Oldenborg Room Draw Frequently Asked Questions

We encourage you to join us at our info session on February 13, 2026 at 12:15 p.m. in the Oldenborg Dining Hall, south side. Oldenborg staff and Housing staff will walk you through the application process and answer any questions you may have.

Meet our current LRs, or check out the language tables schedule.

You are also welcome to contact us anytime at oldenborg@pomona.edu

Applications will be available from Monday, February 9 until Monday, March 9, 11:59 p.m.

Applications will be available in SM Apply starting Monday, February 9.

An overview of the application process can be found on our website. For detailed instructions please refer to SM Apply and join us at our info session on Friday, February 13 at 12:15pm in the Oldenborg dining hall.

You may contact us anytime at oldenborg@pomona.edu

No! We highly encourage all Pomona rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors to apply to live in the Language Immersion Resident Hall (Lawry).

This will depend on how many applications we receive for each language. We strive to allocate rooms somewhat proportionally to the number of applications received.

This will depend on how many applications we receive for each language. 

All accommodation requests go through Accessibility Services. Please refer to the Housing Accommodation section and the Housing Accommodation Procedures for more information. You can also contact disability@pomona.edu.

After review of applications is over, you will be notified if you are receiving a room in the Language Immersion Residence Hall. By participating in Oldenborg Room Draw and accepting your placement, you are committing to living in Lawry and will not be getting a general room draw number. The Language Immersion Residence Hall (Lawry) is binding.

Only students who are planning to enroll in the fall will be considered for the Language Immersion Residence Hall room draw. If any rooms become available for the spring, students who are abroad in the fall are welcome to contact us around October.

Yes! Students who are currently on leave may still apply to live at the Language Immersion Residence Hall (Lawry) next year as long as they have already processed their request to re-enroll at the college for Fall 2026. Please email your class Dean to confirm your return from leave.

Yes! Though these languages are not taught at Pomona, they are taught within the Claremont Colleges. We encourage you to apply with at least one other person who speaks the same language. This will make it easier for us to create a language hall for that particular language if there are rooms available. Please keep in mind though that we prioritize Pomona languages and then 5C languages. 

Applicants from languages in which there is no Oldenborg Language Resident should be strong applicants by virtue of either: 1). possessing a higher level of proficiency OR 2). demonstrating strong ties with a 5C language program. Students who are accepted into the Language Immersion Residence Hall will also host one culturally relevant activity per semester and will coordinate this with the help of Oldenborg's Assistant Director.

We encourage you to apply with at least one other person who speaks the same language. This will make it easier for us to create a language hall for that particular language if there are rooms available, and ensure that you are able to engage in the spirit of our residential program which is to live around others who speak the same language and have an interest in practicing and developing community around that language and culture. If you’re applying to a language that doesn’t have a Language Resident, mention in your essay how you expect/intend to engage in the language. Students who are accepted into the Language Immersion Residence Hall will also host one culturally relevant activity per semester and will coordinate this with the help of Oldenborg's Assistant Director.

If you are applying for Arabic/Italian/Korean/Portuguese, please reach out to the appropriate language department or faculty. If you are applying for a different language, please reach out to a 5C faculty member who speaks that language. The faculty recommendation form should be submitted directly to us at oldenborg@pomona.edu

Yes, you are eligible to apply. To determine proficiency, you should submit the list of coursework completed at other institutions. If those courses were completed in high school, please also include all AP courses and any other relevant classes.

You should also meet with a Pomona language faculty or an Oldenborg Language Resident in the target language so they can complete a faculty recommendation form that determines your proficiency level. Attending language tables is a great way of meeting a Language Resident. If you don’t know any language faculty, reach out to the section coordinator of the language you are applying for and set up a short meeting. In the case of Arabic/Italian/Korean/Portuguese, please reach out to the faculty at the appropriate college (Scripps and CMC)

Section Coordinators

Spanish – David Divita

French – Virginie Duzer

Japanese – Peter Flueckiger

Chinese – Eileen Cheng

Russian – Larissa Rudova

German – Friederike von Schwerin-High

We are happy that you are interested in living in the Language Immersion Residence Hall and we absolutely welcome native speakers. However, being a native speaker is not in itself a reason to live there. How will you benefit from living at Oldenborg? What do you expect to get out this experience? How will you contribute to the Language Immersion community? When we evaluate applications, we consider language table attendance, list of related coursework, personal essay, and the faculty recommendation.