Parker
One of the most telling things about CMU is its motto. Harvard's is veritas, "truth," Princeton's is Dei sub numine viget, "Under God's power she flourishes," Colgate's is Deo Ac Veritati "For God and Truth," the motto at Carnegie Mellon is "My Heart is in the Work."
It is straight forward, practical and in English. It is also telling of the attitude here. Carnegie Mellon is an environment that is charged with two prevailing themes. The first is passion. People here love what they do and they are excited about being here to learn what they love. The second is work. In 2006 a survey came out saying the CMU had the second greatest work load of any university in the country, and no one was surprised. The combination of these two things means that we don't spend lot of time on things that are not school related.
We still party, but I've been told by friends at other schools that going out one night a week as opposed to 4 means that we don't actually party.
Julian
The best thing about CMU is the quirky traditions. Whether it's carnival, the fence, or the Kiltie Band, CMU has strong traditions that are unique to this campus. The blight of this campus (in my opinion) is the hideous sculpture ("Walking to the Sky") that's on the front of campus. I really wish they would get rid of it... but apparently it was some donation or something. One of the great things about CMU is it's location. It's in Pittsburgh right next to the University of Pittsburgh and in Oakland (district of the city) there is no shortage of college folk. Downtown is a simple bus ride away. Did I mention the city bus is free with your CMU ID?
Madison
CMU is hard, no doubt, but it's also exhilarating and exciting, if you love academia and you love learning. The people are fabulous: friendly, bright, and diligent, as well as true movers and shakers. Pittsburgh can be good fun, it's a matter of knowing where to go that counts.
Katie
The classes, homeworks, tests, etc, are structured to teach you how to think, not just mindlessly memorize and regurgitate. The teachers are very accessible and there are lots of other ways to get help, too. I think that people are too single mindedly focused on their specialty area and the social aspect is drab, because everyone is always doing homework. People think of CMU as very prestigious and always say, oh you must be so smart (which is embarrasing..). Everyone is overly logical at this school, even down to the humor.. One thing unique about this school is that the computer majors get a care package upon arrival..with soap included. They also take a class where they get points for being social.
Colleen
The best thing about CMU is the Spring Carnival. Students spend endless hours working to prepare for booth and buggy, and in the end, it is so worth it. Students just relax and have a good time. There is always so much to do.
Maggie
Carnegie Mellon doesn't feel like real college to me. Sometimes I walk down to UPitt just to get a feel for what real college students experience. CMU is like a summer camp. Everything is taken care of for you as a freshman. You have to work hard, but at the same time everything is planned. It's not until spring when you really see kids come out of their shells and when the majority of the campus hangs around outside. There's hardly any support of the athletic teams... I've never been to a college sports game here. The food on campus is awful, and the freshman meal plan is worse. Housing is alright, most students stay on campus all four years... I'll be leaving after freshman year. The plus side to this school is that it's a great college town. Anything you need is just a free bus ride away. Most of the good shopping is walking distance, and the fun areas are also where most students live off campus. The resturants are fantastic and unique and not to pricey. The biggest complaint about Pittsburgh in general is the weather. IT IS ALWAYS GRAY HERE.
Rach
When I tell people I go to CMU, they either say that they've heard of the name but not much else, don't know that it exists, or they exclaim, "Oh, I'm sorry, which school rejected you, MIT or Stanford?"
CMU is a university with high reputation among certain circles, but most people don't seem to have heard much about it, if anything. It's just shy of an Ivy League, but being Division III makes all the difference for its profile as a university (CMU's endowment is definitely shy of an Ivy League). For most of the students I've met (definitely not all) CMU was a 2nd or 3rd choice or lower, and the only reason why they're going here is because they got rejected from their top choices (in engineering most people seem to indeed fall into the two rejection camps: MIT and Stanford). Maybe that and CMU's lack of emphasis on sports is what contributes to CMU's low sense of school pride.
