<p>It is nice to know that there are informants on this site. Sorry, you missed your chance to join the Gestapo or the KGB. I just wanted to warn students who go to bad high schools that it may be difficult to compete with students who were taught math, science, english. I don’t blame HMC Admissions for knowing just how bad some of our high schools are. What are you paid lurkers?</p>
<p>I just hope you have not ruined my child’s chance to survive at Harvey Mudd. There was always the chance he would recover and do well enough on the final to pass. It is horrible that you have tried to out him as being scared. I hope you do not succeed.</p>
<p>“I just hope you have not ruined my child’s chance to survive at Harvey Mudd. There was always the chance he would recover and do well enough on the final to pass. It is horrible that you have tried to out him as being scared. I hope you do not succeed.”</p>
<p>Wow. Just wow. We don’t even know who this person is… we just know someone needs help and they are not getting it. And no, we aren’t getting paid to sit on here…</p>
<p>It appears that part of the problem is you. You seem to be very good at blaming your [son’s] troubles on other people. I don’t care about appeasing you. I want you kid to succeed and at this point if he is to make it through Mudd (and not “ruin” his life by your words) you need to let people who have been through Mudd help your son.</p>
<p>Why do we care? Because believe it or not, we Mudders actually know almost every single person at Mudd when we are students there… and make it a personal obligation as alums to help people through… since it wasn’t a cakewalk for many of us either.</p>
<p>
According to my son, Mudders don’t compete with one another – at least, not on the academics. At inner tube water polo, ultimate frisbee, and interdorm megaphone wars – sure. At math, physics, and chemistry – they help one another. They’re in it together.</p>
<p>
You’d rather see your son overwork himself and die from the flu, in your words, than receive the assistance of the HMC personnel whose job is to help students in his situation recover and succeed at HMC? Just when I thought I was beginning to understand you… oh, wait.</p>
<p>"Sorry, you missed your chance to join the Gestapo or the KGB. "</p>
<p>Low, just low. This is so offensive on so many levels. The Gestapo murdered many of my people and those that tried to help them.</p>
<p>It is indeed offensive to me too … but more than that, it makes me sad for you, BCM, that you would feel the need to sink to such a level. You have my pity.</p>
<p>Seriously, that’s the lowest thing I’ve seen anyone say on collegeconfidential (which is really hard to do, there’s a lot of stupid stuff written here, but by golly you have succeeded).</p>
<p>I already talked to the administration and hopefully, they will help if necessary. Right now, they seem to be hopeful that he will do OK once he recovers. As I said before, I am here to warn kids who went to terrible high school that they will be at a disadvantage. Also if you are poor, you will feel really poor. If you are religious, you will feel like you better hide it. And yes, reporting people to the authorities is consider really low in many cultures. rocketDA – then you should knowbetter than to be an informant. geek_mom – I am glad your son is doing well at Mudd. Not everyone has the same experience. Just be glad for his success and leave me alone. I am sure I would be less frantic if I could afford to visit. College Confidential is free.</p>
<p>
On a Saturday night, no less. That is excellent news, and really the only thing of great importance here. I look forward to your retractions. More importantly, I look forward to celebrating your son’s graduation in May 2013!
Here we go again. Let’s see… Special meal accommodations for Ramadan… A 5C-wide Eid Al Fitr dinner… Email messages from Dean Gary to the HMC community explaining the significance of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah… Inter-dorm/inter-campus Christian prayer groups… An off-campus “Religions in Conversation” conference introducing the health codes of Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Protestant, Catholic, Coptic and LDS faiths… Yup, sounds like a pretty scary place for religious folks. :rolleyes:
So is making slanderous statements in a public forum. Just sayin.
AFAIK, he wasn’t. If he had been, then you should be thanking him. The alternative, as you’ve described it, would have been for you to sit helpless on the sidelines watching your son suffer in silence.
