Classes & Chili Rellenos

Campus is hopping these days. The freshmen arrived Thursday, upperclassmen followed over the weekend, and today is the very first day of classes. Wow. That all happened fast. Orientation is always a bit comic -- in addition to the fun activities, like the Honor Code sign-in, the sponsor skits, and other traditions that will be imparted to you at a future date, how do the first-years spend their second day on campus? Taking placement tests. Oh yes. Good times. They're optional except for the math one, but many students avail themselves of the option -- even though no one, in the history of the college, has actually passed the Special Relativity placement test (because really, who takes that as a class in high school?), there are always a few freshmen brave/crazy enough to try.

Placement tests aside, the first-years seem excited and happy to be here, and their parents have been successfully dispatched home again. It was fun to see how many faces I recognized in the crowd, and Maria (as in Klawe, the college president) got a huge round of applause after demonstrating how many names of incoming students she had memorized over the summer. The admission staff is really, terrifyingly good at that -- and Maria is even better. I was impressed.

The end of summer also means the end of having a full-time intern at our beck and call. We took our tour guide extraordinaire, Nash, out to lunch at Casa del Salsa in Claremont. We've had some wonderful summer interns before, but Nash is the best ever. No exaggeration. I don't know how he stayed energetic touring in 110-degree heat (maybe coming from Texas helps?) but he was a blast to work with all summer long -- good-humored even when his assignment was folding 300 photocopied maps of Claremont or fetching boxes from the basement. Nash, we'll miss you! Come back and hang out, okay? You won't have to fold any maps, I promise.

Peter, Hannah, Falone, Nash, and Raissa availing themselves of the buffet. College students + buffet = perfect happiness.

You have been chosen

Me, Falone, Chris Z., and Hannah, surrounded by maybe half of the FAST applications. Raissa took the photo.

Last week we made our selections for the Fall FAST program. This is the program's third year, and it is amazing how much the applicant pool has grown -- we went from perhaps forty applications the first time to nearly 200. And the frustrating aspect is that there were far, far more qualified applicants than space permits us to have on campus, so we turned down many students for FAST whom we will almost certainly admit to the college. In fact, the admit rate to FAST is lower than our admit rate to the college. Eek! Even one of our President's Scholars was turned down for FAST last year.

After two days of arguing, we did finally manage to come up with a group of about 40 students to fly to campus. And they're great. FAST participants, we look forward to seeing you on campus on September 10! Rest up and remember the sage advice from the Hitchhiker's Guide: bring a towel.

IT'S HERE!!!

Drumroll please . . . the viewbook has arrived!!! I've been parading it around the admission office humming the triumphant theme from Star Wars since the advance copies appeared yesterday -- it's just that special a moment.

All those publications you see on tables at college fairs? All those fat, unsolicited envelopes that get stuffed through your mail slot, bursting with materials from universities with improbable names? Right. This is our contribution to the college chaos, and I couldn't be prouder. The rubbery feel of the cover. The clear polyester layers (lots of ogre jokes as the layers were in the planning stage). The photos of so many of my favorite students. The smart, self-deprecating humor.

This viewbook is the culmination of months of work. Janice Gilson, who designs most of our publications, has been slaving away at this full-time since January. Peter, Thyra and I have proofread, proofread, proofread, and agonized over word choice and structure with an intensity that would put Tolstoy to shame.

Fun facts about this viewbook:

• We have official permission from NASA to use the photograph on p. 16. Just saying "official permission from NASA" makes me feel cool.
• We wanted to show images of student life that didn't feel staged -- so we borrowed student photos that were submitted for the yearbook. Hence Chris Mankos in the dorms with a Super Soaker. And the prank in the president's office. Good times.
• The woman on the skateboard on the cover -- yup, that would be HMC's president, Maria Klawe. That photo is staged -- you'll never see Maria riding a skateboard on campus without her helmet, knee pads, and wrist guards. (You can also see her reserved skateboard parking spot on p. 48.)

If you're a rising senior and you're already on the mailing list, you'll be receiving a copy of this shortly. (If you're not on our mailing list, then correct that forthwith!) It will also be available in PDF format on our website in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, here are a few teaser images.

Gratuitous submarine photo? Check. Tomorrowland font? Check. Doubledecker bikes, artificial noses, slide rules, child-size Jeeps, and professors on Pi day? Check. We're thrilled, and we hope you like the finished product!

August Updates

What happens in an admission office in August? Well, quite a bit, actually. We're gearing up for the start of the recruiting season, but still coping with all the visitor traffic of summer. Last Friday, for example, we had 60 people coming for the 1:30 pm information session, 55 for the 2 pm tour, half a dozen interviews booked . . . it's pretty hopping here, and seems even more so since our lobby is the size of a postage stamp. Nash Witkin, our full-time summer tour guide, is working hard not only with tours, but also greeting visitors, giving directions, and helping with mailings. Thank you, Nash. You are awesome!

In addition to planning our travel for the fall (22 states, 6 staff members, less than 2 months -- yipes!), there are a few early trips that happen during August: Claremont College Receptions, East Coast college fairs, China, and India (Peter and Thyra are doing the bulk of this, but Raissa put in two weeks in New England earlier this summer). I just got back from a quick trip to New Hampshire -- I helped out with an essay panel for the Thai Scholars. We have two Thai Scholars already on our campus (you might have read about Anak on our website earlier this year, and Jeep has completely embraced the alternative-wheeled-vehicle culture on our campus: first unicycling, now freelining) and two more enrolling this fall, so this is a program that is important to Mudd. I already knew this group of Thai Scholars would be crazy smart -- these are students who have won full scholarships from the government or other major institutions like banks, etc., to study abroad through the PhD/graduate school level, with the understanding that they will return to Thailand and use their education to better the country -- but I was equally impressed by the level of critical analysis these students were able to bring to the college essay process. They (metaphorically) tore apart the sample essays, and were able to pinpoint all of the many things that could be improved. I've done many essay workshops, and this was the first where the participants didn't vote to admit all the mock applicants. It was entertaining to work with such tough critics for a change! I'm not sure I was able to contribute anything these students didn't already know intuitively, but it was great to meet the Thai Scholars as a group before they're parcelled off to boarding schools across the country for a postgrad year.

But after four flights, much driving, and three days with no vegetables, I'm exhausted. Time to rest up before travel season starts in earnest in September.