Living in Oldenborg
Oldenborg is more than a place to live. We—the staff and faculty of Oldenborg—think that learning languages is fun, challenging, and potentially enriching to whatever major you may undertake. The spirit of our residential program is to live around others who speak the same language and have an interest in practicing and developing community around that language and culture. The heart of Oldenborg's residential language immersion program is the Language Resident Program; through it, Oldenborg offers both curricular and co-curricular support to the three Pomona language departments: the Department of Asian Languages & Literatures (Chinese and Japanese languages), the Department of German & Russian (German and Russian languages) and the Department of Romance Languages & Literatures (French and Spanish languages). These languages remain our priority in terms of residential language halls & language hall programming. These language halls feature a live-in language resident and connection to a fully articulated academic program.
Important Dates
- Monday, February 13: Oldenborg Room Draw applications live on SM Apply
- Friday, February 17: Oldenborg Room Draw Info Session. 12:15pm, Oldenborg Dining Hall, south side
- Friday, February 17: Oldenborg Open House, 2-3pm
- Monday, March 6: Applications due by 5pm
- Week of March 27: Oldenborg Friendship Suite Application (OFSA) status confirmed
- Monday, April 3: Oldenborg Room Draw Numbers posted
- Friday, April 7. 2:00pm: Oldenborg Room Draw (Zoom link will be shared with applicants!)
Room Draw Application
Applications for AY 2023-2024 will only be available on SM Apply from February 13 to March 6. Detailed instructions can be found on SM Apply. See below for eligibility.
We encourage you to read our Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about the room draw process.
Eligibility
- Open to rising Pomona sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
- Target language proficiency equivalent to two semesters of introductory college-level coursework.
- Endorsement from a relevant language faculty member or a Language Resident. Faculty Recommendation Forms are available to students here.
- Essay demonstrating interest in the section of choice: Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. Other language(s) may be possible; check FAQ for more information.
Oldenborg Friendship Suites
Oldenborg quads can be filled prior to Room Draw via an Oldenborg Friendship Suite Application (OFSA). Friendship suites require 4 students. Each student should submit a standard language hall application on SM Apply plus the group as a whole should submit one OFSA coversheet. Submit the completed OFSA form to oldenborg@pomona.edu.
OFSAs will be reviewed separately. Students will receive confirmation of their OFSA status before Oldenborg Room Draw numbers come out.
Oldenborg Language Halls (2022)*
Chinese Hall
French Hall
German Hall
Japanese Hall
Russian Hall
Spanish Hall
Multilingual
*See map for details