Harvey Mudd College is a small, STEM-focused liberal arts college located in Claremont, California. The school is a part of the Claremont Colleges, which means it shares a campus and resources with Pomona, Scripps, Pitzer, and Claremont McKenna – and you can take classes and join clubs at any of them! Harvey Mudd is also tiny. Microscopic, even. With approximately 900 undergrads, it’s the size of a medium Texas high school. And if you’re here, you’re considering applying ED2 to Harvey Mudd, and we’re here to help.
Harvey Mudd is a competitive school, as we’re sure you know. They are notoriously secretive about their ED and RD acceptance rates, so it’s no surprise that they’re also secretive about their ED2 acceptance rates. What we do know is their overall acceptance rate is around 13%, and the combined ED/ED2 acceptance rate is around 17-20%. While that isn’t a huge bump, it’s still a slight strategic advantage. If you’re interested in being one of those 17-20% in the ED2 round, we’re going to break down how to tackle your Harvey Mudd ED2 application.
Why You Should Apply ED2
Before we get into the specifics of what your ED2 application to Harvey Mudd should look like, let’s take a step back and talk strategy – because we know some of you might be hesitant about going all-in again. Maybe you’re feeling unsure after a deferral. Maybe committing to another binding choice feels risky, and that hesitation is valid. But not applying ED2 can be a major missed opportunity.
Yield rate (the percentage of admitted students who actually enroll) is a big deal in admissions offices and schools track it carefully. Applying ED or ED2 signals that if admitted, you’re in, and that kind of commitment matters, especially at a place like Harvey Mudd, where the community is small, collaborative, and deeply intentional about who they bring in. They want students who are genuinely excited to be there, and ED2 is one of the strongest ways to show it.
If you're feeling a little powerless in the aftermath of a deferral or a rejection, and your current list leans toward highly selective schools, this is one of the few tactical moves still left on the table. ED2 isn’t a magic wand, but it is a meaningful signal of interest and fit. And at a school like Harvey Mudd, where demonstrated enthusiasm can matter just as much as stats, it can go a long way.
So yes, we strongly recommend applying ED2. It can be Harvey Mudd, or another strong ED2 choice, but either way we say you should do it.
If you’re dealing with a deferral or rejection from your Early Decision school, we can help. Whether you need a deferral letter, a college list for Regular Decision, polishing your Common App essay, an Early Decision 2 application, or even a complete rehaul for this next round, we have you covered. Reach out to us ASAP. Everything will be okay.
The Supplement
Harvey Mudd has a pretty in-depth supplement, with two questions that explore your academic interests. The questions a school asks often tell us a lot about them, and you’ll see that a strong value system and a love of learning outside of STEM are both very important to them. If you don’t align with that, then Harvey Mudd might not be the school for you. Now, let’s get into how to write these questions.
Harvey Mudd College seeks to educate engineers, scientists and mathematicians well versed in all of these areas and in the humanities, social sciences and the arts so that they may assume leadership in their fields with a clear understanding of the impact of their work on society. - HMC Mission Statement
“Scientific research is a human endeavor. The choices of topics that we research are based on our biases, our beliefs, and what we bring: our cultures and our families. The kinds of problems that people put their talents to solving depends on their values.'' - Dr. Clifton Poodry
HMC’s collaborative community is guided by our mission statement. Through an intentional interdisciplinary curriculum, our students seek to build a skillset adaptable to society’s needs. How has your own background influenced the types of problems you want to solve, the people you want to work with, and the impact you hope your work can have? (500 words)
This question is kind of like a broken-down Why essay, but instead of focusing on Harvey Mudd, they want your origin story and your goals. Harvey Mudd wants to see where your head’s at and that you’ve been dreaming of something bigger than just college admissions.
First, we want to say that this is not a place to talk about trauma or hardship – not just because those circumstances go into Additional Information, but because you don’t need to talk about those things to get into college. Instead, focus on the things that make you passionate about your academic interests.
Think about what sparked your passion for your chosen STEM discipline. Are you fascinated with engineering because of a childhood trip to see the St. Louis Arch? Passionate about math because it’s the global language? Studying Chemistry and Climate because you grew up in a beach town and want to help solve the climate change that threatens your hometown? Trace that initial spark and tell us about it. Set the scene of why you decided to pursue this, and walk us through the moment with you. This part of the essay, the story of it all, should be the longest part of this essay.
Once you define why you’re going to study this thing, you may want to write about how you’ve applied this interest, especially if it goes to the idea of impact. Maybe you’ve conducted research, started some kind of initiative, or worked with a STEM-y nonprofit aimed at helping a cause you care about. If this doesn’t really apply to you, move on to the bigger goal part.
For the finale of this essay, think about your 5, 10, even 20-year goals – what do you dream of doing? We’ve seen students talk about wanting to use their physics degree to discover exoplanets, use applied math to design golf courses, or study computer science to build more ethical AI systems. Your end goals should make sense with the story you told up top – if you talk about wanting to solve climate change in the future but your origin story is more about playing around in the lab after school, that doesn’t make much sense.
Many students choose Harvey Mudd because they don’t want to give up their interests in the Humanities, Social Sciences and the Arts – or HSA as we call it at HMC. Briefly (in 100 words or less) describe what you'd like to learn about in your dream HSA class. Your class can either be one chosen from existing classes at HMC, or you are welcome to create your own. (100 words)
This essay is very short, but it points to Harvey Mudd’s passion for liberal arts. We love the design your own class option (and we love when schools ask this in general!). Look at the liberal arts classes Harvey Mudd offers for inspiration, and then put your own pizazz on it. We love when students write this as a course listing in the college catalog, with a catchy college-class-name and class description. You don’t have to be an expert in the thing you’re writing about, and it doesn’t necessarily have to reflect anything you’ve done or pursued in high school, you just have to be excited about it enough to write about it.
Optional: You may include examples of work that you would like to share, including additional math and science endeavors, research abstracts, or creative projects. Please limit your submission to two pages. (upload file)
Optional isn’t usually actually optional, but this part is. If you have something to share here, we encourage you to do it. Word to the wise, though – it does need to actually be an absolute max of two pages. They will not like it if you do more than that. If you need to condense a few things into a legible and readable two-page PDF, that’s fine.
Submit and Wait
ED2 is due at Harvey Mudd on January 5th, and on February 15th. Once you submit everything you have, sit back and wait. You don’t need to write any emails, send updates, or show up on campus. Believe in your app!
Best of luck!
Deferred or rejected and need help with an ED2 app? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us ASAP.