Harvey Mudd College is a small liberal arts school located in Claremont, California, and it’s a part of the Claremont Colleges – a unique consortium of 5 undergrad colleges that share resources and a campus. Harvey Mudd is the STEM Claremont College, with the most popular degrees being computer science, engineering, and math. If you’re looking for a stellar liberal arts school to get a well-rounded STEM education, then Harvey Mudd’s your ticket.
Harvey Mudd is competitive to get into, with a general acceptance rate of around ~10%. For transfers, you’re looking at even steeper competition, with an acceptance rate of 8% – but let’s break that down. Last cycle, 80 students applied to transfer to Harvey Mudd, and only 7 were admitted. SEVEN! Before you get too discouraged, let’s talk about how you can best prepare a competitive transfer application to Harvey Mudd.
Harvey Mudd’s Requirements
Before you apply to Harvey Mudd, you need to be sure that you meet their credit-eligibility standards. According to their website, “students are eligible to apply as transfer students if they will have completed at least one year of full-time academic work (in good standing) at a two- or four-year college or university by the academic term for which they apply.” Pretty simple!
Other things to have prepped for your app:
Transfer Common Application
Essays (more on this later)
Official high school and college transcripts
Two recommendations from college instructors, one STEM, one humanities
Transfer college report (a Dean or advisor has to fill this out)
Transfer mid-term report for your in-progress grades
“Recommended” things:
A campus visit
Supplemental recommendations from a high school teacher
More on their requirements and process for transfer applicants here.
Pick the Right Classes
If you're eyeing an engineering spot at Harvey Mudd, you should take – shocker – engineering classes. Stick to the ones that mesh with your goals – no need to overload on unrelated stuff, except for those required by your current school. We know Harvey Mudd specifically mentions core classes on their transfer web page, so you’ll also need to take their core into consideration. It’s a liberal arts school, after all, so having a well-rounded slate of classes won’t hurt.
For those major classes, make sure your classes align with the engineering track you're on. If structural engineering is your thing, maybe pass on the intro to Biomedical Engineering class.
Get Really Good Grade
Harvey Mudd is hard to get into. Hard to get into means you need excellent grades to be a compelling candidate. The best way to prove that you can be good at college is to, well, be good at college right now.
Quick advice for you freshmen: steer clear of those high school classes that gave you a hard time. If you got in a C in Calc BC, maybe go for a stats course instead. We're aiming for top-notch grades here, and those classes probably don’t even fit into your major.
Also, GO TO OFFICE HOURS. Spending meaningful time with your professor can do wonders for your grades. Bonus points: those connections will come in handy when you're hunting down those recommendation letters.
Develop Your Niche
It takes more than just enrolling in the right engineering classes to secure a spot at Harvey Mudd; you need depth! Convince them that your passion for engineering goes beyond the course list. In the engineering realm, consider diving into projects like building a solar-powered car, joining robotics competitions, participating in engineering clubs, interning at a tech company, collaborating on research with a professor, or contributing to innovative projects on campus.
And don't forget to establish roots at your current school. It's not just for the application's sake; having a supportive community can be a safety net in case your transfer plans hit a bump.
Write Good Essays
Harvey Mudd has three essay questions:
Please discuss your educational path. How will continuing your education at a new institution help you achieve your future goals? (300 words or less)
This is a why Harvey Mudd essay. You’ll start with an origin story (why you want to study what you want to study), then declare your major. Research 1-2 upper-level classes and a professor that relate to the work you want to do, and write about them. Your goal with this essay is to prove that Harvey Mudd is the only place on earth where you can get the background education necessary to meet your goals, so make sure the research and reasoning are solid.
Questions 2 and 3 are the same ones they ask first-year students. A guide on how to write them here.
“Scientific research is a human endeavor. The choices of topics that we research are based on our biases, our beliefs, and what we bring: our cultures and our families. The kinds of problems that people put their talents to solving depends on their values.” – Dr. Clifton Poodry. How has your own background influenced the types of problems you want to solve, the people you want to work with, and the impact you hope your work can have? (500 words or less)
This is basically a community essay, but tied to your academic interests. We think the best way to tackle this question is to go small and tell a story.
Many students choose HMC because they don’t want to give up their interests in the Humanities, Social Sciences and the Arts – or HSA as we call it at HMC. Briefly describe what you’d like to learn about in your dream HSA class. (100 words or less)
This question is the perfect litmus test for a Harvey Mudd student. If you’re active in the STEM vs Humanities wars, then Harvey Mudd isn’t for you. You also need to use this question to prove you understand what Harvey Mudd is all about and how HSA is crucial to their curriculum.
We hope these tips help you a) prepare to transfer and b) make that transfer application happen. Good luck on your Harvey Mudd application and make sure to keep your grades up, get plugged into your community, and dive into your passions.
If you need help with your transfer applications, reach out to us today.