Cal Poly Pomona and Pomona... (Los Angeles, Pasadena: fit in, crime, credit)

[the city]

I am going to be attending Cal Poly Pomona next Fall as a transfer student. Is this mostly a commuter school? How many of the students live on campus? Does the school have a rec center or a big gym? What is their to do in Pomona? Thanks!

[BluSpark]

Mostly a commuter school. They have some on campus housing options. But most of the students live off campus and commute from surrounding cities.....Pasadena, Claremont, Walnut, Diamond Bar, West Covina, Covina, San Dimas, Monterey Park, etc.

Pomona is NOT the greatest city...with crime and poverty issues. But there are pockets of Pomona that are nice (Phillips Ranch). Not much to do in Pomona other than the LA County Fair. Plenty of the surrounding cities are nice....like the ones I mentioned above.

[Dub D]

Originally Posted by BluSpark

Mostly a commuter school. They have some on campus housing options. But most of the students live off campus and commute from surrounding cities.....Pasadena, Claremont, Walnut, Diamond Bar, West Covina, Covina, San Dimas, Monterey Park, etc.

Pomona is NOT the greatest city...with crime and poverty issues. But there are pockets of Pomona that are nice (Phillips Ranch). Not much to do in Pomona other than the LA County Fair. Plenty of the surrounding cities are nice....like the ones I mentioned above.

If 20 miles is a "surrounding city" you can add another 20 cities to that list.

Cal Poly is definitely a commuter school. If you want that college party life, you aren't going to get that at Cal Poly. Their parties suck as do most of their frats. I went down to Cal State Fullerton when I wanted to party. I lived on campus for a while but they have some real BS rules so I left. I lived in "The Village" which sucked and often times drove across the street to get to class since the bus was not timely.

The gym is pretty good. Its not awesome but it has alot of the same equipment you can find at a gym. I believe it cost 10 bucks a month and its right next to the main cafeteria.

Cal Poly Pomona is BARELY in Pomona. You don't want to do much in Pomona. If you go towards Mt. Sac, thats Walnut which is a better but boring city. They have built a lot of shopping areas down Valley in Walnut as well.

The school is located in a good spot for traveling. Its right off the 10 and 57. So if you want to go down to LA, just take the 10. If you want to go down to beaches, take the 57 then the 22 or 405 depending on which beach. Its about a 30 minute drive minus traffic.

All in all, its a good school. However, its a bit boring. I highly suggest you join a club or two to make friends. This also depends on which major you are taking. Some "colleges" do a real good job making students with the same major familiar with each other and others are just too busy too care.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Dub D

If 20 miles is a "surrounding city" you can add another 20 cities to that list.

Cal Poly is definitely a commuter school. If you want that college party life, you aren't going to get that at Cal Poly. Their parties suck as do most of their frats. I went down to Cal State Fullerton when I wanted to party. I lived on campus for a while but they have some real BS rules so I left. I lived in "The Village" which sucked and often times drove across the street to get to class since the bus was not timely.

The gym is pretty good. Its not awesome but it has alot of the same equipment you can find at a gym. I believe it cost 10 bucks a month and its right next to the main cafeteria.

Cal Poly Pomona is BARELY in Pomona. You don't want to do much in Pomona. If you go towards Mt. Sac, thats Walnut which is a better but boring city. They have built a lot of shopping areas down Valley in Walnut as well.

The school is located in a good spot for traveling. Its right off the 10 and 57. So if you want to go down to LA, just take the 10. If you want to go down to beaches, take the 57 then the 22 or 405 depending on which beach. Its about a 30 minute drive minus traffic.

All in all, its a good school. However, its a bit boring. I highly suggest you join a club or two to make friends. This also depends on which major you are taking. Some "colleges" do a real good job making students with the same major familiar with each other and others are just too busy too care.

I agree, yes, we all know Pomona isn't the greatest place in the state. It wasn't even 20 or 30 years ago, but I think of Cal Poly almost as being in San Dimas.

