<p>I’m a member of Sigma Xi. All we ever did was pay money and attend the initiation banquet.</p>
<p>Most of my extracurriculars were outside of Mudd and in 5C-wide organizations. I was very active in the International Place of the Claremont Colleges, as well as with clubs on Pakistani/Indian culture, and interfaith dialogue clubs with Muslims, Christians, Jews, etc… all working together. I took part in quite a few parties, banquets, shows, functions, lectures and so forth throughout the year, though it was nothing quite like at a large state school (I’m at Rutgers right now - the social environment is much more incredibly alive and active if for no other reason that there are about 8 times as many students as on the entire 5C’s). </p>
<p>My participation and expansion to outside the 5C’s is probably my fondest memory of Claremont, and the thing I miss most. It is the main reason I had fun and stayed relaxed and chill (well, more laid back and chill than most people anyways ;-D ) at Harvey Mudd, which helped me do better in my classes than I would have otherwise. </p>
<p>One thing I always felt sad about was the fact that so many HMC students did not take full advantage of the social opportunities arising from the other colleges nearby, and mostly stayed in the Mudd bubble apart from taking classes off campus, which I feel made them very insulated and could drive them to be very miserable, consequently affecting academic performance. </p>
<p>Thus, I encourage you and any future Mudders to not make this mistake - search out clubs and organizations, maybe one that you are pretty active in and a few whose events you go to, and try to ensure that you interact with non-Mudders as much as you can. It will do you wonders, and you will have a much greater appreciation for your education and probably gain a lot more out of it. Learn to have moderation, it is very key.</p>