Pomona College
Private College in Claremont, CA. Six-year graduation rate 93%. Median 10-year earnings $77,779.
A decade after enrolling, the median Pomona College student earns $77,779 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. 93% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Median debt at graduation is $11,782, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.15 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 93% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Admit rate 7% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 7% means admission is the exception — plan accordingly. With 12,249 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. 50% of admitted students actually enroll, which is a high yield by national standards. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 36% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 740–770 | 155 (36%) |
| SAT Math | 750–790 | |
| ACT Composite | 33–35 | 59 (14%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Pomona College →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 93% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. 98% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. At 7:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. At 1,664 undergraduates, expect a small, closely-held student body.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,638 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $19,938 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $4,841 at the $0–30k band to $37,842 at $110k+. About 61% get grants averaging $62,484, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Only 10% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 408 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $4,841 |
| $30–48k | $7,026 |
| $48–75k | $17,054 |
| $75–110k | $15,719 |
| $110k+ | $37,842 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 156 of these 1,638 students, totalling $901,032 — an average of $5,776 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Los Angeles County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)