Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Melon is a great school environment to learn at. The classes are not too big, and the teacher assistants are always available. There is a tapestry of assistance in getting help birth from faculty and fellow students. Also there are plenty of activities on campus no matter how eccentric form tea making to fencing to gamers. The city of Pittsburgh is akin to a small town atmosphere. The buses are free for college students as well. Carnegie Mellon is a leader in education and in building inter personal skills, as well as lifetime memories

The school is really amazing for learning and gaining experience. The workload can be very intimidating and overwhelming, and I definitely suffer from a lot of burnout. I consider it to be worth it, but Carnegie Mellon can definitely take a huge toll on your energy and your spirit. If you decide to go here, be prepared to spend all your waking hours doing work and studying. Even though it can be intense, the experiences I've gained here are worth all of the effort and I've been lucky to learn so much.

I am attracted to Carnegie Mellon because of the Entertainment Technology Center. In addition, I am very excited by the vast culture at CMU and the opportunities that such a prestigious school provides. I look forward to participating in campus events and getting immersed in the culture of Pittsburgh.

Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts wasn’t what I expected and it turned out to be quite disappointing. I thought from the advertisements that it would be a great school for integrating art and technology, but the program is very old fashioned and doesn’t offer any real value to students with a computer science/engineering interest who want to be artists. One would think it would be a good program for this but the faculty are mostly critical theorists and art historians who talk about gender theory, technology is really not even remotely relevant to them. Whatever, but it wasn’t the right fit, so I transferred. Most of my credits were accepted elsewhere so at least I got out early enough.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Carnegie Mellon University's campus. My parents and I were lucky to have visited during the springtime when all the students were still on campus for a guided tour with some student ambassadors. We got to see all the students active on campus and they definitely looked like they enjoyed themselves. During the tour, the tour guides were welcoming and did a great job explaining all the aspects of the campus. One thing I thought was great was the fact that CMU has an entire separate School of Computer Science that has its own funding, rather than what most colleges have, which is where they stick it in engineering without any other consideration. Speaking of engineering, I also enjoyed walking through the College of Engineering and seeing all the cool gadgets and other technologies within. The campus was also nice and peaceful to walk around yet still lively in the hubs of student activity. The city of Pittsburgh was also nice, just a short walk away from campus, which was positioned nearby the University of Pittsburgh as well.

Carnegie Mellon University it a school that I did not expect to enjoy as much as I do. The size of campus and classes are perfect for me and I never feel overwhelmed or as though my professors are inaccessible. I will say, at the university there is an intense grind-culture and people here develop unhealthy attitudes towards work-life balance in more stem oriented pathways. I have found Carnegie Mellon to have great on-campus dining facilities (while this may not be a shared opinion with my other peers). Pittsburgh is the perfect city for a college student to live. While the Pittsburgh winter is never ending, the weather is more often than not really nice and the school does an excellent job managing snow and ice.

It's a very vigorous school, but with the right people it becomes not only a good educational opportunity but a fun place to attend. Housing is guaranteed and the Pitt is nearby if people want to participate in a more social scene. Also, the Spring Carnival is cool.

Carnegie Mellon University is a powerhouse of innovation and academic excellence. The university's commitment to fostering creativity, interdisciplinary learning, and cutting-edge research is truly commendable. With a world-class faculty and a vibrant campus community, Carnegie Mellon provides an environment where students can thrive and make a meaningful impact in their respective fields. Whether you're interested in technology, the arts, or business, Carnegie Mellon offers a diverse range of programs that cater to a wide array of interests. Overall, it's a dynamic institution that prepares its students for success in a rapidly changing world.

Great school with highly intelligent peers and faculty

CMU School of Fine Arts was the worst decision I made in my life. Attending there ruined my self esteem and permanently damaged my future. The faculty, specifically Paolo, Angela, and Suzie, are abusive and bully students to display their own power. It was a horrifying and hostile ordeal that caused me to develop long term disabilities of complex PTSD and anxiety. It permanently damaged my physical and mental health. The head, Charlie White, pays a lot to get the program into rankings. But once you’re there, you quickly find out you fell for a bait and switch. The advertisements and rankings don’t match the quality of the education or the facilities. All of the faculty are horrible, untalented and pretentious. I would do anything to go back in time and make a different decision with my life.

