HARVEY MUDD

Location: Claremont, CA.

Enrollment: Approximately 800.

Acceptance Rate: 13%

SAT/ACT: Average ACT is 34, and average new SAT is 1510.

Tuition: $52,383 + approx. $19,000 for room/board.

Athletics: Division III

Colors: Black and Yellow

Although the campus wasn’t the most beautiful, I was absolutely taken in by the passion in their academic program. This is a school where you know the teachers really love what they’re teaching. The fact that Harvey Mudd is composed entirely of undergrads means that all their research opportunities go to those students, which is somewhat unusual but exciting. Although the cost of the school is high, it’s renowned for its incredibly high return on investment and high graduate starting salaries. The figure they estimate on their website for graduate’s mid-starting-salary is about $103,000, which is obviously pretty cool. Overall, it is a school that offers a top-notch education, and its payout in the long term makes the price something worth overlooking.