@gearmom Good points. Personally I wouldn’t be too happy in Toronto. I’m just trying to ascertain if Cornell is more a “possibility” or “unattainable reach” for me given my resume, stats, etc. I want to have flexibility of working on the east coast in the future and apart from my HS alumni network, I’m not sure Harvey Mudd can provide that, compared to somewhere like Cornell (may be wrong, so feel free to correct me).
Sorry autocorrected *Do you buy one more lottery ticket or put your chips on a sure thing?
I place Harvey Mudd in a grouping with MIT, CalTech… I don’t see how it would negatively impact your professional career in any way. Harvey grads make top top salaries. Intern in Silicon Valley. Finish with grad school in NYC.
@gearmom Yeah, that makes sense. Totally forgot about grad school for some reason the last couple hours haha. Think you might’ve just swayed me to do ED1 at Mudd. Thanks again.
@CCThunderfin Enough lottery tickets, move forward. California dreaming.
You want an Ivy for engineering and can’t cite for us any engineering experience or collaborative stem activities? A downward trend in jr year, in a pool of applicants with 4.0 throughout? You aren’t sure if your gpa? And maybe you think not needing aid is a tip?
Why Cornell? Do you know what Ivies look for?
Do you have actual confirmed athletic interest from Mudd? Not sure they send likely letters, but anything that makes you, along with dozens of others, more than a “Maybe, kid?”
Big chunks are missing here.
Apparently, a recruiter swimmer for HM http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/2032288-engineering-undergrad-help-urgent-p1.html @lookingforward
@lookingforward I’ll admit I don’t have any engineering experience, though I will be an Instructor at an Engineering camp for kids hosted by my state university in the spring. I did take mostly STEM courses at my liberal arts prep school, was the cohead of a science-related club (not revealing more for confidentiality reasons). I was involved in a mix of ECs, which I thought might differentiate me from the other cookie cutter engineering applicants – let me know if my thinking is flat out wrong. My downward trend is bad, I know, though I raised it back to an upward trend senior year… I just was wanting advice on whether that downward trend shoots all my hopes. I mean, an int’l asking for aid is at a disadvantage compared to an int’l not asking for aid, since Cornell is need-aware.
B/c it’s the best Ivy engineering program and has the OR major I’m looking for (and can’t find in Canada).
I am not aware of Harvey Mudd giving admissions preference for recruited athletes. I am not saying that it does not. Just that I have not heard. Did you get, or can you ask for, a likely letter from the coach? Have you had a thorough pre-read at Harvey Mudd? I know at MIT athletics can give a person a very slight boost if they already have amazing stats, but nowhere near the boost one can get as a recruited athlete at the Ivies or NESCACs (and MIT does not give out likely letters). Is Mudd similar to MIT in this regard? I suspect that both the schools you are considering fall into the “slight reach” or “reach” category for you. Wrap this up and start looking for match school for yourself for the RD round. If money is an issue, be sure to look for affordable schools or schools where you might qualify for merit awards. Deadlines for honors colleges within some state schools are imminent. Don’t miss your next big opportunity because you are too focused on ED. You can be happy at any school if you find the correct “fit” and it most definitely need not be the most “elite” school you can gain admittance to.
Ending thought: Don’t change your ED application from C to HM unless the admissions there has given you super strong indication of admissions hopefully in the form of a likely letter. If you are only hearing positive vibes from the coach, then ask very carefully what admissions has reviewed and exactly what they said. Best if you speak to admissions.
@Sam-I-Am Yeah, you are a bit misinformed. Having gone through the process, I know that the accepted rate of MIT student athletes goes from the normal 7% to ~33% (and from the swim coach himself, he says about 50% of supported swimmers get accepted). Obviously not LL or NESCAC guarantee, but much better than a shot in the dark. Mudd’s coach said that ED1 would be a bit better than ED2, and he already talked to the committee and while he can’t guarantee anything, he said that I have “strong chances”, especially given that this is my 2nd time applying and this time ED.
I’m just trying to decide if it’s worth it to wait from Cornell (where it’ll likely be a defer or reject) and do ED2 at Mudd, or just go all in with ED1 at Mudd. I’m not doing RD since I already have University of Toronto as an option, which is better than close to all state schools & most privates for engineering.
Then ED1 to C, ED2 to HM if needed, and RD to UT. Unless your sport is the most important to you and then switch 'em up.
“strong chances” at HM falls far short of a likely letter. And btw, my kid is a recruited athlete at MIT. I don’t dispute your info. The info I gave is also correct. A recruited athlete at MIT must already have amazing stats and even then there is no guaranty.
@Sam-I-Am I do believe the coach that my “strong chances” are close to a likely letter- he told me that last year out of their top 4 ED recruits, all 4 got in, or something like that. Ok, never knew your kid was a recruited athlete-- agree with you that you still need to have great stats. Personally even with support I don’t think I’d get into MIT, though from the sounds of it Mudd may be a bit more lenient.
“Strong chances” is not a commitment to a recruit. Coaches can want to build their pool of applicants, but in the end, only pulling for their best ones. My big Mudd concern is D3 still focuses on the educational experience first. And the 34 puts you squarely in the mid 50%, not higher. (Plus we don’t know your subscores, which matter much.) The grades are problematic and more risky if you have less than A in courses related to the major. For engineering, many kids will have the math-sci and engineering EC experiences that prove them out, including the mindset top schools look for. These support their apps, in the adcom view.
Make your best choice. But with eyes wide open.
@lookingforward I appreciate your advice. I did do a “preread” with Mudd admissions and they said everything looked okay, for what that’s worth. Also, the Mudd coach told me I’m a top 3 recruit, so I have stronger than usual chances. I’m not trying to sound arrogant or presumptuous, but based on my past experience w/ Mudd and the Coach’s encouraging tone, I genuinely think that I’m in if I apply ED1.
Ok, it’s just that these small but important bits are only coming out on this thread piece by piece.
@lookingforward Sorry, guess I should’ve included it earlier. Just didn’t want to post a lot in my first post and make people not want to read my question.
@Sam-I-Am @lookingforward Wanted to update you guys-- got admitted ED1 to Mudd (guess being recruited for swimming helped)! Thanks for the advice you gave me on this thread, appreciate it.
Congrats!
@CCThunderfin Just reviewed this. Glad you decided Mudd ED1. Congratulations on your acceptance.
Wonderful and best wishes!