Transfer Applicants

All applicants for transfer admission must submit either Apply Coalition on Scoir or The Common Application. We give no preference in the admissions process based on which of these applications you submit.

The application requires 3 essays: the personal essay and two Pomona-specific essays. The essays help us consider applicants' fit with Pomona's creative and collaborative culture. If you think of your application as a novel about you, in which you are the central character, the essays are where you can speak directly to us in your own voice. Your professors have told us about you in the classroom, your transcript has told us something about your academic preparation, but we are eager to hear directly from you so that we might better understand you as a person. We look not just for strong writing, but for individual voice, passion and thoughtfulness. What do you care about? What do you wonder about? How have you responded to events in your life? What brings you to transferring now? We feel honored to read your essays and look forward to meeting you through them.

• The personal essay (max 650 words) can respond to any of the prompts provided by the application platform you have chosen, including a topic of your choice. Please note that in the CommonApp, the personal essay is collected as part of the Pomona-specific essays but is still the traditional personal statement.
• The Pomona-specific essay prompts include an academic interest statement (max. 400 words) and a short-response essay (max. 250 words).
  • Academic Interest Statement: 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?
  • Short-Response Essay: 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.

Official college transcripts from all colleges and universities attended are required, as is a final transcript from your high school or secondary school (including graduation date) or the equivalent such as a GED. In order to be official, transcripts must be mailed or emailed by registrars to our office or submitted through Parchment or the National Student Clearinghouse.

Transcripts provided by students are considered unofficial. While these may be used for the review process, official transcripts are required for enrollment.

This form should be completed by a school official such as a registrar or transfer adviser at your current or most recent institution and emailed to our office. 

If submitting the Common Application, it is the College Report; if submitting the Apply Coalition on Scoir Application, it is the Transfer Report. The Common Application forms are available as available as offline documents. Officials should mail or email this form to our office. 

If you are not currently enrolled, we still ask that you obtain a report from the last institution at which you were enrolled as there are questions regarding your academic standing and eligibility to return to the institution that we consider in our evaluation.

As part of our application review, we are interested in your current academic performance and require a Mid-Term Report. The Common Application's Mid-Term Report form is available as an offline document. If submitting the Apply Coalition on Scoir Application, it is the Curriculum Report. 

The Mid-Term/Curriculum Report can be self-reported by the applicant. Faculty signatures are not required. Please indicate your current, in-progress grades and your professors' contact information for verification.

If you are not currently enrolled, you will be able to request a waiver of the requirement through your applicant portal.

Courses listed on the Mid-Term Report are included in the preliminary credit evaluation provided to admitted transfer students.

Completed by two of your college course instructors (TA recommendations are acceptable), these should be uploaded through your application, or mailed or emailed directly to our office by your recommenders. Applicants may submit another optional recommendation of any type (e.g., employer, volunteer coordinator, supervisor, high school teacher, etc.). Such optional letters cannot replace the academic evaluations. All letters of recommendation submitted will be considered. 

There is a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $80. However, we understand that this application fee may present a financial hardship for some applicants. If you plan to apply for financial aid, and the application fee presents a hardship for you or your family, please complete the Pomona Access Pass form. Upon completion of this form, the $80 application fee will be waived without requiring additional documentation. Questions? Please email our office at transfer@pomona.edu.

Applicants who will have completed at least one year's full-time college work by the time they expect to enroll at Pomona must apply as transfer applicants. This work can be completed at a community college or public, private or international university that is regionally accredited. Students who have completed college coursework as part of an early college program, or who have completed less than one year of college, should apply as first-year applicants. 

We admit transfer students as sophomores or juniors (between 8 and 16 credits where 1 course = 1 credit), and transfer students must spend at least four full-time semesters at Pomona to receive a B.A. degree.

There is no upper limit to the credits that can be earned prior to applying for admission. However, we do not accept applications from students who have already received a bachelor's degree. 

Admitted transfer applicants will receive a course credit evaluation alongside their offer of admission. The evaluation includes an assessment of completed and in-progress courses and indicates transferable credits, expected class standing and graduation term, and completion of our Breadth of Study Area Requirements.

Students will be able to transfer a maximum of 16 course credits (i.e. credit for 16 courses where 1 course = 1 credit). Credits are usually transferrable if: 

• they are earned at a regionally accredited institution; 
• the course is taken in person among other matriculated students; 
• the course grade is a “C” or better; 
• and The Claremont Colleges offer a comparable course. Consult our course catalog for more information.

During enforced periods of remote learning, Pomona will accept online courses taken for credit. 

