<p>Of course. It depends upon the student. I completely agree with you there.</p>
<p>Seiken: So, you are saying that the teaching qualities at UChicago, Harvard, Princeton, MIT & Stanford (math) are not on par to HMC's?</p>
<p>Well, Mudd professors are hired based on their ability to teach and educate undergraduates; research plays a nonnegligable role but is still second. While I am sure those schools have their share of spectacular professors, there will be a share of professors that loathe the fact that they have to teach and will do less than enthusiastic jobs.</p>
<p>Note - With regard to math professors, they include some of the very best professors mudd has to offer, including this amusing little gem: YouTube</a> - Arthur Benjamin: Lightning calculation and other "Mathemagi</p>
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While I am sure those schools have their share of spectacular professors, there will be a share of professors that loathe the fact that they have to teach and will do less than enthusiastic jobs.
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</p>
<p>This has been too common an assumption. I don't think it's true at all. I have only had 3 professors, but I've enjoyed them all tremendously, and I haven't spotted a single professor who didn't seem enthusiastic about his job.</p>
<p>Also, most of the lower-level (analysis and algebra and below) math classes have multiple sections so that students can decide between an excellent teacher and a top-notch researcher. This is exemplified in the Honors Algebra class next year, as Boller, reputed for his teaching abilities, is teaching the 2nd and 3rd quarters of one section, whereas Kottwitz, a world-class researcher, is teaching the other section. Once you get to the top level, there are only about 5-10 students per class, and they are all very enthusiastic students of mathematics eager to learn. This is where most of the research-oriented professors teach, and they certainly don't seem to mind teaching a class of top-notch undergraduates. Also, once you get to that level, it seems like most of the students would prefer a research-oriented professor to a great teacher.</p>
<p>Love the mathemagic show. Are all profs at HMC like that?</p>
<p>I kinda agree with phuriku.</p>
<p>I cant imagine a professor at any of these places who dont know what they are doing, can you? As for the enthusiasm of the professors, I find it more important than I ever thought I would have. When you only get 4 hours of sleep per night and have 6 classes, its often the spirit and tone of the professor that determines whether or not you fall asleep and can pick up the material. Also, its nice to really get to know your professors (having 3-4 primary ones for your entire undergrad education) as you find out interesting things such that their wives make delicious berry pies ^___^. </p>
<p>I agree that my statement is applies to an overall rarity (it helps that professors often only have to teach 1 class per term), but when it does happen it sucks massively and can scare your learning (I encountered this twice before I transferred to Mudd).</p>
<p>Note after edit of previous post - All HMC professors do in fact do research of their own, with undergraduates of course. Research is a requirement graduation so it still is a very important part of being a professors. However, we will fire professors if they arent teaching well enough- thats the main distinction Im trying to get at.</p>
<p>Are all professors like Art?</p>
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<p>No, he has a certain level of pep to him that is unrivaled in most places (our CS department has some querky ones as well though). An interesting story about him and other math profs: back in I think 1995 one of our dorms held a massive party where the open end of the U-shaped dorm was sealed off visually. Behind the wall were strippers in cages and all of that fun stuff. But what I hear the most about is a legendary "death chess" tournament, where the final match was between Art Benjamin and another (math) professor whom Im not quite sure of. </p>
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<p>*death chess = drinking chess where you take a drink for every piece you TAKE, with a gradient in the awfulness of the contents (last time I played, queen = manachevits(sp?), cheese and tomato juice.)</p>
<p>Anyways, Art is I think particularly special, but most HMC professors have a certain level of fun and party in them. I think there is even one per year that lives in the dorms with the students.</p>
<p>PS- You might actually find these enjoyable:
[url=<a href="http://www3.hmc.edu/%7Esbohr/funwiki/index.cgi?OrrisonQuotes%5DFunWiki:">http://www3.hmc.edu/~sbohr/funwiki/index.cgi?OrrisonQuotes]FunWiki:</a> OrrisonQuotes<a href="math%20prof,%20I%20find%20physics%20profs%20more%20enjoyable%20but........">/url</a></p>
<p>My son's last two choices came down to Chicago vs. Mudd (yes, Mudd beat MIT). They were the top two schools at the beginning of his search and the last two at the end. It was extraordinarily difficult -- both programs are absolutely top-notch. A Mudd alum (who works in industry in S's intended area of specialization) told my S about those death chess matches, as well as the three-night Disc Math class that Prof. Benjamin runs.</p>
<p>I would never badmouth Mudd -- S is adamant that he would have had a spectacular and challenging time there (and he comes in with enough post-AP math that access to grad-level work was a big consideration). Prof Su at Mudd made it absolutely clear that they could (and have done so previously) work with S, in whatever direction he wanted to go. They are very flexible about letting students test in where they need to be, so while there is not "tracking" the way Chicago, Harvard, Stanford, CMU and UMich (which I know they all have because those are math programs S looked into) have for intro math sequences, there is the ability to hop in at Mudd at the appropriate level. (Note that Mudd is the ONLY school I've seen that requires completion of calculus (at the BC level) prior to matriculation.</p>
<p>As thrilled as I am that S will be at Chicago in a month, I am just as wistful that he will not be at Mudd. They really wanted him and that made turning it down even harder.</p>
<p>IAmYourMother: Mudd won the first-ever MAA award for excellence in undergraduate math teaching. Yes, they are that good.</p>
<p>@CountingDown: What are the criteria for getting that MAA award? And, what are the other choices your S have?</p>
<p>Can you rephrase this:
"Prof Su at Mudd made it absolutely clear that they could (and have done so previously) work with S, in whatever direction he wanted to go. They are very flexible about letting students test in where they need to be, so while there is not "tracking" the way Chicago, Harvard, Stanford, CMU and UMich (which I know they all have because those are math programs S looked into) have for intro math sequences"</p>
<p>Here;'s the article from a MAA publication about Mudd.
<a href="http://www.math.hmc.edu/program/ams-notices-hmc.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.math.hmc.edu/program/ams-notices-hmc.pdf</a>
Here's the press realease/crtiteria for the last two awards --
<a href="http://e-math.ams.org/notices/200805/tx080500598p.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://e-math.ams.org/notices/200805/tx080500598p.pdf</a></p>
<p>I'll PM you about other stuff.</p>