Pomona CollegeAI Policy for Admissions
- PermissionCan you use AI?No explicit policy
- DisclosureMust you disclose AI use?No disclosure required
- ComplianceHow is it verified?No compliance stated
Quick Answer: Can you use AI at Pomona College?
Pomona College has not published any explicit admissions-specific policy on the use of AI tools, meaning applicants receive no formal guidance directly from the college on whether AI assistance is permitted in application materials.
Disclosure: Pomona College does not require applicants to disclose AI use in their application materials, as no such requirement appears anywhere on the admissions website or supplemental materials.
Compliance: Pomona College has stated no formal mechanism for detecting or enforcing AI-related compliance in admissions; however, applicants using the Common App are subject to that platform's fraud policy, which treats AI-generated essay content as a violation.
Generally safe
- Use AI tools only for light editing tasks like correcting spelling or grammar, not for generating or substantially rewriting your essay content.
- Use AI to help brainstorm or organize your thoughts, then translate those ideas into writing that is authentically yours.
Things to Avoid
- Avoid having AI generate, draft, or heavily rewrite any portion of your essays — this could constitute fraud under the Common App's terms, which Pomona uses.
- Do not assume that the absence of an explicit Pomona AI policy means AI-generated content is acceptable — the Common App fraud policy still applies.
- Verified Feb 2026
“No AI-specific admissions essay policy found on Pomona College admissions website”
Applying to Pomona | Pomona College - Verified Feb 2026
“Essays are where you speak directly to us in your own voice”
Applying to Pomona | Pomona College
- https://www.pomona.edu/admissions/apply
- https://www.pomona.edu/admissions/paths-apply
- https://www.pomona.edu/admissions/apply/transfer-applicants
- https://www.pomona.edu/admissions/apply/international-applicants
- https://www.pomona.edu/admissions/apply/admissions-decisions-faq
- https://www.pomona.edu/admissions/alerts
- https://sagehenstories.pomona.edu/2024/11/actually-applying-to-pomona/
- https://studenthandbook.pomona.edu/academicpolicies/academichonesty
Pomona's Student Handbook flags unauthorized AI use as an academic honesty violation for enrolled students, but this policy does not formally extend to admissions applicants.
Pomona accepts applications via Common App, Coalition on Scoir, and QuestBridge; the Common App's fraud policy explicitly prohibits AI-generated essay content, making it the most relevant governing standard for most applicants.
In the absence of explicit institutional guidance, applicants should treat Pomona as a school where AI use in essays carries meaningful risk and should err firmly on the side of self-authored work.
The college's admissions messaging strongly emphasizes authentic voice and individual expression, suggesting that AI-generated or heavily AI-assisted writing would conflict with what reviewers are looking for, even without a formal prohibition.
Pomona College has no published admissions-specific AI policy. The admissions site emphasizes authentic voice and individual expression but does not explicitly mention AI, ChatGPT, or generative AI tools. Pomona uses the Common App, whose fraud policy classifies AI-generated essay content as fraud (allowing only spell/grammar check), but Pomona itself has not issued its own supplemental AI guidance. The Student Handbook mentions 'unapproved use of artificial intelligence' as an academic honesty violation for enrolled students, but this does not apply to admissions applicants. Multiple admissions pages, the admissions blog (Sagehen Stories), FAQ, and alerts page were checked with no AI-specific admissions guidance found.
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