<p>So we all have heard of how hard it is to get a good GPA at Mudd. </p>
<p>I was looking over a handout of where the graduates from last year went, that comes with the admissions folder. Of the Universities named, there were a few top grad schools (5-10). Does this mean only the top 5-10 kids out of the graduating class of 200 will go to top grad schools?? What about the people who got top jobs, do you think many of them decided to go directly into the workforce because their GPA was not good enough for top grad schools, and that they'd rather gain some work experience to put on their resume before applying? I realize there are probably quite a few who had strong GPAs but decided to go to the workforce as a personal choice (whether it to eliminate some debt or because they didn't want to pursue a higher degree, or they wanted a break from studying) However, is there a correlation between those with low GPAs and those who decided to go to the workforce? Approximately what GPAs did the kids who got into Caltech, MIT, Berkeley, Harvard, etc. have? Once again, is this only the top 5-10 kids? If you also happen to know approximately how many Engineering graduates got into top grad schools, and around what GPAs they had.</p>
<p>It bubbles down to this: Disregarding the other big factors that are important to grad school acceptance, what GPA should I be aiming for at Mudd as an Engineering major if my goal is to go to Graduate School for a PhD in Nuclear Engineering at Berkeley or MIT? (I don't know if it helps, but there aren't very many graduate programs for nuclear engineering in the country.. there are around 25.. and UC Berkeley I believe is the only school in California that has such a program).</p>
<p>hello blackroses. I think we met in the student chat session a while back XD</p>
<p>I am very sure the top 10-15 grad schools mentioned there does not equate to only 10-15 Mudd grads going there Its just ALL the grad schools that have accepted Mudd students. And I believe there are quite a lot going to the good ones.</p>
<p>As far as GPA goes, Mudd has a very low grade inflation. But, looking at how interested you are at academics, it does not matter. Because grad schools want to know how you did academically relative to the student population of YOUR college, so if you are in the Dean’s List a couple of semesters, they will clearly know that you are up to the mark They just do not simply equate the GPA through all colleges.</p>
<p>Looking at your interest, which is Nuclear Engineering, it seriously looks like a highly specialized field. Also, what comes to my mind is the breadth involved, since it requires all Fundamental Physics, Engineering and Chemistry. I think this is perfect for a general engineering degree that lets to sample across a wide variety of modules in various subjects before you jump into the specialized field.</p>
<p>Yes we did! haha. Thanks for the input. I hope what you say about multiple Mudders going to the top grad schools is true. I also read a little note in the handout that said only 12 graduating students reported getting fellowships… For Engineering, at least, i thought it was more common… maybe this is an effect of the poor economy. </p>
<p>I’m still interest though if anyone knows the approximate GPA of students who got into the top grad schools?</p>
<p>and lastly, Indian monster, would the professor who gave you this information possibly have the initials LB? If so, she was very accommodating to me as well (I e-mailed her, and she set up a phone conference with me- basically took 45min of her Sunday to talk with me!) I thought that was very cool- I’d doubt you’d see many professors from other schools willing to take their time to do that.</p>
<p>wow only 12?? is this for ALL fellowships?? hmm…Fellowships =/= Clinic. A fellowship is a lot more advanced and looking at the Clay Wolkin fellowships, its really really high level. So taking in 5-6 people a year makes sense. I think everyone gets clinics.</p>
<p>No, the prof who contacted me did so regarding my physics olympiad participation in high school. She is a really really well qualified! PM me if u wunna know her. I was like, if she was teaching us, it would be awesome. She also takes in 4-6 people a year for her fellowship.</p>
<p>nah. i think i know who the prof is. i had her for frosh mechanics lab. i think her initials are T. L., PhD Caltech quantum optics and atomic physics. Great prof… and a great person!</p>
<p>…and just for the record, hmc has, by far, the highest percentage of students that get fellowships and undergraduate prizes (along with caltech) from maa, nsf, aps, etc. churchill, watson, hertz, apkers…</p>
<p>Indianmonster, when I was referring to fellowships, I meant for graduate school, not the fellowship programs that HMC offers during undergrad.</p>
<p>Rocket DA, that’s good to hear. However, I was specifically talking about fellowships that were endowed by the graduate schools themselves. I heard this was relatively common for engineering graduate students, or anyone in the hard sciences for that matter. Are those 12 fellowships those who received either a fellowship such as maa, nsf, etc. or directly from the institution? Could you also give insight on the relationships between GPA and where people get into grad school? Thanks. : )</p>
<p>If you want to go to Berkeley or MIT for grad school I’d say a minimum of 3.7 GPA, plus all the other research and extracurricular stuff they like.</p>
<p>^Thanks and np. I think it’s important we know what we have to do to get where we want to get!</p>
<p>Can anyone comment on whether or not the 12 fellowships were from maa, nsf, etc. or if those were the total amount of fellowships received by the graduating class, including institutional fellowships? Like I said, I thought fellowships in engineering were pretty common… so why is this number 12?</p>
<p>I can’t say exactly, but even institutional fellowships are fairly uncommon. I’m sure most people get a teaching or research assistantship to pay for grad school. Considering each class has roughly 175 people and maybe 60 (I’m not sure) go to grad school, 12 might be reasonable. Assistantships are far more common.</p>
<p>1) Exact number of students going to grad schools and to which ones.
