<p>Hi everyone! I've been looking through the HMC forum and the HMC website for a while now.</p>
<p>I'm currently a rising senior who found this college through a incoming freshmen (someone super cool but I am not friends with; we're friendly though). I decided to research HMC and it has been my dream school ever since.</p>
<p>Why: In short, the reason why HMC is my dream school is because I could not agree with the philosophy more. I am someone who is interested (not the TOP, top student in science and math at my school) in a career in the field of science; however, I am also naturally more talented in social science and have a strong interest in history and politics in addition to science. Unlike many of my friends who knew they wanted to pursue computer science or engineering at an young age, I am still rather uncertain. I love how in HMC you have to go through the Common Core curriculum before picking a major, especially since they included not only math and the three sciences (Physics, Chemistry, and Biology) but also computer science, which I have no experience with, as a pre-req. Also, I heard HMC is a rather liberal school and I LOVE that about it. From what I've read, I love the college.</p>
<p>All the praises being said, I do have some concerns:
1. Finances - Mudd is expensive. My parents can afford a nice state related school (like Penn State or Pittsburgh) but a private school is most likely going to be too expensive. I don't know if I qualify for financial aid (I looked into financial aid application process and was thoroughly confused) and I don't think I am smart enough for the merit scholarships. I am also thinking about applying for early decision but it's a huge financial commitment so I want to make sure I will be able to afford the college. I have been looking into grants and scholarship but I heard that for a lot of grants and fellowships are offered to students who know what they want to major in or students that have been accepted into a college. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Visit - I live in PA and Mudd is in California. From what I've heard about the college everything sounds great, I would like to see for myself though. I'm apply for the FAST program so hopefully I get accepted (I don't know how selective that is though). </p></li>
<li><p>Getting accepted - I know that no one (beside the admission office) can tell me that I will or will not be accepted. I'm just really worried about my extracurricular and my SAT/ACT scores. I have studied and I hope to improve. </p></li>
<li><p>My biggest concern - Not smart enough for Mudd? I feel like a pretty intelligent person but everyone who has been accepted to Mudd (according the CC) are like mad genius to me with their super high SAT scores and amazing extracurricular. I feel rather average compare to these people and the only person who has ever applied to Mudd in my school is pretty much one of the most amazing student the school has seen. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>So any advice for me? Also is there other colleges with similar philosophy that I should look into. I prefer schools that are rather liberal, focused on science but also value the importance of the liberal arts. </p>
<p>Here are midpoint test score ranges (25%-50%):</p>
<p>ACT Composite: 32-35</p>
<p>SAT Math: 720-800
SAT CR: 680-760</p>
<p>Only your SAT CR is in range, and while you need a respectable CR score to get into Mudd, I think the math score is critical. To be honest, I think your test scores are too low.</p>
<p>Run the Net Price Calculator found on the financial aid website for Mudd to see what you would be likely to pay. Doubtful you would get merit aid with your stats, either. </p>
<p>No school is a dream school if you can’t afford it… plus, you haven’t even visited. It is a very bad plan to apply ED to a school you have never been to. Mudd is not for everyone – although they do respect the social sciences/humanities, don’t think for a minute that it is not a very, very intense STEM based school.</p>
<p>I’m a parent of two Mudd students. I would have to say that you need to apply to find out if you can get in. If you get in, then it means that the Mudd admissions believes you can make it academically at Mudd. </p>
<p>However, I would advise not applying early. I think they are very clear that if finances are an issue you should apply regular so you can make a choice based in part on aid offered.</p>
<p>Your GPA looks great, but honestly you test scores are a bit low. I’m not an admissions officer, so I don’t know what they look for - test scores aren’t everything in the end, some students just don’t do standardized tests well. </p>
<p>Other schools to consider:
WPI
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Tulane</p>
<p>In PA: Lafayette College looked interesting when my daughter was applying.</p>
<p>Here is a link to liberal arts schools with good science depts:</p>
<p>Thanks intparent and Mom2kids for the response. I really appreciate the honesty and the help! </p>
<p>I am going to take both ACT and SAT again after some studying. If I don’t meet the cutoff, my ability is just not where it needs to be for Mudd. I understand that the STEM curriculum is rigorous (that’s why I found it awesome) and that the school is great. I am going to try my best and if I get in, I get in. If I don’t, it might just means that it’s not right for me. </p>
<p>But I am definitely not applying early if finance is a problem, especially not until I visit the college. I might be going to CA in the fall to visit some colleges so I’ll wait until I visit the college to decide whether to apply for ED or not. I don’t know what I was thinking considering ED when I haven’t visited! </p>
