Excellent points. I too looked at the Math/CS/Bio major at HMC and thought that might well prove to be a perfect fit for this student. But as you say, we don’t know how strong her interest in any of these areas or any other is or how strong the interest will be after a year of college courses. And that’s the problem. Choices are restricted or come with complications at HMC.
As for fit having anything to do with athletics, this is classic tail wagging the dog. This is about choosing a college, not about a sports career. If she can do both, great.
All I’m saying is that she should be going into this with her eyes open and that one of her primary areas of interest will come with complications at HMC. If she’s good with it, that’s her choice. All other things being equal, HMC would be my first choice. But they’re not equal, so the family needs to have the situation clarified before jumping in with both feet.
3 Likes
Going into great depth in any discipline isn’t the relative strength of any LAC, including HMC. Moreover, unless OP’s daughter decides to drop her athletic pursuit in college at some point, she isn’t likely going to have the time to delve deep in neuroscience or another subject area (especially with HMC’s core curriculum) and she will need to do that in graduate school.
1 Like
@gointhruaphase I do think there is likely an attrition issue on the MIT team. When I look at the roster I see very few seniors. I do think recruiting 5-8 per year for this sport is normal though as that is what the CMS coach says she is shooting for.
1 Like
Great point @aquapt and my D got to ask the coach and other players exactly this at the prospect camp. Lots of expression of support and discussion that academics comes first. Many stories told of players missing practice with no questions asked when it was crunch time on an exam or assignment (although of course you can’t over do this)
1 Like
Excellent insights @aquapt and @Bill_Marsh This is definitely a topic my D will have to think about. I think she is more interested in the intersection of these studies vs a deep dive into Neuro but its something to explore for sure. We have discussed that the other schools have the cognitive/neuro but she is really attached to the HMC track, culture and vibe. As stated, D is not being recruited for Pomona team.
Only other thing to mention related to this point is that during our tour/visit the head HMC admissions person took us through a revamped core curriculum approach that HMC is starting with my D22 freshman year. Basically it sounds like they took some of the feedback and have reduced/eliminated some of the required classes and revamped others. Basically allowing a little more flexibility for exploratory study. The HMC advisor was actually worried it would lead to more students doing double majors which defeats the point of the changes but wanted to point this out since it is somewhat hot off the press.
1 Like
Agree with @Bill_Marsh in #20 to not let the athletic tail wag the academic dog. We have no personal experience with HMC, but with the NESCAC that D attended as a STEM major, the coach was very accommodating to student academic pressures, one of the best features of being a D3 athlete. My S’s experience with MIT after a visit including classes and staying an extra day with his friend from HS, on the track team, was that he doubted he could do well at both academics and his sport. His friend was a top STEM student at his HS and his father was a tenured Physics prof at the local Univ, and what he saw was his friend maybe getting a few hours of sleep each night during the weekday.
3 Likes
Harvey Mudd College offers ED2 for a reason.
Apply EA to MIT. Then, if not satisfied with the result, try ED 2 at whatever the name of that other school is.
3 Likes
That would only work if the HMC coach is offering full support in the ED2 round, which is a tricky conversation to have, basically telling the HMC coach they are second choice. The HMC coach could very well choose another recruit then…one whose first choice is HMC and who would commit to applying ED1.
5 Likes
@Mwfan1921 exactly…this is the crux of the dilemma. Going ED2 at HMC would be ideal but then you run risk of losing your supported recruit slot and perhaps not getting into the school on your own. Plus she wants to play her sport and not alienate the coach if she had to walk on in that case
1 Like
I do not agree. The basis of your assertion is that the OP’s daughter is unqualified for HMC. I think that this is an incorrect assumption. It would also be incorrect to assume that HMC only admits recruited athletes or URMs or others with a significant hook ED.
1 Like
That is not the basis of my assertion, see OP’s previous post…there is no guarantee the coach would even let the player walk-on, should they get into HMC on their own.
ETA: coaches want recruits who are committed to them, whose program is the recruit’s first choice. And at many LACs the quid for full support thru the admissions process is an ED1 app…and some coaches will go thru their lists until they get the right fit which includes those factors.
1 Like
Then why write: “That would only work if the HMC coach is offering full support in the ED2 round…”
Again, HMC offers ED2 for a reason.
It does not seem the coach is offering their full support thru the admissions process in the ED2 round to OP’s D.
2 Likes
If MIT were the OP daughter’s first choice (academics, fit and athletic program), having a discussion with the HMC coach about the prospects of ED2 support is worth having. I am sure this would not be a novel inquiry of that type (easy to see other MIT, Caltech caliber athletes having a similar dilemma). I doubt the coach would be offended. But if the D believes HMS is already the perfect fit and has no or a neutral opinion on MIT, with perceived prestige as the only plus for MIT, I’d take the sure thing and remove all anxiety and doubt now.
7 Likes
OP’s daughter is a full pay, recruited athlete with outstanding academic qualifications for HMC.
If OP’s daughter has an aversion to attending MIT, then why start this thread ?
If OP’s daughter wants to play the odds because both are most selective schools, then HMC offers better odds of admission.
@Mwfan1921: Many college athletes discontinue their sport after one or two years due to a variety of factors including loss of interest, changing priorities, romance, academic demands, etc.
Would OP’s daughter rather have a degree from MIT or from HMC and would OP’s daughter prefer to attend a school which offers all of her desired majors ?
In short, OP’s daughter needs to establish clear priorities as to why she is attending college, then act from that starting point. Based on the information contained in this thread, her priorities are not clear to me.
Because priorities can change, applying EA is the safer option.
3 Likes
"After tour and prospect camp at CMS she LOVED HMC and it feels like a very, very good fit for her. Of course the CMS/HMC will expect her to apply ED1 so the decision is what to do about that. She loves all things about HMC except the somewhat understandable “prestige” factor with MIT and having to explain to most where she goes to school if she chooses HMC. "
From OP post 1. Agree that OP’s daughter needs to set priorities first. I think most of us suggesting HMC are responding to the facts and circumstances laid out in #1.
3 Likes
It’s clear to me that if OP’s daugher weren’t looking at the odds of admissions, she would likely apply EA to MIT and ED2 to HMC, meaning that HMC isn’t her obvious first choice at this point.
3 Likes
Thanks to all…the thoughtful questions and perspective definitely exceeded my expectations and is very helpful. D22 definitely has much to think on including long term and priorities. I know ya’ll can appreciate we are talking about a teen girl just turning 17 this month so it can be a roller coaster:) MIT would be a dream come true and something she has had in her sights for a long time. On the other hand she was blown away by HMC and the culture/feel as well as the CMS team. Appreciate it!
1 Like
I read all the time on CC that athletes can’t keep up with engineering or hard sciences, and it just isn’t true. Look at the rosters at the schools like MIT, Colorado School of Mines and HMC and you’ll see many (most) athletes in the majors those schools are known for - engineering, math, physics.
My daughter was a 4 year athlete, team captain for 2, and engineer. The only activity she couldn’t participate in was the concrete canoe challenge, which was really an EC and not a class, but had its competitions on weekends in the spring and she needed to play her sport. All other class conflicts were resolved in favor of the class, not her sport.
2 Likes