Private colleges in California · Updated September 29, 2026
Pomona College admitted about 7% of applicants for the Class of 2029: it received a record 12,470 applications and offered admission to 861 students, according to the college. Pomona is a private liberal arts college in Claremont. Its 2026-27 comprehensive charge is $95,670, but it meets 100% of demonstrated need without loans, and 61% of the incoming class received aid.
Pomona College is one of the most selective liberal arts colleges in the United States and the founding member of the Claremont Colleges, a group of five undergraduate colleges that share a campus area east of Los Angeles. It’s small, academically intense and known for generous need-based aid.
Here are the official numbers: how selective Pomona is, what it costs in 2026-27, how its aid works and what the Claremont Colleges add.
| Fact | Pomona College |
|---|---|
| Type | Private liberal arts college, member of the Claremont Colleges |
| Location | Claremont, about 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles |
| Founded | 1887 |
| Applications, Class of 2029 | 12,470 (a college record) |
| Admitted, Class of 2029 | 861 (about 7%) |
| SAT/ACT | Test-optional (permanent since 2023); 48% of the Class of 2029 submitted scores |
| Students | About 1,700 undergraduates (Fall 2024) |
| Comprehensive charge (2026-27) | $95,670 (tuition, fees, housing and food) |
| Average net price | $19,938 (2023-24, students receiving aid) |
| Financial aid | Need-blind for U.S. students; meets 100% of need; no loans in aid packages |
| Retention / graduation rate | 98% / 93% in six years |
| Student-to-faculty ratio | 7:1 |
| Athletics | Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens, NCAA Division III, SCIAC |
Sources: Pomona College Office of Admissions (Class of 2029 profile); Pomona College Financial Aid, Cost of Attendance 2026-27; College Navigator (IPEDS). Full list at the end of the article.
In This Article
What Is Pomona College?
Pomona College is a private liberal arts college founded in 1887 in Claremont, California. It enrolls about 1,700 undergraduates and offers only bachelor’s degrees, so every class is taught for undergraduates, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 7:1.
Is Pomona part of a bigger university? Not exactly. It’s the founding member of the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five undergraduate colleges (Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Claremont McKenna, Scripps and Pitzer) and two graduate institutions. Each college is independent, but students can take classes, eat and join activities across all of them, which gives a small college access to thousands of courses. Pomona is also not related to Cal Poly Pomona, a separate public CSU campus in the city of Pomona.
What Is the Pomona College Acceptance Rate?
Pomona College received a record 12,470 applications for the Class of 2029, which entered in Fall 2025, and announced 861 admitted students, an acceptance rate of about 7%. That places Pomona among the most selective colleges in the country, alongside Stanford and Caltech in California.
| Pomona College, Class of 2029 | Figure |
|---|---|
| Applications | 12,470 |
| Admitted first-year students | 861 |
| Admitted transfer students | 48 |
| First-generation students in the enrolled class | 24% |
| International students in the enrolled class | 15% |
| Enrolled students receiving financial aid | 61% |
| QuestBridge Match Scholars / Posse Scholars | 25 / 19 |
Source: Pomona College, “Introducing the Pomona College Class of 2029” (March 2025) and “Pomona College Class of 2029 Profile” (September 2025).
How to Get Into Pomona College
Pomona uses a holistic, committee-based review that considers each applicant in context. It looks for academic excellence along with qualities such as curiosity, leadership and commitment to community, so essays and recommendations carry real weight.
- Application: the Common Application or QuestBridge Application, with Pomona’s supplemental essays
- Testing: test-optional; 48% of the Class of 2029 submitted SAT or ACT scores and 52% did not
- Early Decision: Pomona offers binding Early Decision rounds in addition to Regular Decision
- Partnerships: Pomona works with QuestBridge, the Posse Foundation and community-based organizations to recruit talented students from all backgrounds
- Transfers: Pomona admitted 48 transfer students for Fall 2025
So what’s the practical takeaway? With an acceptance rate around 7%, Pomona is a reach for every applicant. Build a balanced list that includes other private California colleges and UC campuses.
How Much Does Pomona College Cost?
