I am the mother of a current high school junior who is very interested in pursuing an education in STEM (exact field undecided). We recently took a trip to tour college campuses, and he loved his visit to Harvey Mudd. He liked the idea of the core curriculum and getting exposed to all of the different STEM fields before narrowing down to a potential major. He also really liked the size, lack of Greek life, and honor code. After the visit, it was likely his first choice, and he was considering applying early decision. The Fiske Guide talks over and over about how hard the HM students work, though it was hard to judge exactly what that means and didn’t get a great answer when we were there. Now I’m reading about the turmoil (student protest and school shut down) there and read over the Wabash report myself. While my son expects to work hard in college and is passionate about science and math, the report makes it sound like the students have no time to eat, sleep, or shower. The students sound, on the whole, to be very unhappy/stressed and not likely to have made the same college choice if they had it to do again. It sounds like there are going to have to be some changes there, BUT obviously that takes some time. Anyone with current/recent experience able to shed some light on this?
My kid (who was not super well prepared AND has a learning disability) ate, slept, and showered during the core. She didn’t have tons of time for other activities those first 3 semesters, but she WAS behind in a lot of areas coming in (HS that offered no AP sciences, and only through Calc AB). She wasn’t stress free, but she was mostly happy. She had good friends (and she is pretty introverted), felt like she was with her tribe, and liked being around so many really smart students and professors. She got lots of great research experience (spent all 3 summers on campus, worked in 2 different labs, and researched during the year for the last 2 years as well). She is graduating in 2 weeks, and wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. Even as a student who had a hard time academically in spots, she still would pick Mudd all over again without hesitation, even without changes that are likely to occur in the next couple of years due to the report. I’d trust your kid – if THEY think they belong at Mudd, then let them go there.
Thanks. That’s very helpful. It was hard to tell if the report was indicative of all students vs. just some. My son is (I think) well prepared academically and has a good work ethic. He has struggled some in hs not finding his tribe, so I think that’s part of what resonated with him there. We are on the East Coast, so were lucky enough to visit campus once, but hard for us to spend more time out there to get a better feel for the school.
Keep in mind that report had a very small sample size.
As you can imagine, this has been a topic of discussion among the parents (we are connected via a Facebook group). Yes, some say their kid is pretty stressed, but there are many that say their kid is extremely happy. I’ve heard many such as intparent go on about how their kids love Mudd. Many kids have time for lots of activities…they play sports, go to parties, join various clubs and hang out with friends. They also work in a very collaborative environment and there are many ways to get help (both academic or mental) if needed. And they are working to make it even better.
As for my son he never complains about the work, but when I ask he will admit he has never worked so hard in his life, but he is fine with the work load and happy where he is with lots of friends and time to enjoy them.
Thanks to both of you for your responses. My son decided to trust his gut and is applying ED! Fingers crossed!
Good luck @mountaincachers!
He’s in!!! So excited for him!!!
Yay!!!
Congrats to your son @mountaincachers ! I got admitted ED1 too, so I’ll see your son on campus next fall. Stoked!
Congrats to you CCThunderfin!
This issue is one I’m currently considering. My daughter got her first B ever in second semester of Calc BC and it has shook her confidence that she can survive a program like HMC or MIT. She is talking to the swim coaches at both and the CMS coach is asking to submit her academic profile for a preread.
Her ACT superscore is 35 but her English is the high mark there with Math at 33. Her SAT is 1500 after 1 attempt with math at 760. She just took the subject tests. She is top 5 in her class of 512 and in the Engineering program for her school district.
I don’t want her to be too stressed and I want her to continue swimming and to have a few good times and laughs and fun memories. Stresses me out a bit to hear how intense it is. We haven’t visited but I’m guessing she will get a swim recruit visit in the fall. She grew up SoCal and loves the idea of being back in an outdoor training pool. We have been in the Midwest for 3 years.
She has heard Multi/Linear Alg are not as tough as BC so hopefully can maintain/improve her GPA and rank senior year but I wonder how she will fair at these schools? Her work ethic is good but spread over many commitments including her swim team and church youth group and other ECs, so she sometimes “just does what is needed” to keep all the balls in the air and us satusfied with an A- because it maintains her GPA on our scale. So I guess I’m saying she sometimes “gets by”.
Any thoughts or advice for this worried mom?
I think she should visit (Mudd specifically, even though the team part may be more with CMC). Kids know if it is their tribe. They are the ones who have to make the commitment. I think her background sounds sufficient. Everyone works hard at Mudd, and she is the one who would need to decide if it is for her.
As a follow up to my original post…my son is now in his second semester at HMC and couldn’t be happier. Most importantly, he has found his people. He has had time to eat, sleep, shower, and is involved in some clubs/volunteer organizations as well. Yes, he is working hard, but he loves his classes (or at least the majority of them). I’m so glad I let him trust his gut on this…he was absolutely correct that this was the right place for him.
Thanks for the update - that’s great to hear! 
@mountaincachers This is great news and really nice to read. Thank you for following up!
Thanks for the followup and feedback!