rrusczyk (19:32:05)
For those of you who have not attended one of our Math Jams before: This classroom is moderated.

This means that the messages you type will come to the moderators of the Math Jam rather than going directly into the room. The moderators will choose some of the messages to share with all of the participants.

rrusczyk (19:32:14)
Tonight, we are happy to host Peter Osgood, Director of Admissions at Harvey Mudd College, and Francis Su, Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd. They will discuss the Harvey Mudd College admissions process and Putnam/problem-solving activities at Harvey Mudd.

rrusczyk (19:32:19)
Harvey Mudd College is a highly selective liberal arts college of science, engineering, and mathematics, situated in Claremont, California. The college enrolls about 700 students of high ability; a third of them are National Merit Finalists and the median SAT math score is about 770 out of 800.

rrusczyk (19:32:27)
In recent years, more than half of the graduates in mathematics have entered Ph.D. programs, one of the highest percentages in the nation. HMC has a notably large problem-solving group that meets weekly in the Fall to prepare for the Putnam Competition.

rrusczyk (19:32:33)
The Department of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College recently received the 2006 Award for an Exemplary Program or Achievement in a Mathematics Department from the American Mathematical Society, the first award of its kind.

rrusczyk (19:32:37)
We will now turn the Math Jam over to Peter and Francis.

POsgood (19:33:01)
Hello and welcome to the Harvey Mudd College Math Jam! It?s a pleasure to be here discussing our school and its mathematics programs with you.

POsgood (19:33:30)
I am joined by Francis Su, Professor of Math here, and for 30 minutes, my colleague Elliott Temkin ?05 is joining us.

POsgood (19:33:51)
We?ll get started answering questions shortly, but first, here?s a real quick general introduction to HMC for those of you unfamiliar.

francis.su (19:34:08)
Hi everyone!

ElliottHMC (19:34:11)
Howdy!

POsgood (19:34:14)
You?ll get all sorts of individual attention as a Mudder, but there are five truly great attributes of the school about which you should know.

1) HMC is an undergraduate teaching and research college, not a graduate research university. We have no grad students, so, everything we do is aimed at giving you the best possible four years we can. You?ll be taught by amazingly dedicated professors, not TAs, and won?t have to wait in line for access to our world-class research programs (more to follow on that).

POsgood (19:34:40)
2) We encourage breadth. We train our students to be well-rounded mathematicians, scientists, engineers, and people. With that in mind, there?s a challenging core curriculum that will introduce you to all our major fields of study, give you a rock-solid foundation, and expand your horizons beyond your major. We also demand you use that other half of your brain, so around a third of your curriculum will be in the humanities and social sciences.

POsgood (19:35:09)
3) You?ll get your hands dirty. We actually require at least one year of research from every single one of our students. HMC spends over $2 million every year on undergraduate research, one of the highest amounts in the country (and did I mention that we only have 700 students?!). Through both our thesis and Clinic programs (where companies and organizations sponsor a year-long research project), you?ll get a chance to successfully apply your theory to very practical problems.

POsgood (19:35:42)
4) We're not alone! Harvey Mudd is one of the Claremont Colleges, the country's only planned undergraduate consortium of schools. We share academic and social resources with Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, Pomona, and Scripps Colleges. So you?ll have the opportunities of a much larger school, without having to sacrifice the small-school intimacy. This cooperation is especially true of our Mathematics program.

POsgood (19:36:14)
5) We trust our students. The HMC community lives and breathes by an honor code. You'll be able to take most of your exams in your comfortable dorms, rather than being stuck in classrooms. You?ll have 24-7 access to a lot of our facilities. In short, you?ll be treated like an adult. Lots of freedom but also lots of responsibility.

