Harvey Mudd College | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

chelsea

Class: Sophomore
Major: Engineering
Gender: F

High School: Alexander Dawson School
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

Harvey Mudd has many great characteristics... and a lot that could change. The students are all really nice and their is not a competitive atmosphere, despite the emphasis on academics. The professors are also really amazing and really care about the students. The focus on academics is at time really intense, just this weekend I spent 14 hours in a computer lab working on a project with my team for a presentation. And that happens quite often. School is a little small sometimes... everyone knows everything about everyone and that can get annoying. People are always impressed when I tell them I go to Mudd and they have heard about the school. I recently interviewed for an internship (which I got) and the person I interviewed with was in awe of Mudd and said the smartest man he ever knew went to Mudd. I spend most of my time underground... all the engineering labs are underground, its annoying. It's a nice, small college town. The town of claremont is really nice, even though there are a lot of old people. I don't like the administration, I don't get the feeling they care about the students, they care about the image of the school more. The profs are great though. There is a lot of school pride, but more dorm pride. Everyone feels they belong to a specific dorm. I'll always remember walking around campus and hearing people discussing quantum mechanics for fun. Science is a immense part of our lives. Students complain about how difficult and stressful it is here. This school really humbles you, it hurts your self esteem. But I think I'll be a stronger person by the time I graduate and will be more than prepared for the reali world.

Academic Life

I'd say 90% of my professors know my name. I love my digital engineering course. I wan't excited about taking it, but have grown to love it. I probably spend 12 hours on homework a week for the class, but it is still my favorite. I have learned so much. My least favorite class is electrical engineering, the professor is not a good teacher. He is well qualified, and smart, but he should not be a teacher. This is one thing that disappoints me about the school, some teachers are here because of their research. All mudd students have intellectual conversations outside of class, if you don't like that, don't come here. Students are surprisingly not competitive, this is due to the schools emphasis on teamwork and cooperation. I do spend time with teachers outside of class, mostly getting help on homework. The requirements are a little insane, I take 6 classes every semester, which is normal and necessary to graduate in four years. The core classes are killer and I am just finishing core as a sophomore. The engineering program is definitely geared towards getting a job, it is a general engineering degree so that you graduate a well rounded scientist. There is also the clinic program where an outside company hires mudd students to do a project, so you get work experience before you graduate.

Student Body

The harvey mudd student body is definitely diverse. Each dorm has a stereotype, which generally fit the people that choose to live in it. Linde (my dorm) are the "slacker" "stoner" kids who are lazy and dirty, live at the end of campus. West dorm is messy, all the kdis their love burning things and causing trouble, the administration really dislikes them. Sontag is the apartment dorm, which is quiet, and seniors go to "retire". Atwood doesn't really have a personality, besides being the largest, and only 3 story dorm on campus. North (norf) is where the "jocks" of the school live. They play beer pong and play sports more than other dorms. East is where the strange unicycling, video game playing, smelly kids live. And south is for the really quiet kids who want singles. And lastly Case, kinda weird, nothing much to say about it, but it's pink. All types of students interact, a lot of classes are group project based. No matter what dorm you live in you learn to interact with different types of peopl. Most Mudd students are from california, but kids are from everywhere. Some students are politically active, some are not. Depends on the person. Students definitely talk about the amount of money they will someday make, everyone hopes going to this school will get them a good job.