So is an email to the Dean.</p>
<p>If your son has been identified and is in contact with the administration, I’m confident that he’ll enjoy some success, and thrilled that he will get the attention he needs. About your own apparent need for attention… not so much. I’m not convinced that you are what you say you are, but I’ve struggled to give you the benefit of the doubt.</p>
<p>Perhaps you really know nothing (or next to it) about the college your son attends, in which case I could understand some of your fears. But not your attacks on everything and everyone Mudd. If this is the heart of the problem… please take some time to read the orientation materials you were given, talk with some of the staff and faculty there, and learn about the resources available to your son. There is a Yahoo group for HMC parents; you might find that group to be a source of comfort and useful information. Email the Parents Association at <a href=“mailto:parents@hmc.edu”>parents@hmc.edu</a> for details and other possible resources.</p>
<p>As tiyusufaly said earlier, this is a community of people who help and support one another. All ya gotta do is ask. Note, a string of anonymous public attacks is not an “ask.” Whatever your culture, I’m sure you know that.</p>
<p>Classes on Yom Kippur – the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. One more thing to make up. I have not check for Good Friday yet. I am sure the Moslems have something to make up too. The student body is hostile to religion. Not a big surprise at a science school. All of the minding each other’s business, like turning me in, is suffocating. How about a parent comes to warn other parents and seek suggestions and instead is attacked? Couldn’t just say my child got help. For all I know, your child has sailed and you have no personal experience whatsoever. Leave me alone. Everyone is anonymous here, including you. Obviously, bringing up issues and problems is also a taboo. HMC is not for every one. Working day and night is not everyone. The orientation did not hide that “Fs” are handed out like candy, but why wait until orientation to share that information. It should be part of the information with acceptance letters.</p>
<p>I am a Muslim, I never felt ostracized at Harvey Mudd because of my faith. Neither did any of my fellow Mudder Muslims. Like RocketDA, I feel that if anything HMC tries a little too hard to be welcoming and culturally accepting of everyone, to the point of being ridiculously PC.</p>
<p>If you are looking for a school in this country that makes the days of Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha or any other number of religious holidays official school holidays, you will be hard pressed to find one.</p>
<p>WOW.</p>
<p>BicoastalMamma-</p>
<p>No one “turned you in”. You constantly complain about how terrible mudd is to your son, so CARING people inquire about it to have something done about the unjustness you complain about. You should be grateful other people are trying to help.</p>
<p>You blame your son’s problems on the school and his previous high school. I’m not even a student there and i think your interjections are insane. And then all this crap about religion and diversity- you are so ignorant. I was surprised by how friendly and accepting the people were when I toured yesterday. It isn’t cut throat at all- i saw students helping others with work. They are so friendly there. So stop with the drama and all this trash talk- it’s just so ridiculous and stupid.</p>
<p><my post=“” didn’t=“” go=“” through…which=“” sucks=“” cuz=“” i=“” think=“” it=“” was=“” one=“” of=“” my=“” best=“” posts…=“” i’ll=“” try=“” to=“” cover=“” most=“” again=“”></my></p>
<p>“All of the minding each other’s business, like turning me in, is suffocating. How about a parent comes to warn other parents and seek suggestions and instead is attacked?”</p>
<p>The funny thing is that you are not minding your own business. You have come on here to assert yourself into other’s business but when we try to help you, you cry “foul!”.</p>
<p>How could you enroll in a 4 year college that you know little about? The indicators are everywhere about how Mudd is very challenging. Did you think people were lying to you? I (and others) have been giving this warning for several years on this forum: “Don’t go to Mudd unless you are very serious about math/science/engineering”</p>
<p>Now that your son is in and is struggling, it is time to make the best of it. I personally believe that this is a great opportunity for your son to mold his mind and character - to challenge himself like he never thought possible. I believe in the underdog; you should give him the support needed to defy all odds.</p>
<p>I had a pretty rough education myself… although my challenges were earlier on. When I was young I repeated 1st grade and almost failed 6th grade. Shortly thereafter, something happened to me when I realized that I didn’t want to waste my limited time here… I wanted to make something of myself. I worked very hard over the next several years and skipped a few math/science classes so that I could get into a good college. I got into Mudd and struggled some more and have had my share of sleepless nights and tears in the professors office when he tells you that you are failing. I picked myself up and found the energy inside me to not let anyone stop me on my quest… and this quest has recently turned quite favorable for me.</p>
<p>Setbacks are necessary to keep a fire under us. They keep us moving forward and keep us from stagnating. Your son is in a position to change the way he thinks… and this sort of mind-molding comes at a price of very hard work for several years.</p>
<p>I am not sorry for the amazing opportunity placed before your son. Millions of people would die to be challenged the way he is being challenged. Don’t waste it.</p>
<p>hey, i just read this thread and i want to post here because i am in kind of a similar situation.
i am an austrian hope-to-be student applying to princeton.
