<p>I realized after posting this on Harvey Mudd, I should also include it in the Caltech Forum</p>
<p>After visiting both of these schools, some differences are obvious. My impression is that Harvey Mudd students are both sloppier and happier than Caltech kids. The caltech kids look a little more stressed out.</p>
<p>But what some factors that would help a student decide between the two?</p>
<p>All you techers too busy studying to reply??</p>
<p>Since every student is unique, the only way to decide between the two is to spend some time at both colleges. Not sure what else to say...We cannot infer from your post what your daughter likes or dislikes, whether she finds rewarding working pretty much non-stop for 4 years, what is she planning on majoring in, if she would like to do research while an undergrad, what kind of Financial Aid you received/will receive from each school - you know, things like that. Since you have visited both campuses already, I see no reason you will not be able to answer these questions by yourself. </p>
<p>Also, just because Harvey Mudd and Caltech are some 30 miles apart, it does not mean we spend a lot of time on each other's campuses. In fact, I'll bet the majority of students at Caltech has never been at Harvey Mudd and vice versa. So, while it certainly might be the case that someone is just too busy studying to reply (such things do happen here), the most likely reason is that nobody knows enough on this subject to answer.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, what sort of stuff did you expect to hear?</p>
<p>maybe why you as a caltech student think it's a better school... what does caltech have to offer the Harvey Mudd does not... (i.e., more research for undergrads, better attention from profs, more professional contacts) things that weren't apparent from a visit. </p>
<p>Did you look at Harvey Mudd when you were in high school? If so, what made you choose caltech?</p>
<p>One thing Caltech has that Harvey Mudd does not is the house system. I liked the idea very much and it was part of the reason I chose Caltech over Mudd. The houses make it pretty easy to make friends within your house, and also gives you a pretty much ready-made study group and support network. That said, the houses also make an already small campus seem even smaller. They were a plus point for me, but that's not true of everyone.</p>
<p>here's an previous discussion about the differences: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/california-institute-technology/606722-differences-between-harvey-mudd-college-cal-tech.html?highlight=harvey+Mudd%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/california-institute-technology/606722-differences-between-harvey-mudd-college-cal-tech.html?highlight=harvey+Mudd</a></p>
<p>My S looked at Mudd and Caltech last year and Mudd was a hands-down winner from his perspective. He liked the close-knit community, wanted emphasis on humanities, loved the dorms (each one has its own personality, so they are not totally unlike the house system) and felt he would get a lot more personal attention and significant research opportunities from the profs. Mudd folks seemed much happier to him and students there told him that Mudd would not let people fall through the cracks.</p>
<p>There are two main reasons I personally don't have much to say on this subject. One is that I don't know an incredible amount about Harvey Mudd. I considered applying but chose not to, so I didn't get nearly as far in my evaluation of it as I did for Caltech. One of the big issues for me was HMC not having a graduate school. </p>
<p>The other is that there are two or three individuals from HMC that are very protective of their school and tend to read the Caltech boards a lot, and I have no interest in getting into an argument over silly differences between the schools.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, visit both schools (hopefully at prefrosh weekends), talk to lots of students, pick the one you like better. Fit is much more important than slight differences in academics.</p>
<p>Edit: I should note that your comment about techers studying isn't really fair, these boards are a service to prefrosh, not a hangout place for us. In fact, I'm a lot more likely to be posting while I'm working on homework than while I'm out at the club or the movies ;). Also realize that on almost all of these boards you're getting a very small subsection of the population of a school. Many people at Caltech don't even know that this site exists!</p>
<p>Nothing much intelligent to contribute, besides what I wrote on the HMC thread, which already has come up here.</p>
<p>Oh, and it is certainly true -- when I'm stuck on problems, sometimes I'll do something else quickly to decompress, so I can try again with a fresher head. When I'm posting more, I'm probably more stuck!</p>
<p>This topic has historically been way too hot. I think we've informally agreed to a truce and abstinence from debate.</p>
<p>I visited both schools and I will just say I did not complete my application to Harvey Mudd once I received early acceptance to Caltech.</p>
<p>I do think that for many Harvey Mudd would be a better match and less stressful.</p>
<p>I visited both schools and I will just say I did not complete my application to Caltech once I received early acceptance to Harvey Mudd.</p>
<p>I do think that for many Caltech would be a better match and less stressful.</p>
<p>[ahh, balance... and a true story]</p>
<p>rocketDA,
Ha ha, your funny. Harvey Mudd is binding, you could not complete your application to any other schools including caltech.</p>
<p>Would love to know if you (or anybody else) really thinks Harvey Mudd would be more stressful than Caltech. Of all the things that I have heard about Harvey Mudd (which have been very good btw), being an extremely stressful school has not been one of the them. (which I think is a good thing)</p>
<p>Bluebird-
You don't want to ask me that question. I am not your normal student... I've spent quite a bit of time (5-6 months) over at Caltech and have developed some pretty strong opinions about the school. (However, in your defense, I was working at GALCIT so my exposure to undergrads is more limited)</p>
<p>With that said, I made several undergrad friends over there one summer. The people who I spent some time with were fairly normal people and we discussed our classes and our experiences a bit. While I'm reluctant to say that one is more stressful than another, I'd like to point out that the requirements and technical rigor at both institutions are crazy... (Mudd actually, by the numbers, has slightly more technical and overall requirements for graduation though I don't see this as a defining factor in "stress". That would be poor science)</p>
<p>You should be careful about your assumptions. If you're not, you'll become a physicist :)</p>
<p>Grandmother always told me to watch out for those physicists...</p>
<p>Hey! At least physicists ask the right questions!</p>
<p>rocketDA,
Yes I did want to ask you (and others) that question because I think it is very important for people to share their experiences because many people come here looking for advice.</p>
<p>I have been accepted to Caltech, MIT and other schools and I am trying to find where I will be able to both learn the most, but also be happy. Harvey Mudd was not a match for me but stayed on my list early on as a back up, which is why I did not finish that application. I was not trying to be rude when I said I did not complete the application, all my back up school applications went out the window, while I still have other schools that are not back ups.</p>
<p>I really, seriously, would like to hear your opinion (and other people's) about Caltech. Of course I will be attending the prefrosh events at my top choices to form my own opinion, but I value and appreciate others taking the time to post information.</p>
<p>BTW, no interest in majoring in physics, I am engineering.</p>
<p>While talking to more people is always good, remember that RocketDA is a grad student here, so his perspective on the undergrad life will probably be different than that of the undergrads'.</p>
<p>"Of all the things that I have heard about Harvey Mudd (which have been very good btw), being an extremely stressful school has not been one of the them. (which I think is a good thing)"</p>
<p>Really? Doing all my research last year for potential colleges, that's one thing that kept popping up over and over again, and was backed up by people during my visit to Mudd. I can't compare with Caltech, obviously. I didn't even apply to Caltech, did not appeal to me. But I'm very surprised you never heard about it before, as it seems to pop up everywhere.</p>
<p>That Mudd is stressful does pop up everywhere.</p>
<p>I am skeptical of physicists' AND engineers' assumptions, how 'bout that :) </p>
<p>Wait, RocketDA is a grad student at Caltech?! I thought he was still a senior at Harvey Mudd! LOL.</p>