CMU has a small campus (I can walk from my dorm to my farthest class in less than 10 minutes) and a relatively small number of people (5000 undergrad, I believe). The ratio of students to space is almost right, except that CMU doesn't have enough housing for its undergrads (There was a room draw fiasco in Spring 2008 when a third of the current freshman class didn't get a room. CMU has been reserving more places for incoming freshman on campus but doesn't have enough housing to guarantee for everyone).
Allison
Carnegie Mellon is a really tough school for the first couple of years, but the atmosphere is really nice and it is very collaborative. What's great is that it's not competitive and the students all help each other to get by.
Spring Carnival is the huge event on campus. You get 2 days off in the spring, we bring in a comedian (Mitch Hedberg, Dimitri Martin, Human Giants, etc.), a band (The Roots, The Shins, Spoon, Incubus), and then there are small acts either from around the campus or around the country. What's really cool is that lots of different organizations build "booths" that are all themed & have games, primarily geared towards kids. They are very elaborate and people put in a lot of time. There are, of course, carnival rides, too. Finally, we have an event called Buggy, or Sweepstakes. Organizations build vehicles called "buggies" that are similar to box cars, although they're very aerodynamic & expensive (we are an engineering school). We find the smallest girl we can on campus, stick her in the buggy, then push her down a hill that reaches speeds of up to 35-40 mph! She's then pushed up several more hills to the finish line. It's pretty intense.
CMU is located just outside of Pittsburgh. The public transportation is amazing, so you can get anywhere you need. You can easily go to baseball games, hockey games, but not so much football games (good luck getting a ticket). Although Pittsburghers love their sports, so it's fun to just watch a game in a bar. There are also a lot of museums, gardens, & parks. However, it may take a while to be able to get out into the city given academic demands.
Cassandra
What do I like? Really...everything. I know this is the best place for me. Tt's small but i can meet someone new everyday and I always see someone I know walking to class. Its soo diverse I can meet poeple who are good at the violin (my best firend) or people who are good at the bongo drums (kid down the hall) or people who are good at indian dance (girl next door)...its just so random I love it. I also love how chill it is here and how you just feel so at home. Everyone is so nice and welcoming because EVERYONE comes from out of state so noone is snobby and people don't really come in with a group of friends to kick you out of.. thats what really amazed me during orientation.
Also, people say orientation is the best time of your life at CMY. You can take that the way you want. Some people dont go to any events and just sleep all of orientation (my guy friends). Some people go to all the events and get really into this summer-camp-like week we spend here (my girl firends). And some people go to some events but dont like ice breakers but love going out every night of orientation and having fun (me and my roommate). So I loved orientation but I just love being here overall.
Also, dont beleive what you hear or read on like College Prowler, there are lots of hot guys here (the football team is soo hott!!--therefore all the guys in Beta Theta Pi (the football frat) are tooo!!)
But probably my favorite thing here is the people. No doubt. Especially my sorority sisters. Rush and being in a sorority is not the norm here. People party and take you out and have fun but they are not rude, exclusive, coke addicts.
I dont know, it seems all stereotypes are broken here. I just love it
Andy
CMU is the perfect size. I never feel lost in the crowd yet the student body is large enough to offer amazing diversity.
Pittsburgh is a great city. There are plenty of unique restaurants and shopping districts.
Nick
CMU is a school that feels smaller than it is, which is nice. There are a ton of different departments and things that the school is involved in that I might never hear about, but I'm always associated with them, which is cool.
The best part about CMU is the job opportunities. I'm a junior business major, and I had probably 6 or 7 offers for internships in New York City this summer. I'm doing investment banking with a bulge bracket firm, and I never would've gotten even an interview if it weren't for the network I've built here at CMU.
These opportunities come at a bit of a price - there is definitely a very real workload here. Classes can be really challenging and they make sure you know what you're talking about by challenging you with group work and projects that can take a lot of time. But this is actually a blessing in disguise as it gives me a TON of great stuff to talk about in interviews. Also, at my internship last summer with Goldman Sachs, I stood out becuase of the work ethic I had built at CMU.
