Exceptional Students

HMC students have character. They are extremely smart, love tackling challenges and are out to make an impact on their communities.

In the Class of 2013

• 95% of those ranked were in the top 10 percent of their class
• 35% were valedictorian or salutatorian
• 3% were National Merit Scholars, second among the nation’s liberal arts institutions
• Students had some of the highest median SAT scores of any liberal arts college:
  
  
  • Middle 50% test scores for Class of 2013
    
    
    • Critical Reading 680–770
    • Math 740–790
    • Math 2 Subject Test 760–800
    • ACT Composite 33–35
• 23% of applicants admitted to the Class of 2014, making HMC one of the most selective colleges in the nation.

Excellent Faculty

HMC faculty are passionate and innovative educators. They are also experts in their fields, publishing cutting-edge research and winning national awards.

HMC faculty

• Received more National Science Foundation (NSF) funding than any other top-20 liberal arts college over the past 10 years.
• Won more NSF Career Awards (3)–earned by extraordinary faculty in the early stages of their careers–than any other undergraduate-only institution.
• Are among the most frequent Howard HughesMe dical Institute awardees, a remarkable achievement for such a newly established department.
• Create new patents and inventions and are highly sought-after consultants for industry and government (Boeing, Microsoft, Intel, Nvidia, Homeland Security, Jet Propulsion Labs, NASA, Space Exploration Technologies).
• Author some of the most widely used textbooks in their fields.
• Teach for the love of teaching, enjoying a 9:1 student to faculty ratio, one of the lowest among U.S. colleges and universities.

A small sample of big talent

• Professor of Physics James Eckert, a specialist in magnetism, received the American Physical Society’s 2009 Prize to a Faculty Member for Research in an Undergraduate Institution.
• Professor of Chemistry Kerry Karukstis served as president of the Council on Undergraduate Research, co-authored three books, and is co-principal investigator on two NSF-supported projects establishing undergraduate research programs nationwide.
• Professor of Math Art Benjamin, author of four books and widely known as a “mathemagician,” was named “America’s Best Math Whiz” in 2005 by Reader’s Digest. He received the Mathematical Association of America’s Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award, which honors professors whose teaching has influence beyond their own institutions.