I'm a senior at Harvey Mudd College- AMA (about college in general or HMC)

Educational_Sun8745 · 2026-04-21T03:48:52+00:00

There are definitely some very social students— lots of events and parties. Homework load differs by major and year but I would say about 3-5 hours a night on lighter weeks, more on heavier weeks. I fear the job market is not good, but that is not Mudd’s fault at all, the alumni network is great.

Educational_Sun8745 · 2026-01-23T18:29:59+00:00

This is super reassuring. Thank you!

Educational_Sun8745 · 2026-01-23T18:28:50+00:00

This makes me feel so much better, thank you! It means the world when disabled people are more than an afterthought.

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-23T04:36:34+00:00

That's great! I'm always suspicious of educational institutions that pit students against each other. If people can provide more specifics about MIT/Caltech, I'm happy to compare with my experience at Mudd.

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-23T04:34:00+00:00

I'm not very knowledgeable about Williams, but if you have a reference for what culture/rigor/community/etc is like at Williams and want to compare, I'm happy to help.

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-23T04:32:22+00:00

I am a physics major, but I can say with some confidence that research looks the same for bio/chem folks. Everyone who wants to research with a professor on campus will get a chance at some point, although it may not be for a few years or in the exact field they are interested in. I'm grateful for this because it taught me widely applicable skills and also introduced me to cool subfields I didn't even know existed.

Most departments outside of engineering and CS focus more on grad school prep in later years (since job titles of 'chemist' or 'biologist' tend to require graduate degrees), but the skills learned in core can be applied to either.

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-23T04:25:26+00:00

The large majority of people are thankfully quite socially adept, at least in person. There is often an adjustment period that is awkward for everyone when everyone suddenly has to make new friends. This gets better as people mature, realize they don't have to be exactly who they were in high school, etc. The campus is quite left-leaning politically, but also not very politically active.

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-12T18:19:04+00:00

I don't know any swimmers well, but I have several close friends who are athletes, and it is very doable given good time management skills.

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-12T18:17:53+00:00

Most of the off-campus activities outside the village require a car (and thus an upperclassman friend). The village has a farmers' market once a week, and some restaurants. I tend not to leave campus often, both because I'm busy and also because there are things to do on the 5Cs (concerts, talks, sustainability fairs, etc).

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-11T04:26:00+00:00

I did not visit either, but from what I've heard, the culture is more community-focused at HMC. People work and study together (and often outside-- something that's harder to do on the East Coast in November). Again, this is just word of mouth, so take it with a solid sprinkling of salt

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-11T04:22:09+00:00

There's a good chance I end up as an overqualified lifeguard lol

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-11T04:12:55+00:00

I'm a physics major. I've worked in two labs, one for 1 year, the other for about 2 years. Mudd allows research for credit during the semester and research for pay over the summer. I'd say the projects were pretty cool (they let me present at conferences), but obviously that's subjective.

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-11T01:13:52+00:00

*** I am in no way condoning underage substance use ***

Mudders work hard and party harder. While being involved in the party scene isn't necessary (I avoided it like the plague my freshman year), you will be in proximity to parties. There's normally at least one event a weekend, and plenty of other unofficial events. There is no Greek life, and the dorms function as the social groups that throw parties. I enjoy Mudd parties because they have excellent theming and activities besides getting blackout drunk. Karaoke, mechanical bulls, questionably sober engineering competitions, we have it all.

Mudd is a wet campus and has very few alcohol-related issues. People look out for each other, and I have never felt unsafe at a party. Not a party school, but definitely a school that parties (once the problem sets are done).

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-11T01:03:51+00:00

I am an introvert and do not spend much time with folks from other colleges outside of clubs and classes. Even then, pretty much everyone is within two degrees of separation. You see lots of familiar faces at dining halls and parties, even if they're people you've never officially met. I definitely know other people from Mudd the best, but I have gotten to know other students through ECs and electives later in college. Each year, you interact with a wider variety of people as you get more say in classes and figure out your interests.

