Harvey Mudd VS University of Washington

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have narrowed my choices down to these two schools, and am having a very hard time deciding on which one to enroll in (I need to make this decision soon!). However I have narrowed down the decision to one question:
My ultimate goal is to get a science/math phD from the best college possible.
Which one will provide me with a better science and math education to do this?</p>

<p>Some Info:
-I am interested in a few things, mainly theoretical CS, pure math, theoretical physics and electrical engineering, and would like to go into research and academia. How feasible is it to get into a top-15 or so grad program in these areas if I go to HMC? UW? I plan on working my butt off in either case.
-Will Harvey Mudd's lack of a graduate program hurt me due to lack of grad classes offered and lack of graduate research going on? I am coming in with lots of math and physics.</p>

<p>Thank you in advance for your advice.</p>

2

<p>There will be no lack of research for you at Mudd, because you will not be competing with graduate students. Their undergraduate focus will be a huge plus for you in that regard. Mudd will definitely put you on a great path toward PhD. You can look up the stats, but they are a top school in number of graduates going on to get PhDs.</p>

<p>Don’t know what the financial situation is for you. You should definitely factor that in. And that you will be working EXTREMELY hard at Mudd.</p>

3

<p>With the criteria provided, Mudd is clearly a better option. CJane is correct. The undergrad focus makes research easier, and also makes class sizes smaller. Mudd is mostly work though, with a little play (good parties).</p>

4

<p>Would HMC be better even for theoretical computer science OR pure math? I hear that it is really focused on applied things like engineering.</p>

<p>I already have no life and spend 80% of my time reading math books</p>

<p>My financial situation is that:
-I can pay for undergrad perfectly fine
-graduate school will be hard but I might work a bit after undergrad OR I heard that most phD students get covered by teaching and fellowships etc
ESSENTIALLY:
I can spend more time at UW, and get a double/triple major if wanted.</p>

5

<p>I’m not completely sure about that question. You can call the admissions office and ask to speak to a student, who will help address all your specific questions. In general, I think it’s safe to say you will get a better math education at HMC, while you would be surrounded almost entirely by students just like you. </p>

<p>HMC is consistently one of the best schools in the country at producing PhD’s in science and engineering ( [HMC</a> Named Leader in Ph.D. Production](<a href=“http://www.hmc.edu/newsandevents/leader_phd.html]HMC”>http://www.hmc.edu/newsandevents/leader_phd.html) ) and math (see ‘Math and Statistics’ and ‘All Disciplines’ section: <a href=“http://www.reed.edu/ir/phd.html[/url]”>http://www.reed.edu/ir/phd.html&lt;/a&gt; )</p>

<p>What’s the cost difference between the two schools, then? If UW is free and HMC is full cost, then that changes things.</p>

6

<p>@santeria: Oh WOW! I didn’t know that. And I will indeed call the admissions office. Does high numbers of phDs = they got into top places though?
I am definitely leaning towards HMC socially.
And as for finances, UW is 19k per year (I got a scholarship) and HMC is about 58k. Would it be better to save my money for my graduate studies, or to use it for undergrad?
Do masters and phD students generally have to pay for the entire tuition?</p>

7

<p>Most masters students pay for tuition, fees and living expenses. There are some schools that offer some tuition assistance, but you can’t count on it. Most PhD programs cover tuition, fees and provide a stipend to cover living expenses. There are some schools and some programs that only cover tuition, but don’t provide a stipend.</p>

8

<p>HMC is up there with MIT, CalTech, CMU as one of the best tech schools. So yes, HMC will provide you with the opportunity to get into a top grad program. You’ll need to pay for a masters program, but PhD programs are generally free.</p>

9

<p>40k a year is alot of money…HMC is better than UW, but I don’t think it’s worth that much money</p>

10

<p>HM has excellent CS and Math departments. I don’t really know how they compare to UW, but I doubt they are any worse. I’d say the emphasis on theory for these departments is at least as strong as for the applied, if not stronger. You might want to go to the website and look through the professors to see if any do work in an area you might be interested in.</p>

11

<p>If you can afford HMC, go for it. UW is my state school and think of it this way: you didn’t work hard in high school just to go to UW, did you? I guess I’m biased bc UW is basically in my backyard but so many people from my school go to UW that it makes admission seem easy (not hating on UW, it’s actually a great school). HMC is a better bet if you want to go to a top grad school. It can be hard to get the classes you need at UW.</p>

<p>Sent from my iPhone using CC</p>