Pomona’s comprehensive charge for 2026-27 is $95,670, covering $71,660 in tuition, $420 in fees and $23,590 for housing and food on campus. Books and supplies are included in the comprehensive fee. The college also estimates $1,500 to $2,600 for travel and personal costs, and students without comparable coverage pay $3,312 for medical insurance.
| Pomona College cost of attendance, 2026-27 | On campus |
|---|---|
| Tuition | $71,660 |
| Fees | $420 |
| Housing and food | $23,590 |
| Total billable costs | $95,670 |
| Travel and personal (estimate) | $1,500 to $2,600 |
| Medical insurance (can be waived) | $3,312 |
Source: Pomona College Office of Financial Aid, Cost of Attendance, 2026-2027 Academic Year.
Few families pay that price. Pomona is one of fewer than 20 institutions that admit U.S. students without regard to their ability to pay, meet 100% of demonstrated need and do not include loans in aid packages. For the Class of 2029, 61% of students received aid, and the college awarded $19.9 million in grants to the class. Federal data shows an average net price of $19,938 for aided students in 2023-24.
“Pomona’s sticker price is close to $100,000 a year, but its average net price for aided students is about a fifth of that, and its aid comes as grants and a student job rather than loans. For a middle-income California family, Pomona can cost less than a UC. Run the net price calculator before crossing it off your list.”
CalChannel Editorial Team
Where Is Pomona College Located?
Pomona College is in Claremont, California, a tree-lined college town at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, about 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Metrolink’s San Bernardino Line stops in Claremont Village, a short walk from campus.
The campus is residential, and nearly all students live on campus. Because the five Claremont Colleges sit next to each other, the combined community has more than 6,000 undergraduates, which helps a small college offer a bigger social scene than its own enrollment suggests.
What Is Pomona College Known For?
Pomona is known for rigorous academics across the sciences, social sciences and humanities, small classes taught by professors, strong outcomes for graduate school and fellowships, and generous financial aid. It’s consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the country.
What is Pomona’s mascot? The Sagehen. Pomona shares its athletics program with Pitzer College as the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens, which lets the two small colleges field a full range of NCAA Division III teams in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Pomona College acceptance rate?
Pomona received 12,470 applications for the Class of 2029 and announced 861 admitted students, an acceptance rate of about 7%.
Is Pomona College the same as Cal Poly Pomona?
No. Pomona College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont. Cal Poly Pomona is a separate public California State University campus in the city of Pomona.
How much does Pomona College cost?
Pomona’s 2026-27 comprehensive charge is $95,670 for tuition, fees, housing and food. The average net price for aided students was $19,938 in 2023-24.
Does Pomona College require the SAT or ACT?
No. Pomona permanently adopted a test-optional policy in 2023. About 48% of the Class of 2029 submitted scores.
Is Pomona a good fit for students who want a big-school social scene?
Pomona itself is small, with about 1,700 students, but the five Claremont Colleges share dining halls, classes, clubs and events, so the social scene includes more than 6,000 undergraduates.
Why does Pomona share athletics with Pitzer College?
Both colleges are small members of the Claremont Colleges, so they combine as the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens to field a full set of NCAA Division III teams.
The Bottom Line on Pomona College
Pomona College is a small, highly selective liberal arts college in Claremont that admitted about 7% of applicants for the Class of 2029. It offers a close-knit college experience with the resources of the Claremont Colleges, and it graduates 93% of students within six years.
Its 2026-27 comprehensive charge is $95,670, but need-blind admission for U.S. students, full-need aid and no-loan packages make it far more affordable for many families. Compare Pomona with Harvey Mudd, Occidental and other private colleges in California.
Sources
- Pomona College. “Pomona College Class of 2029 Profile.” pomona.edu.
- Pomona College. “Introducing the Pomona College Class of 2029.” pomona.edu.
- Pomona College Office of Financial Aid. “Cost of Attendance.” pomona.edu.
- National Center for Education Statistics. “College Navigator: Pomona College.”
- Wikipedia. “Pomona College.” Wikipedia.org.
CalChannel Editorial Team California college guides
The CalChannel editorial team researches and writes guides to California colleges, admissions and financial aid. We build our college profiles and aid guides from colleges’ own published data, federal IPEDS data and the California Student Aid Commission. Read our editorial policy.