Amanda
The best thing about CMU is being in the city but having the park in our backyard and alot of open green space on campus. The school is a little small but I like it. If people know about the school they'll open there mouth and say wow but for those that dont know how good the school is often ask me why i didnt go to a good college because i'm smart. I tend to spend most of my time in the ChemE cluster or in my room when i'm working. When its nice out I'll spend the time on the cut just relaxing or reading. School pride varies. We're not a huge sports school only DIII but we do root for are teams. The unsual thing about CMU is carnival and what takes place during it. The second to last weekend of April we have off Thursday and Friday. We have carnival rides come to campus and the student body builds carnival booths with games for little kids in them. The booths range from 8ft tall to 24 ft tall. All are built by the students to a specific theme. The main event that happens during carnival is Sweepstakes, informally called buggy. The easiest way to think of it is a 5 person relay race with a human as the baton. There are 2 uphill portions and 1 downhill. The baton is called a buggy and it has a small college student (5'2 or smaller) laying superman style inside of it stearing. The buggy is pushed up the first hill by 2 pushers and then is shoved down hill. The driver than navigates the course reaching speed of 40 mph then it reaches the bottom of the hill and 3 pushers push the buggy up the last hill. The buggy is only driven by manpower or gravity no motor. All the buggies are built by the student organizations and is ultra competitive. my favorite moment was being there when a new course record was set after 20yrs.
Kelly
I'd say the best part of CMU is the people, definitely. There are sooo many people from different backgrounds, ethnically and culturally, I love it! Also, the networking capabilities, this is the best place to network and realize how many opportunities are out there for you, from faculty/staff/guest to the wide variaty of majors available. I would definitely change the number of people smoking!! I never realized how big smoking was until I came to CMU, international students are the major smokers but are not the only ones. If I could some how convince people to stop smoking, I would do it immediately!:) I also would definitely change the cost, everything about CMU is so expensive, from tuition, to food on campus, dorms, etc. I feel CMU is the perfect size, it's just right, not too big, not too small. Its big enough that i can see a new face everyday, but small enough that I can still recognize familiar faces each day. What's frustrating is that most people have never heard of CMU so when I tell them I go here they have no idea what I'm talking about or how amazing (academically) this school is; but CMU's name is getting bigger so in the future I know that won't happen anymore. I spend most of my time in my room doing work, or in the library/ meeting with friends to do work. Pittsburgh is a collegetown, but being an engineering major, i barely ever interact with anyone from another university; also I hear that when you're over 21 the city/nightlife is amazing; if you're into that. The administration is pretty cool, they're not stuck up for the most part and its very normal to interact/have a good relationship with your dean of your school for example. The biggest controversy on campus I can remember was my freshman year (3yrs ago) when the on campus movie organization wanted to show a porno for that weeks movie...which they did and it was all over the news! As an athlete, I would definitely say that there is not a lot of school pride, its mainly other athletes cheering on other athletes or close friends of athletes. This is very unfortunate because a lot of our teams are REALLY good, for example the volleyball team:)...also, we have a new director of athletics who is amazing and she has done so much in the short 3 years that she has been here and i think school pride has definitely increased!...What is normal about CMU should be the question and I'd say nothing:)...CMU is sooo quirky and has so really cool traditions which really makes me love this school even more because it isnt like the rest, from Buggy to the fence to Holi to Mobots and so on, this school is really cool. Volleyball is an experience that i can never forget, if you have the opportunity to play a sport, i would definitely suggest you do so. The most frequent student complaints is about the food (on campus) and the work load.
Paige
A very unique tradition at Carnegie Mellon is the Carnival that happens every year. It is my best annual experience at CMU. Big name performing artists are invited every year for a large concert. Student organizations all compete in two large competitions. The first is called Sweepstakes races, where we all build buggys, which are small missile-like vehicles with a small driver inside, no motor - but a handle attached for pushers to keep the buggy in motion until it gets to the downhill part of the course. It is a very competitive event that ignites student pride in their organizations as it takes dedication, engineering skills, and athletic ability for a team to be successful. The second activity is Called Booth, where a theme is given out each year and the and student organizations have to construct large structures that are fun, creative, appeasing to the eye, and have an interesting activity that accompany them. The Booths are a part of the actual carnival itself where families in the community come out for the rides and famous carny culinary delights.
