Carnegie Mellon University Top Questions

Robotics engineering clubs, Formula SAE racing, service organizations and a plethora of business clubs that cover every field of business.

Popular organizations include athletic teams/clubs, fraternities/sororities and a huge assortment of clubs. Personally most of the clubs didn't do it for me, but many people get very involved. RAs freshman year will tell you to leave your doors open, but most people don't. Sporting events are pretty sparsely attended. Dating...oh boy. There's a saying here that you develop "CMU Goggles" due to the unattractive population, and I have to admit that attractive girls are pretty few and far between. I hear it's the same for guys. Whether you want a relationship or hookup is up to you, and many people who were unlucky dating-wise before (such as myself) will have better odds here. Traditions include the Fence, which groups will take over at night and paint as well as Carnival, which has Buggy races, building booths and about as much partying as the rest of the year combined. As I said previously, socially CMU is lacking. Plenty of people here have no interest in a social life. There's really no parties during the week even at Pitt, but that's just sensible as you should be doing schoolwork then. Fridays are pretty light with some house parties every now and then, and usually 2 frat parties on a Saturday. Although it seems like the school is trying to get rid of Greek life (about 10 frats have been kicked off in the last decade), most of the groups are solid and the vast majority of partying goes on there. There's plenty of stuff to do non-drinking (go to a restaurant, museum, anything in Pittsburgh) but most of the social students drink moderately.

Seemingly fraternities and sororities are seen most often on campus selling things or whatnot. I am not really sure what other groups there are. I see students playing cricket sometimes or ultimate frisbee. There are a lot of student athletes as well. Also, students are fairly active in student government, i.e. it's a big deal here.

Starting answering!If you like designing and building the vehicles, driving them, or racing them up hills, you may become one of the many people captivated by Buggy. Drivers and mechanics get up as early as 4am on weekends to work on this unique sport, and its one of the most popular activities on campus. The fraternities create their own Buggy teams, and some of the independent Buggy clubs are so large and active they seem like fraternities themselves. Buggy is a great way to become part of a community, and groups tend to show a lot of team spirit. Improv is another popular activity with 2 clubs on campus. One of these clubs has gotten known by offering a weekly improv class to anyone interested in dropping by and free shows every other week. I made a lot of friends through this group, which tends to hang out and get dinner after meetings. Other numerous student productions include student music groups and the musicals by the student theater group. (Although rumor has it, it’s hard to get a part if you’re not already friends with members of the theater group). The Drama school also performs free student-run productions almost every week, in addition to its larger scale productions. Booth is another CMU tradition. Fraternities, sororities, and individual clubs compete by creating one or two level wooden buildings based on a theme given to them by the judges. Each building must contain a game for the public to play and be educational in some way. The booths are displayed in the end of the year Carnival and have lured many students into all nighters. In addition to on campus activities, it’s not uncommon for students to look off-campus, be it for jobs, volunteering with health care, or kung fu lessons. In general, it’s inconvenient to go downtown, but Shadyside and Bloomfield can offer interesting events like Slam Poetry and shows.

Carnegie Mellon offers a wide variety of activities and organizations for students. Trust me, when you walk into the Activities Fair at the beginning of each semester, you will know there is something for everyone. Academic groups and activities are very popular; these range from The Tartan (our newspaper) to organizations that support probably every engineering and mathematics program. Artistic groups are probably the most popular, and CMU offers a wide assortment of these fun and interactive clubs and groups. Scotch n' Soda (non-major theatre group), Dancer's Symposium, Lunar Gala (fashion show), and various vocal groups are all fantastic student activities, some of them even achieving national recognition. Last, but definitely not least, are social groups and sports groups. Around 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student population participates in Greek life, and a large majority of the population participates in sports (for non-athletic people like myself, fun intramural sports are offered). Cross-country, rowing, tennis, and swimming are some of the most popular on campus. Outside of clubs and organizations, CMU hosts many fantastic events and guest speakers. Just this year, Mark Zuckerburg (CEO of Facebook) chose Carnegie Mellon as one of only three campus to speak to. Outside of school, the social life is also at a great high. The city offers great venues for eating, music, film, and shopping for some fun on the weekend. And if you're looking for the 'classic college experience', there is almost always a party somewhere near campus that all are 'free' to attend (sometimes there is an entrance fee, especially for guys). No matter what your particular interests are, the school offers great opportunities to meet new people and develop great friendships.

