Update: D22 is attending a team sponsored visit and overnight at MIT on 9/27. Also, had call with CMS coach and much to my surprise she was agreeable to an ED2 application and would still support her. Apparently she can’t do this with Claremont McKenna athletes because she has the five slots which must be used but different story at Mudd. Seems to solve the dilemma although D still wants to see how visit goes before agreeing to forego the ED1 app at HMC. Thanks again for everyones advice!
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Other things to consider: Where does she want to end up working? East Coast or West Coast or Texas?
How does she feel about a real winter?
How does she feel about cities? MIT is in one. How about HMC?
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That ED2 offer from the coach is a testament to your daughter’s athletic talent.
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Can the Harvey Mudd Coach support ED2?
If so, the decision shouldn’t be difficult. MIT female recruited athletes have 1/3-1/2 chance of getting in with support(rowing is higher than others because it’s D1) while I believe HMC ED recruited athletes likely get in with support. MIT is also EA so it’s non binding and if accepted, a decision to attend can be made then.
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@ojllfdjalkjf yes, coach indicated full support for ED2 round. Agreed that decision is much less difficult about application strategy. Unless something strange happens on the MIT school and team visit, then MIT EA, HMC ED2 route is most likely approach.
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We just dropped off our freshman D at one of the 5C on Tuesday and even though it was our third visit to the campus, we were again deeply moved by its physical beauty. And the weather… Thinking that it will stay similar while we will be shoveling wet snow in howling wind…
Good luck with your decision. What a wonderful problem to have!
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As of 2019, the MIT endowment was $18.5 Billion ($1.62mm per student) vs $320 Million ($356k per student) for HMC - a ratio > 5x.
This cannot be ignored in the decision making process.
Interesting point. The endowment speaks to MIT being a world renowned institution.
IMO, if one of my kids had an opportunity to get into MIT, I don’t think I could ignore it and would give it a very close look.
MIT is definitely an amazing institution, but it has a reputation for having a stressful environment and somewhat competitive vs. collaborative vibe. It’s definitely not the right fit for everyone, even if one is that caliber of a student.
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My MIT kid would not have described the environment as competitive.
The sheer number of team projects, group presentations, etc. (and unlike in HS where the strong students end up carrying the load for the weak students on group projects, at college, everyone is a contributor) means that “competition” is typically with yourself to do the best you can.
My kid joined a research lab (first for a position during the semester which became a summer job) and during the interview the professor asked “Do you know XYZ programming language?”. Answer- “no”. Professor said, “That’s ok, you’ll pick it up”. Next question- “have you ever worked in a lab?” Answer- “no”. Professor said, “OK, you’ll find this really fun”. And on and on. Almost as if being actually qualified for the position would take the joy out of it!!!
I realize that the “rep” on MIT is about competition and all that- but the reality is that virtually everyone on campus considers themselves to be novices standing on the shoulders of giants. First semester is Pass/Fail, Professors are accessible when you need them, if you don’t take advantage of the tutoring, extra help, etc. it’s because you didn’t want it-- not because you couldn’t figure out how to access it.
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There is a nuance here. MIT strives to make the place cooperative. But some students (like my son) are naturally competitive and can’t help themselves when taking intense classes. He felt that at MIT he could burnout, and that he would be better off at a college where he could choose which classes he wanted to work intensely in, and which classes he wanted to take just for fun.
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I agree with @blossom that MIT is by design a more cooperative than a competitve environment. Students, even the more competitive students, tend to care much more about how they perform themselves, rather than how their fellow students are performing. I could be wrong, but my understanding is that HMC is actually a more competitive environment.
This is exactly what I thought about MIT (as well as Johns Hopkins and UChicago).
OP, it’s been super interesting hearing about your daughter’s situation - it sounds like she has a good plan and I really hope it works out!
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Genuinely curious: what are specific examples of MIT’s larger endowment being of benefit to a prospective undergraduate student versus Harvey Mudd?
(I guess for high stats students from lower incomes it means that with acceptance comes affordability. Many middle class parents in the donut hole have to cross MIT from their list because $80k-ish per year of attendance is simply impossible - unless they have an aggressively funded 529, or two working parents, one of whom would use their salary to fund attendance. The OP, in this case, has indicated that they are willing and able to front the COA.)
(Also, the comment about which weather you’d prefer really resonated with me - I’ve spent the first part of my life in a 4-season climate, the second part in a perpetually moderate climate. I’ve forgotten how to wear boots! I still wear flip flops when I’m in an ice rink.)
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Endowment/student is one of the best measures of the financial strength/stability of an academic institution. There is a very significant chance that there will be a major shakeout in the college landscape in the next decade, and we’ve already started to see some of it.
It sounds like a lot of small liberal arts colleges are not going to make it.
One could argue that most of the value of a college degree goes beyond the 4+ years a student is physically on a school’s campus (alumni network, signal to society of an individual’s ability due to graduating from XYZ school, legacy considerations - although doesn’t apply to MIT), so the likelihood a school remains solvent in one’s lifetime should be a very important consideration IMVHO.
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Important so that future employers can verify degrees claimed by job applicants.
The idea that HMC might cease to exist in this applicant’s lifetime or even in a future grandchild’s lifetime is just extremely far-fetched.
One way I know this is that the article you linked to to insinuate it is somehow on shaky ground shows it is in robust good health 
.
Sakes alive.
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Colleges which have gone out of business in the last 30 years or so all have arrangements so that degree verification and even transcript archives are maintained. Employers do not have an issue verifying your degree even if your college goes under- provisions are made for recordkeeping whether its for students, faculty, staff, real estate/maintenance issues, ongoing lawsuits, etc.
Prior to wide spread use of computers there can be an issue- so if you graduated from XYZ college in 1978 you could run into an issue- but you’d know it by now…
Affordability is of course a big thing in terms of generosity of FA, both in terms of amount and type of aid (grant vs loan/work/study). Also ability to fund summer research/internships whether in or outside of the university will also be driven by the financial strength of the institution. Aside from the possibility of a school being forced to shut down, which is probably not a risk of HMC, there is the question of the steps a school needs to take to weather any temporary economic headwinds – a school with a smaller endowment and which must depend mostly on current sources of revenue to fund its operating budget, will more likely be forced to make deeper cuts in times of economic stress. Also to the extent that the endowment affects a school’s credit rating, it will affect its ability and cost to borrow money to fund any capital projects or potential operating deficits.
If we look at how MIT’s endowment funds its operating budget as a percentage for 2019, it is about 22% ($875.4mm/3.93B) plus gifts and bequests for operations of $405.5mm of another 10%. Tuition only accounted for $383.7mm (10%) as MIT has many other sources of revenue related to research. Operating Financials – MIT Facts
For HMC, the endowment contributed $15.6mm (about 21% of the $75.8mm in revenues) plus gifts of $9.1mm (about 12%). Student revenues ($43.7mm) however comprised 58% of revenues. 2019–2020 Financial Statement.pdf - Google Drive So while the endowment at HMC funds about the same percentage of the HMC budget as MIT’s endowment, HMC is much more dependent on student revenues to fund its budget.
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Yes. It’s also reflected in the fact that HMC charges a higher tuition and is relatively less generous with financial aid (which apparently isn’t a factor for the OP). Schools with larger endowment per student also tend to be able to support more activities including better research opportunities for students, and often better (relatively, of course) facilities in general.