POsgood (19:36:28)
So, there you have an incredibly brief introduction to some of the wonders of Harvey Mudd College. Let's open the floor up for questions!

francis.su (19:37:16)
Hi everyone, when you write your question, please indicate your grade and your state, so we have some idea of who we are talking to!

francis.su (19:37:23)
An example:

francis.su (19:37:46)
Francis/11/TX: here is my question!

francis.su (19:38:09)
Let me say a little bit about the Math Department.

francis.su (19:39:40)
We have 13 full time faculty members, in many areas of mathematics, and we offer a wide variety of courses, including graduate-level courses.

francis.su (19:40:35)
We are able to do this because (a) our students are very advanced and the least advanced thing we teach is an accelerated calculus course, and (b) we have the power of the 5-colleges of Claremont, so there are actually about 45 mathematicians that you can take courses from!

francis.su (19:41:26)
And for those of you who like problem-solving, we have a ""Putnam and Pizza"" class that meets weekly on Tuesdays (tonight!) that has about 60 students involved! that's almost 10% of our student body!

POsgood (19:42:16)
Hi Andre,

Audacity (19:38:16)
Dan/12/CT: Why does HMC call itself a liberal arts college, not an engineering school or tech school?

ElliottHMC (19:43:09)
Our founding fathers envisioned us as the liberal arts college of math, science, and engineering. We feel it's better to have broadly-educated, technically-trained students, ready to face the interdisciplinary challenges of today and tomorrow. Moreover, we wouldn't fit well within the Claremont Consortium without embracing the liberal arts. For example, around a third of your course work will be in the humanities and social sciences, so you don't have to sacrifice your interests in philosophy or music to come to a place like Mudd and get a world class technical education.

erdna_yenuk (19:38:59)
Andre-11-NY I saw that there seem to be core humanities classes that everyone must take...is there any possibility of placing into higher classes by AP? For example, I already have 5's on world history, american history, and literature...I'm just worried about the prospects of the humanities courses being ""for scientists:"" low-level and with people who don't care.

POsgood (19:43:53)
Hi Andre, Ap credit can get you started at a higher level in some fields (foreign language, e.g.) but it does not get you exempt from trhe total number of courses required in Humanities & social sci.

francis.su (19:44:55)
Thanks for your question about double majors. At HMC, we have both ""double majors"" and ""joint majors"". I'd say about a dozen or so student in each class (of 185) do double majors which means they must fulfill requirements for both majors that they are doing. There are, however,

francis.su (19:45:14)
ooops, I sent my answer before the question.

jazzypianagirl (19:40:51)
Kate/12/KS: What percentage of students at HMC earn double majors?

francis.su (19:45:31)
here's a continuation of my response...

francis.su (19:46:38)
There are, however, joint majors in mathematical biology, math-computer science, and chemistry and biology, which try to craft coherent programs and the interface of both subjects. There are also the possibility of designing your own majors.

arkleseizure (19:43:43)
Louis/11/MD: what kind of theoretical computer science is available at HMC? how many students tend towards that area? (the HMC catalogue suggests theoretical CS as a math concentration)

francis.su (19:51:13)
Our joint major in math-CS is designed specifically for students interested in going into theoretical CS. We have about 10 students per year (out of 40 or so math majors per year of 185 in each class) who do this major. We have in the math department professor Nick Pippenger, who is a world-renowned expert in complexity theory... he even has a complexity class named after him! (No, it is not NP, ha ha, but it is called ""Nick's Class"". You can check out his Wikipedia entry.) In computer science we have Ran Libeskind-Hadas, who is a very mathematical computer scientist. So there some great resources here and we offer a variety of courses that prepare our students to go to the best graduate programs in theoretical CS.

jazzypianagirl (19:52:27)
Kate/12/KS: What's the most common major at HMC?

ElliottHMC (19:53:11)
Engineering is our most popular major.

francis.su (19:54:05)
We are joined by a few current HMC students now... called ""Mudders""... Holly Johnsen and Parousia Rockstroh. So, if you have some questions for our students, indicate so, and we'll pass them on...

hjohnsen (19:52:49)
Hi everyone, I'm Holly, a senior mathematical biology major at HMC :)

p-rock (19:48:07)
Parousia/Junior/Mudd: Hello Professor Su.

p-rock (19:54:44)
Hi, I'm Parousia. I'm a math major at Mudd

numberdance (19:54:16)
Jessie/7/OK: If a student has taken an AP test, does HMC grant credit, placement, or neither?