There are 276 student organizations on this campus, and if it's possible that one doesn't match your interests you can pretty easily start a new one. Twice a year at the Activities Fair these organizations set up tables with plenty of information about themselves, and the members are eager to connect with you.

If you don't know what Carnival is, then you don't know Carnegie Mellon University. Every April, CMU students literally construct a carnival from the ground up for a four day holiday. Complete with carnival rides, student-made booths, Buggy races, frat socials, free music concerts, etc., Carnival is the weekend that CMU students live for. Carnival stretches from Thursday until Sunday with back-to-back-to-back activities. It is the time that students get to show their true colors and sport their neon hats and rainbow sunglasses while they chill in the sun with friends.

If there's just one word to describe the Carnegie Mellon student activity experience, it'd be involved. Despite a heavy course load, most students find time to get involved in at least one (although usually upwards of 4) student organizations. Greek life encompasses about 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of our student body on any given year, and those folks are extremely active on campus. Other than that, Scotch n Soda Theatre, a student-run theater company for non-majors, is extremely popular with students that loved drama in high school but aren't majoring in it. There are several campus publications to work on, 5+ a cappella groups, international service organizations, intramural and club sports teams, and so much more. I've been involved in The Oakland Review, our oldest literary journal, as editor-in-chief and poetry editor; a committee member for the Hillel-Jewish University Center; a Highland Ambassador, a student link between Alumni Relations and our current students; and IMPAQT, an ambassadorship program to bridge the gap between our Qatar and Pittsburgh campuses. Every semester, countless speakers and musicians come to campus (often free events)--everyone from the New Pornographers to Chuck Klosterman to Mark Zuckerberg to the president of Rwanda to Guster. There is always something interesting going on, either on or off campus. Pittsburgh is awash with art gallery crawls, concerts, major league sports events, opera, orchestra, museums, and parks.

Carnegie Mellon offers a wide variety of activities and organizations for students. Trust me: when you walk into the Activities Fair at the beginning of each semester, you will know there is something for everyone. Academic groups and activities are very popular; these range from The Tartan (our newspaper) to organizations that support probably every engineering and mathematics program. Artistic groups are probably the most popular, and CMU offers a wide assortment of these fun and interactive club and groups. Scotch n' Soda (non-major theatre group), Dancer's Symposium, Lunar Gala (fashion show), and various vocal groups are all fantastic student activities, some of them even achieving national recognition. Last, but definitely not least, are social groups and sports groups. Around 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student population participates in Greek life, and a large majority of the population participates in sports (for non-athletic people like myself, fun intramural sports are offered). Cross-country, rowing, tennis, and swimming are some of the most popular on campus. Outside of clubs and organizations, CMU hosts many fantastic events and guest speakers. Just this year, Mark Zuckerburg (CEO of Facebook) chose Carnegie Mellon as one of only three campus to speak to. Outside of school, the social life is also at a great high. The city offers great venues for eating, music, film, and shopping for some fun on the weekend. And if you're looking for the 'classic college experience', there is almost always a party somewhere near campus that all are 'free' to attend (sometimes there is an entrance fee, especially for guys). No matter what your particular interests are, the school offers great opportunities to meet new people and develop great friendships.

No one group is particularly influential or large on campus, although the performing arts are somewhat prevalent. The non-major theater company (Scotch 'n' Soda), various a capella groups (Soundbytes, Counterpoint, etc.), and dance groups (Chak De, Dancer's Symposium) are a common interest among the student body. Video games are universally played, if not particularly organized. Fraternities and sororities have grown exponentially in the last few years, and are a strong pillar of the school's social life, though not required to have fun. CMU is a geeky school, and its greek organizations are very different from those at any other university.