Carnegie Mellon University Top Questions

Academics at CMU are rigorous, no doubt. You work hard, all the time, but it's largely rewarding. After graduation, most alums say that the real world never compares to the challenge and time you had to put into your work. The key thing about CMU is the Professors, who are open, helpful, and often spend plenty of time with students out of classroom settings. CMU flourishes with plenty of class participation, as well as small classes and exciting seminars.

My professors know my name, for better or worse. My favorite classes are the ones where I get to figure stuff out, rather than just try in find a model problem in the notes to copy line for line. The students are not competitive, because we are usually not graded on an overly strict curve. Everyone is helpful, because they know that next week they will need your help. CMU student's conversations generally revolve around classes...The academic requirements at CMU are very demanding, but I think it will pay off once I get a job. Once I graduate, I'll have to learn how to relax and feel non-stressed. It will be weird. There is such a strong emphasis on research here (and so many opportunities to do it) that there can't help but be an atmosphere of learning for the sake of learning. Oh, and my least favorite class was one where everything was graded by group work. Worst grading scheme EVER!! But, that doesn't happen too much.

School at CMU is tough; there is no way of getting around it, but I feel like the students here often thrive off of that intensity. People want to put their best into their work and so they do.

The academics here are, obviously, some of the best in the country. As a drama student I don't take a lot of "academic" classes, but the classes I do take don't make me feel like my major is inferior at all. I'm constantly working, constantly challenged, and constantly knowing that what I'm learning now will benefit me when I leave. All my professors know my name, and all my class sizes are small and controlled. There are a lot of interesting classes here and the main issue is scheduling them around your core classes. There is a huge list of classes I want to take before I leave here, and I know I'll enjoy every one of them.

I can talk more about CIT (CMU's school of engineering) than anything else on campus. First of all, CIT only has 8 general education requirements. I only have to take 4, because they are easy to get out of if you have taken AP tests in history, foreign languages, etc. My particular major lets me be flexible, however, and I can take more humanities courses if I so choose. Or I can choose to take more math or computer science. My favorite classes are ones with professors who make whatever they are lecturing about interesting and who really make you think (there are a lot of those on campus). I've been told many times that getting an engineering degree (especially in Electrical and Computer Engineering, my major) is about learning how to think and solve complex problems, which allows you to step into a variety of jobs after getting your degree, so the actual material you learn in your classes isn't extremely important. Most engineers go straight into the industry after CMU (some end up in consulting or on Wall Street). CIT pushes you to get internships over the summer and there are many career fairs on campus throughout the year.

CMU is a difficult school, although there are lots of resources to help get you through it. The student body is definitely an asset here since we're not competitive. People here are very smart, but also very well rounded. It can be strange at times. My major is Civil and Environmental Engineering, with a double in Engineering and Public Policy. What I really like about our CEE department (over schools like Berkeley) is that we are small which allows for a lot of collaboration amongst students and faculty. It's a very warm environment & we do lots of activities together (canoing, skiing, baseball games, BBQ). I have been very, very happy with our department. CMU requires engineering majors to take a certain number of humanities courses, some of which must be in the same subject. I think this is very valuable in creating a well-rounded individual. The education itself, at least for engineering, is practical, in the sense that most classes are project based. You get a real-life sense of engineering that I think prepares you for going on to a job later on. However, I know a lot of the other majors focus on theory, which is better aimed towards graduate school. I think that whatever you want to do afterwards, CMU prepares you for it. I, for instance, will be attending graduate school before I start working, & it's been easy to find internships, full-time jobs, and get into top notch schools (MIT, Cornell).

Well I'm a Civil and Environmental Engineering major so I take calc, physics, intro to civil engineering, and this semester I took the two required freshman courses that some people are taking next semester-computing and interpretation/argument (a writing course). Calc has an amazing teacher and includes a lecture 3 times a week that has about 100 kids in it and 2 recitations a week taught by a TA that has a bout 20. Same with physics. Calc the teacher is AMAZING. Intro to civil meets 3 times a week and is also about 20-30 kids and we do labs in there and lectures. Interpretation and argument is a required course and there are a million topics to choose from to be in including peace, race, Walt Whitman, sex, simpsons, and lucky me-comic books. I have the best one. In this class you talk about issues and write papers dealing with your topic. Computing is gay but its only for 6 weeks and its just a pass/fail so you only need a 75{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} and a P goes on your transcript for pass. Easy 3 credits. Next semester I will be in a different Intro to engineering (I chose which), physics 2, calc 2, and any course in H & SS (humanities and social sciences) At one point I was sure I was failing Physics. But after an exam we had Monday I went to talk to the professor and he and I sat there for an hour and a half going through all my exams. So thats another thing I got to say about CMU...the professors dont have as many students as at state schools and they are teaching kids they KNOW are smart (nothing against state schools) so they really really care about you! He would have sat there with me many more hours if I wanted to. He even started talking about his brother and his wife it was cute. :)

CMU is very strong in academics. Students are here because they want to learn and they want to be the best in the field. Students are always willing to help fellow classmates, CMU is not so competitive that students want to sabotage others in any way. CMU has a very rigorous computer science program. It's difficult but worth it, top recruiters come directly to the School of Computer Science because they know we receive a fantastic education.

Professors almost always know your name, and if they don't, go visit their office hours, ask a question or two, and make sure they know you. They really do want to help you out. Another good thing about academics is that, by and large, people study things that they are really passionate about. I'm a nerd for finance and the markets, and I find people that I can talk about that with. It's not my whole life, not at all, but it's good that I can talk about interesting things with my peers on campus. I've seen the same thing among other majors like engineering, history, or even math and computer science.

The professor on campus are really friendly. You can walk up to them at almost anytime and start a conversation. Students tend to be working on class work often. Some students can be competitive about grade but not really. I'm a double major in Chemical Engineering and biomedical engineering. i love both departments and have close relationships with all my teachers in the departments.