Overall, CMU is extremely rigorous academically regardless of major. Nevertheless, the professors are generally accommodating and approachable, and have many options for office hours. TAs and fellow classmates are also very helpful, and can sometimes explain things in a more digestible way for students. There are plenty of options for getting involved with research, joining clubs related to your major, etc. It is worth noting, however, that the intensity of academics can often be too overwhelming. Students are constantly talking about schoolwork, worrying about securing an internship/job, or something related to academics. Because of this, it is likely that you'll feel Imposter Syndrome at some point. On top of that, CMU lacks adequate mental health resources for students. For instance, CMU's mental health department, CaPS (Counseling and Psychological Services) has limited hours and doesn't offer 24/7 on-call service for after-hours needs like it claims. If you want to go to college purely for the sake of receiving a top-notch education, but don't have much preference for a good social life, campus food, or facilities, then this is the school for you. But if you are looking for a more well-rounded college experience, then this isn't the school for you.

As a whole, I loved my Carnegie Mellon experience. Everyone at CMU is so passionate about what they do, and constantly creating and learning and doing. It's a very inspiring environment, but also a rather intense and often stressful one. It's very usual for students to have 2-4 classes every day and then several hours of work and extracurriculars on top of that. Burnout is very real, and for many it is difficult to access adequate mental health support. Nevertheless, almost all of the professors I had were extremely understanding and accommodating, even into the pandemic. No matter what you're studying, you're sure to be working with a true expert in your field. Probably the best part of CMU is the people, though - being able to share your passion with others is what kept me going even in those long days and nights.

I was pretty set on not attending CMU but it ended up being the last school I visited right before the decision deadline and I knew I had to go. It has ended up being the best decision I have ever made. From the size to the people, CMU was everything I could have wanted in a school. One of my major concerns was the social scene because I had heard all the rumors about how CMU is all nerds and there are no parties. This could not be farther from the truth as I have never had trouble finding a party on the weekend and there are plenty of drinking opportunities throughout the week as well (Wine Wednesday lol). The social scene is definitely what you make it out to be. If you are not interested in partying then there will be ample people on your page and if partying is your thing then you will not have trouble finding them (except maybe during finals week but there still tends to be something). The only thing you have to do is make sure to put yourself out there because it would be hard getting invited to parties if you don't know anyone (obviously). Usually the people who complain about the lack of social scene are the ones that don't really put any effort into meeting people and developing their social circle. One huge positive of CMU is that most students are extremely passionate about what they're doing in/out of school. I have had run-ins that have lasted hours because we tend to get very excited about whatever we are talking about. I once ran into a friend while eating with my bf and my friend (an art student) and my bf (comp sci) talked for almost two hours about compression algorithms and the intersection between science and philosophy. People here are very open to talking and love to have mentally challenging (but also silly) discussions. Another example is when my friend group had a two hour discussion at night during midterms about the complexity of mirrors. We then proceeded to challenge each other with riddles and mind games until almost 3 am. If you enjoy kind of goofy mental stimulation then CMU is definitely the place for you because the balance between fun and brains is pretty good and the people here will challenge you to be the best version of yourself as well as support you through difficult times.

The school itself is not outstanding. Nothing in particular draws your eye, and the stereotypes - to an extent - are true. Yet there are also plenty of different people from completely different backgrounds so each person is sure to find a group of like-minded friends.

Carnegie Mellon is amazing. But it's certainly not for everyone. CMU's motto is "my heart is in the work" and no college takes their motto more seriously. Be prepared to spend most of your time doing very tough but fun and rewarding work. You will be challenged but you will also learn so much that it's totally worth it. The job placement for STEM is phenomenal (job fairs are huge here) and graduating from CMU is a serious badge of honor. There is a good variety of extracurricular activities to balance out the intense academics as well. CMU doesn't have a huge party scene; there are some parties but most people are here to study. If you're serious about your studies, like being challenged, and receptive to failure, CMU is for you. This is especially true if you wish to study computer science; CMU has an amazing CS department and graduates from SCS are some of the highest paid college grads in America.