Balan Selva
I’ve had a lot of experience explaining to people why I chose Pomona (it’s probably half the job, especially when working in admissions/giving tours). One of the most stereotypical, cliche things that I always end up discussing is the liberal arts curriculum. It’s partially a cop-out—something easy to describe yet not necessarily unique to the Pomona experience. After all, Pomona is decidedly not the only liberal arts college in California—hell, it isn’t even the only liberal arts college within a one-mile radius. So what exactly is the point of a Pomona liberal arts education?
This is something that I’ve thought a lot about, mainly within the context of deciding to change what I’m majoring in once every three months. That is probably what I love most about Pomona, and Pomona’s liberal arts system at large—firstly, the ease of switching one’s major, and the fact that one is inspired to change their major so frequently. Or maybe that’s just me.
I came into Pomona aiming to study economics and math. After my first semester, I was considering studying LAMS (Late-Antique Medieval Studies, led by the excellent Professor Wolf). A semester after that and I was convinced that I should switch into PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics), alongside mathematics. As I stare further at the depth of PPE major requirements, and the difficulty of proof-based mathematics, I’m once again considering studying economics and just getting a minor in something else I find interesting, like philosophy.
All of this has been guided by classes that have particularly inspired me, or forced me to think outside the systems I am so used to. Whether it was on early catholicism, comedy in Jane Austen, or Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, the brilliance of professors at Pomona (and their persuasiveness when it comes to convincing you to study their subject) pushes you to broaden your interests and seriously consider everything the liberal arts has available. Even if you only take some classes because you’re more or less forced to by Breadth of Study requirements, a lot of those classes turn out to be fascinating, providing meaningful value to one’s intellectual growth.
With all of that being said, I guess my final point, and the takeaway of all of this, is that it is worth seriously exploring the liberal arts at Pomona. I know a lot of people that I feel make the mistake of concentrating too hard on the exact thing they want to study (usually for a career goal), and I feel that they miss out on the fullness of a Pomona education by doing that. Lately, I’ve been trying to take at least one class a semester that has absolutely nothing to do with my requirements, and so far, it’s been a great experience. Give it a shot!