Pomona does not have a credit relinquishing/reset process and all prior eligible transfer coursework will be included in admitted students' course credit evaluation. For more information on Pomona's transfer credit policy, consult our course catalog.

Pomona courses are semester-long and students typically carry 4 courses (i.e. 4 credits since 1 course = 1 credit). If you are on a different credit system, you can calculate your transferrable credits using this chart. 

We do not have required courses for transfer applicants.

However, we do have recommendations. Given that transfer students enter Pomona as sophomores or juniors, they have less time on campus to complete all of their general education requirements and major(s)/minor requirements. We therefore recommend, when possible, that applicants focus on completing courses that will fulfill our general education requirements before applying so that they may focus more on courses in their major(s) while at Pomona. 

The six Breadth of Study Areas that make up the majority of our general education requirements are:

1. Area 1: Criticism, Analysis, & Contextual Study of Works of the Human Imagination (for example, Art History, Classics, Dance, Literature, Media Studies theory or history, Music theory or history or appreciation, or Theatre history or criticism courses)
2. Area 2: Social Institutions & Human Behavior (for example, anthropology, economics, environmental analysis, international relations, linguistics, cognitive science, PPE, politics, psychology, PPA, STS, or sociology courses)
3. Area 3: History, Values, Ethics & Cultural Studies (for example, Africana studies, American studies, Asian studies, Asian American studies, Chicano/a Latino/a studies, history, Latin American studies, philosophy, religious studies, gender & women's studies courses)
4. Area 4: Physical & Biological Sciences (for example, astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, molecular biology, neuroscience, or physics courses)
5. Area 5: Mathematical & Formal Reasoning (for example, computer science, mathematics, formal logic, or statistics courses)
6. Area 6: Creation & Performance of Works of Art & Literature (for example, studio art, creative writing, dance, media studies production, music performance & composition, or theatre performance courses)

Generally, the transfer application deadline and requirements are the same for international applicants. If your transcripts are not in English, however, you will need to provide official translations. If you have further questions about submitting foreign transcripts, please contact us.

Additionally, if English was not the primary language of instruction in your secondary school, the Admissions Committee will expect to see official or self-reported results of either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the Duolingo English Test. We accept the following versions of the TOEFL exam: TOEFL iBT, TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition and TOEFL ITP Plus for China Solution. While we welcome cultural and linguistic diversity, we do not have English as a Second Language or other remedial programs for foreign students. For more information, please see the International FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions). While this requirement cannot be waived for applicants currently enrolled at colleges or universities in the United States, our process is holistic and such enrollment and performance at those institutions will be considered.

While we are need-aware for international applicants, international transfer applicants are eligible for financial aid that meets 100% of demonstrated financial need but must apply for aid at the time they apply for admission. For more information, please see the International Student Aid website.

Students who previously applied either for first-year or transfer admission are welcome to reapply for transfer admission. Each admissions cycle is different, and an applicant who was denied in one cycle may be admitted as a transfer student in a subsequent year. (Likewise, admitted students who declined an initial offer of admission or were waitlisted may be–and have been–admitted in a subsequent year upon reapplication.) A more extensive record of academic preparation and success may increase the strength of a transfer application, or a more robust collection of experiences may increase the sense of a transfer applicant's fit. When considering a reapplication, we have access to any previous applications, but the new application will be the primary focus of our evaluation.

Pomona College is test-optional for all applicants. Under this policy, SAT or ACT scores are not required to apply, but students with available scores may choose to self-report them when applying (official score reports are not necessary unless and until you are admitted). If mailing documents to our office, the address is Pomona College Office of Admissions, 333 N. College Way, Claremont, CA 91711.

Pomona College considers all applicants who submit 1) an application (via the Common Application or Apply Coalition on Scoir), and 2) a transcript (official, unofficial or self-reported) to be eligible for a committee review and eligible for a decision. All individuals who complete the College’s application requirements for transfer admission will be notified of a decision by the Office of Admissions. Decision notifications are limited to: admission, non-admission (or “deny”), placement on a waiting list, or the withdrawal of an application by the applicant or the institution.  

The Office of Admissions will notify students of any missing application components a minimum of twice prior to engaging in committee review for a given applicant. Applicants also have access to a self-service application portal to ensure application components are received. We reserve the right to request additional documents as appropriate during the review and decision-making process, but documents beyond the application and transcript are not required to receive a decision from the Admissions Committee. However, if conditionally admitted, final official transcripts are required to enroll at Pomona College.