[Y HMC?] with Kausik Das

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For this [Y HMC?] post, we are talking to sophomore Kausik Das. He first heard about Mudd his senior year from his college counselor and several friends who had heard he wanted to study math.

Kausik underneath a sign reading "Welcome to the Hoover Dam"

Kausik at the Hoover Dam. Photo credit: Kausik

Intrigued, he ended up reading Professor Benjamin’s book The Magic of Math and deciding to apply. Kausik really liked the idea of the Core, which ensures all Mudd students take a class in all the departments. In high school, as an IB student, he had to drop some sciences because they didn’t fit in his schedule, so the idea of a curriculum specifically ensuring breadth of knowledge was very appealing to him. Though initially waitlisted, he was admitted in July and decided to attend. He says it wasn’t until the end of his freshman year, however, that he really realized what a good fit Mudd was for him.

As a math-physics major, Kausik is involved in volunteering as well as clubs. He is a member of the Journey to Space team, which is a group of Mudders working to be the first student team to send a two stage rocket to space. It is a multi-year project broken down into several smaller crews that each are working on specific problems, and has partnered with Mudd Advanced Rocketry Team to compete at the 2022 Spaceport America Cup. Kausik also volunteers with the 5C Science Bus club, which is a group of students from across the undergraduate Claremont Colleges that teach science lessons to elementary students (complete with fun experiments) weekly. During the pandemic, they have been adapting their curriculum to work in a virtual setting so they can continue teaching online.

As a freshman, Kausik lived in a suite with seniors at Sontag. His favorite Mudd memory is Professor Ran coming to have dinner with them and share stories from his experiences at Mudd. To students currently going through the college admissions process, Kausik recommends first ensuring that you like all of the colleges on your list. Then, stay calm and distract yourself by making sure to “dedicate some time to other things.”