Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 49.53
Liaison Tanja Srebotnjak
Submission Date March 1, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Harvey Mudd College
PA-7: Affordability and Access

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.61 / 4.00 Thyra Briggs
Vice President of Admission and Financial Aid
Offices of Admission and Financial Aid
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1 

Support for Low-Income Students

Does the institution have policies and programs to make it accessible and affordable to low-income students?:
Yes

None
A brief description of any policies and programs to minimize the cost of attendance for low-income students:
The school has an explicitly stated policy of providing 100% of every student's demonstrated need. The college provides a lot in the way of financial support to students in need of aid, especially low-income students. Nearly 74% of HMC students receive financial aid, and 48% of HMC students receive need-based aid. 21% of incoming first-year students qualify for merit based awards, and 69% of incoming first-year students receive scholarship assistance directly from the college. The college provides a number of resources online, detailing how to apply for financial aid and how to determine one's eligibility for support. In addition, the College recognizes drastic changes in Family Circumstances - and in those cases, students may apply for revisions to their financial aid package.

None
A brief description of any programs to equip the institution’s faculty and staff to better serve students from low-income backgrounds:
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A brief description of the institution’s programs to guide and prepare students and families from low-income backgrounds for higher education:
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None
A brief description of the institution's scholarships for low-income students:
Harvey Mudd College students benefit from a variety of awards for students who demonstrate financial need. These awards are only available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Harvey Mudd College Scholarship: This need-based scholarship is awarded to full-time students who demonstrate financial need and who have not already received a bachelor’s degree. The scholarship is funded by gifts from corporations, alumni and friends of Harvey Mudd College. Harvey Mudd cannot guarantee Harvey Mudd College Scholarship funds to students who do not meet Harvey Mudd’s published deadlines for financial aid applications and/or supporting documents. Some Harvey Mudd College Scholarship funds are named after alumni, friends or groups and are awarded both on the basis of need and on the basis of specific qualifications as established by the scholarship’s donor(s). All financial aid applicants are required to submit a scholarship biographic questionnaire each year, which may be used to link student recipients to donors who give scholarship funds to Harvey Mudd. In addition, as a Harvey Mudd College Scholarship recipient, you may be asked to write a personal note of thanks to the donor(s) who made your scholarship possible and/or attend a function with the scholarship donor(s).

A brief description of the institution’s targeted outreach to recruit students from low-income backgrounds:
Funded in the late 1960’s as one of the Johnson administration’s Great Society programs, the Upward Bound program at Harvey Mudd College has been helping low income, potential first-generation college students in the East San Gabriel Valley community “generate the skill and motivation necessary for success in college” for more than 30 years. Upward Bound staff members recruit second semester ninth-graders from five local high schools to participate in a free six-week summer program—called Academic Frontiers—that incorporates an intensive academic curriculum of math, chemistry and literature with academic enrichment activities, including computer science, dance, foreign language, SAT test preparation, study hall requirements (three hours per night), group recreation and cultural enrichment activities. One week is dedicated to orientation, while the remaining five are spent in residence at Harvey Mudd. After the 10th grade, participants must attend a second six-week summer program with either the Capitol Internship program at UC Davis or the La Jolla Science Project at UC San Diego.

A brief description of the institution’s other policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:
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Support for Non-Traditional Students 

Does the institution have policies and programs to support non-traditional students?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s scholarships provided specifically for part-time students:
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A brief description of the institution’s on-site child care facility, partnership with a local facility, and/or subsidies or financial support to help meet the child care needs of students:
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A brief description of the institution’s other policies and programs to support non-traditional students:
Refunds for Changes in Course Load to Less than Full Time: A student who drops below 10 credits in a regular semester may be eligible for a partial tuition refund. Students dropping below full-time status (12 credits) but remaining registered for 10 credits or more are ineligible for a refund. A student who wishes to change course load to less than full-time must submit a Course Add/Drop Form. Opens in new tab and a Scholarly Standing Committee Petition. Opens in new tab to the Office of the Registrar. Students whose petitions are approved within the first 30 days of the semester are refunded according to the number of credits enrolled. No refunds are made after the 30th day of class.

Part 2 

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (tracking accessibility and affordability)? (If data is not available, select 'No'):
Yes

The percentage of entering students that are low-income (0-100):
13.78

The graduation/success rate for low-income students (0-100):
93.55

On average, the percentage of need that was met for students who were awarded any need-based aid (e.g. as reported to the U.S. Common Data Set initiative, item H2) (0-100):
100

The percentage of students graduating with no interest-bearing student loan debt or for whom no out-of-pocket tuition is required (i.e. the percentage of graduates who have not taken out interest-bearing loans) (0-100):
53.26

Optional Fields 

Estimated percentage of students that participate in or directly benefit from the institution’s policies and programs to support low-income and non-traditional students (0-100):
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.