One thing I would definitely change at CMU is the lack of school pride. My junior year the football team was undefeated and maybe 10 percent of the school was aware or cared. The basketball team is also good, but few people care or know.
The largest controversy's on campus are always centered around race issues. For instance in 2004 there was a series of distasteful racial jokes in the student newspaper that resulted in protest from several student organizations, especially the minority groups on campus, as well as minority greek organizations. The year following that a Nation of Islam racial extremist was invited to campus to speak by a minority organization on campus, which resulted in a large controversy where many students complained of reverse racism being promoted by the incident. The racial tension is present on campus and proves to be problematic from time to time.
Cara
For me, the campus is just the right size. I think this is something that is different for everyone and I just happened to find the right place. I would caution that if you love a large campus, such as a state school, then CMU is probably not the place for you. I think its just a matter of knowing what is right for you and seeking out a school tht meets your needs.
Julianne
The best thing about CMU is that it is not a liberal arts school. If you go to this school for one thing and decide you want to work with computers, we have one of the best computer schools in the nation. Architecture instead? We have that, design, art, and performance major, all of which rate within the highest programs in the nation. Engineering, business, and psychology each are some of the best programs you can be in, so if you go here unsure, and decide what you want to do, there is no reason to move.
The size of the school is fantastic because every day you will meet new people, but you will always see a familiar face around campus.
When I tell people that I go to CMU, many don't seem to know that such a college exists. Recently it was rated to be up there with the ivy league schools, but obviously it's reputation is not. People familiar with the school either are very impressed, because of our academic program, or very put off, because of the stigma attached with "the CMU student".
Most of my time on campus is spent either in my lovely on campus apartment or in the gym working off some stress.
What college town? We have neighboring cities, sure, but it is definitely not just CMUers. If you want a college town, youve gotta go to UPitt's neck of the woods further into the city. Its not too far of a walk and almost nothing of a busride, but in the immediate vicinity, there isnt very much.
There is no school pride at CMU. The people that attend sporting events are mostly fellow athletes. Since we don't have a big name, and that name is marred by a poor student body reputation, people don't put it out there too much.
There is a huge horrendous statue right in front of the school. Its a long pole sticking out from the ground at an angle with people walking up it. Occationally students will climb it, deface it, or take pictures with it, but it's really not worth the millions of dollars we spent to get it there.
Students complain that there arent enough parties, though there are as long as you know people. The problem with parties at CMU though, is that they can be hit or miss. There is little way to tell if it will be a good time or not, so the best bet is clubbing somewhere else in pittsburgh. Clubs can be rented out by organizations and will host parties throughout the year, to which there is transportation, and under 21s are allowed.
Charlie
CMU gives a large amount of possibilities for students. There are a lot of opportunities to join research projects, clubs, or even take part in individual projects. The student culture is very education-oriented and makes it easy to join clubs and pursue goals. The 'party scene' may not be that large in CMU, however since it is in a big city, there is always a lot to do and it is easy to meet people of various interests, backgrounds, etc.
Andre
I came to CMU a happy kid who liked making friends, but CMU taught me during my first semester to hate. I walk around campus and pretend that I'm crazy so no one will talk to me because so many people here are idiots, or assholes, or both. people are very territorial, even in public areas, and you'll learn to be that way too. there isn't school pride--the closest thing to that is the bonding that occurs over the hatred of CMU itself--it's like anti-pride.
Ryan
When you tell people who don't go to CMU that you go to CMU, they think you are really smart. When you tell people at CMU that you go to CMU, they think they are smarter than you. The sports suck. The big monument sucks. The facilities are ass.