Pomona College

I had initially received this response via e-mail from Pomona College:

Hi LaMai,

Unfortunately we do not have the statistics for homeschooled applicants. We expect your application to be just like applications from non-homeschooled applicants. Many applicants submit a resume of the extracurricular activities which I would encourage you to do as well if you feel as though you have unique experiences which the application does not cover.

If you have any further questions, please contact us by phone at (XXX)-XXX-XXXX.

Best wishes,

Pomona College Admissions

I decided to call. I spoke with an admissions director who did not have statistics on-hand, and seemed very reluctant to give me inaccurate information. Pomona College does not track homeschool students. Regarding how many homeschoolers apply, "It's a small number [of applicants]," she repeated more than twice. She did say, however, that she herself came across three applicants. Pomona College currently receives over 5,000 applications for admission annually.

A "very explicit and detailed" curriculum that provides "a feel for academic promise" is ideal for submission with application from homeschoolers, but the admissions director stated that homeschool applicants already seem to be generous with information about their studies. That said, a synopsis of every single book the student has read "is not necessary." ACT/SAT tests are required as per their standard (link above). Two references is the standard number required from applicants, but, homeschoolers tend to provide more.

What I gleaned from this exchange was that homeschool students know what they're up against, and do not short-change information about their studies when applying to Pomona.