A tech college with a liberal arts curriculum? You must be talking about Harvey Mudd College

What makes Harvey Mudd College unique is its balance of being a school focused on science, engineering, math and technology while also delivering a liberal arts education. HMC has a welcoming attitude toward women (who make up 48% of the student population) and other groups normally underrepresented in the STEM fields. Harvey Mudd’s has the look and feel of an engineering college with its no-frills, symmetrical campus. A recent building campaign added a 131-bed residence hall and the Shanahan Center for Teaching and Learning with tech-rich classrooms, a 300-seat auditorium and an art gallery. 

 

Here are a few quick facts about HMC:

Acceptance: 18% 

Freshman retention: 92%

Freshmen out of state: 48%

Most popular majors: engineering, computer science, physics, and math 

4-year Graduation rate: 84%,; 6-year: 98% 

Student Community Diversity: 4% Black, 21% Latino, 10% International

 

Housing: All freshmen live on campus, but more impressively 98% of all students live in the dorms. Each dorm has a proctor (i.e. dorm “mom” or dad”) and several mentors (think “older siblings”) which creates a dorm experience that is strong and safe. The majority of HMC students feel that the dining options are decent, and, get this – HMC students can use their meal plan at any of the other Claremont college campuses!

 

Academics: Harvey Mudd’s rigorous Common Core curriculum features coursework in math, physics, chemistry, biology, computer science and engineering, and writing, as well as the humanities. Because of the heavy workload, the administration has taken great steps to relieve stress like setting up a multi-disciplinary care team to help students with any academic and/or personal issues. 

 

Small classes and no graduate students equals a lot of attention for HMC students. Faculty have an open-door policy in addition to hosting regular office hours. The Clinic Program combines real-life math, science and engineering tasks sponsored by major corporations and government agencies –  SpaceX, Amazon and Pixar are among the recent sponsors. All students must either participate in the Clinic Program or thesis-driven research to graduate. About 200 students stay on campus each summer for research experiences working directly with professors, and 16% of students participate in study abroad programs in 20 countries. 

 

Similar colleges to consider: MIT, UC Berkeley, Caltech, Stanford

 

Social: One thing you will notice when at Harvey Mudd is the presence of wheels – unicycles, skateboards, longboards, or even wheels strapped to shoes – these are the most popular modes of transportation around campus. 

 

Dorms host parties almost every weekend, but the party scene is pressure-free and students do look out for each other. The most popular event at HMC is the Wild Wild West party – complete with a mechanical bull. While students are known to travel to other Claremont campuses to socialize, Harvey Mudd has its share of strong traditions. One example is the Noisy Minutes – at the end of each semester students take a break from studying with loud music, snacks and activities. Engineering pranks are popular (welcomed, even) throughout the year, as long as they are reversible within 24 hours, per the honor code. 

 

Varsity teams compete in conjunction with Claremont McKenna and Scripps in Division III. Recent national championships include men’s and women’s golf, women’s volleyball and women’s tennis. Intramural sports, also with Claremont McKenna and Scripps, are even more popular, with inner-tube water polo drawing the largest cheering crowds. 

 

Financial: Harvey Mudd offers need-based financial aid and non-need based merit scholarships. No athletic scholarships are available. HMC is a “need blind” school, which means the average percent of need met is 100%, with 100% being fully met.  Although the tuition and fees are $81,200, the average financial aid package is $43,700. 70% of students receive some type of financial aid. 

Drexel University – co-op education at its best

If you are more tech-minded and looking to get a leg up on your career, Drexel with its co-op curriculum may be the place for you. Set in one of the now more desirable parts of downtown Philadelphia, Drexel University’s 123-acre, 20-block radius campus is adjacent to UPenn. Students will have their choice of plenty of restaurants, clubs, and places to shop, all accessible with the city’s public transit system. For those who like to stay in shape, how about getting your playlist queued up and heading for the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum like Rocky? 

 

Here are a few quick facts about Drexel:

4-year Graduation rate: not reported, 6-year: 71%

Acceptance: 77%

Freshman retention: 88%

Freshmen out of state: 59% 

Most popular majors: mechanical engineering, computer science, business administration, health professions

Student Community Diversity: 7% Black, 6.7% Latino, 11% International

 

Housing: The majority of freshmen live in one of nine co-ed residence halls while most upperclassmen reside in nearby apartments or fraternities houses. About 22% of the overall undergraduate population lives on campus. There are two main dining centers which serve food that is described as “adequate.” Foodies will be happy to hear that they can often find various food trucks parked around campus to grab a quick lunch. 

 

Students can also feel safer knowing that the dorms, library and physical education center are restricted to students with IDs and Drexel’s campus enforces strict policies to limit the amount of alcohol brought onto campus. 

 

Academics: Drexel is known for its innovative co-op program which combines high-tech academics with paying job opportunities for undergrads. Students alternate between periods of full-time study and full-time employment for their 4-5 year program. This adds up to 6-18 months of job experience, before graduation. In order to achieve this, Drexel operates year-round on a quarter system instead of semesters. Freshman and senior years (of a 5-year program) are completely on campus and the other three remaining years alternate between study and work.

