Mudd Reflections With Elise

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The story of how I learned about Harvey Mudd actually stems from my older brother’s interest in engineering. My family went to look at colleges on a break from school and I remember showing up to Harvey Mudd and being so excited about how the students seemed to genuinely enjoy attending the college. My brother (class of ‘21) ended up attending Mudd, and I kept hearing exciting news from him. He explained how he was learning new things in class, that there were hearts in the dining hall with each student’s name for people to write kind messages on, and that he was building a hammer in his engineering class. So, by the time I was a senior in high school, I was sure I wanted Harvey Mudd to be on the list of colleges I applied to.

Elise stands in front of a concert venue in LA

At a concert in LA during freshman year!

Now that I’ve been a student at Mudd, I can confidently say that one of the things I love the most about Mudd is that people here really want to see each student succeed. This comes in the form of problem sets and assignments that are intended to be collaborative, open-door policies for professor office hours, and help — both planned and unplanned — from other students. When I was a freshman, I was talking in a dorm lounge about an upcoming physics test I was stressed about. A junior physics major overheard me and found time to help me work through practice problems and explain how much interesting research there is going on in physics. That moment really exemplifies for me how Harvey Mudd students are genuinely kind and want to help share their passions and expertise with each other.

3 roommates stand in their college dorm

Junior year move-in day with Elizabeth ‘23 and Anya ‘23

While I’m on campus, I love to spend my free time with friends hanging out or playing board games. Being a Harvey Mudd student also gives you access to community and clubs across all five undergraduate colleges. This includes a board game club where students from all campuses come together to play, a campus wide human vs zombies game, and subsidies for both on and off campus events like concerts. I’ve found that there’s no shortage of ways to spend your time at Mudd!