Joining organizations is the best way to fit into any situation, especially when attending a commuters school.

Nita

[Faketigger]

Originally Posted by the city

I am going to be attending Cal Poly Pomona next Fall as a transfer student. Is this mostly a commuter school? How many of the students live on campus? Does the school have a rec center or a big gym? What is their to do in Pomona? Thanks!

I went there for 2.5 years a transfer student.

1. Predominantly M-TH commuter school.
2. Good edication.
3. Only about 2,000 Students live on campus.
4. Big Rec Center.
5. Nothing to do in Pomona. Fraternities and other activities is the only thing to do. It's a very boring school to go to.

[the city]

So a big rec center. I hope it's free. cal poly slo's is free i think. bummer its a commuter school. but they r one of the best for my major. and bummer nothing in pomona, but its in a good location near jobs. whats in san dimas?

[Faketigger]

Originally Posted by the city

So a big rec center. I hope it's free. cal poly slo's is free i think. bummer its a commuter school. but they r one of the best for my major. and bummer nothing in pomona, but its in a good location near jobs. whats in san dimas?

Raging Waters is in San Dimas.

[BluSpark]

Originally Posted by the city

So a big rec center. I hope it's free. cal poly slo's is free i think. bummer its a commuter school. but they r one of the best for my major. and bummer nothing in pomona, but its in a good location near jobs. whats in san dimas?

To Cal Poly's credit the students are there to get an education....not party all the time. Doesn't mean you won't have fun. You will.

San Dimas is a pretty quiet town but in terms of finding things to do in surrounding areas you can look into:

1) Claremont (where the "other" Pomona College is located) is a very nice and quaint college town with a few bars/restaurants/cafes. I'd say it's about 10 minutes from Cal Poly Pomona. Not raging nightlife but a very nice place to hang out from time to time.

2) Covina's downtown or "main street" area has been revitalized and has a few bars (3 Vinos is a good one) where some Cal Poly students go.

3 vino's: latin cuisine restaurant bar entertainment dancing in Covina

For more lively nightlife you can drive to Pasadena or Downtown Los Angeles. Both are about a 30 minute drive from Cal Poly Pomona....which by LA standards is not that far. Both have very numerous and varied nightlife options.

The one claim to fame for San Dimas...it was the setting for the 1989 film "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" starring a then very young Keanu Reeves.

[Forever Blue]

I attended this school from 1996 - 1998 & 2001 - 2006. I live 30 min away, so I never lived on campus. I only went to school strictly for my classes. The second they were over, I drove home, I didn't linger around the campus, nor ever hung out in the surrounding area. When I 1st started going there, I looked into joining a fraternity/sorority (I said both so as not to reveal my gender). But didn't end up going that route. That had nothing to do w/ the city. I didn't like the idea of having to pay money to have friends & be a part of a group...that's basically what it is, other than it looking good on your resume.

When people hear the name Pomona, it's known as NOT a good city. I'd say it's as bad as Rialto. There isn't squat to do in Pomona like the others said. I just go to the Pomona Fair, which is every Sept/Oct & a few other events at the Pomona Fairgrounds. I wouldn't want to hang around the city at night. Stay away from Holt Blvd! It's known for prostitution & where there's prostitution, you know there's other bad things going on too. But it may be kind of tough since it's the major street going through the city.

But, there are a couple of good areas. An older lady friend of my mom's lives in Phillips Ranch. It's nice, but I wouldn't want to live there. There may be less crime, but there's nothing to do there either. It's a boring area.

[Narfcake]

Originally Posted by Forever Blue

But, there are a couple of good areas. An older lady friend of my mom's lives in Phillips Ranch. It's nice, but I wouldn't want to live there. There may be less crime, but there's nothing to do there either. It's a boring area.

Yeah, there's not much of any night life here (unless you count going to WinCo at 3am in the morning ... BTDT). And you know what? That's just fine by me.

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