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| Quite Bright |
I have really enjoyed my time here at Harvey Mudd. I am only a sophomore, so I haven't had the depth of major courses that might be nice-- most of my friends at state schools started out taking major courses their first terms, but here they don't place many people out of the core classes. But, the core classes are a nice way to bond with your classmates. They are brutal, and boring, and possibly not too useful. But they do provide a more comprehensive understanding of science in general. Since the first semester is pass-fail (but with an elusive "high pass" for the big nerds... it's totally not worth it. All you get is a letter saying "get a life" if you get more than 3 or 4 high passes), you should use that opportunity to settle in before you witness your GPA go whack.
Upperclassmen here tell you that it's really important to define yourself outside of the classroom, and this is true. Mudd-life is often monotonous: wake up, go to class for 5 hours or so, come home, do 5 hours or so of homework, go to sleep.... The important part is to spice it up with fun things. And while Mudd itself is small, there are 4 colleges right next to it, so there is actually a large range of clubs, parties, and things to do. The people at Mudd are sometimes the most nerdy, annoying, self-absorbed people you will meet... but they can also be intelligent, funny, and wonderful. Most are very friendly, which is nice, because you pretty much have to work with your classmates on homework. Mudd is not the place for people who hate working in groups.
The professors of my major, Mathematical Biology, have all been really great, so far. Most are available for office hours every day and willing to do whatever is necessary for your success.
If you come here, you will have a really hard, challenging time. But, it is a college experience like no other. For some people, this is really bad, but for me, and a lot of people, it's good. Mudders like to complain, but deep down we feel bad-ass. | Scholastic Success: A+, Surrounding City: C+ |  | | |
| | Mar 24 2005 | 2nd Year Female --
Class 2007 | | Blog it!Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account:
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| Quite Bright |
Mudd has an amazing admissions staff which can really give one a false impression of the school. The Dean of Admissions is one of the coolest people ever, and current students tend to be very friendly towards prospective students. Here are two myths you'll hear a lot:
Myth: Your low GPA won't matter, and people will recognize Harvey Mudd and know that your GPA is low because of the difficult coursework.
Truth: Most employers have never heard of Harvey Mudd, and when told which school you attend, often think that Harvey Mudd is a community college. I feel that I should note that I don't have a low GPA, but that some of my friends are not as lucky, and seeing them get turned down from every grad school they applied to hurts.
Myth: Clinic is a great experience.
Truth: Clinic can certainly help you get a job by introducing you to one of the few employers who has heard of Mudd, but having a good clinic experience is a crapshoot. Your project could be incredibly easy and require very little work, or you could be spending an average of 20 hours a week or more on clinic. You could have a great team that gets along well, or you could hate half of your team, or have several team members who either do no work or are incapable of doing competent work.
There are some things that (understandably) just aren't mentioned to prospective students:
-Facilities and Maintenance (F&M) is incredibly poorly run. At the end of the year, they throw away things left in students' rooms, and despite the fact that they knew I was a summer resident (so my belongings shouldn't be thrown away), and it was plainly marked on my door that I was a summer resident, they still threw away some of my things. That same summer they threw away some dorm property, which was then retrieved from the dumpster, and they then threw it out again. In all fairness, things have gotten a little better in recent years.
-Campus Security is also less than competent, but problems with CampSec are much less frequent than problems with F&M.
-The administration is motivated by little other than limiting their liability and getting money for the school. Your complaints mean very little until the school is trying to get you to donate money (in other words, until after you graduate).
-There is a fair chance that Mudd will do serious damage to your joy of life, and destroy your motivation. This is not at all uncommon. At times the workload gets extremely out of hand, and the only way to remain sane (or retain some semblance of a social life) is just to give up on your work. Towards the end of your freshman year and throughout your sophomore year the point at which you give up will come sooner and sooner. It gets to the point where you just blow off the homework for courses where it isn't weighted heavily.
