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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I went to Harvey Mudd. They're all one big campus. I took classes at McKenna and Pomona. Scripps and McKenna are probably less "prestigious" than Pomona, if that bothers you.

Frankly can't understand why OPs daughter would prefer Pomona to Princeton. If she got into both, Princeton would be a no-brainer choice.[/quote]

How did you like the classes? Were the classes well taught?

Did you have a reasonable amount of fun?[/quote]

Not the PP, but I graduated from Pomona recently and took a lot of courses at Harvey Mudd as well. The educational system at both is phenomenal with interesting and engaging professors across the colleges who are dedicated to supporting the undergrads. I consider just about everyone I took a course with to be a close friend, and I found a great deal of mentorship and advising that has helped me in my STEM based career. The learning community is highly collaborative filled with smart people who're motivated, share insightful contributions, and cross across disciplines to share their enthusiasm and love of learning. Teaching is absolutely phenomenal and I wish I were a student for longer to take many courses- there are star professors across all the colleges and just not enough room to take everything. One of the best features for me is the pop-up/independent classroom structure. Pop-up classes are basically these courses that are highly aligned with contemporary events and have professors spending two hours or so a week covering and discussing topics- it's not an official class you take with assignments, just a way to broaden your horizons. Independent study allows you to create any class of your choosing with a professor, so you could do directed readings, independent research, or whatnot and get credit for it. The faculty accessibility and their dedication to undergrads naturally forges these conversations in which you build further classes with them to hone in on topics of interest.

One difference between Mudd and Pomona that I've seen is that the courses at Harvey Mudd always find some sort of connection to science and technology, even the ones that are social science/humanities oriented. Their student body is reminiscent of Caltech/MIT, so the professors feel compelled to tie STEM to the curriculum somehow. Pomona is a more traditional LAC with the departments standing independently for the most part; there is some cross-linking but it's usually student directed. I didn't feel Mudd courses were harder or easier, but Mudd is inherently more rigorous because their students are taking 6-8 courses a semester while the students at the other schools usually take 4, sometimes 5.

The social scene is really great. It's definitely 5C in nature. Most clubs are open to students across the colleges, so if you do a cappella, join theater, perform in an orchestra, play certain 5C club sports, or whatnot, you'll naturally meet people from the colleges. I wouldn't say it's your typical party school, but there is a bit of a drinking culture and major parties most weeks. The campuses have enough to keep you entertained, but sometimes you want a change and that's when you hop onto the train to Downtown LA, which is close to Pomona's campus. Claremont is nice, but boring compared to the 5Cs. There are a lot of great restaurants and cafes if you want a change of pace, but it's more the place you take your parents to get a nice meal when they're visiting.

I loved my time at Pomona! Feel free to ask me anything. I'm currently on break from graduate school (about to head out soon), so I have some time.
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