Pomona College supplemental essays

The prompts, one by one

1. Academic interest statementup to 150 words · Why this major

   “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.”

   What it's really asking

   The moment this subject stopped being a class and became a question you couldn't drop. Pomona College wants evidence you've chosen on purpose, not by default.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Turning it into a résumé: grades, awards and "I have always been passionate about." A list of achievements is not a reason to study something. Grand missions ("to cure cancer") read as borrowed.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One specific experience, one specific confusion or question it left you with, and what you did about it on your own. Then one or two things in Pomona College's version of the major that match that question. Small and real beats big and vague. At 150 words there is room for exactly one example, explained properly.

2. Community values (choose one of three)up to 250 words · Community

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

   What it's really asking

   Two things at once: which community actually shaped how you think, and what you will bring to Pomona College because of it. The second half is where most drafts stop short.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Describing the community instead of your role in it, or choosing the one that sounds impressive rather than the one that changed you. "Diversity" as an abstraction, with no scene.

   The shape of a strong answer

   Pick a community you can describe with a scene, not a label. Show one moment where it taught you something or asked something of you. Spend the last third on what that means you'll do at Pomona College: a specific contribution, not "bring my perspective."

3. Outside-classroom experience (choose one of three)up to 250 words · Open prompt

   “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?”

   What it's really asking

   Whatever matters to you that the rest of the application hasn't shown. Pomona College is giving you the floor; the question is what you choose to put on it.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Using the space to summarise achievements, apologise for a weakness, or restate the personal statement. Choosing a topic because it sounds like what colleges want.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One subject the reader couldn't guess from your file, told through a specific scene. Keep it in your own voice; if it sounds like a brochure, cut it. End on something still unresolved.

4. How others describe you (choose one of three)up to 250 words · Open prompt

   “Choose any person or group of people in your life and share how they would describe you.”

   What it's really asking

   Whatever matters to you that the rest of the application hasn't shown. Pomona College is giving you the floor; the question is what you choose to put on it.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Using the space to summarise achievements, apologise for a weakness, or restate the personal statement. Choosing a topic because it sounds like what colleges want.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One subject the reader couldn't guess from your file, told through a specific scene. Keep it in your own voice; if it sounds like a brochure, cut it. End on something still unresolved.

Every US applicant also writes the Common App personal statement: 650 words, seven prompts. Don't repeat it here; the supplements are for what the statement didn't show.

A self-check before you submit

Cover the school name and read the essay. Then cover your name and read it again. It should fail the first test (it only makes sense for Pomona College) and pass the second (only you could have written it). If it passes the first test, it's a brochure. If it fails the second, it's a template.