POsgood (19:57:00)
Only in Math do we grant credit for AP exams: must be ascore of 5 on either Stats or BC Calc. The general rule is that we offer placement exams during orientation to help student placement. our courses are really rigorous so we want to make sure that studnets placing out of the first course aren't setting themselves up for a hard run in the next course.

Shari (19:55:16)
I've heard that it's sometimes harder for Californians to get into the competitive local schools. Do you try to get representation across the country (i.e. is it harder to get in as a southern Californian)??

ElliottHMC (19:58:23)
Hi, Shari! We are a national institution, so we certainly have representation from the whole nation (and beyond). But, around half of our students come from California. It's nice to have people from all over the place, but we're mainly looking for talent, no matter where it comes from.

POsgood (19:58:56)
back to the AP issue, Holly is weighing in..

hjohnsen (19:57:54)
If you get a 5 on an AP test, that basically qualifies you to take a placement test. For example, I passed out of intro to biology, though I didn't receive credits for it.

erdna_yenuk (19:54:04)
How easy is it to take classes/clubs at other claremont colleges? I know they're supposed to be close, but does this work out in practice?

francis.su (19:59:26)
The other Colleges are physically just next door. so it is pretty easy to walk over and take classes. Moreover, we have a common academic calendar, and signing up for courses is just as easy as at your own school. Many students also participate in 5-college organizations--- such as orchestra, dance, athletics. So, in practice, some students stay primarily on campus, but many students take advantage of the collective Claremont resources.

jazzypianagirl (19:57:54)
Kate/12/KS: Does the same rule apply to IB tests?

POsgood (20:00:42)
We LOVE the IB curriculum in admission, but we only grant credit for the 2 AP courses in Math. Sorry. There are placement exams offered in MAth for those who take IB or who did not have an AP course.

ElliottHMC (20:00:49)
Well, I actually have to run myself; I'm off to tutor some math! Thanks for coming to our Math Jam. It's been a pleasure!

ElliottHMC (20:00:58)
Adios!

francis.su (20:01:16)
Let me add to the discussion about Placement: a 5 on the BC calculus exam places you out of single-variable calculus, but you can place out of other courses by exam, or by taking a college-level equivalent.

francis.su (20:03:46)
So, for instance, our core courses includes linear algebra, multivariable calculus, differential equations. These are divided into 2 half-courses (it's a unique system here) and if you get a B or better in a college course, you are eligible to place out of the first half of any of those courses. This is because not every college course covers as much as we do! However, you can place out of the 2nd half by taking an exam when you arrive. so we have lots of flexibility in placement.

numberdance (19:58:20)
Jessie/7/OK: How much involvement is there with the other colleges in Claremont?

hjohnsen (20:00:16)
I've taken Japanese at Pomona, and piano at Scripps. It's no trouble, though it helps to have a bike to make it in the ten-minute passing periods

p-rock (20:01:45)
To answer erdna_yenuk's question further, it is quite easy to participate in 5-C clubs. For example, I am on the ultimate frisbee team along at least two other math majors. It is literally just right next door.

hjohnsen (20:01:52)
Actually I have to go too... I'm attending our dining hall's special ""raw food"" dinner. Should be interesting!

hjohnsen (20:02:17)
I might be back later for a while though, so if anyone has questions about mathematical biology, just hold tight!

numberdance (20:01:28)
Jessie/7/OK: What sports are offered recreationally/intramural?

POsgood (20:07:43)
We have a strong competitive sports program (NCAA div III) that is shared with Scripps and CMC across the street. The temas offer 20 varsity sports and are usually the champions in the all-sports trophy in our conference. An ofddity is that there is a rivalry within Claremont as the CMC/Scripps/HMC team (CMS) is a rival of Pomona-Pitzer! Club sports are also available. So it is actually possible for someone to have a teammate in a club sport that you compete against in a varsity sport. And this is the only place I know of wherre the away football team dresses at home and jogs over a block for the away game!

effie222 (20:04:32)
Effie/12/MA: if you take a placement exam and place out of a class, does that count for course credit?

francis.su (20:08:24)
yes, if you take AP exams, you get course credit, and also for some departmental exams as well.

