Pomona College supplemental essays
Pomona College asks for two supplemental essays in 2026-27, chosen from five options. Common App. Personal statement required (250-650 words).
That is two supplements plus the Common App personal statement: three pieces of writing in all. Early Decision closes November 15, 2026, Early Decision II closes January 8, 2027 and Regular Decision closes January 8, 2027. The prompts carry these limits: 150 words, 250 words. Every Pomona College prompt is printed on this page in full, with its word limit and who has to answer it, checked against the college’s own admissions page.
Deadlines
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Early Decision | November 15, 2026 |
| Early Decision II | January 8, 2027 |
| Regular Decision | January 8, 2027 |
Checked against www.pomona.edu/admissions/apply/first-year-applicants. Confirm on the college’s own page before you submit.
The essays, 2026-27
Required · 150 words
What draws you to the subject(s) you selected as potential major(s)? If undecided, share more about one of your academic passions or interests.
Labelled "Academic Interest Statement" on Pomona's site. The label and the "(150 words)" limit appear in the same bullet as the prompt text.
Short answer. Paste it on the homepage and we will read it.
Required (choose 1 of 3) · 250 words
Pomona is home to a diverse community of faculty, staff and students who, through close ties and collaboration, enable each other to identify and explore their greatest passions. Considering this, respond to one of the following:
Labelled "Short-Response Essay" on Pomona's site. This is the stem only; the three answer options are the next three entries and the student answers exactly ONE of them. In the page HTML the options are a nested <ul> inside this bullet.
Required (choose 1 of 3) · 250 words
Reflecting on a community that you are a part of, what values or perspectives from that community would you bring to Pomona?
Option 1 of 3 under the Short-Response Essay stem above. Answer only one option.
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this promptRequired (choose 1 of 3) · 250 words
Describe an experience you had outside the classroom that changed the way you think and/or how you engage with your peers. What was that experience and what did you learn from it?
Option 2 of 3 under the Short-Response Essay stem above. Answer only one option.
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this promptRequired (choose 1 of 3) · 250 words
Choose any person or group of people in your life and share how they would describe you.
Option 3 of 3 under the Short-Response Essay stem above. Answer only one option.
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this prompt
Your Pomona College checklist
Two supplements, all required. The first deadline, Early Decision, is November 15, 2026.
- Common App personal statementRequired250-650 words
- Supplement 1Required150 words
- Supplements 2 to 5Required250 words each
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Getting into Pomona College
Pomona College admits 7.1% of applicants. The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 1490-1560 on the SAT and 33-35 on the ACT.
About 1 in 14 applicants are admitted, at a college of 1,666 undergraduates.
| Enrolled students | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT total | 1490 | 1540 | 1560 |
| SAT reading and writing | 740 | 760 | 770 |
| SAT math | 750 | 780 | 790 |
| ACT composite | 33 | 34 | 35 |
What SAT score do you need for Pomona College?
A 1560 puts you in the top quarter of the students who enrolled, a 1540 at their midpoint, and a 1490 at the bottom quarter, meaning one in four enrolled students scored below it. The same three points on the ACT are 33, 34 and 35. A quarter of an enrolled class scoring under the 25th percentile is not a rounding error, so a score below the range is a reason to strengthen the rest of the application rather than a reason not to apply.
US Department of Education, College Scorecard (2026-09-17). Percentiles describe students who enrolled, not everyone admitted. SAT totals are the reading and math bands added together, which is how every source in this market reports them and is an approximation of about 10 to 20 points, because the two sections are correlated.
- What SAT score do you need for Pomona College?
- Pomona College sets no minimum. Among students who enrolled, the middle 50% scored 1490-1560 on the SAT: a 1490 sits at the 25th percentile, 1540 at the median and 1560 at the 75th. A score at or above 1560 is a clear strength in the application; below 1490 it is the part of the file the rest has to make up for. These are the figures Pomona College reports to the US Department of Education, released in the College Scorecard of 2026-09-17.
- What ACT score do you need for Pomona College?
- The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 33-35 on the ACT, with a composite of 34 at the median. There is no cutoff: a quarter of the enrolled class scored below 33. Reported by Pomona College to the US Department of Education, College Scorecard release of 2026-09-17.
- What GPA do you need for Pomona College?
- The honest answer is that the federal data behind this page does not contain one. Colleges report their admit rate and their enrolled students' test scores to the Department of Education; they do not report a GPA distribution, so any site quoting an exact average GPA for Pomona College is either reading that college's own Common Data Set or estimating. What the reported data does say is that Pomona College admits 7.1% of applicants, and the more selective a college is, the closer to the top of the class its admitted students sit and the more the strength of your course load counts alongside the number itself.
- How hard is it to get into Pomona College?
- Pomona College admits 7.1% of the people who apply, which is about 1 in 14 applicants. At that rate no set of numbers makes admission likely, a perfect one included, because the college turns away far more qualified applicants than it takes. Strong grades and scores get the application read; the essays, the recommendations and what you have actually done decide it from there.
What Pomona College costs after grant aid, by family income, from the same federal data.
Sort your whole college list into reaches, targets and likelies, or find colleges that fit your GPA and test scores. Both are free and neither needs an account.
Pomona College essay questions, answered
- Does Pomona College have supplemental essays?
- Yes. Pomona College asks for two supplemental essays in 2026-27, chosen from five options. Every prompt is printed in full on this page. Word limits: 150 words, 250 words.
- How many essays do you write for Pomona College in 2026-27?
- Two supplements, plus the Common App personal statement.
Schools with similar admit rates
Pomona College admits 7.1% of applicants. The colleges either side of it in our set by admit rate, most selective first, each with its own prompts and deadlines: Vanderbilt University (5.9%), Johns Hopkins University (6.4%), Colby College (7.1%), Bowdoin College (7.1%), Swarthmore College (7.5%), Northwestern University (7.7%).