<p>It's just like me to worry after getting good news.</p>
<p>Everyone at Harvey Mudd just seems so crazy smart. And seeing the stats of the other admits.. they're amazing.</p>
<p>I don't have the highest GPA, nor the highest SAT score. I didn't score any 5s on my APs, and I don't have any math or science awards... but I got in somehow. My AP scores may have a little to do with being at a new small high school and being the first graduating class, but it doesn't account for everything.</p>
<p>Now that I got in, I'm afraid I'll either A. Get rescinded, B. Get there and be the idiot of the class even if I work really hard or C. Work hard and do well and still not get into a good grad school, because of what I heard from some of the alumni..</p>
<p>I love HMC and I'm so happy I got in. It is my dream school. I don't even care that most people I talk to think I'm either talking about Harvard Med or a community college. I love this school. I'm just super worried about those few things..</p>
<p>I’ve spent a significant amount of time this past month worrying that I didn’t stand a chance of getting, due to the fact that my extraciriculars seem so weak and unremarkable compared to the ‘average’, and my grades and scores, while certainly good, don’t stand out as much at this kind of college. Just taking a quick glance at your own stats, Blackrose, reveals some rather formidable ECs (at least from my perspective).</p>
<p>Even worse are all the stories that seem to be cropping up about the rigor of their schedules. I have no idea how I’ll cope with no longer being one of the top students in my class, and with no longer getting fairly easy success. However, I think I’ve heard a couple people claim that Harvey Mudd includes some sort of disclaimer with transcripts explaining the relatively low grades most people receive.</p>
<p>I’ve also had several people (both fellow students and a couple adults) mistake ‘Harvey Mudd’ for ‘Harvard Med’. While I am flattered that they would believe that I am that ambitious, I was under the impression that it was not a common occurrence for undergraduates to go straight there (don’t you have to go to pre-med or something first?). While Harvey Mudd is not quite the household name that, say, UCLA is, I have not yet had anyone mistake it for a community college.</p>
<p>If you’re not provincial and don’t think that there are 8 colleges in the country plus Stanford, UCLA, and UC Berkeley, then you know what Harvey Mudd is. And congrats!</p>
<p>The best advice I can give you for performing well is to stay on top of your work and be uber-organized. Do not procrastinate. There are many brilliant people who fall apart in college because of the inability to organize themselves and/or gorge themselves on their new-found freedom.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry too much. I think a lot of people feel like that, but the support systems in place at Mudd seem so extensive that I doubt most people are unable to find the help they need. I am confident you will do well at Mudd. Stop freaking out, and enjoy the fact that you’re going to your top school! :)</p>
<p>My extracurriculars don’t seem like anything compared to the people who have won several awards in math competitions and awards from intel or what not. </p>
<p>I’m not worried about not being at the top of my class. I don’t expect nor care to be. I do want to be relatively close to the top though lol. As long as I have like a 3.6, I’ll be set. I’m just afraid I’ll be like the class idiot because I don’t get any of the math and science jokes everyones making, or I’ll have trouble understanding a concept, and everyone will think I’m stupid and I’ll get bad grades even if I work hard.</p>
<p>Yeah, you do need to go do premed first. And I’ve even had one kid tell me he thought it was a drop out college. I really don’t care though ha</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. I need not to procrastinate and get more organized, definitely. I do like the support system at mudd. I’m just afraid that even if I am organized and work hard I’ll still be at the bottom of my class.</p>
<p>I am really happy that I got into my top school, I just can’t help but worry though.</p>
<p>Good to see that the faculty at Harvey Mudd will care enough about our futures to send graduate schools/employers a letter like that. Hopefully, in the future that should take a load off my mind, not having to worry about getting straight A’s (not that I won’t try, of course).</p>
<p>Blackroses- you are not alone on that point. During my years of high school I have only encountered a handful of people consistently smarter than me (I hope that doesn’t sound nearly as conceited as it’s sounding like right now), and to be truthful I’ve never particularly enjoyed being second best and out of the spotlight. I can honestly say that my initial several months at Harvey Mudd will include a very tough transition period as I come to terms with reality. I’m sure it will be for the best, though.</p>