2) Whats the percentage of fellowship rewarded to Mudd as compared to the rest of the top schools.</p>
<p>and in addition to that does any of you know the GPA for top 5 students? I’m not really asking for just the valedictorian’s cuz often times, his/her grade is much higher than the 2nd in line.</p>
<p>"Man, I’m gonna have to work my butts off for the 3.7</p>
<p>I really want the top grad schools."</p>
<p>That’s not going to get you the top grad schools. The amount of effort to get that GPA would detract from developing yourself in other ways… like research or advanced topics outside the classroom. Also, there is about a 2% chance that you will pull that off.</p>
<p>Rocket DA, so basically we have a 2% chance of getting into top grad schools at mudd lol? I know research and personal initiative is also something Graduate schools look at like you mentioned, but I’m pretty sure they don’t override GPA… Grad schools are still looking for a GPA in a certain range, regardless of where they went to school and other things they did, at least that’s the impression I got.</p>
<p>Also, can you please answer as to whether or not the fellowships awarded were institutional or not, and if not how many received institutional fellowships (or assistantships)?</p>
<p>a) graduate schools are concerned basically exclusively with your major. So while the Mudd core is hard and you have to survive, you don’t need to spend all your time trying to get A+'s. </p>
<p>b) Research, projects, and letters of recommendation are far more important when you finally wind up applying to places than your GPA. A solid GPA is necessary to convince graduate schools that you have character, and can consistently survive through difficult material and come out doing well. Unlike medical schools, graduate schools aren’t going to be GPA-obsessed, nor are they going to be particularly obsessed with standardized testing. I think the number of people who develop a mature sense of what they want to do in graduate school is far more limited than those who take a bunch of classes and do well, and the former is just a more direct measure of how graduate school will suit you – you’re not primarily going to be concerned with acing classes. </p>
<p>However, acing a good number of classes is also important to show that you can handle difficult problem-solving when you have to. </p>
<p>For engineering, if a 3.7 at Mudd is truly so hard to pull off that it would detract from developing other things, I don’t think you would need to attain it to get into a very good program. Whatever it is, I don’t think there’s any context in which failing to develop the real skills and instead pushing for perfect GPAs will help an engineering career.</p>
<p>I agree that things other than GPA should be very important. But I’m wondering, if you are supposedly well supported with ur research and recommendations and such, what’s the GPA you would recommend to be a strong candidate in a top grad school?</p>
<p>It’s quite hard, but people who aren’t born geniuses definitely can do it – you just have to put a lot of good stuff on your application, and you’ll have a fair shot.</p>
<p>Well, I’m fairly certain a 3.7 would be very much enough a GPA to allow for the rest of the factors to take over in a hard school. I don’t know how much HMC deflates as compared to other places, but I’m pretty sure the number I gave from Berkeley, coupled with exceptional achievement in all else, would give one a fair shot at the top schools.</p>
<p>Keep in mind none of this stuff is a guarantee – the real guarantee to be a top-school student is to be a genius at the field. To be a top candidate, do what I said above. Try to ace a lot of your classes, as many as humanly possible, but not at the expense of gaining outside experience too.</p>
<p>I know a friend through Linkedin who studied at Mudd during her bachelor’s.</p>
<p>Her Graduating GPA was 3.71. She was very smart but also did quite a lot of things outside academics. So it is possible, though requires a lot of personal discipline I am sure we all can strive to be like her.</p>
Its just ALL the grad schools that have accepted Mudd students. And I believe there are quite a lot going to the good ones.</p>
They just do not simply equate the GPA through all colleges.</p>
I think it’s important we know what we have to do to get where we want to get!</p>