<p>Hey, someone mentioned in a previous thread that that thread was getting pretty old, so I thought I'd start a new one. I'm a Mudd '16 student, and I'm sure there are other current Mudders floating around to help answer anyone's questions.</p>
<p>musisat. I just joined harvey mudd class of 2017 yesterday! I am an international student and have a few questions to ask. Does the school give good financial aid to ED international students? Do you know of incidences where students where unable to attend due to insufficient financial aid package?</p>
<p>congrats mojojojo</p>
<p>thanks a lot pizzapie</p>
<p>mojojo, did you apply for financial aid when you applied for admission? International students cannot apply for federal financial aid, but there is an international student scholarship that you can apply for. The only trick is that you would have had to apply for that when you applied for admission.</p>
<p>Musisat, my daughter attends a high school that is not really math & science focused. She will have taken the AP BC Calc test, and gotten 'A’s in Honors Bio, Honors Chem, and Honors Physics. Would she struggle at Mudd without enough background (no APs in sciences, they are not offered at her school)? She scored an 800 on her SAT II Math test, but I expect most of the admitted students did as well. She does Robotics as an EC and went to an engineering camp last summer.</p>
<p>I know someone who flourished at Mudd (just graduated) and went to a high school where the only AP classes were in art. So your daughter should be just fine. I think that Mudd is self-selecting. It tends to attract those who will fit in.</p>
<p>No serious questions yet. </p>
<p>So, is that free espresso machine actually as awesome as it sounds? Please say yes. It will be a major factor in my family’s decision when financial aid comes next week. (Not really, but…)</p>
<p>@intparent, Mudd has regular and advanced levels of most of the core courses, where the advanced levels wander off into related topics. If your daughter isn’t prepared for the advanced classes, she can take the regular level, which most students end up taking anyway. Mudd gives surveys and pretests to help decide.</p>
<p>I went to two different high schools, one public and one private. In public school I took bio, chem, and physics and got A’s in all of them, but I feel that I learned very little in at least chem and physics. When I went to private school I took AP chem and I learned muuuuch more than in my other class. Now I am glad that I retook chem. I never retook physics, so I am a little worried about that, but I will attend a physics workshop right before next semester starts to help me practice physics problems. I would say that you should judge your comfort with Mudd classes based on how much you think you learned in high school.</p>
<p>The free espresso machine is awesome. I don’t drink coffee, but my friends do and they love it. I get hot water for tea there sometimes.</p>
<p>More food related questions! What meal plan are you on? And is the 8 meal plan survivable?</p>
<p>The 8 meal plan is survivable if you like to cook for yourself. I am on the 16 meal plan cuz I like eating breakfast. Those who don’t eat breakfast are usually on the 12.</p>
<p>Thanks. I love cooking (though cooking without a kitchen should be interesting), and will be pretty broke, so I’ll probably go with that.</p>
<p>Hi musisat, thanks for starting the thread! DS and I would love an insider’s perspective on a couple of things:
- How intense is it? Is it possible to study, get a full night’s sleep, AND have time for some extracurriculars? Or must students choose 2 of the 3?
- Are there any Christian clubs or Bible studies on campus? I know the atmosphere is pretty liberal - and he’s comfortable with that - but he would be uncomfortable if, say, religion is frowned upon.
