<p>My son is interested in engineering, and got accepted to Rice ID with a merit scholarship and also as a Century Scholar. He was very excited about it, although I am not sure he fully understands the Century scholars deal (which I think is very unique). He also got a merit scholarship offer for Harvey Mudd. He is leaning toward Mudd right now, in part because of a very personal note on the acceptance letter. Any others who looked at those two schools? He is an extremely bright kid, who is strong in Science and math, but has much wider interests as well- including writing novels each year as part of National Novel writing month.</p>
<p>Your son sounds a little like my son, though yours is maybe more focused & talented (based on your description). Mine is currently "distracted" by a girlfriend, but also shows intellectual capability in all areas - 2380 SAT on first try in January last year, high A's in all his classes in a public magnet, with pretty much the most demanding of courseloads possible there. </p>
<p>Have you visited both campuses? That should be a very helpful piece of info, so if you haven't and it is possible, I would highly recommend it. </p>
<p>We scheduled a trip to California last summer, specifically to visit HM. Son was extremely drawn to the intellectual, yet quirky nature indicated in all the literature he read (& HM's website, etc.). However, I suggested that he might as well check out Pomona while we were there. Lo & behold, as much as he liked HM, he felt drawn more to Pomona. He has been accepted to all three. He will go to Owl weekend & we are planning to get him back to Claremont this month, so he can try to get a better feel for each. </p>
<p>Both Rice & HM are excellent liberal arts colleges. I feel like your son couldn't go wrong either way. However, from my perspective, HM seems to be like a concentrated version of Rice. (Kinda like frozen OJ - HM is before you add the water; Rice is after you add some.) That may sound ridiculous, but that's just kinda how it felt to me. My son specifically said "I know I could get along with these guys, but I'm just not sure I want to be with them all day long..." I think a visit during April will be a much better opportunity to see if that still holds (for him). He has been pretty heavily influenced by how he feels when he's around the students (a "gut reaction"). Your son could interact with the actual kids & maybe that would give him the best answer...</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd is quite underrated.</p>
<p>Cali + good science school + best in engineering (at which highest degree is bachelor's) + good weather</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply swkmom. My son is scheduled to go to Owls weekend, but is now thinking he will go to the Harvey Mudd one instead. We have been to both places (he did overnights at both), but he thinks going to HM might better confirm his instinct (he is actually attracted to the frozen OJ -- loved your analogy) that HM is the place for him. We are also looking for students from the local area who are at Rice that he can talk to in lieu of another visit.</p>
<p>Oh, and cooldude- agree with you all the way on HM being underrated. what do they say- best undergrad engineering school no one has heard of? ":-)</p>
<p>I think that might be Olin. ; )</p>
<p>I know that the comments and surveys on studentreviews.com are not an unbiased collection - but if you look at the percentage of kids who posted there who would choose HM again, you will find that a LOT of them say "no". (35% would not return). Then look at the Rice reviews and compare (11% would not return). Your kid might be deliriously happy at HM, but from the looks of it, many are not.</p>
<p>hah! could be true- my son decided not to apply only because of the size- Mudd looks big compared to Olin. We do have some good friends whose daughter will be there in the fall... Mudd was her second choice.</p>
<p>Haha, same here. : D Before I was invited to Candidate's Weekend, I was convinced I wanted to go to Mudd. Then I went to CW, and... Well... Olin, here I come. (Plus, didn't get past semifinalist CSP at HMC, so I'd have trouble affording it, too...). Not to say that HMC is any worse of a school - I'm sure I would have loved it there, but Olin is a slightly better fit, I think. (And the chance to help build a school is certainly not something I could turn down lightly). Awesome to think I'll be going to school with the daughter of a good friend of someone I talked to on CollegeConfidential. </p>
<p>Not to veer TOO sharply off-topic, it'd probably be a good idea to follow your son's instinct and go to HMC's weekend, and maybe do another campus visit or overnight at Rice. Rice will be hosting online chats on April 4th and April 10th as well, and those might be a good time to find out even more about the school, or maybe find some other students (current or prospective) who are struggling (or have struggled) with the same decision.
Maybe I'll even see you at the weekend. : D</p>