Carnegie Mellon University Top Questions

The school size is absolutely perfect. Small enough to recognize your friends on the way to class but large enough so that not everyone knows your business.

I think the size is just right. The classes are small enough so that you can be noticed if you want to be an over-achiever, yet big enough to fall asleep in the corner w.o anyone caring. I do A LOT of work. Pittsburgh has lots of colleges, and it is usually easy to find a party if you know where to look. The CMU administration wants to make sure we all look like bright, smart kids that are going to take over the world. However, this usually means they punish the fraternities and kids who drink in their dorms a lot harsher than they should. There is not a lot of school pride, we are bad at sports. We have a new mascot though, which is much better than a piece of cloth. Essentially, everyone complains about the workload but has a good time in the process.

My favorite thing about CMU would be the people. Everyone has a few quirks and you don't really need to hide them. To give you an example I have an obsession with socks and I put ideas for poems or short stories on my ceiling so if I can work on them if I happen to be lying awake in bed. It's not that we're all mentally unstable, we're just all slightly not normal. Most people don't know where CMU is or they think it's only a performing arts school, or an engineering school, which really is the furthest thing from the truth. CMU school pride really isn't what you'd typically consider school pride, it doesn't really involve sports. Pretty much everyone owns CMU clothing and is proud of their school and going there, but we don't know the alma mater or anything.

I think that we're in a great part of the city. We have free museum passes, three professional sports teams, other universities, shopping streets, coffee shops and great bars. I do spend a lot of time at the library getting my work done, but once it's finished, there's a lot to do. There's a huge incentive for managing your social and academic life. A lot of students complain about the workload, and I've certainly done it, but while working at an internship this summer, I realized that CMU students are able to function and excel at such a high level and literally jump into the workforce and impress people from the beginning, all thanks to our ability to manage time and work. Being introduced as a Carnegie Mellon student elicits a lot of positive responses. At face value, people might not see CMU as having a lot of school pride. People attend football and basketball games, but it's not anywhere close to a state school. Our athletes are our peers, people that we sit next to in class and study with, so our school pride comes from supporting our friends, and other very unique CMU traditions. The annual Spring Carnival with BOOTH and BUGGY is one of the most memorable times for students. Greeks and other students build small carnival houses for the community and compete for the first prize, while Buggy participants spend the spring semester training for the spring relay race with the buggies, often waking up at 6am on Saturdays and Sundays to use the road. It's a different kind of pride, but it's totally unique to Carnegie Mellon. Sometimes I feel like it's something that you can't understand until you use your first powertool at Booth, or stand around trying to stay warm at Buggy practice, or sneak out to the Fence and paint it for the first time.

The best things about CMU is all of the interesting stuff that is happening around us and how many oppertunities for personal advancement we have. With world leading research happening everyday(by professors, faculty, and students), its no wonder that we are in the news so much. If you look at all the inventions and innovations that have come from individuals that have been heavily influenced by CMU then you will see many life saving, changing, and truly amazing things. As I mentioned before, even students are making amazing discoveries. The student run organizations on campus are truly a very deep and very enjoyable experience. From clubs that make plays, musicals, and comedy skits, to robotics clubs, green systems research, and scientific research, if you can't find something that truly interest and challenges you then you simply didn't look.

CMU is a nerdy school. There is no doubt in my mind about that. If that's not for you, that's ok-there's no need to be part of the absurdity to fit in. However, if you make some joke referencing De Moivre's Theorem or a bug in your code, you can be reasonably certain that someone will get it and may even laugh.

CMU is a smaller school, about 1,300 students per year. When mentioned in conversation, the people either know the school's great reputation immediately (locals and technology based professionals) or they have no idea that it even exists. For me, as a design student, my time is spent in studio and in general most students find that they spend most of their time on campus. It sometimes takes a lot of determination to leave campus because of the heavy work load and ongoing demands from professors. There is school pride but it is not shown through athletics. The people who attend sports events are the players, parents (if in town) and close friends of the athletes.

Friendly little campus atmosphere, surrounded by tons of great things to explore in the city of Pittsburgh. It is easy to get involved in extracurriculars of all kinds, including Greek life.

CMU is in a great location. Pittsburgh is a great city, and with the free bus pass, we have access to all the important things downtown. One great thing to do in spring is go to Pirates games. They are cheap and easy to get to and always lots of fun. School pride is very low. Most students don't even know when major sporting events are going on. Either that or they don't care. I feel like the administration tries hard to look good, but most of the things they do are designed to give the impression of helping students but don't always do so. They seem somewhat out of touch with what students want and need, as do professors at times.

CMU is eclectic. Our strongest points are the art (drama, design, architecture, music) and the technology (engineering, robotics, computer science etc.) Put that together and imagine it in your head. Yea, you've guessed it. On a nice spring day, the Cut (our name for the yard down the center of campus) is filled with girls in long skirts listening to guys playing guitar, a barbeque at the Fence, and kids with huge backpacks riding their bikes to class. you have the lone girls reading a book under a huge tree and guys throwing a frisbee around. Of course, Pittsburgh is pretty cold in the winter, so this view is limited. however, it does give a pretty good view of the people who make up this campus. No matter who you are, you can find somebody to relate to here. The people you choose to make your friends are going to change you because they'll pool from different friends, interests, and experiences. It's awesome.