POsgood (20:10:25)
Adding to the sports question. e have extensive intramural sports for both the hardy athlete and the less competitive types. The most popular IM sport is inner-tube water-polo (played outdoors -all the pools are outdoors heer in Claremont). Also we do bowling, poker, soccer (very popular ) and all kinds of games. A sailing club also exists. the name of the outdooring club is delta-h fro you physics people that may get a chuckle.

DAy[9] (20:13:12)
Hello all, my name is Sean Plott, and i'm currently a Junior Mathematics major at Harvey Mudd College. Feel free to ask me any question about life as an HMC student! :]

numberdance (20:10:25)
Jessie/7/OK: I know that the engineering degree offered is a general engineering degree, not specific like civil engineering. Are all HMC degrees like this?

francis.su (20:14:59)
Within each major, you can specialize and go in great depth. For instance, in many departments, including mathematics, students choose a specialty or emphasis, and they take several courses in that area, culminating, for instance, in research. Some of my own students who are interested in my research, have taken my graduate level course in ""algebraic topology"" and then followed that with research, which ultimately led to published papers.

francis.su (20:17:53)
Let me say a little more about research in the math department--- we have created a special environment for cultivating undergraduate research. We regular host a couple dozen math students each summer to do research. College wide, there are about 150 students here doing research in the various departments. And then, many of our students go off to other programs to do research or summer internships. Many of these projects
are developed further in theses and published in research journals.
Since 2002, over 20 papers co-authored by students with HMC faculty
have been published or accepted (Appendix C). In addition, faculty
have published many more papers (see faculty webpages at
http://www.math.hmc.edu/), and we believe
student research flourishes at HMC because our faculty research is
strong.
In recent years 1/3 of our faculty have won NSF Research
Grants. We also run an annual Conference Series (Appendix D) which gives our
students exposure to a real research meeting.

francis.su (20:19:56)
Sorry about the poor formatting above... the 20 papers I referred to above (and the other facts/figures) are just among the math students alone... there's plenty more evidence of student research in the other departments! (Also, please ignore the comments about Appendix C and D.)

effie222 (20:06:14)
also, what do students tend to do on weekends?

effie222 (20:14:36)
What's your favorite part of life at HMC?

POsgood (20:20:06)
Sean do you want to discuss what happens on the weekends here? Parousia care to enter the fray? talk about favorite part of HMC life?

numberdance (20:19:51)
Jessie/7/OK: How often do staff (specifically math) speak at meetings (such as the Joint Math meetings each January)?

francis.su (20:23:06)
Hi jessie, our faculty are extremely active at meetings such as the Joint Meetings. For instance, I gave one of the main plenary lectures at the Winter Meetings in January and at the MathFest in August. Many of our faculty have won national awards... last January, Prof. Benjamin won the Beckenbach Book Prize for his book on combinatorics. Prof. Ward won the national Alder Award, given to faculty for outstanding teaching.

francis.su (20:23:57)
And, in 2006, our math department was recognized with the first-ever Award for Exemplary Program, given to one math department in the country, by the American Mathematical Society, which is the research society of mathematicians.

francis.su (20:25:44)
You can read about this award at: http://www.ams.org/ams/press/mudd-05.html and you can find a really great article that was written about our department at: http://www.math.hmc.edu/program/ams-notices-hmc.pdf .

DAy[9] (20:20:47)
Hello all, my name is Sean Plott, and i'm currently a Junior Mathematics major at Harvey Mudd College. Feel free to ask me any question about life as an HMC student! :]

DAy[9] (20:22:30)
There's always a huge amount of stuff to do on the weekends: ranging from common video game nights and generic social gatherings to trips out to LA (which has endless things to do). HMC also helps pay for trips to goto sites in LA, such as Disney Land, Comedy Clubs, and Dreamworks.

