Pomona College

Essay prompts (3)

1. academic interest2026-27150 words

   Applies to: First-year applicants — REQUIRED. Published on the official application overview under the heading "Academic Interest Statement" with a stated maximum of 150 words. Transfer applicants answer a DIFFERENT version of this question (recorded as a separate entry in this file).

   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.

   This is the 2025-26 wording, carried over: Pomona College has not republished this prompt for 2026-27 yet. Schools usually post updates around the Common App opening on August 1; we re-check after that and change this text only against an official source.

   source

2. community2026-27250 words

   Applies to: First-year AND transfer applicants — REQUIRED. Published under the heading "Short-Response Essay" with a stated maximum of 250 words. The applicant answers ONE of the three listed options. The official overview states the short-response essay is the same for transfer applicants as for first-year applicants.

   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: - Reflecting on a community that you are a part of, what values or perspectives from that community would you bring to Pomona? - 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? - Choose any person or group of people in your life and share how they would describe you.

   This is the 2025-26 wording, carried over: Pomona College has not republished this prompt for 2026-27 yet. Schools usually post updates around the Common App opening on August 1; we re-check after that and change this text only against an official source.

   source

3. academic interest2026-27

   Applies to: TRANSFER applicants only — REQUIRED. This is Pomona's transfer-specific version of the Academic Interest Statement; the second sentence differs from the first-year version. Do NOT serve this to first-year applicants. wordLimit is null because the official overview prints the 150-word maximum against the first-year version only and does not restate a limit for the transfer version.

   What draws you to the subject(s) you selected as potential major(s)? How does Pomona's liberal arts and sciences environment enhance your exploration of these subjects?

   This is the 2025-26 wording, carried over: Pomona College has not republished this prompt for 2026-27 yet. Schools usually post updates around the Common App opening on August 1; we re-check after that and change this text only against an official source.

   source

We haven't found a published AI policy for this school yet. When in doubt: feedback and brainstorming are widely accepted; AI-written essay content is not. Second Read only does the former.

How reviews use this page

When you request a review for a Pomona College supplement, the feedback is grounded in exactly what you see here: the prompt itself, its word limit, and what the school publishes about its values and programs. That's the whole claim — calibrated to the prompt and the school's own published guidance, scored against a consistent rubric. Not insider knowledge, and never a rewrite: Second Read is a coach, not a ghostwriter. It flags weaknesses and tells you what to fix and why; it never writes a sentence of your essay.

Something wrong on this page?

A wrong deadline is worse than no deadline. If anything here doesn't match the school's official page, tell us — same-day fix is the goal.