<p>Also, I’m starting to get the feeling that, at least when it comes to extracurriculars, we all are comparing ourselves to the same impossible standard of excellence, which only a couple people ever manage. There is simply no way that admissions departments expect all applicants to be overachievers to that extent. How many club presidents/award winning researchers/noble peace prize winners can there possibly be out there?</p>
<p>Blackroses216 - Congratulations! Now that the college app stress is over, it’s a good time to investigate scholarships etc. Then you can post any good hints on CC, since ED puts you are ahead of most families on the college quest… </p>
<p>From all the other posts, I think it is verrrrry hard to get a 3.6 at Mudd, especially if you are involved in a lot of EC. But it sounds like first semester pass/fail is a good time to start setting up your study systems and organization.</p>
<p>I advise you to get Single Variable calculus, physics, and chemistry down flat before you go to Harvey Mudd. It’ll probably allow you to start school with a better foundation</p>
<p>Yeah, there is the option of studying a bit during the summer. It’s generally not expected of anyone and definitely not worth stressing about, but if you feel like it, here are a few ideas:
<p>Don’t stress. There are lots of kids at HMC who didn’t win math and science contests, and don’t have college level math and science classes under their belt. Focus on enjoying the rest of your senior year and know that you will have plenty of support at HMC and a semester of pass/fail to get your footing. But I will echo that a 3.6 is tough to get, with or without extra curriculars. But the graduate schools and employers know what the HMC grades look like. There was a report of one kid last year or the year before who got into Columbia’s graduate program with a 2.7.</p>
<p>Yeah, I was thinking of doing some extra studying over the summer, but of course still have fun by hanging out with friends, going to tahoe, and then maybe doing some research again and going to the HMC week thing they have before school starts.</p>
<p>Daniel, Thanks for the links! And azalia- that sounds so awesome. Do you know if the guy had a connection to the program or something? Even with HMCs rigorous courses, it doesn’t seem like a 2.7 would get you into that good of a grad school… </p>
<p>I know GPA isn’t everything for grad school, and that research and connections play a big role in getting into one. But it still counts for something… my parents and I both talked, and we haven’t set a number yet, but If I have below a 3.0 I’m guessing I won’t be at HMC for more than a year.
Hopefully that won’t happen though. I’ll be happy with a 3.4, really happy with a 3.6. A 3.0-3.2 would make me slightly nervous.</p>
<p>Like I said, I’m not the smartest person, but I can and will work hard to reach my goals.</p>
<p>Also, do any current students/ alumni know of any kids who were at the bottom of the class? What was their GPA hovering around? Was it/ is it because they’re lazy, or really tried hard but still couldn’t do well?</p>
<p>Really tried hard and could not do well. Listen to maruhan and you will be fine. Many of the freshman already know the material before they start classes. You have all this time to prepare since you already know you are admitted.</p>
<p>And you don’t have to worry about meeting smarter people in the real world when you leave HMC, because you won’t. HMC is as concentrated with excessive brains as they come. The kids there make the average med and law students look stupid, but most engineers knew that already.</p>
<p>About how much preparation would you recommend during the summer? I had calculus and physics last year, and while I did well in both, I can understand the usefulness of studying them a little before school. As for chemistry, even though I’m taking the AP course this year (and doing fairly well), would it also be prudent to spend a significant amount of time in review?</p>
<p>well that’s up to you Rune.
If you are doing APs, it means that you did cover the materials, and thus you’ll be visiting that again.
Personally, I’m not confident in Chemistry but I don’t want to review it cuz I know I’ll be re-doing many stuff anyways</p>
<p>@Rune: You shouldn’t have to worry too much. At least in the 1st semester of Core, I felt like problem solving skills and perserverance were more important than remembering things from high school. If you really feel like reviewing, I guess math would be the most helpful, and then some of the nomenclature stuff from Chem.</p>
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