DAy[9] (20:22:58)
There's always huge amounts of stuff going on campus anyways: art shows, parties, even video game tournaments for all your favorites : }

DAy[9] (20:24:05)
Perhaps my favorite part about HMC life is the fact that I have a very personal connection with all the faculty. I frequently stop by my professors' offices just to say hi, and asking for help is always easy and comfortable.

p-rock (20:25:14)
Weekends vary. Some are relaxing while others are spent working. I'm assuming you want to know about the relaxing weekends. Generally Friday nights are spent hanging out with friends. Sometimes people go to the beach on Saturdays. There are also parties if that is your type of thing. It is pretty true that Mudders ""work hard and play hard!""

DAy[9] (20:27:40)
Most of the professors in the math department are extremely enthusiastic about their material and have a passion for teaching. Consequently, professors have an amazing capability to bring the material to life and stimulate interest among the students.

jazzypianagirl (20:25:21)
Kate/12/KS: What math competitions do HMC students take part in?

francis.su (20:28:52)
Hi Kate, you asked the right question of the right person! our students LOVE math competitions, and it's not just math majors! We participate in the William Lowell Putnam Competition (which you can think of as the ""grown-up"" version of the AMC that some of you take in high school). We have done very well in this competition, landing in the Top 11 on the Putnam in 4 of the last 5 years, which is extremely unusual for a school of our size.

francis.su (20:30:08)
Our students have regularly claimed 20 of the Top 500 spots on the Putnam Exam, which is remarkable if you think about it... we are only a school of 700 students, and we have 4% of the Top spots on this exam with 400 schools competing!

francis.su (20:30:51)
One of the reasons we do so well is because we have ENTHUSIASTIC and FUN problem-solving activities, such as Putnam and Pizza on Tuesday nights, where about 60 of us gather to work problems, eat pizza, and then present our solutions!

francis.su (20:33:25)
I should also mention that we participate in the MCM (Mathematical Competition in Modeling) which is a 4-day competition in which students are given an open-ended problem to model, solve, and write a paper. About 400 teams from across the country compete; about 7-10 of them win the highest distinction each year, and we have (incredibly) regulary win 2 or 3 of these each year! We have, among all universities, the highest number of top finishes in this Competition! Again, it's because we start with great students, and give them great experiences and teach them how to write and communicate mathematics well.

DAy[9] (20:33:19)
Tuesday nights feels more like a group of friends working on fun puzzles than any sort of tournament preparation anyways. HMC has a knack for making math enjoyable to everyone who shows up.

numberdance (20:29:23)
Jessie/7/OK: Do students hold internships or study abroad?

POsgood (20:34:50)
Largely from faculty initiaitive we are increasing dramatically the number (and %) of Mudd students studying abroad. About 25% of our juniors will study overseas this year, and that proportion looks to increase each year. Given how many sequential courses are often required in math and scince majors, that is a striking rate! As for internships, our students tend to find them through our Career Services office and usually do them over the summer. term time, we tend not to do a lot iof internships. Instead, students in CS, Engineering (also availbale in Math, Physics) do ""Clinics"" - one of our claims to fame. Basically internships on steroids.

francis.su (20:35:47)
Many of our math students also participate in the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program.

effie222 (20:30:41)
Effie/12/MA- how much do students take advantage of HMC's location?

POsgood (20:37:26)
I think a lot. the winters are rather tolerable here as you can imagine. [img id=em-3] I will let the Muidders weigh in on the rest. keep in mind that some students procrastinate in colelge (shock) so there are also some late nioghts in college. yeah, really.

francis.su (20:39:04)
Let me mention a bit about our track record with students, and where they go after they graduate.

francis.su (20:41:24)
I'll speak about math. A huge percentage of our math majors decide to go to graduate school--- over 60% of our students in graduating classes from 2001-2004 (72 of 117 students).
They are admitted to many of the best programs in the nation and win prestigious fellowships; a stunning fact is that 1/3 of our students (35/89) who went to grad school in 1999-2004 won NSF Fellowships or Honorable Mentions. The NSF fellowship pays for 3 years of grad school and is something like $30K a year.

francis.su (20:42:40)
Graduate schools like our students because they are not only broadly trained, but deeply trained. We get to know our students extremely well, and therefore can write letters of recommendation that are not generic. I've had grad school admissions committees say to me ""send me more of your students"" because they have had excellent experiences with HMC students.

