Mudd Frosh Taking Questions

Colleges & Universities Harvey Mudd College
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<p>Ath = CMC’s Marion Miner Cook Athenaeum = <a href=“http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/mmca/[/url]”>http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/mmca/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Students from all 5Cs can make reservations to attend an event (concert, reading, lecture…the Fall 2006 schedule is on the site) and have dinner with the speaker(s). The talk (minus dinner) is open to students regardless of reservation. It’s free, it’s good, it’s a 2-3 hourish event, it’s a way to feel surprisingly classy in college. I know people who’ve never been and others who literally go 4 times per week. </p>

<p>Certain events are CMC-only (this might just apply to the dinner, though), but that’s not particularly common (and in some cases can be worked around, i.e. if you’re in a class that goes or if you can get special permission b/c it’s your field of specialization or something). You don’t have to be on a meal plan to attend, but you do have to be a student to attend for free. There’s also a small library, piano, living room area, and often snacks, so people regularly hang out in the building when events aren’t taking place.</p>

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<p>Hi all.</p>

<p>I really appreciate all that you have been doing to inform the masses about Harvey Mudd. I have enough trouble visiting College Confidential for information, and I could only imagine how awful most of the site seems to someone who has already done the whole college application deal. I’m a high school senior from New Jersey, and I am planning on applying ED. With my school’s deadline for November 15 apps in a month, I wanted to ask some questions before I sign my life away:</p>

<p>First, I’ve been getting some mixed messages about how much you actually interact with the other Claremont schools. You all (males) say that the girls from Scripps help to make up for the gender gap at parties, but other times people on this forum say that they rarely visit the other colleges. Do you feel that the school’s small size is made up for by having other schools next-door? Do you wish you had gone somewhere larger?</p>

<p>I hear that Mudd parties hard (when it parties at all), and that the liquor flows. When we toured the campus, everyone said that there was little pressure to drink, but are there many people who do not drink regularly?</p>

<p>Anything else you want to add? Words of caution for potential EDers? I guess these questions seem a bit negative, but I think my concern is more based in everyone telling me not to apply ED more than it is from my actual impression of Harvey Mudd. I loved the campus when I visited, met some interesting people… just the same as it seems every visitor has to say. On an aside, do you have any interview tips (I have one in a week). Should I wear or bring anything in particular?</p>

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<p>Be forewarned, I’m speaking from a Scripps perspective (which, among other things, might serve to show you that yes…we do interact)! </p>

<ul>
<li><p>You interact with the other colleges as much as you want to. I don’t know if it “fixes” the gender gap or anything from the perspective of male Mudd students, but Scripps is all women. If you won’t be proactive, you can safely bet that we will be. Your parties are all well attended by students of the other schools. Mudd students often take hum classes (others, too, but mostly hum) on the other colleges, but in the few Mudd classes I’ve taken, there has not been much cross-enrollment at all from the other schools. </p></li>
<li><p>The other schools are <em>RIGHT THERE.</em> Anyone who “rarely visits” them is crazy…he’s missing out on the best thing that Claremont has to offer its students (regardless of college affiliation). You will get sick of your dining hall, of your gym, you will want to go swimming, you’ll want to see a movie playing at Pomona, you’ll want sushi on Friday night, you’ll want to take German, you’ll want to sing in choir…whatever. If you want to get off campus, you can (and in doing so, will be in the norm).</p></li>
<li><p>I personally love going to such a small school. We have the “cozy and familiar” feeling of the tiny LAC that we are, but the consortium allows us to escape feeling <em>overly</em> familiar with one another. Mudd students seem to know their classmates much better than the students of the other colleges seem to know theirs, which some might find stifling, but I’ve always admired. There’s definitely a Mudd bond.</p></li>
<li><p>Mudd parties hard, it parties often, and you’re correct all around about the liquor. I have a number of Mudd friends (friends on all 5Cs, for that matter) who don’t drink at all or don’t drink often. If you don’t like to be around alcohol or drunk people, then you can still find your niche, but you’ll have to work a little harder at it (lots of movie nights…that’s my story). But if you like to go to parties and just not drink, you’ll never have any trouble. One nice thing about Mudd is that there’s a great community feel to the dorms, so people are almost always watching TV in common areas, playing video games, reading in the lounges or courtyards, whatever. A big party is never the <em>only</em> thing going on.</p></li>
<li><p>Only word of caution: be very, very, very sure you want to pursue a math/science/engineering degree. You absolutely do not want to go to Mudd and change your mind, b/c you’ll go crazy trying to pursue anything else in the midst of your science-oriented GEs.</p></li>
<li><p>Interview…don’t worry about it. Dress comfortably and appropriately (jeans are fine, holes are not…think of it that way). You don’t need to get dressed up, but remember where you are. If you want, you can bring a resume but it’s not that big of a deal. Just spend time the night before thinking about your answers to likely questions: why do you want to go to Mudd, what do you have to contribute to Mudd, how would your friends describe you in 3 words, how are you prepared for this type of education, why a LAC, what’s your biggest strength/weakness? It’ll help so that you’re not caught too off guard at the actual interview, stuck there going “Hmm, that’s a tough question…hmm…wow, that’s really tough…let me think.”</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>I’ve only been here for a month, but I’ll give it a shot…</p>

