<p>Money not huge issue, but HMC scholarship doesn't hurt. Son leaning strongly toward Mudd after CPW and a subsequent overnight trip to HMC. Plans graduate school. Likely major in engineering, rather than physics or math, but probably will do Putnam for fun.</p>
<p>Size/feel/undergrad only appear to be the driving factors. Research opportunities are great at each. Finally, if anything, he is whatever the opposite of a prestige whore is.</p>
<p>My thoughts are that one can't really go wrong in choosing between these two schools.</p>
<p>I applied to both many years ago, but when it was time to make a decision, I found I didn't want to be so far from home (NY). Also, I really liked the city of Boston when I visited - I was not able to visit HMC- so if your son has been able to visit both schools, he's in a better position to decide than I was. Which one felt more like a place he'd like to be for 4 years? </p>
<p>I will say that I did not find MIT to be a cutthroat competitive place. People seemed mostly to be trying to learn because they enjoyed learning. Classmates would help each other explaining concepts, sharing notes if anyone missed a class, etc. </p>
<p>I felt the school provided a lot of support for its students, more than it seemed my brother got at Georgetown, where calculus and biology definitely seemed to be weedout courses. I remember feeling very angry for him that there was nowhere for him to go (as far as he knew) to get help once he ran into difficulties with the material. </p>
<p>I don't think your son would have any problems academically, based on the info you have shared, but I think it reflects well on a school that they are committed to helping every student succeed.</p>
<p>I also really enjoyed my non-technical classes at MIT. One semester, I signed up for an anthropolgy class that ended up witih an enrollment of only 4students. The class was not cancelled, and it was a wonderful experience. </p>
<p>I'm not sure what the current requirements are, but there were no specific humanities classes that were required when I was there, so, generally, the other students in my humanities classes were also there because they wanted to be, rather than because they had to be. Even if you're primarily interested in math/sci/eng, it's nice to do something different once in a while, and I found the quality of the non-technical classes to be excellent.</p>
<p>My son's opinion is in accord with yours--MIT doesn't strike him as cutthroat. He really liked the people he met there. So too, the humanities offerings are attractive. The big lecture classes for frosh probably wouldn't be a major factor for him, as he has self-taught in math beginning with Montessori school. His top two schools are clearly set apart from his other options.</p>
<p>Mudd just came out a little more attractive to him--smaller school, but with the consortium schools near at hand. Humanities requirements are even higher than MIT, and many to choose from. Felt more comfortable there and its phd productivity is shocking. (Cynical thought--maybe the kids graduating from MIT get such outstanding job offers that they don't need grad school as much as HMC grads?)</p>
<p>Distance isn't much of a factor for him. Both schools are essentially too far to drive. Boston is a quicker flight, but Southwest flies into Ontario, which makes Mudd the cheaper flight.</p>
<p>I believe he's thinking that MIT will be there for grad studies.</p>
<p>I think the pool of kids who go to Mudd and want a PhD is somewhat self-selecting -- they are looking for the personal experience with profs, and that, in turn, probably influences some to attend grad school. Mudd math grads got fabulous job offers -- the past five years' worth were posted in the math dept hallway when we visited. They have NO problem finding jobs.</p>