<p>Hey guys. New school year, new batch of nervous seniors anxiously applying to college and waiting on decisions. I know it's tough to compare/contrast so many schools, so take make it easier on you guys, here's your chance to find out what you want to know about CMU. I'll answer honestly and with as little bias as possible. </p>
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<li>HeJind</li>
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<p>What really makes an applicant stand out for the admissions officers?</p>
<p>onerupblic96, I’d say just be “different”. You’ve probably heard this before but it’s really true for all the top schools. There are tons of kids with 2200+ SAT’s here, plus 10 EC’s and leadership positions, but you honestly don’t need all of that. Show admissions a side of you that separates you from everyone else. If you’re an engineer, throw in some artwork or poetry to show you’re not all math and science. Throw in some jokes in your essay. </p>
<p>Honestly a few of my friends are in the lower percentile of CMU SAT scores. However, to me they have the most personality on campus and are a few of the funniest people I know. I can only assume that played a major part in their acceptance. So the best advice I can give you is show “personality” that goes beyond the stereotypes of a normal CMU applicant, especially within your particular major.</p>
<p>I’m applying for engineering. For example would putting Times magazine 2005 person of the year award(look it up) be a good humor? And do you have any stories involving girls from CMU?</p>
<p>are there any plans to build new dorms or do major renovations…like stripping out the bathrooms and gutting the rooms (i.e. not just a new layer of paint)?</p>
<p>And one more BIG question. I know engineering is very demanding, so would I have time to be on the soccer team? and would I fit into the people there because honestly I like going out and im not into Computer RPGs or Magic card games. would Pitt be btter? jw thanks</p>
<p>hey, really nervous OOS senior here, and CMU is like my top choice dream school for engineering.</p>
<p>I think my only prob. is that I go to a really really competitive school and my gpa is not the best it could have been had I gone elsewhere. like high 3.6 ,low 3.7 w/ sen yr.
I don’t really have that many explicit leadership positions, but I do have some stuff that not related to eng.(published an article and stuff). having gone through it yourself, what would you say I could do the rest of my sen yr to increase my chances for eng? </p>
<p>lol aside from that, what are housing options and food like? weather? is there time for extracurricular activities like sports(swimming)?
what do ppl do on their free time?</p>
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It really depends on how you end up wording it all together, the sky’s the limit.
There have been tons around this forum, here’s an example:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/carnegie-mellon-university/1439773-girls-guys-social-scene-cmu.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/carnegie-mellon-university/1439773-girls-guys-social-scene-cmu.html</a>
You can always just search “girls” in the forum, and yes, there will actually be results found, contrary to popular belief…
Not sure about dorms, but CMU is definitely trying to buy out nearby housing eventually, while doing some renovations around (kitchens, carpeting etc)
As for academic buildings, the construction of Scott Hall is on its way ([Scott</a> Hall-Campus Design and Facility Development - Carnegie Mellon University](<a href=“http://www.cmu.edu/cdfd/scott-hall/index.html]Scott”>http://www.cmu.edu/cdfd/scott-hall/index.html))
Yes, a lot of people on varsity or club sports are in engineering. Depending on the engineering major of course your workload will vary, so it would be up to you on managing your time accordingly, yet it’ll still be doable
I’d say about 80% of people I met at CMU like the party-social scene over indoor, gaming scene, but that doesn’t mean that people can’t be both (you’d be surprised). Don’t worry about fitting in because all freshmen will be worried like you so you’ll be making friends right and left, but in the end you can always settle in with the right group of people.
No Pitt would not be better unless you’re not really into engineering.
If you can’t work on your grades, try to improve standardized test scores. Other than that, show off your creativity/outside of school stuff (personal projects, research etc) I also think that the essay can be extremely helpful when all else fails, so focus on a realyl good story.
You can search this forum on various housing options/debates, food is good but a bit too much/expensive. As in, you can always get a cheaper version and still be satisfied without having your money go to waste. Weather is…fun to predict 
There is always time if you manage it well, don’t goof around and stick to it.
People usually hang out with friends doing whatever the friends like to do (be it go out, sports, games, work). CMU has a few dozen sport options and over 150 clubs and orgs (including buggy tradition, which is what a LOT of people are involved in around campus)
Again, if you want more details you can just look at past threads around here.</p>
<p>How hard is it to get into CFA Comm Design? 