we didnt rank in my school (i finished this yr in june) but ill probably be in top 20% (my grades are really not what i hope to be accepted for…)
i have a lot of extracurricular stuff, work experience in an international dance festival (modern free dance workshop for people with diabilities), sports (national and local championships won in badminton, women´s soccer, snowboarding), but what i am really proud of is my political activity in two clubs, i am member of the boad in both, was responsible for the participation in the organization of a charity music festival for a refugee initiative, many other projects including workshops at schools etc
i am painting, singing and writing. i have spent half a yr in a school in manchester, uk
in school: editor of school´s magazine, advisor for exchange students (after my term in england), student-teacher relationship mediator, organizing different fundraising events in school, etc
also, my dad is currently a professor there (my sister is also applying, next year)
i have not yet taken the tests, but on the practice test i scored CR 670, W 730 and M around 600 (i dont remember the exact number)
also, ive been told that my essays are really good (talking about my experience in manchester as international who shortly after arrival started an international relations group) and my different expectations and experiences in, after manchester, and now visting princeton.
i have also been auditing lectures here in princeton and did a paper in christian ethics, which the professor really liked.
what else… well i think that is all, oh yh my grades are really not that good, i had a d in maths in my senior yr (do u think that a gud maths score on the sat would make up for that- plus the system in austria is different as hell, u simply cant compare it!)
im sorry, that turned out to be really long, hopefully some1 is nice enough to read it… so in terms of the name of the forum: am i aiming way out of my league?? thanks for every reaction to the post =) clara</p>
<p>^ you have a shot, but your standing/ scores is way below average. Your extracurriculars are impressive.</p>
<p>Just think of it this way though- if you’re scores are low now in high school, both standardized and grades, imagine how much harder it will be if you do end up at Princeton. Getting in will have been the easy part. If it’s gonna be super hard for you, you probably also won’t be all that happy.</p>
<p>Hello Clara,
As you probably already know, most top American colleges take a more “holistic” approach to admissions: Numbers matter, but are not the whole picture. What is very important at Harvey Mudd College may be less important at Princeton, and vice versa. I would suggest you spend some time reading in the forum dedicated to Princeton, and perhaps post your question there. Here’s a link to that forum for you: [Princeton</a> University - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/princeton-university/]Princeton”>Princeton University - College Confidential Forums)</p>
<p>What Blackroses said above (“getting in will have been the easy part”) is definitely true of Harvey Mudd. I have heard from many CC members that the same is not so true of Ivy League schools including Princeton – that once you’re in, the work and grading are a bit easier than one would expect. I have no firsthand experience, but that might be an interesting topic to watch for on the Princeton forum.</p>
<p>Good luck with your college search and application process!</p>
<p>HMC is one of my daughter’s possibles. I’ve been following the exchanges on HMC site between bicoastal and others, sitting incredulously at what was claimed/said. Finally I have got to put my 2 cents in.</p>
<p>I am thrilled to hear about all the concern for this student by those on this site. I am now certain that if my d ends up there, she won’t fall through any cracks. Whether or not bicoastal is a ■■■■■ or a caring mom, I thank you all for acting on this students’ behalf.</p>
<p>thanks, ill have a look in this other forum ^^ ive been auditing lectures here in princeton for the last month and i didnt find it so difficult, everyone seems really eager to help you out… plus, i didnt use my potential in high school, i think i can study pretty hard but since in austria the school and university system is so different (theres just no competition) i didnt need to 
and i have improved my sat scores to M 650; CR 730 and W 780 since i posted here, this might show that i can study fast =)</p>
<p>Congrats on the improved scores. 
Not using your potential in high school is generally not considered a plus in college applications, so I would probably emphasize something else as a strength.</p>
<p>The forum where you found this thread is all about Harvey Mudd College, so you’ll probably get more replies and better information over in the Princeton forum. Again, good luck!</p>
<p>You people are unbelieveable. 30 years ago, I watched a couple of suicides and several student breakdowns due to unbelieveable pressure, teachers who could neither explain or communicate and serious grade deflation. I thought that model of education was a thing of the past but I guess not. At least one sick student not being allowed to reschedule a test while others could reschedule is a serious wrong. What is the key? Do you have to email the profs 24 hours in advance or something? He is feeling a little better now, so maybe he can make up being sick since the beginning of the semester if he does not have a relapse.</p>
<p>I once showed up to an exam, said I felt really sick and asked if I could take it the next day. He said yes, and I did - no further questions needed. I didnt even need a doctor’s note. This was a physics exam mind you. </p>
<p>Have you ever considered the possibility that your offspring is lying to you in order to make excuses? I am not saying this is the case, but it seems obvious to me here that the administration and professors do care and are willing to help out.</p>
<p>And in either case, first semester is pass/fail for a reason. If this exam is the reason your son were to fail the class, he could very easily go up to the professor at almost any point and ask the professor to keep that in mind when deciding his fate. At that point he just has to do well on the final. For later semesters this might not work, but first semester Im sure most professors are willing to be extra lenient if there is a reason to do so. Also note that I have received a higher grade that point-wise deserved for showing an upward trend.</p>