The greatest college you've never heard of.
Loved to hate it while I was there, miss it more than you can imagine after graduating. Spent countless nights up until 5 AM in a (complimentary) coffee-induced panic about grades and unfinished homework assignments, but was never alone while it happened, and loved every second of it. With a year between me and my time at Mudd, I can now look back at nights spent shedding tears over incomprehensible Systems Engineering problem sets fondly, I can even romanticize those 24-hour long take home exams that were only 3 questions long and _still_ impossible to complete. I might even admit to missing the homework assignments that sucked up my entire weekend, took 20 pieces of paper to complete and reduced my dorm-room-floor to a maze of scratch paper, used coffee cups and open textbooks.
More than all of that, I'll admit I miss the people, of course. HMC is tiny; under 800 undergrads total, but that small community is a very tight-knit one that watches out for its own. Whether it be issues with grades, drinking, general adjustment or anything else, your deans, proctors ("RAs") and fellow students not only know about it, but are quick to provide a torrent of help. Should you be open to accepting that help, (and you really should be), you'll make it out alive.
Deciding to come to Mudd for college was a massive transition for me - moving across the country, alone, not knowing anyone - but I never regret it for a second. I learned a lot (in and out of the classroom), made unbeatable friends, and now always have a place to stay when I visit the west coast (which I try to do often, if only for the Meixcan food).
I can't recommend Harvey Mudd enough, but I will warn you; it's not easy and it's not for everyone. The admissions counselors will repeat this to you endlessly, and they really do mean it. If you want an easy ride to med school, don't come here. If you can't handle a challenge, don't come here. If you really value sleep, don't come here. If you can't tolerate barefoot and stinky boys (and sometimes girls) wearing capes to class while carrying swords, you might want to rethink your decision.
That's not to imply that all Mudders are nerds, I met some genuinely cool people here, there are even jocks, stoners, hipsters, cheerleaders, preps - all of those typical stereotypes, Mudd's got 'em! It's just the nerds, they stand out (mostly because they don't shower and sometimes that no-time-to-shower-because-they're-playing-video-games-stench stings your nose so hard you swear your nose hairs are burning right off).
If you want Greek life, the closest thing to a fratmosphere you'll get on the 5C's is North Dorm and all of Claremont McKenna college, but in terms of traditional greek life, it's sparing. The on-campus parties can still get pretty elaborate and range from a dorm-courtyard filled with foam, bikini-clad coeds and about 300 lost flip flops to a black-light-illuminated-pool-party (where the students assemble a full wooden deck and a waterfall which flows from the second story every year - not to mention the whole flooding-the-dorm-courtyard-with-three-feet-of-water thing). These outdoor parties benefit from the higher student body counts at the adjacent schools, year-round temperate weather and a pizza budget which allows the students to purchase food with student government funds for the purpose of sobering up after too many cups of purple drank.
The girl-to-guy ratio was 1:4 while I was there, but it's improved steadily since then. That being said, girls; the odds are good, but the goods are odd.
My love for Harvey Mudd College may be a little bit of Stockholm Syndrome, but you really can't beat the education HMC gives you. If you do decide to go to Mudd, make friends with your professors, they're awesome. Participate in things that are non-academic - you'll value your experience there so much more if it's not just a string of sleepless nights doing homework (and trust me, it can turn into that). If you're struggling, ask for help, no one will think less of you for it, trust me. read more