Do we really need to have high stats?</p>
<p>Just gonna touch on a couple of things and add to some of the great comments made by Selena. </p>
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<p>I actually have a lot of stories, but you’d need to be more specific as to what exactly you’re asking for. But in general, girls at CMU aren’t as bad as everyone says. Yes, there are actually girls who like to go art and party at CMU and no, they’re not all hideous. </p>
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<p>You’d definitely have time to be on the soccer team. One of my good friends walked on to the soccer team and he’s in the same major as me. You’ll see a lot of CIT students on football, cross country, etc. I’m still a first-year student so I can’t tell you how it’ll be for later years, but so far I haven’t been killed by work. Actually, my classes are set up in a way that I never have homework for two different classes due the same day. So honestly if you possess any time management skills at all, you’ll be ok and have more free time than you expect. </p>
<p>As far as the latter, yes, you will. Not everyone at CMU is a MTG/LoL nerd (though you’ll find many people who fit into that category). I myself have never played either game and have a fairly large group of friends at CMU. If you’re social, you’ll easily meet people with similar interests to you. </p>
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<p>Housing options are actually extremely varied and depend on what you like. Everything is pretty much give-and-take. Probably the nicest dorm has a downside of being a longer walk from campus where most of your classes will be, and then dorms like the hill (all-male/all-female/leadership/wellness dorms) have the upside of being very close to campus and within reasonable walking distance from everything else, including campus dining. The food is “ok”. There are a lot of options, but don’t expect high-quality cuisine. It isn’t disgusting by any means, but you’ll never leave thinking “wow, that was the best meal I’ve ever had in my entire life”. As Selena said, weather is pretty much unpredictable. I’ve gone to class in 85 degree weather wearing shorts and a t-shirt and when I left an 90 minutes later it was freezing and raining. I’d say always check the forecast and always carry an umbrella just in case. Selena pretty much nailed EC’s.</p>
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<p>Generally, CFA’s GPA/SAT requirements aren’t nearly as high as the other schools. Unfortunately I don’t know much about that specific major so I can’t say for certain, but I’d assume that as long as your portfolio is good that you have a reasonable shot. So in essence, for CFA you don’t need a 2100, or even an 1800 necessarily.</p>
<p>2013-2014 admission statistics for CFA: 25th%ile 1860; 75th%ile 2190.</p>
<p>Here’s another data point: For this year’s freshman class in CFA Design, there were over 600 applicants for about 40 spots. I think about 70 of the applicants were accepted.</p>
<p>Thanks HeJind, JZMOM2 and ccsdavt. Yikes those numbers are scary. That’s a 7% acceptance rate…jeez I’d have more luck applying to Stanford hahaha.</p>
<p>nothing to add, but want to get notifications on replies :)</p>
<p>Hi HJ, I am an international student applying ED to CIT. I am confused betweem ECE and Mechanical. I have heard that ECE is good.Can you please let me know how is the Mech dept at CMU ? I also want to do minor in Audio Engineering along with this.
Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>Is it a bad idea to start out an essay on a personalized note about andrew carnegie?</p>
<p>If it’s a specific question to why CMU, then be careful about wording it, but if common app or something general, then no, it’s risky and <em>might</em> come off as a bit of an overkill</p>
<p>Yeah its the specific “why” cmu essay.</p>
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<p>It really depends on what you’re going for. As I’m sure you’re aware, CMU’s ECE & CS programs are top-notch. That being said, they’re also the two most difficult majors here. As for MechE, the department is still extraordinary. I’m double majoring in MechE & BME currently and MechE has the largest number of students, which really reflects on the strength of the program. The intro to MechE professor is probably also the best professor I’ve had since I’ve been here. As for audio engineering, I don’t know too much about it but a friend of mine is doing the MechE/audio engineering combo. What I do know is that the CFA studio which you will use a lot is amazing and the program is pretty phenomenal. There’s also a lot of chances to get experience around campus whether actually working in the studio, doing AB Tech, joining the DJing club on campus, etc.</p>
<p>So nice of you to answer these questions OP! My junior son is interested in CMU and we have the opportunity to do a quick drive by this weekend (we’ll schedule a longer visit for spring break) any suggestions for dinner on Sat night where he might get a good representation of the campus vibe?</p>