<p>Hi, I'm seriously thinking about applying to Harvey Mudd College. But as an international student, no one in my country has ever heard of this college before. I'm planning to major in Mechanical engineering and I want your opinion about this college. I know the acceptance rate and the average SAT score of that college...but I just wanna know if you guys consider that college as MIT's peer institution. If not, which schools do u guys think are of the same caliber as HMC in term of engineering?</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies, guys! I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>P.S. I purposely post this here cos I want MIT students' point of view.</p>
<p>Personally I haven't talked much with my MIT friends about Harvey Mudd, but I certainly consider it a peer institution. From what I know, its a fantastic school and you'll probably get the exact same caliber engineering education at Harvey Mudd as you will at MIT. I don't think the average MIT student opinion of Harvey Mudd will be terribly more informed than that of any other science/engineering-interested student, but if what you are looking for is reassurance that Harvey Mudd is a good school, I would strongly recommend visiting it (that might be difficult) and talking to current Harvey Mudd students. I think that's the best way to get to know a school before you apply. Don't worry about name recognition, its about finding the college that fits you best.</p>
<p>I don't know much about Harvey Mudd in particular, but I do get the general feeling that people around here would consider it a "peer institution".</p>
<p>But more importantly, I think it's generally true that "name recognition" is highly overrated. Yeah, MIT is a great school, but it's not like its miles and miles above and beyond every other school out there. Its level of name recognition makes it seem that way, but name recognition will not make you happier or smarter. In addition to Harvey Mudd, I am quite certain that there are tons of other schools out there that will give you an excellent education, regardless of how many people have heard of it.</p>
<p>If you find other schools you like, research them thoroughly. You might find that they sound pretty impressive. At that point, lots of people seem to fall into this trap of thinking "well it SOUNDS as good/ nearly as good as MIT [in terms of faculty interaction, research opportunities, whatever] but obviously it can't be because no one's ever heard of it." </p>
<p>Don't let logical fallacies happen to you. =)</p>
<p>(P.S. No one in the US outside of the field of engineering has heard of Harvey Mudd either. Hell, lots of people aren't sure that MIT does engineering, or that it's not in Michigan.)</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd is a great school. Students get a very "personal" education. They take good care of their students. It does not have name recognition unless talking within the engineering circles/industry. Part of the Claremont schools so you do get to mingle with non engineering students. Concrete buildings not very appealing. The town is small town from what I saw. Great California weather, smog can get bad. </p>
<p>As far as the peer institution this is just my opinion. HMC is a great school and you will get a great education but I don't think too many people would turn down MIT for HMC. Now between Caltech and MIT, I consider these peer institutions.</p>
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<p>But as an international student, no one in my country has ever heard of this college before.<<</p>
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<p>Almost no one here in the US has heard of it either. Mudd has a good reputation in academic/engineering circles, but to the general public it's unknown.</p>
<p>Ah, but there ARE people who turn down MIT for Mudd. Check the archives in the Mudd forum. Mudd was S's #2 choice at the end of day, ahead of MIT. He loved the small size, the intensity, and the emphasis on the humanities.</p>
<p>If you can pay 50 K... harvey mudd is a delicacy I am sure you will like.
MIT & HMC in common: Research focus, great engineering
Differences:
MIT: Engineering majors demarked (like electrical, civil, nuclear etc.)
HMC: Engineering is Engineering (no sub-category)
MIT: ----- (don't really know)
HMC: Personal touch in classes (since its solely undergrad)</p>
<p>That's as much as I've gathered from friends both in MIT and HMC.
(but note that everyone has a unique way of processing information that they get)</p>
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<p>HMC: Engineering is Engineering (no sub-category)<<</p>
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<p>I'm not sure that is a good thing. The company I work for hires a lot of engineers, and it's always by sub-category. A given job opening will be for an ME or an EE or whatever, not just for a generic engineer.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Mudd gives merit scholarships in addition to finaid. MIT does not. Advantage Mudd.</p></li>
<li><p>MIT UROPs and UPOPs are superior to the research/employment opportunities at Mudd. Advantage MIT</p></li>
<li><p>Mudd confers a generalist degree in engineering. MIT is much larger and the options are virtually limitless. Advantage MIT.</p></li>
<li><p>Anecdotally Mudders are very successful in pursuing postgrad studies at prestigous universities. Beavers are too. Tie.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Well if an employer is looking for a "chemical engineer" and one applicant has a degree in "chemical engineering" and the other simply has a degree in "engineering," I think they'd be more likely to go for the more specialized one.</p>
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[quote]
also, if you major in just "engineering" what are you getting good at? i don't know if you'd want to spread yourself thin like that
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</p>
<p>We take most of the same classes that specialized engineers take at other schools. Most students pick a concentration within engineering and take their electives in one area. An employer will be able to glance at a transcript and see the courses.</p>
<p>I could easily counter this argument by saying that MIT has a greater focus on grad students. Bigger size doesn't always mean better educational experience.</p>
<p>Someone earlier commented about getting a financial advantage at MUDD: "1. Mudd gives merit scholarships in addition to finaid. MIT does not. Advantage Mudd"</p>
<p>umm..the OP was international student. International students dont recieve financial aid in mudd, only merit scholarships coming upto 10 K if you have 2100+ on the SAT (pls chk this) According to their website, they only offer fin. aid to one exceptional international student. (possibly winners of scores of olympiads...)</p>
<p>to the OP, there isin't really any harm in doing one additional essay for mudd.
And it is much more than a peer institution in some terms...and much less than a peer institution in some other terms.
No place is exclusive.</p>
<p>Actually, Mudd's $10k scholarship is for students w/750+ on SAT-I Math and Math Level II, 700+ on CR and W, and top 10% ranking, regardless of whether you attended a nationally known math/science powerhouse or a crummy HS. They do offer additional full-ride scholarships in an effort to bring more women and underrepresented groups to campus. There are also some departmental scholarships as well, but those tend to be small, one-time awards.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, I ended up at Cal, and was considering Harvey Mudd very heavily. I think some of the considerations a student might make when choosing between MIT and Mudd are very similar. </p>
<p>The main reason I chose Cal was that it has a fantastic graduate department, and you're put in contact with the grad students and wonderful research minds if you wish to be. MIT obviously will have utterly outstanding research facilities. But it really depends. I think the two schools just have different appeal - I picture Harvey Mudd as this small, but cozy oven where the students roast and bond together in a fantastic curriculum, strong in several math/science/engineering areas. Also, there is definitely an excellent chance to do research at Mudd - it's just Cal and MIT are research schools. If you want that around you, MIT is clearly your choice. </p>
<p>Of course, visit both schools (blah blah, what they all tell you =]) g'luck, hope you have a chance to choose between these two great schools.</p>
<p>Also, I don't know enough about it myself, but I'd encourage people to ask the experts who're going to Mudd right now about what the "general engineering degree" is like - a school reputed for the rigor Mudd is likely isn't going to let students just "spread themselves" thin and become good at nothing. </p>
<p>I do often wonder what it'd have been like to go to Mudd.</p>