 

All first-year students are required to take courses in English composition, math and two 1-credit courses: one that introduces university resources, and one on civic engagement in the local community. The Drexel Engineering Curriculum integrates math, physics, chemistry and engineering to help ensure students are well-rounded and able to write as well as design. Each freshman is assigned a “personal librarian” to help them best make use of the library’s extensive resources. 

 

Drexel’s professors are praised for their accessibility, and unlike many other universities, teaching assistants only run labs and study sessions. Fifty-five percent of all classes have fewer than 20 students. 

 

Similar colleges to consider: Penn State, Syracuse, University of Pittsburgh, George Washington University

 

Social: Because so many live off campus and there is so much to do in the surrounding city of Philadelphia, campus tends to be a bit deserted on the weekends. Friday-night movies on campus are cheap and dorms often sponsor floor parties. Drexel has a moderate Greek life scene, with 14% of men and 13% of women pledging. 

 

While it can be difficult to get students involved in activities, what with the amount of schoolwork and co-op assignments, Drexel still boasts 18 Division I teams, which compete in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Dragons do not have a football team, but their men’s and women’s basketball, crew, and soccer teams are strong. Do not make the mistake of assuming Drexel’s students don’t have school spirit. They make a show of “sacrificing” blue plastic chickens in demonstrations against their rivals, the University of Delaware Blue Hens. 

 

Financial: Drexel offers need-based financial aid, as well as non need-based merit scholarships, and a small number of athletic scholarships.The average percent of need met is 84%, with 33% being fully met. Although the tuition and fees are $75,000, the average financial aid package is $41,000. 100% of students receive some type of financial and and/or scholarships.

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Princeton University – a liberal arts college with strong computer science and engineering programs

Set in the picturesque town that is its namesake, Princeton University is a haven of Gothic and colonial architecture, as well as a few more modern buildings. The most notable building is Nassau Hall, which served as the temporary home of the Continental Congress in 1783. While known for its exclusivity, the office of admissions has been on the lookout for more students who demonstrate intellectual curiosity, including STEM majors, creative types, and high ability/low income students. 

 

Here are a few quick facts about Princeton:

4-year Graduation rate: 90%, 6-year: 98%

Acceptance: 6%

Freshman retention: 83%

Freshmen out of state: 81% 

Most popular majors: computer science, economics, public administration

Student Community Diversity: 8% Black, 10% Latino, 12% International

 

Housing: Princeton’s dorms are grouped into six residential colleges, each with its own dining hall, faculty residents and social calendar. While some students do continue living in their residence hall through graduation, many juniors and seniors opt to occupy the nicer upperclassmen dorms. Only 4% of undergraduates choose to live off campus. 

 

Another feature of Princeton’s campus, and exclusive to upperclassmen, is eleven eating clubs, five of which admit members through a lottery.  These eating clubs are run by the students and unaffiliated with the school administration.

 

Academics: Princeton is one of the few top liberal arts universities with equally strong computer science and engineering programs. Their math and philosophy departments are among the best in the nation. All students must fulfill course requirements in epistemology and cognition, ethical thoughts and moral values, historical analysis, literature and the arts, quantitative reasoning, social analysis, and science and technology. Freshmen must also take a first year writing seminar with 70 options to choose from. During junior year, students work with a faculty member on 2 papers – 30 pages of work per semester on top of their regular work load. Students must also complete a senior thesis. 

 

Princeton is known as the smallest of the Big Three Ivies, which means that undergraduate students will find that 76% of classes have fewer than 20 students and around 70% of department heads teach introductory courses. Princeton is also unique in its approach to exams, including a two-week period before exams for students to catch up and an honor code that allows for unproctored exams. 

 

Similar colleges to consider: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania

 

Social: Virtually all social life takes place on campus through the aforementioned eating clubs and dorm parties. The college does not endorse any fraternities or sororities, but they do still exist in small numbers. Princeton boasts the oldest college radio station in the country, and those who are culturally inclined will be pleased to find plenty of art offerings both on and near campus. 

 

Varsity and intramural athletics are a big deal at Princeton. Eleven of the Tiger’s 38 Division I teams took home Ivy League conference titles in the 2017-2018 season, including men’s cross country and track and field, as well as women’s lacrosse, soccer and basketball. Every fall the freshman and sophomore classes square off in the Cane Spree, an intramural Olympics that has been a Princeton tradition since 1869. Other traditions include Communiversity Day, which is an international festival, and lawn parties are hosted in the spring. 

 

The surrounding town of Princeton, New Jersey has plenty of parks, woods and bike trails. When students do want to take a break from campus, they usually only venture as far as New York City or Philadelphia, both of which are an hour away (opposite directions) by train. 

 

Financial: Students are admitted to Princeton without regard for their financial need. Princeton offers need-based financial aid and has replaced loans with grants in their financial aid awards. The average percent of need met is 100%, with 100% being fully met. Although the tuition and fees are $77,000, the average financial aid package is $50,000. 85% of students receive financial aid. Princeton does not offer merit or athletic scholarships. 

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