POsgood (20:42:44)
Back on the topic of what Mudders do on weekends or what the location offers, or what Mudders do for fun generally, some current Mudders offer these words:

DAy[9] (20:39:03)
The location of Harvey Mudd is definitely a huge advantage for a number of reasons: 1) Weather (you'll never need a coat ever again) 2) Its close to LA. There's always ridiculous amounts of things to do in LA: Disney Land, Night clubs, enormous arcades (for the large concentration of computer nerds on campus), and even Cirque du Soleil. 3) Its close enough to LA that you can easily access any of the above, but its far enough away from LA that you don't have to deal too much with LA traffic/pollution etc. Claremont is a very cozy town. :]

p-rock (20:39:39)
Many students like to hike up Mt. Baldy. This is done at least a few times every semester. HMC's hiking club delta-h usually sponsors hikes. Often times students like to frequent the beach (which is 30 to 40 minutes away). HMC also has its own sail boat!!!!!

lasagnaman (20:40:27)
although, if you're pretty good about not procrastinating, it IS possible to make it through without pulling all nighters.

p-rock (20:42:24)
To be honest, Mudd students tend to get off campus less than the students on other campuses, but that's just because Mudders tend to have more work.

POsgood (20:43:37)
I will second what P-rock says. hmc is a lot of hard work, but Mudders know that and expect it.

POsgood (20:44:10)
Where do Mudders go after graduation?
HMC is extraordinarily successful in preparing students for graduate schools and for meaningful employment. In a typical graduating class, 45% will go directly to graduate or professional schools, many of them the schools with the best reputations (MIT, Caltech, Ivy schools, Stanford, UCs, the top state universities in the land). This is among the highest percentages in the country, if not the highest. The remainder typically finds employment, usually with well-known corporations, before graduation or immediately after. The average starting salaries for Mudd graduates is almost offensively high.

francis.su (20:45:46)
yeah, like a couple of my students who went off to work for Google! [img id=em-3]

p-rock (20:44:21)
True that. I have to head off now guys. It's been real. Mathematics is calling my soul!

effie222 (20:45:22)
effie/12/MA- kind of random, but i know that the gender ratio at hmc is rather unbalanced. does that effect academic and social activities?

POsgood (20:50:46)
From my perspective, Mudd is filled with really generous people. So despite all the work, people here really pull together. Is it noticeable that only about a third of the student body are women? yes. but I don't see a lot of obstacles for women here. Moreover, about 35% of the faculty (across all disciplines) are women, so there are good faculty mentors for women. To put it more crassly, i think if you love math and science that our students will find you pretty cool, no matter what your religion, gender, if you are polka dot or have a goofy sense of humor like me.

francis.su (20:52:02)
Our new president is also a woman: Maria Klawe, who is a well-known theoretical computer scientist, former dean at Princeton. She is really committed to this cause.

POsgood (20:52:19)
This from Sean at HMC:

DAy[9] (20:48:31)
Most of the students in the math program are extremely interested in mathematics itself. Consequently, many of the students already have plans to attend grad school. Again, HMC's goes a very long way when applying to graduate schools across the nation.

francis.su (20:53:17)
While HMC may not be that well known in the general population, it is very well-known among graduate schools in engineering, science, and mathematics!

kevinj (20:55:32)
What science programs are popular at HMC?

POsgood (20:56:09)
Are you asking about majors or activities or what?

jazzypianagirl (20:55:57)
Kate/12/KS: (for the students) why did you choose HMC?

effie222 (20:55:59)
another kind of odd question.....could a current student give a general description of a typical day at hmc?

francis.su (20:57:16)
One of our students, Tia, just arrived, and address the gender balance question:

tia2101 (20:56:07)
Besides, socially, the presence of the other claremont colleges even out the gender unbalance.

