Carnegie Mellon University Top Questions

Describe the students at Carnegie Mellon University.

Jacob

Nerdy

Jacob

Nerdy

Sarah

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

Anonymous

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.

Max

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.

Charlton

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

Jule

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.

Anna

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.

Anna

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.

Rebecca

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.

Paul

I started answering this earlier when I discussed the Carnegie Mellon stereotype. Students here are pretty quirky. We get passionate about things. If you come here, chances are you will find people who are eager to talk with you about what you love to do or study and will help you get better at it. In my experience, your skin color, sexual orientation, gender, fashion sense, family wealth don't really matter here. What matters is how willing you are to learn and what you will do with that knowledge. You'll probably meet LGBT students. You'll meet students who are left and right wing. You'll meet religious students and atheists. You'll see some people coming to class in high fashion, and more coming to class in their pajamas. But all of this is secondary. We tend to define ourselves by our studies. Your major means more to another student than your race, or your political stance. That is not to say that students here are oblivious. Some are, certainly, but most keep tabs on current events, and many people do that strong opinions on things like politics and religion. It just isn't what defines us. Finally, we're pretty nerdy. We like our video games, our tabletop RPG's, and our zombie debates. We like reducing philosophical discussions to quotes from Portal, and we like discussing physics in the context of the zombie apocalypse. We like quantum mechanics, relativity and chemistry jokes. We like our webcomics and we love our internet connections. We have Nerf wars, and we play Capture the Flag With Stuff (which is capture the flag, only with stuff). If you don't have a strong passion for something, or if you think you want a more relaxed environment, or a campus with great parties, CMU might not be for you. But if you've always felt a bit out of place at your high school because of your sense of humor or your interests then we welcome you. Oh yeah, and you might want to start reading xkcd if you don't already. A lot of us do here.

Tahirah

The majority of the student body is probably White, though sometimes it seems most students are Asian. The White population is considerable, but Koreans and Indians have a pronounced presence on campus. There’s a wealth of international students and numerous multicultural student organizations. Diversity is certainly something loved and enjoyed on this campus.

Caroline

As cliche as it might sound, Carnegie Mellon's student population is incredibly diverse. Every day, I walk through campus and hear French, Spanish, Russian, Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin, among others. There is a large percentage of international students, and many first-generation Americans as well. There is no large, cafeteria-style dining hall, so you won't see cliques form this way. Just head to Hunt Library, where most students spend a great deal of time, and you'll see folks stratified--or not. Most students make their closest friends in their first-year living communities and within their major. There's a student organization for literally everyone--astronomy club, cmuTV, co-ed water polo, Atheists, Humanists & Agnostics (AHA), and Bhangra in the 'Burgh, to name just a few out of the 250+. Many students come from middle-upper class backgrounds, as CMU's endowment is smaller than many top-tier schools and cannot afford to offer as competitive financial aid packages.

Daniel

The spirit of collaboration at CMU is one of its biggest draws, and the university lives up to it. School spirit isn't obvious in normal ways (sports aren't a big issue), but runs deep, even if it's for a particular program and not the entire school. Regardless, students' resect for each other's work is tremendous, which fosters a community of interested people. Students always find themselves taking classes outside their major or school simply because a friend inspired them to.

Cassie

Minority groups are smaller on campus. There is a fairly large Asian and foreign population, but mostly Caucasian kids. Most students dress casually but nicely - no sweatpants here. You'll see mostly middle class and upper-middle class backgrounds, lots of kids from Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, and a mix of most of the other states. Most students are very liberal and informed. They definitely talk about how much they'll earn one day. Or, more likely, how much they'll accomplish - everyone is very driven.

L

- talented - gorgeous - hardworking - probably leaning politically left - either very gay, or very gay-friendly. this is drama school people. - somewhat financially diverse - somewhat racially diverse - very diverse in terms of geography

Julia

Diverse. Interesting. Pretty cool.

David

Student Body Some suggested topics: What are your experiences with racial, religious, LGBT, socio-economic, and/or other groups on campus? · What kind of student would feel out of place at Carnegie? · What do most students wear to class? · Do different types of students interact? · There are four tables of students in the dining hall. Describe them. · Where are most Carnegie students from? · What financial backgrounds are most prevalent? · Are students politically aware / active? Are they predominantly left, right or center? · Do students talk about how much they'll earn one day?

Leonard

Classmates are serious about their work but always supportive. It's hard working environment where you learn to depend on your classmates and they in turn learn to depend on you as well.

Jesse

People are intense and dedicated and smart at cmu. You have jerks, like every other school, but people mostly leave others alone.