<p>Thanks for the college suggestions! Honestly HMC is the only school I have done very, very in-depth research on. I looked into some other colleges, but I did not like those very much. This list is a true gift! </p>
<p>I want to say good luck to you on your college search! A couple more things:</p>
<p>Don’t sell yourself short because of your test scores - do study, and, take as many practice tests as you can to get a feel of the timing & type of questions that are asked. </p>
<p>If you don’t apply you most certainly won’t get in. So, if HMC is still your dream school after some thought and you can afford to - apply!! They won’t take you if they think you can’t do the work. </p>
<p>If you come to visit HMC, check out the other 3/4 Claremont Colleges (Scripps is women only and I don’t know your gender, but you did apply to FAST) Maybe one of those schools will feel right too, you can always take a few of your classes at Mudd if you want to dabble in the sciences.</p>
<p>Do as much college research as you can for schools with similar outlooks as Mudd. I bet there are more than you think that might strike your fancy. </p>
<p>Agree these are good suggestions. One thing about 3/2 programs is that many students who come in thinking they will do a 3/2 don’t end up going through with the 3/2 for various reasons. They change their majors or don’t want to leave their school after 3 years. It is a pretty small percentage of students who actually complete them.</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd is a very strongly sciency school. Although students are required to take about 1/3 of their classes in the humanities, there isn’t much of a culture for appreciating humanties. That said, the other Claremont Colleges are more focused on the humanities, and there are a lot of great classes to take at those schools. (Every Mudd student is required to take at least 5 humanties classes on Mudd’s campus. I find those coures offerings less interesting than those at the other schools, but they are okay.)</p>
<p>As for affording Mudd, filling out financial aid forms is a yearly struggle, but a necessary one for me and many other students. Mudd doesn’t give the top financial aid packages (Pomona is better), but it is a lot better than many other schools like Carnegie Mellon. If you think you qualify for financial aid, you should definitely consider how much financial aid a school gives. In fact, saying on your application that you will apply for financial aid can reduce your chances of being accepted at some schools. In my college process I considered schools like Carnegie Mellon, Reed, and Trinity even though I knew that those schools had less money for financial aid. I ended up being waitlisted at two of those schools probably because I wanted to be considered for financial aid.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! You guys are all so helpful and nice <em>virtual hugs</em></p>
<p>My plan is to improve SAT scores and apply. If I get in, AWESOME! But if it turns out to be too expensive, I think I’m okay with not going to my dream school. I want to be able to afford my education and not worry too much about student loans. </p>
<p>I’m sad to hear that Mudd doesn’t have much of a culture for appreciating humanities. Appreciation for the humanities is something my science/math oriented classmates and friends don’t have. I thought there will be lots of people at HMC that appreciates both science/math and humanities at HMC, but it makes sense especially considering the school’s focus on math and science. </p>
<p>I’m a female Asian :3 First generation-ish. I came to US when I was 9.</p>
<p>I didn’t end up apply to FAST though </p>
<p>I got really upset and gave up on HMC because I thought there was no way I could get in, and thought that even if I got in I wouldn’t be able to afford it. So I didn’t even want to visit the school. I was afraid that I was going to fall in love with a school I wouldn’t be able to go to. But I talked to my dad, and he told me not to give up on my dreams, and to give it my best effort too look for financial aid/scholarships/grant so that I would be able to go to schools I like even if they are private. </p>
<p>So now I’m adjusting my attitude. I’m going to apply to all schools RD, try my best studying for my standardized tests and courses (4 APs coming up), and see what financial aid and scholarship programs are available. </p>
<p>But some good news! It turns out my parents are thinking about taking a vacation to CA (they also suggested that we visit some colleges while we are there :D)</p>
<p>My emotion got the best of me, should have just submit anyway
Now I have two essays I don’t know what to do with, but I guess it was good writing+thinking exercises. I thought a lot about my background and science education as a result. </p>
<p>Great plan. @musisat, my D has found a mixture at Mudd. Some kids are all science all the time. And honestly, coursework freshman year with the core IS almost all science all the time. But she has found a few students with an appreciation of the humanities, and has met other kids at the other 5C colleges with other interests as well. She did do a lot of reading for pleasure this summer, something she couldn’t do much of during the school year.</p>
<p>Are you sure you are not shooting yourself in the foot a bit by deciding right now to apply to all RD? A lot of schools have EA, you might consider that.</p>
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good luck</p>