<p>“First, I’ve been getting some mixed messages about how much you actually interact with the other Claremont schools. You all (males) say that the girls from Scripps help to make up for the gender gap at parties, but other times people on this forum say that they rarely visit the other colleges. Do you feel that the school’s small size is made up for by having other schools next-door? Do you wish you had gone somewhere larger?”</p>

<p>No, Scripps girls DEFINITELY come to our parties. The ones that are pre-planned and dorm sponsored ones are full of kids from other schools. Most of the people at those parties I don’t even recognize. This weekend, for example, there are two official dorm parties going on at once and I assume there will be plenty of Scripps girls there. At those parties the ratio is definitely around even. There’s no problem meeting girls at all, trust me. But, the parties that aren’t official and just spur of the moment (these are the ones that go on ALL the time), don’t have too many people outside of Mudd. This is probably because they’re more private types of parties. But every week there seems to be at least one official 5 C party. Of course the ones that aren’t at HMC basically all suck, but still.</p>

<p>“I hear that Mudd parties hard (when it parties at all), and that the liquor flows. When we toured the campus, everyone said that there was little pressure to drink, but are there many people who do not drink regularly?”</p>

<p>There’s a ridiculous amount of partying that goes on here. I didn’t believe the rumers that Mudd partied hard, but it parties very hard indeed. You can get hard liqour whenever you want. There’s full bars in many of the suites (in the 4 non-quad dorms) and the dorm lounges (in the 4 quad dorms). You basically can get anything you want, any time you want it. Also a lot of the frosh have their own stash too now. There definitely is pressure to drink here, but if you don’t want to you won’t be forced to. There’s many many people who don’t drink at all. I would say over 50% of the frosh class does not drink. Some of those kids still go to the parties, but others just stay in their dorms and hang out. There’s also other things going on during the parties so kids who don’t want to drink have something else to do. Basically there’s a fine line here between those who drink and those who don’t. The ones who don’t drink literally refuse to drink any alcohol, while the ones who do drink get really wasted here.</p>

<p>The bottom is line don’t worry about the drinking if you don’t want to do it. You can still have fun here without drinking and a majority of the freshmen don’t drink. Also at parties at the other 4 Cs they card, so people there won’t really be drinking anyways unless they’re 21. You can always go to those parties if you don’t want to be around too much drinking.</p>

<p>About applying ED… There’s a saying that if you do research about harvey mudd and STILL want to come here, it means you’re the type for this school. Mudd provides an amazing sense of community, an extremely challenging curriculum, and totally awesome social experience. I’m pretty depressed right now from 4 hours of sleep the last two nights and tons of homework, but I still think Mudd is awesome. That’s how awesome it is.</p>

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<p>I’m not a frosh anymore so I can’t post my opinions on this thread. :(</p>

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<p>Yes, but prospective frosh (and their parents) would like to hear about your experiences! Any Mudd math majors around?</p>

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<p>I would also like to add that a lot of kids (and plenty of girls, yes) from different schools come to our dining hall, especially for our sushi night and steak night. It’s another good way to meet new people from other colleges without having to drink to do it.</p>

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<p>I am not a math major, but I am taking a ton of math classes in addition to being a physics major. I will have learned quite enough for a math major at most schools by the time I’m done (heck, even now for some schools, I may have enough to get a degree in math - this Abstract Algebra course that I am taking, for example, is hardcore and headache inducing).</p>

<p>And also, I will mention that I have never consumed a drop of alcohol during my time here, and I have felt not a shred of pressure to do so.</p>

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<p>Do you think the Mudd girls drink as much as the Mudd guys? Are the Mudd girls as much a part of the partying culture? Do the Mudd girls tend to date the Mudd guys?</p>

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<p>Tiyusufaly,
Did you start in the standard freshman Mudd math? Opt to skip ahead? How much math did you have coming into Mudd? Was it a big shock coming to SoCal? If you had to do it again, would you still choose Mudd?</p>

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<p>Last year’s graduation speech revolved around the question “If you had to do it again, would you?” I know it was a more-than-slightly biased context, but you’ll be happy to know that the resounding answer was yes ;-)</p>

<p>(rocket…I think that if I keep posting here as a Scripps senior, you can stay on as resident Mudd soph.)</p>

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<p>Mother of Perl,
there really is a large distribution regarding female drinking at Mudd. I would say that about a third of the girls don’t really drink. A third drink socially, sometimes, and a third are party-hard when time permits. Realize, however, that Mudd is no cakewalk so if you’re drinking a lot you either have to be really smart or very hard working while you’re working.</p>

