Admissions Factors
What Pomona Looks For
Pomona rates 8 factors as very important: rigor of high school courses, academic GPA, class rank, application essay, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent or ability and character and personal qualities.
How Pomona rates each factor
Each college sorts 18 factors into four levels on its Common Data Set.
Very important
Considered
The numbers behind the class
Overall admit rate
7.1%
890 of 12,470 applicants
Early decision admit rate
13.7%
Early decision admits equal 54% of the class
Admitted from the waitlist
4.3%
31 of 716 who stayed on it
Frequently asked questions
What does Pomona look for in applicants?
Pomona rates 8 factors as very important: rigor of high school courses, academic GPA, class rank, application essay, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent or ability and character and personal qualities.
Does Pomona consider legacy status?
Pomona rates alumni relation as "not considered" in its 2025-26 Common Data Set.
Does Pomona track demonstrated interest?
Pomona rates the level of an applicant's interest as "not considered".
What is Pomona's waitlist acceptance rate?
716 students stayed on the waitlist and 31 were admitted, a rate of 4.3%. The number changes a lot from year to year because it depends on how many admitted students enroll.
What is Pomona's early decision acceptance rate?
Early decision: 227 of 1,656 applicants were admitted (13.7%), against 7.1% overall. Early pools include recruited athletes and other students with a strong tie to the college, so the gap overstates the boost for an ordinary applicant.
Source: Pomona’s own Common Data Set 2025-26, Section C. Last checked 2026-10-08. The ratings are the college’s own description of its process. Counts are for one entering class.
