Harvey Mudd College — admissions, outcomes, merit aid & scholarships

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Reach

Highly selective reach for nearly every applicant.

✅ Best for

Strong academic profile (SAT 1480–1560 · ACT 34–36 middle 50% + avg admit unweighted GPA 3.80 per CDS)
Students drawn to Computer & Information Sciences or Engineering (the two biggest majors)
Families wanting a small liberal-arts experience
Strong long-term ROI — median 10-yr earnings of $138,687 against an average net cost of ~$35,924/yr

🎯 The reality

Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 1480, or ACT below 34, or unweighted GPA below 3.60 (admitted-class quartiles per the school's own data)
With selective universities, build a balanced college list of Reaches, Targets, and Safeties ⓘ

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification

Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus

Total enrollment

921

Under 1,000

In-state tuition

$68,613

sticker, before aid

Tuition

$68,613

flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)

Admit rate

13.1%

Highly selective

SAT middle 50%

1480–1560

EBRW + Math composite

ACT middle 50%

34–36

composite

Test policy

Test-optional

2023

10-yr earnings

$138,687

median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry

$115,107

Earnings, 10 yrs after entry

$138,687

4-year completion

92%

Median debt (completers)

$25,000

Cost of attendance

$90,165

sticker price, not net

Pell-eligible students

15%

💰 True ROI

9.7× return

What families actually pay (after aid) vs. the sticker — and how 10-yr earnings stack against the real cost. Most sites quote sticker; we quote what families really pay.

What families actually pay (4 yrs)

$143,696

$35,924/yr avg net

Aid that hides behind the sticker

$216,964

vs sticker $360,660

10-yr earnings total

$1,386,870

$138,687/yr median, 10 yrs out

Years to recoup actual cost

1.0 yrs

at the median earnings rate

"True ROI" = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (actual 4-yr net price). The actual net is from Scorecard (average across all families); your family's net price will vary by income — see the breakdown above. Earnings are 10 years after enrollment (Scorecard PP-FOS, all majors combined).

💰 What families actually pay

Net price by family income

Net price = sticker price minus grant aid. This is what families actually pay out-of-pocket after scholarships and need-based aid — the most honest affordability signal there is. At Harvey Mudd College, the average net price is $35,924/yr across all families.

Family income $0-30k

$27,979/yr

Family income $30-48k

$23,883/yr

Family income $48-75k

$17,968/yr

Family income $75-110k

$25,468/yr

Family income $110k+

$50,665/yr

🔎 Earning over $110K? The federal brackets above lump every family from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Need-based aid usually phases out somewhere between $200K and $300K at private colleges — but the exact threshold varies a lot. For a precise estimate based on your family's actual income, assets, and your student's academic profile, use Harvey Mudd College's official Net Price Calculator:

Get your family's estimate from Harvey Mudd College →

Opens on Harvey Mudd College's site. Takes about 10–15 minutes; have your most recent tax return handy.

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41-NPT45). Net price = total cost of attendance minus federal, state, institutional, and other grants. Some brackets may be suppressed for student-privacy reasons (small cohorts). Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates only. The $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — Department of Education hasn't refreshed these brackets since the early 2010s.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Harvey Mudd College

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Harvey Mudd College actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Computer & Information Sciences

53 degrees · 26.9%

Typical career outcomes

Software Developer $132k Data Scientist $108k Information Security Analyst $120k Web Developer $85k

High-paying tech roles dominate. Median software roles cluster in the $90k-$130k range.

2. Engineering

53 degrees · 26.9%

Typical career outcomes

Mechanical Engineer $100k Electrical Engineer $107k Civil Engineer $93k Chemical Engineer $112k

Engineering majors land high-paying technical roles. Top-earning sub-disciplines: petroleum, chemical, computer engineering.

3. Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies

46 degrees · 23.4%

Typical career outcomes

Project Manager $99k Management Analyst $99k Research Analyst $79k

Often paired with another field (data + biology, design + tech). Outcomes match the second discipline.

4. Physical Sciences

27 degrees · 13.7%

Typical career outcomes

Chemist $85k Physicist $147k Geoscientist $93k Materials Scientist $100k

Chemistry, physics, geology — strong wages especially in industry roles.

5. Biological & Biomedical Sciences

18 degrees · 9.1%

Typical career outcomes

Biological Scientist $87k Medical & Clinical Lab Tech $61k Pharmaceutical Rep $82k Physician (post-MD) $239k

Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.

Source: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a), bachelor's-level first majors aggregated to 2-digit CIP family. Share is of these top 5 only — not all majors.

💼 Top programs by earnings

Highest-earning majors at Harvey Mudd College

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major (CIP code). From the federal College Scorecard program-level outcomes.

Major (CIP)	Credential	Cohort	1-yr earnings	4-yr earnings
Computer Science.	Bachelor's Degree	49	$132,265	$198,257
Engineering, General.	Bachelor's Degree	51	$92,491	$122,845

For full college-vs-major comparison + ROI leaderboards, see /college-outcomes →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at Harvey Mudd College

CS degrees (annual)

53

CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

Harvey Mudd College vs. another college

Type the college you want to compare against. We'll show admit rates, net price by your family income, top majors with career outcomes, and merit aid — all in one side-by-side view.

Alternatives to Harvey Mudd College

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

🏆 Better merit-aid options

These similar-selectivity schools have published auto-merit grids that Harvey Mudd College doesnt — your kids scores could unlock real scholarship dollars.

University of Southern California

CA · Private nonprofit

5 auto-merit scholarships on file

Vanderbilt University

TN · Private nonprofit

4 auto-merit scholarships on file

Duke University

NC · Private nonprofit

3 auto-merit scholarships on file

University of Miami

FL · Private nonprofit

3 auto-merit scholarships on file