing you actually really enjoyed Japanese films after you got over the subtitles. Tell us a good story and showcase that growth.

2. Reflecting on a community that you are part of, what values or perspectives from that community would you bring to Pomona?

This is a very broad question, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, students see the word “community” and think they must write about an ethnic or religious community. Those can be great communities to write about if you feel specifically connected to them, but they aren’t the only ones you can use to answer this question.  

You are a part of many communities. Your school is a community, and so is your tennis team, your group text, and your knitting club. A community is just any group of people connected by common interests or goals. Choose one that is important to you and tell a story about a time when you learned a lesson or skill because of that community. Your story needs to (again) have a beginning, middle, and end. After you tell your story, you should connect the value or skill showcased to who you will be at Pomona next year. 

3. What strength or quality do you have that most people might not see or recognize?

We like this question; however, it has one big pitfall. It needs to be about a surprising or unknown strength. If your resume starts with being a peer advisor, “being good at giving advice” is not a hidden strength. You need to write about something that we couldn’t deduce from looking at the rest of your application.

Our other biggest piece of advice on this prompt is (say it with us) tell a good story. You can’t just write, “I am a good listener.” You have 250 words; you need to showcase your strength or quality in a story. This story could be about gaining the skill or using the skill, etc. Try to show and not tell as much as possible for this prompt.

Pomona’s supplement has many moving parts, and it's essential to get them right if you are applying ED2. We highly advise making an ED2 plan, whether it is at Pomona or another great school. If you don’t know where to start, we can help!

Get help before it is too late! Contact us here.