My daughter is trying to get her list whittled down and Mudd was on it for their amazing academics… and then we turned on youtube. We can’t justify a visit so I am hoping someone who has been there can speak to the dorms. Every video on youtube the dorms look like some kind of dumpy 1980s junior college. There are an abundance of “goodwill” styled couches in common areas and in the yards (yes, in the yards. Like outside.). There are old tires in most of the videos? Lots of empty bottles/trash makes a regular appearance in the student videos. It just looks run down and unkept. It was 100% not what we were expecting and DD removed them from her list with a wrinkled nose. As she finalizes her list, I am wondering if we got a bad read on Mudd? Thoughts?
My D loved Mudd and visited three times. With that being said, most of the dorms are post apocalyptic from the exterior. (Interior not as bad, but not great either.) However, the campus is really nice and it has a special tight knit vibe. Believe it or not, the dorms become part of the charm too. I wouldn’t cross it off the list because it’s an amazing school, but I would try to visit. It’s definitely not for everyone.
Thank you @gratefulmama . Unfortunately a visit is just not going to happen unless she would apply and be accepted. Is there generally trash and free range old sofas scattered about? I think she could move past the 1970s low security prison look of the dorm buildings, but the junkiness was a big no.
What you saw was probably “accurate”. But what it lacked was “context”. You don’t go to HMC because it has nice dorms. You go because the people in them are your people, the professors connect with those people, and you will get a unique style of top notch education.
Let me be clear, HMC is not for everyone! It might not be the place for your daughter. What was she thinking of studying?
Thank you @DavidPuddy . She is intending to study physics (and then grad work in physics). And yes, it may well be that we lack context. She doesn’t need fancy at all, but this may not be a match for her.
If I remember correctly, it was one dorm complex that had the couches and trash. They are not all like that. Also, it looks like a prison because all the windows are in the back. But when you hear the kids playing music in the courtyard, and other kids skateboarding from class to class, it somehow becomes all part of the charm. While very prestigious, it’s not pretentious.
I understand it not always feasible to visit before acceptance. I would suggest joining their fb page and contacting admissions to see if they offer Skype Q/A sessions, or some way for your D to get a feel for the culture without visiting. I do think it’s one of those schools that you either love or hate.
I’d have her apply, then go for accepted student days if she gets in. I’ve certainly seen nicer dorms, but my D (Physics major, now in a PhD program) didn’t care too much. Mudd was all about the academics and her friends – she thought the campus was fine. My kid had an amazing experience there. She got tons of great research experience and mentoring, and is finding herself very well prepared for grad school. If your kid is serious about Physics, don’t skip it.
Yeah, dumpy 1980’s junior college or even high school is a fitting description. However, the Pomona College and Scripps campuses are only a couple minutes’ walk away and are beautiful. Any student of the 5 C’s can use the facilities, take classes, and eat in the dining halls.
I went to Mudd all the time in recent years (student from Pomona) and found the campus to be well-maintained. Not sure what trash/empty bottles you’re talking about. Yes, the traditional dorms have sofas/tires/bonfire residues but that’s part of their charm. Most buildings are in good to excellent quality on the inside: science facilities, classrooms, the dining hall, the activities center, etc. The new Shanahan center is one of the best buildings on the five colleges, and they just built a really modern looking dorm called Drinkward. I feel like your daughter got an inaccurate characterization from the videos, and it feels like a rather unfair measure to cross off one of the finest physics schools in the country entirely because of aesthetics.
Plus, as mentioned, Scripps is adjacent to the Mudd campus and one of the most beautiful in the country. Pitzer, CMC, and Pomona are lovely too in their own unique ways. She will visit often due to at least the shared dining halls and events across the colleges.
Mudd is a great school but some reason the students seem to like the goodwill couches… :-??
The rest of the campus is fine…it’s not going to make any “Most Beautiful Campus” lists, but there are some nice new buildings. What really makes Mudd special is the education and the people.
My D is visiting the Claremont Schools for the second time in 5 months this weekend. She loved the consortium. I will admit though, she will not be applying to Mudd, she is not a stem kid We spent 5 days out there and I never noticed Mudd looking horrible. The campuses are all interconnected and while she may sleep in a Mudd dorm, she will spend plenty of time at the other schools I suspect.
Not likely she will end up in a Mudd dorm. Not saying it could never happen, but pretty unlikely. But she may have friends on Mudd. My kid at Mudd certainly had friends at the other schools. She speaks affectionately of the Motley (coffee shop at Scripps).
We were there in June. One of the dorms does bonfires at least once a week (Can’t remember if it was N W E or S.). Due to an incident awhile back where a neighboring campus thought the dorm was on fire and called the fire department they are no longer allowed to have bonfires that are taller than the dorm.
My DD absolutly loved Mudd when we toured. I did not like the dorms. At. All. There are 8 or 9 dorms and I would say 4 are total dumps, 2 seemed so/so and the others seemed fine. They were the newer ones.
The dorm décor stems from the fact that the students have pretty much free rein over their living arrangements within the Honor Code. The social life in the “inner” dorms (oldest, u-shaped ones) tends to revolve around the dorm, whereas in the other “outer” dorms, the social live may be based on a floor or suite. Each dorm has its stereotypic personality, and the one with the couches and fire is likely West. It has the wild and messy stereotype (and the sofas are probably free craigslisters). The pile of couches is indicative of the sense of community amongst the residents, which is also a part of the dorm stereotype.
Don’t let the messy dorms dissuade D from applying – other top notch schools, like Caltech will also have some messy looking areas. If accepted, then you can try to figure out what the best fit is - further research or a visit may uncover a better living situation. As stated above, HMC is not for everyone, but great for some.
I just looked at the map. West is definitely the bonfire dorm. I think it was South that had the sofas.
We had a private tour with a player arranged by a coach, from what she said each dorm has a distinct culture and they do a very intense survey to make sure you are in a dorm & roommate that will fit your personality. I think she said it was 8 pages long.
And I think they suggest that parents not get involved in the survey – I don’t think I ever saw my kid’s, which was unusual for her. Also, the dorm you start in isn’t necessarily the one you stay in. My kid made friends in many dorms, and ended up in an entirely different dorm her last couple of years.
We were flying out of the airport near the Claremont colleges on a family vacation last summer, so stopped by to do our own tour of Mudd. We had heard that it wasn’t the most attractive campus (I think perhaps Princeton Review puts it on its ugliest campus list), but were very interested in the school due to Mudd’s great reputation for academics and its STEM program.
Unfortunately son was very underwhelmed with the physical campus. For example, the dorms did seem old and run down and the baseball field (son plays baseball) looked worse than almost any field he had ever played on since age 5. (Interestingly, Pomona’s field was quite nice, which was hard to understand.) Mudd did seem to have a newer, large academic building with very nice classrooms.
The state of the facilities wasn’t a big deal for me, but unfortunately really turned our son off of Mudd, and he has shown no interest since. (I think Mudd is not a good match for him for other reasons so this has become a moot point for us).
But to the OPs original question, from the perspective of someone who was able to travel to Mudd, in my view the pictures referred to are an accurate representation of what the dorms look like from the outside (we were not able to view the inside of the dorms).
We spent 5 days out there and I never noticed Mudd looking horrible. The campuses are all interconnected and while she may sleep in a Mudd dorm, she will spend plenty of time at the other schools I suspect.