DAy[9] (20:58:57)
I chose HMC because it was a small college that seemed to have an emphasis on teacher/student interaction. At my high school, I had small classes (10-25 students in each class, some even smaller) and it was great to get a personal connection with the teachers. HMC stressed this type of interaction, as well as the strength of their Math program, making HMC a very appealing choice to me. Plus, the location is excellent and the size of the college is quite small.

POsgood (20:59:25)
What science majors are popular? we offer 6 major depts. in Math, Physics, Chem, CS, Bio, and Engineering. Engineering is the most popular -- about 35% of each graduating class. We also offer 3 interdisciplinary majors in Math/CS in Biology/Chemistry and in Mathematical Biology. You can ask Prof Su about that one...

francis.su (21:00:00)
We have just a few minutes left, so we'll begin to wrap things up.

tia2101 (21:01:08)
At typical day: wake up, breakfast, classes, lunch, classes, rest for a while (take a nap, play video games, do something fun, read), dinner, do homework or study. On some days, you go to clubs/committee meetings, usually during lunch or dinner times. There are usually some tutoring for classes in the evening that you can go to.

DAy[9] (21:02:10)
A typical day at HMC: My classes are from 9-4 on Tuesday/Thursday and 1-4 on Monay/Wednesday. For most days, i wake up around 9 - ish and either goto class or do some homework. After dinner, i'm generally working for a few hours. I try to spread my work out evenly so that i'll always have from 8-12 to do my own things for fun. There is a pretty solid block of classwork during the day, but there's enough variety that its pretty fun. Though there may be alot of work on some days, its never boring :]. In the evenings, i'll play video games, watch a movie/TV show, or go rock climbing at a nearby gym.

tia2101 (21:03:27)
People are also involved in sports, the orchestra, student acappella groups, etc.

kevinj (21:02:49)
What type of career a Mathematical Biology graduates usually go to?

francis.su (21:04:58)
Our mathematical biology graduates go on to graduate programs in math biology, generally, and there are a number of these new grad programs across the nation. Biology is becoming a source of many great problems in all the sciences. HMC was one of the first undergraduate colleges to anticipate this trend and offer an undergraduate major in it!

francis.su (21:05:41)
So... it's probably time to start wrapping up... so we'll just make a few comments to close.

francis.su (21:06:03)
First, thanks to everyone who participated! It's been fun...

POsgood (21:09:18)
let me just thank you for joining us tonite. If I can sum up HMC, we have really talented and hard working students, amazing facilities that are open to students 24/7, and a faculty that are as devoted to their students and to their disciplines as you can find anywhere. Despite all our stats and all the great ""toys"" we have to offer, our greatest resource are some special people who are fully committed to this unusual college. You might want to come visit HMC to see for yourself.

francis.su (21:09:37)
One of the great things about HMC, from my perspective, is that it is in many ways, the ""best of both worlds"". It is a small, focused, high-quality college with great students, highly accessible faculty who are great teachers. On the other hand, we have the power of the Claremont consortium--- 5 college's and 2 graduate institutions that you can take lots of courses at, and thrive in with all the extracurriculars! We really do have a unique thing going here. And, we have one of the top mathematics programs in the country... as evidenced by our recent award from the American Mathematical Society (http://www.math.hmc.edu/program/ams-notices-hmc.pdf) and comparable programs in the other departments, but more than that we have a great faculty who really care about YOU and will get you know you REALLY well by the time you graduate.

DAy[9] (21:09:54)
(faculty really is open 24/7, I've e-mailed my applied analysis professor at 2AM and received a reply within 10 minutes via AOL instant messenger)

nsato (21:10:26)
I'd like to thank Peter Osgood, Director of Admissions at Harvey Mudd College, and Francis Su, Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd for taking the time to answer questions, as well as the other HMC students.

francis.su (21:10:32)
There's lots more information at our website: http://www.math.hmc.edu and we encourage you to visit it!