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The fall 2020 acceptance rate for Harvey Mudd College is 12%. That means, out of _____ applications received in 2020 , _____ students were offered admission. The number of males who applied was _____ vs the number of females which was _____.
What should every freshman at your school know before they start?
So you are ready to go to off to college. Your bags are packed, and you are excited and nervous about your upcoming adventure. It is great to be enthusiastic, but before you leave, take the time to do the things you enjoy and spend time with loved ones. You will soon learn that if you do not live your life fully at each moment, opportunities will pass you by. Make sure that you know how to stay calm and focused, and learn how to take care of yourself. Remember that sleep is a necessity.
Your fellow students are also adventurers, as well as future coworkers and confidants. Be friendly and true, but remember that you are your own top priority. You will have many new experiences, some unique to your college. Try to take advantage of them, but remember to keep up with your curriculum. If the curriculum is much harder than you are used to, find help among professors and experienced students. Find an activity you love, a subject area you have passion and some talent for, friends, and a work ethic. When you return home for the holidays, you will be bursting to share your success story.
Read all 24 answers Describe the students at your school.
half-and-half nerdy/awesome and annoying dumbass
Read all 18 answers Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?
In general, no. Of course there are very quiet and anti-social people, and there are the stereotypical video game playing nerds, but nerds come in all types, and they're all represented here. Most people are very social, and it's guaranteed you'll fit in with some group (as long as you're a nerd on the inside).
Read all 17 answers What are the academics like at your school?
Almost all my professors know my name. Even the large core classes which everybody takes at the same time freshman year are broken up into smaller sections. The introductory macroeconomics class I'm taking has about 60 people and the professor doesn't know my name, but that's rare.
In general, how much I like a class is simply related to how much I like the material. I love my computer science and math classes- I don't like freshman chemistry or humanities 1, but that's because I just don't like chemistry and hum 1 was a ton of writing. Computer Science 60 stands out as a particularly well run class
The professors are extremely available. Usually I'm kind of stubborn, but on occasion I've gone to look for help on an assignment and I've never had trouble finding a professors. They also set up extensive tutoring hours by upperclassmen for many of the core classes. The core curriculum is very broad and demanding- they do a lot to get everyone through it.
As for intellectual conversations outside of class- yes, yes, YES! The variety of topics we talk about outside of class is astounding. Quantum physics is always good breakfast conversation, and my roommate and suite mate talk about philosophy a lot. We spend hours upon hours doing homework and studying, and then when we're done we still want to talk about science.
Finally, the education is what you make of it. Most of the people here appreciate knowledge for the sake of knowledge, and a lot of us go on to grad school. However, there is senior clinic which is a real world project and helps prepare people for industry. Really, it prepares you for both.
Read all 17 answers What is the stereotype of students at your school?
We're geeks. (And supposedly we're proud of it!)
Read all 17 answers What is your overall opinion of this school?
The best things about Mudd are the atmosphere and the people around you. Finally being around like-minded individuals allows people to really open and for a free flow of ideas and discussion. There's a sense of excitement about the work being done- both in what we learn and what the upperclassmen research. This is where science happens, and its a wonderful thing to be a part of.
I'd change the architecture- it's kind of ugly. It seems they've wised up- the newest buildings are much nicer, but anything built before the 1990's has the protruding brick them (we call them "warts").
Sometimes it feels too small, although you can always take classes or go to events at the other 4 Claremont Colleges.
Read all 16 answers What are the most popular student activities/groups?
Two Harvey Mudd students take the challenge to "build something cool" and get a prize from CA.
Read all 15 answers Here's your chance: Say anything about your college!
How amazing it is, but without being cutthroat in any way shape or form. Everyone is very academically focused and covers advanced material, but we get through it in groups, not individually. It's one of the top undergraduate schools for engineering and you can tell why, but everyone works together. You can't succeed at Mudd without communicating and working with others, which is good because Mudders are great friends and colleagues. Although the college offers only technical majors, everyone is still very well-rounded and have active social lives.
Read all 11 answers What's the most frustrating thing about your school?
It is possible to feel like you understand the material, relax in your studies a bit, and then be completely surprised during a test. The way to succeed is to always stay focused and absorb absolutely everything the professor tells you.
Read all 7 answers Describe how your school looks to someone who's never seen it.
Harvey Mudd College is a liberal arts college with a focus in the field STEM.
Read all 6 answers What do you brag about most when you tell your friends about your school?
The professors are great and really care about the students and their learning. Classes are challenging, but fun, and the campus and students couldn't be nicer. I love the California environment, the small-town feel of Claremont with the close proximity of Los Angeles.
Read all 6 answers What's unique about your campus?
The honor code! We are expected to know right from wrong. So we can take final exams in our dorm rooms, and the professors know we won't cheat. We can trust our classmates not to steal from us or sabotage us. This creates an extremely strong community built on trust. Because they trust us, professors allow sick students to take tests later, when they are feeling better. Because we trust each other, we collaborate instead of competing.
Read all 5 answers What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about freshman year?
I wish I knew more about how temperate the California climate usually is, but that Claremont can be very hot in the late summer and early fall. I wish I knew how important it would be to have a bike, skateboard or longboard to ride around on campus and how quickly I would adjust to living in a co-ed dorm suite, and be grateful for it, too.
Read all 5 answers What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?
A lot of the guys are nerdy, so if you're looking for some sweet hook-ups, don't come here.
Read all 5 answers Describe your favorite campus traditions.
Engineering for sure. We are a top notch technical school, and produce some of the best engineers in the nation.
Read all 4 answers What are your classes like?
Here are a couple launches for the newly redesigned experimental engineering course at Harvey Mudd College.
Read all 3 answers What kind of person should attend this school?
A very driven, mathematically oriented person does well at Mudd. Everyone at Mudd was the best in their high school, so it is competitive but not in a cutthroat way. Everyone wants to help, and everyone will struggle at least a little.
Read all 2 answers What kind of person should not attend this school?
Someone who does not want to work hard. It is okay to come here not knowing yet what you want to do, but if you are not willing to work hard to help yourself, and to help others reach their goals, you will not survive here. Everything here is a group effort, and we all help and support each other. You must be willing to work with others, and not underestimate the rigor of the classes here.
Read all 1 answers Describe a day on campus you'll never forget.
Pranking a faculty member at Harvey Mudd College goes horribly wrong for two HMC students. AMAZINGLY funny.
Read all 1 answers