- It seems there are some pretty extensive core requirements. How burdensome to these core requirements feel to you? Are there a lot of options for fulfilling them?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>calla1, I’m a Mudder’s mudder and I can answer Q#2 for you. </p>
<p>Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (3CIV: Mudd-Scripps-Claremont McKenna) is very active on campus. More info here: [3C</a> InterVarsity Christian Fellowship](<a href=“http://www.3civ.org/]3C”>http://www.3civ.org/)</p>
<p>My Mudder (now a senior) has been involved with this group for all 4 years. She has many supportive friends in 3CIV and has grown a lot in her faith. She’s at the [Urbana</a> 12 Conference](<a href=“https://urbana.org/]Urbana”>https://urbana.org/) right now and would be able to answer any other questions when she returns.</p>
<p>Maybe a Mudd student can answer this, but I think the core is quite specific. There may be a couple of levels of classes that can be used to fulfill the core requirements (eg, if you had AP Chemistry vs. not in high school, there might be a couple different levels of Chem class you could take). But regarding “a lot of options to fulfill them”, I can’t see how there could be given the list of requirements and the size of the college.</p>
<p>The core is very specific on which classes you need to take. There is usually only ONE level of chemistry, biology, and math class to take. Doesn’t matter if you took the AP equivalents or not unless you pass out of the class through placement exams at the beginning of the semester. If you pass out of the class, then you’re expected to take the next class in that subject (for instance, some people placed out of Math30 and ended up taking Math55 instead). Only class that I know of so far that has different levels in the core is the Physics: Mechanics class in the spring, which is divided into advanced and regular (based on prior physics experience and the placement during orientation I believe). </p>
<p>But yes, there aren’t a lot of ways to fulfill the core requirements other than…taking the actual classes or passing out of them since AP credit is not worth anything. lol But I actually quite like the core, since it gives everyone a chance to look at all the different kinds of majors that Mudd has to offer.</p>
<p>Also, the 8 meal plan is definitely survivable. I plan on continuing it into spring semester. Be sure to keep a lot of food in your room and make friends with people in Sontag! ;)</p>
<p>12 meal plan is good if you want to eat lunch and dinner. For breakfast, I eat something quick in my room. There’s also a breakfast cart with bagels, pop tarts, cereal, fruit… people spend some of their flex here. Typically, frosh will sign up for the 16 meal plan, then discover they’re not waking up early enough to get breakfast at the dining hall most days. Most people end up on the 12 eventually.</p>
<p>It actually is possible to place out of some core classes. In no case is it necessary to take AP/IB classes, but it helps for knowing the material. </p>
<p>CS: About 20 students take CS 42, which is basically CS 60 (the 2nd CS kernel course) and the unique aspects of CS 5 that you don’t see in an HS course. Last summer, aspiring CS 42ers had to do a few programming problems to demonstrate mastery of basic concepts. Students with some CS experience take the “Black” module of CS 5, which delves more into fun topics.</p>
<p>Chem: A few students place out of one or more of the 3 modules, but it is necessary to do very well on the optional placement exam.</p>
<p>Physics: Everyone takes the same Special Rel. and E&M courses. There is a math heavy section of mechanics for those who do well on the placement test (25-30 students). Also, 5 or so students will pass out of mechanics and perhaps even E&M.</p>
<p>Math: About 1/3 to 1/2 of students place into a more proof-heavy version of calculus. Otherwise, all the other classes are taught at the same level. More than a few students place out of most or all of the first year of math, particularly if they have prior college credits and can do well on optional placement exams in Lin. Al., DEs, and Prob./Stat.</p>
<p>Bio: No separate levels. Possible to challenge the course by exam, but rare because the curriculum is somewhat different from AP Bio, or so I hear.</p>
<p>Humanities: No way to place out of the core writing and HSA classes. Experience in foreign languages leads to appropriate placement. Most foreign language placement is done at Scripps, though some languages like Arabic are at other schools (CMC in this case). The other colleges recognize AP scores in economics for placement into intermediate micro/macro-econ, but no free credit is granted to Mudders for AP scores.</p>
<p>Engineering: I’ve never heard of anyone placing out of STEMS. LOL</p>
<p>So basically, the core classes take up most of your first three semesters at Mudd. I’d say you get one or two electives per semester. (And we take more than four classes per semester at Mudd!)</p>
<p>In terms of time, I’d say it’s more realistic to put a priority on two of the set of sleep, schoolwork, and a social life. I think adequate sleep is very important, so I always make time for it. I get to hang out with friends, mostly at meals and while doing homework and on weekend nights. Some people at Mudd party a lot. Generally we don’t party as much as the students at the other Claremont Colleges, but I’m just fine with that. There is time for extracurriculars, but don’t expect to have as much time as you did in high school. Sports are not very popular at Mudd, and we don’t have as many student athletes as the other schools. Also, Mudders don’t usually go see a football or basketball game as a social event. We have a stronger culture for intramural sports like innertube water polo though.</p>
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<p>Can you please clarify this with an example? Is it necessary to do this to graduate on time?</p>