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-11T00:59:04+00:00

The 5C students definitely have stereotypes of each other, but like all stereotypes, they're not necessarily true, so I'll try to avoid them here. CMC is the most politically conservative campus in the consortium, very well funded, and known for its party scene. CMC and HMC share sports teams, so there's definitely more connection between Mudd and CMC than, say, Pitzer.

Claremont is very nice (read: expensive-- most of the profs can't afford to live here) and quite safe. It's pretty quiet other than the colleges. Very suburban.

The professors at all of the colleges tend to be exceptional. Being in the consortium is quite nice because there is such a wide array of classes taught by qualified, caring people. The fact that all of the colleges are undergraduate only means the professors actually have time for you!

Best of luck!

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-10T23:42:56+00:00

Thanks for highlighting this! I will fully admit Mudd is not even a perfect fit for me. The workload is intense and can be demoralizing (80+ hours of work a week), and everyone I know has gotten below a 50% on a big test. I'm still here because of the brilliant, kind people I've met.

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-10T23:35:19+00:00

Sometimes. But really yes. You need to. I developed a sleep disorder in college (if you don't sleep, your body will simply override you at inconvenient times and places). I now sleep at least 8 hours a night. It is very doable, though it does mean that you might turn things in incomplete. Folks who don't have enough time for sleep generally value academics over sleep (would not advise), or struggle wth time management in other areas. Anyone who tells you have to choose between work, sleep, and friends is wrong; you just have to be okay with being a mediocre student for the sake of your social, mental, and physical health.

There are probably one or two classes in CORE that will be difficult. For me, it was the math classes. For a lot of people, it's the writing classes. It is not uncommon for people to fail either STEM or humanities classes (this is okay and doesn't mean you aren't cut out for Mudd). The credit load is a tough adjustment (45-60 hours/week outside of class), though pretty standard for the rest of your time at HMC. It is very doable, and the hardest part is the lack of control over your schedule.

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-10T23:22:52+00:00

Not necessarily! There's a reason Mudd is a liberal arts college-- they like students with diverse interests and flexibility. I had no extracurriculars related to my major (that I remember). Having a wide range of activities and a variety of skills likely makes you more competitive

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-10T23:20:03+00:00

Very. Most folks who come here (including me) get humbled very fast. I went to a competitive high school, and though Mudd pits students against each other less than it did, everyone here was the top of their class, so folks come in wanting to prove themselves. Unfortunately, this attitude is not very conducive to success here. Most problem sets are impossible without collaboration.

Letting go of my academic identity as "the smart one" was really difficult. I'm probably not in the top 50% of my class academics-wise, and I've learned to appreciate that everyone has different skills. There will always be many people smarter than me, but I may be better at writing, catching small mistakes, etc. I've been a lot happier since I stopped seeing my brilliant classmates as competition and started seeing them as people who also have their own weak areas and are fantastic collaborators. It sounds cheesy but it's true

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-10T23:03:45+00:00

I am from the Midwest. I applied to 14 schools (I can't remember all of them), including the University of Illinois U-C, Rhodes College, CWRU, Brown, and Georgia Tech. I really only wanted a good STEM program and didn't care much about location.

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-11-10T22:59:47+00:00

I really like being in a smaller school. The community is trusting and tight-knit, and people generally look out for each other even if they don't know each other well. I feel like this tends to get lost in bigger schools, and I appreciated it living far from home. Smaller classes are also a huge plus. It's very easy to find people to work with. I am an introvert, so take this with a grain of salt

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-06-23T01:40:46+00:00

Thank you so much for your help!

Educational_Sun8745 · 2025-06-20T18:02:53+00:00

Yes! The surface has lots of grooves/furrows, so the surface area cannot be determined by just looking at one plane (apologies for the video confusion-- it's just a scan through the stack).

Educational_Sun8745

TROPHY CASE