Accepted!
3.84UW/4.2W, 35 ACT, URM
Did three research/engineering projects w/one national award and ran a couple clubs
Also was accepted to Harvey Mudd FAST last fall which might’ve given me a boost
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Was also accepted!
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Son accepted! We have a ‘26 Mudder too so we know what a wonderful experience it is. I have been joyfully crying for 53 minutes, lol.
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Congrats!! My son applied and is waitlisted.
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accepted
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Congratulation! Could you share your son’s stats to help others? Major, Unweighted and Weighted GPA, SaT/ Act score, # of honors and AP, EC, etc?
I don’t want to go into TOO much specific detail at his request. Generally: 1560 SAT. 4.0 UW/4.47 W. 9 APs. Well-rounded kid with a few state level positions in different areas. Passionate about STEM advocacy in underserved areas of our state. Also, he has an interest in a pretty niche specialty of engineering and spent time last summer researching it which was sponsored by a federal agency.
My older son was a little more hooked toward robotics, FIRST Dean’s List and Worlds, etc. Slightly lower stats than DS24.
My son was just accepted–I’m wondering if you would mind elaborating on why you are so fond of the school? I don’t know anyone who has attended, so anything helps. TIA!
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My D was also accepted. I have the same question. The expense is very high compared with in-state UCLA. So I must make sure it is really good.
I’m a HMC alum from the mid 90’s. It was one of the best experiences in my life and has truly impacted me to this day. Incredibly intense and incredibly rewarding 4 years.
Pluses vs UCs or other large universities: all undergrad with top level STEM professors who get tenure for their research plus ability to teach undergraduates. High level instruction and labs. A BS in almost any HMC major stands up everywhere. Grad schools, med schools and tech employers all know the name and quality of graduates.
Minimal competition between students. Group work is encouraged under the honor code and people help each other out in the tough classes.
Small enough (<1K students total) so you know everyone, at least by face (this could be a plus or minus, depending on the person). I have friends for life from Mudd. It’s the sort of place where if a person was within 2 years of me at school, I recognize their name or face. Also, some of the smartest people I’ve ever met in my life (including grad school and biotech jobs) were classmates there.
Faculty and Administration know the students by first name. My parents were amazed at graduation that the HMC president knew my first name and a bit about me.
Minuses: The coursework and intensity cannot be underestimated. Regular load at Mudd is an additional class compared to all other Claremont (and most semester) schools. I’ve never worked as hard in my life, or gotten as little sleep, as my 4 years there. I don’t regret it, but it is/was intense. What gets you through this is the support from fellow students and professors and staff.
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thank you so much!
It’s exactly the same in 2024. You captured my oldest’s experience perfectly!
He is so busy he can barely eat or sleep but he is a kid who thrives on taking in all kinds of knowledge, including things like the HSAs (the LAC factor at Mudd) and staying up til 4 am doing p-sets. Everyone works hard and is incredibly smart but it doesn’t have the slightest “weed out” culture. In fact, the support is extraordinary. Research opportunities are pretty plentiful too.
The only downsides for him so far have been 1) room draw (dorm room picking) which is an unnecessarily convoluted PITA (after frosh year) and 2) career counseling has been a bit of a let down in finding internships. They have a couple fairs and stuff but you definitely have to hustle for internships. I did think it would be easier because of Mudd’s reputation. Those are pretty nitpicky things!
ETA: I don’t think Mudd and a large public university have much in common. Mudd has a significant core curriculum which people seem to love or hate. There will be fewer class choices because it’s a small school. I would definitely attend the admitted student program to get a feel for fit. That’s where my oldest fell for HMC. I knew within 10 minutes it was going to be his choice, but he was never very interested in large public universities anyway (Northwestern and Swarthmore were his runner ups, to give you an idea what appealed to him). If UCLA looks good to the student in ways beyond price, then I can see Mudd not being the ultimate choice. For me, it’s about fit.
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Congrats!
I also have a '26 Mudder (hi @threejs! congrats to your '28 Mudder!) who has been very happy at Mudd. Your student needs some very good time management skills because the workload is challenging. But there is time for friends, clubs, jobs, etc. as long as the student has good self discipline and doesn’t procrastinate. The overall vibe is that of collaboration, not so much competitiveness. I think the small size of the school makes it much easier to get involved with different groups, find their people, get to know professors, and overall it’s just more manageable and easier to transition to compared to a large school.
I like that all four years are on-campus housing (the mess that is room draw notwithstanding). All dorms have students ranging from freshman to seniors, the underclassmen have easy access to advice and wisdom from the upperclassmen, and upperclassmen get the opportunity to help out the younger versions of themselves. The first two years of core curriculum everybody is in the same boat and can commiserate with each other. I think that lends itself to a student body that is very supportive of each other. If you ask my kid what they like best about Mudd, the answer would be the other Mudd students they’ve gotten to know and work with because they’re brilliant yet humble and such very interesting people.
And while the students work hard, they have a reputation of playing hard too. Parties are not my kid’s scene but there are plenty of opportunities for those who do party if that’s of interest.
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Just as a sidenote for anyone doing the admitted student visit --make sure to visit North hall and West hall! Those are the known party dorms on campus, while East/South are much quieter
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My student was admitted as well (huge honor for our family) and will be going to the admitted student days.
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Congrats! We will be at the ASP too.
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