-The Mudd student body is very segmented. Chances are you will strongly dislike a large portion of the student body. You will have classes with some of the most annoying people you have ever met. They will ask questions that are either completely unrelated to the lecture, or are solely intended to demonstrate their (supposedly superior) knowledge of the subject.
-The core is rather useless except in that it exposes you to a variety of subjects so that you can better choose your major. I have almost never used what I "learned" in core chemistry (1 year), physics (1.5 years), or math (2 years) since completing the core, and I don't remember any of it. Any courses which required knowledge from the core simply retaught it. Some of those classes are incredibly difficult, and it is not at all unlikely that you will receive a test grade in the 30s from one of these courses.
Some of the things admissions tells you are true:
-The faculty is for the most part excellent, and very approachable. Almost all of my interactions with the faculty have been positive, and they really are great.
-It's a good education, although I'd have to say that it's probably not worth it.
As far as my personal experience at Mudd goes:
-Mudd has done serious damage to my mental well-being. I arrived as a fairly well-adjusted young sucker, and now I'm leaving as a bitter and depressed sucker who has anxiety problems. I have almost no motivation.
-I have met some of the coolest people ever here, and if I had gone to a state school, I'm sure I wouldn't have met anyone half as awesome as these people (although there plenty of people here that I can't stand).
-I maintained a healthy social life at Mudd, but this didn't come without its costs. Most times I was enjoying the social life it was because I was putting off work, so it got to the point where even when I didn't have work to do, I would think that I did and feel guilty about not doing it. You will probably always feel like you have work hanging over your head, even when you don't.
-I feel that I have gotten a good education from Mudd, but if I could go back, I wouldn't come here. Your GPA at Mudd will probably be low, especially at the beginning, so transferring can be difficult.
While Mudd isn't what I would call a great place, I can confidently say that everyone I know from Mudd who has gone to grad school at Caltech or MIT says Mudd is significantly better (the social life in particular). So if you're trying to decide between these three, I'd say that Mudd is your best bet (barring post-graduation), but you probably shouldn't go to any of these places and perhaps you should rethink your college plans. You can always go to an easy school for undergrad that won't make you hate yourself or destroy your GPA and then go to a good grad school. | Education Quality: A, Individual Value: F | | | |
| | May 14 2004 | 4th Year Male --
Class 2004 | | Blog it!Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account:
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| Quite Bright | I think the value of the Harvey Mudd education is something that needs to sink in and be digested, even after graduation. You may not realize the true value while you're going through, struggling to finish assignments and projects, but once you're out and you see what you've done and see ho much more complete your education was and how much better it prepared you for the world, you really do appreciate the professors and the education that you received. Realize that at Mudd you will study more than you have before and most likely, you will receive much lower grades than you did in high school. But when you emerge on the other side, you will have received and outstanding education by professors that care about your progress and you as a person and you will have been surrounded by an amazing set of peers. I feel, coming out of Mudd, that I could honestly do anything...rather than being stuck in one area, Mudd gives you the tools and background to be able to approach any problem and be able to reach a real solution. | Starting Job: Graduate Student, Preparedness: A+, Reputation: C | | |
| | Dec 03 2007 | Alumna Female --
Class 2000 | | Blog it!Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account:
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| Quite Bright | I came to Harvey Mudd knowing that it was going to be tough, and it lived up to my expectations. I felt appropriately challenged and stretched to comprehend different subjects. When it came time to apply to grad schools, I was invited to interview at every school I applied to, and accepted to every school I interviewed at.
One word of advice. Mudd is not for everyone. If you're expecting college to be a breeze after high school, you should go somewhere else. If you're not sure that you want to do science or math, go somewhere else. But, if you want a challenge, go to Mudd... just be prepared to forgo talking to high school friends about your classwork, because it will make you sad that they have so much free time :) | Faculty Accessibility: A+, Surrounding City: B- | | | |
| | May 15 2007 | 4th Year Male --
Class 2007 | | Blog it!Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account:
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