<p>A lot of girls here like to drink. I’m not sure if they drink as frequently as guys but my guess would be that they actually drink more frequently. I suppose we have a bit of a safe haven here for experimentalists and they probably drink because they feel safe.</p>

<p>Guys are not so safe. They are not in real danger, per se, but it is not nice to wake up in the middle of the wilderness with no pants on, honey spread over you, and sharpie on your face saying, “____ ____ landing pad”. But hey, that’s only at my dorm. Girls get the royal treatment when intoxicated while guys get the royal shaft.</p>

<p>Many of the Mudd girls seems to like the party scene. I don’t know if they are part of the “party culture” per se, although I do know a few that tailor to that bill very well. We (most students at Mudd) party when we can…which is probably on average once every two weeks or so. I’m a guy so I can’t tell you many more details other than that. I’m not sure what the average girl’s perspective is on partying.</p>

<p>Let’s see… do Mudd girls tend to date Mudd guys? Yes. Probably 2/3 of them do. They have their pick of the litter. As they say:
“The odds are good but the goods are odd.”</p>

<p>WIBSTR</p>

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<p>once every 2 weeks? Come on… I’m only a frosh and even I know it’s way more than that…</p>

<p>3 dorms (west, north, and atwood) party wednesday night through saturday night, no joke. I would say the average is twice a week, for partiers, maybe 3.</p>

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<p>Frosh, you’re wrong. Remember, as humans, we have the tendency to attribute what we see as the norm. That is, you see people hanging out and/or partying in the courtyard. However, there are many more people who are working and in their rooms. </p>

<p>Also, what do you consider partying? People hanging out and drinking a beer is not a party. I define partying by at least two of the three criterion:</p>

<ol>
<li>Drinking to the point of inebriation.</li>
<li>Dancing for more than 20 minutes.</li>
<li>Considering kissing some random girl that you just met. </li>
</ol>

<p>Heh. I know it sounds like a joke, but really, people don’t party more than twice a week…and even so, the mean is more like every 2 weeks.</p>

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<p>CountingDown, if you are still reading this, I am sorry for my late response, but I’ve been really busy this past week.</p>

<p>I did not pass out of any math classes (though I could have skipped Math 11 due to my BC Calculus, but opted not to). I did, however, take the Summer Math program. The math department offers rising sophomores the chance to take all of sophomore core math the summer after frosh year. This past year, about half of the freshman class opted to take it. It’s very useful, it frees up your schedule so you can take electives or opt for more advanced math courses.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the scoop on Summer Math. We visited the campus while it was still going on, but didn’t know if it was a summer program for HS students or what. My student is taking MV/DiffEq this year and so we were curious how many people actually try to test into a higher placement vs. taking Math 11 or 12 and reinforcing one’s skills (and hopefully getting a good grade in the process!)… Or are most math or Joint Math/CS majors expected to come in ready to test out of freshman core math?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>Most math majors are not at all expected to come in ready to test out of frosh core math. It is perfectly within reason to be a very successful math major without passing out of anything - some of the best math majors don’t at all! As for whether or not your student should pass out of some core math courses, I’d say that really varies depending on the program. Some programs don’t prepare you that well at all, and some do an excellent job. If you want an idea of whether or not it’s worth it, check this out: <a href=“http://www.math.hmc.edu/placement/[/url]”>http://www.math.hmc.edu/placement/&lt;/a&gt; and try the sample placement tests. If you can do that without too much difficulty, it’s worth getting out.</p>

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<p>“(and hopefully getting a good grade in the process!)”</p>

<p>first semester is pass/fail</p>

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<p>Hey! I am very interested in transferring into Harvey Mudd. Having heard that it has a very hard/tough course, mudd sounds very challenging. I have a question though and it would be great if anyone could help me answer this.</p>

<p>I plan to do what they call “Individual Program of Studies”, consisting of electrical engineering(or general engineering) and (theoretical) physics. However, I am concerned that the curriculum looks very biased towards the practical aspect, and not as much theory. Is this true? How many labs do you generally have per week? Would it be a good decision to come to mudd if I am interested in the theoretical aspect of physics (and engineering).</p>

<p>Also, how hard is mudd really, compare to other universities. Mudd doesnt have a big name/reputation, but it seems like a very good college.</p>

<p>Thx in advance
Cheers!
-prospective mudder (soph transfer)</p>

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<p>Well, you will get as much theory as you can handle. You will get the full multivariable E&M (as ALL students do) plus some advanced dynamics, fourier, discrete mathematics, continuum mechanics, quantum mechanics (which you will need to know prior to transferring unless you want to take frosh physics). In addition, you’ll get MultiV Calc, Lin Al, ProbStat, DiffEqs and such.</p>

<p>No one really double majors with engineering and something else. I believe last year there was one person who pulled it off. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>P.S. Mudd is as hard as you want it. I mean, there is a default level of difficulty but it can get pretty hard pretty easily if you want it to. Just FYI, the sophomores are getting back the E&M midterms… for which the average is 52% with a stdDev of 20.</p>