Carnegie Mellon University Top Questions

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Carnegie Mellon students are motivated and highly intelligent with interdisciplinary interests, ambitious goals and a commitment and passion for their work.

CMU prides itself on being diverse, which it is to an extent. Many students come from Asia or India. However, that's about it. Almost everyone here is asian, white or Indian with a normal sized black population and virtually nonexistent hispanic, islander or Native American population. Most people are from NJ, PA or CA. Ethnic groups are notoriously cliquey, which many will see as a negative but you get used to it. Most people here are at least middle class given the tuition. No one really pays attention to any dress code, you can pretty much wear whatever you want and no one cares. While most people here are very liberal, rarely do people discuss politics. For some this may be a plus but I love a good debate, so I was disappointed to say the least. I didn't even vote for Obama, but I'd liked to have seem some rallying just for the sake of an argument.

I covered most of this already. They are relatively boring, myopic, apolitical and capitalistic; brainwashed by corporations, yet blissfully unaware. There is a love of gadgets bordering on obsessive. The students are remarkably unfriendly and hard to engage or interact with outside of one's own field or department.

My classmates are open, helpful, and very fun to work with!

Starting answering!Racially, the majority of the student body is white or Asian. Students mostly dress casual, with jeans and t-shirts. Business students might be seen wearing suits, and some students rock pajamas all day. Occasionally you see interesting items like neon hoodies or Lord of the Rings cloaks. There is a socio-economic mix at this school: some students can pay the whole way without loans, others are here on full scholarships. Social class is not something particularly on anyone’s mind, and people of different backgrounds mix easily. Judaism and Christianity are the most noticeable religions at CMU, and there is a church and a temple only a few blocks from campus. At times a priest will set up a small stand on campus and talk with or take confessions from anyone who chooses to stop by. Jews have a strong presence in one fraternity and one sorority, and one or two dining halls make a point of stocking kosher meals to go. There is a GSA and the school is very welcoming to gay and lesbian students. However, I know some lesbians have had trouble meeting others, and the lesbian population is not as defined as at some other colleges. There are more guys than girls, though the percentages have been evening out. It is the only place I’ve been dancing where guys have to wait on partners, but if you want to meet women, just take a modern languages class. Drinking is available but not a strong part of the culture. There is no bar on campus, and while you can find alcohol if you look for it, it’s not a requirement for socializing. In general, different majors mix, though due to taking so many courses only with each other, Drama has become its own world. A great way to meet people is through clubs and by living on the same floor.

Students at Carnegie Mellon are hard-working, innovative, individual, creative, and ambitious. Obviously, the different collages have different personalities (the kids in the computer science program are different from those in the art program) but everyone on campus possesses those basic characteristics. Even those not in the College of Fine Arts (CFA) are still super creative and students in CFA are just as intelligent as those in engineering. The CMU student body is very diverse. There are students from all 50 states, as well as from 40 different countries. It's about 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} African American, Hispanic and Latin American; 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} Asian-American; and 14{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} international. Also, the male to female ratio is about 3:2.

Students at Carnegie Mellon are hard-working, innovative, individual, creative, and ambitious. Obviously, the different collages have different personalities (the kids in the computer science program are different from those in the art program) but everyone on campus possesses those basic characteristics. Even those not in the College of Fine Arts (CFA) are still super creative and students in CFA are just as intelligent as those in engineering. The CMU student body is very diverse. There are students from all 50 states, as well as from 40 different countries. It's about 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} African American, Hispanic and Latin American; 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} Asian-American; and 14{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} international. Also, the male to female ratio is about 3:2.

You can find any type of person at CMU - any race, any religion, any ethnicity, any political affiliation, any sexual orientation, any socio-economic status. With that being said, students with similar backgrounds and interests tend to cling together. For instance, Koreans mostly hang out with Koreans, and drama students mostly hang out with drama students, and football guys mostly hang out with football guys, etc. Your major may very well determine who your friends are because you'll be spending all your time with the same people in the same classes, labs, and studios. The majority of students here come from middle class/upper-middle class families (probably because tuition is so high). But regardless, whatever your interests are, you'll find other people with the same interests here. There is a club for almost everything, from anime-watching to ballroom dancing to death-metal-listening.