<p>I think Mudge had cockroaches once several years ago, but there’s none anymore. Also, a lot of guys do like Hamerschlag, and it doesn’t smell too bad.
I think if I could redo it Morewood would be my first choice and Mudge a close second.
If you’re female avoid the all female ones, unless you’re extremely introverted. The social life in those dorms seems to be lacking.</p>
<p>No, there are definitely still cockroaches. A-2 had a “kill count” list going in our hallway. Our room totaled something like 10-12 kills in the first few weeks. The cockroaches don’t fly or anything, but they’re nasty little buggers, and they tend to come out at night. The good news? Put down some floor poison and they’re gone in two days-- if you’re wary about poison on the floor, they’re all completely gone by mid-September. They hate the cold weather. I haven’t seen or heard of a single one since then.</p>
<p>HOWEVER. Don’t let a couple bugs scare you away from Mudge. It’s lovely, expansive, and has a friendly community. I’m not sure I would recommend a quad unless you really, really like people-- if you prefer your own personal space, don’t choose quad. If you don’t mind having three roommates, all potentially with their own boyfriend/girlfriend, snoring habits, and levels of cleanliness and hygiene, then go for a quad. I’m in one, and so far it’s been pretty awesome, but there are definitely pros and cons to them.</p>
<p>The cockroaches were probably caused by there being someone gross on your floor.</p>
<p>Also, I have to recommend any of the Oakland Apartments (London Terrace, Shady Oak, and the others) for your second year since you won’t be forced on the meal plan, you’ll have a real apartment, but you’ll still be pretty close to campus (unless you’re in Webster, which is a little farther). The only one I’d have reservations about is Cathedral Mansions since it’s pretty beat up. Two of my friends lived there one year, and it wasn’t unusual for their door’s handle to fall out. They also found a baseball sized hole in a wall which went into their neighbor’s apartment which had been hidden behind a dresser for most of the year as well.</p>
<p>Wow this is some quality information</p>
<p>I lived on A2 most of the school year- the roach kill count thing is true. Honestly, it wasnt bad to the point where it was a problem(it was actually kind of funny), and I think they were only a problem in the A tower(the A tower is still the best place to be). Don’t pick the quiet floor(C3).</p>
<p>I should have clarified about the quads. They are good if you are a guy, no questions asked(midnight halo parties and huge rooms). If you are a girl, dont bother(slightly smaller). Girls have this passive aggressive thing they do that just kind of ruins the whole quad thing(Im female, dont shoot me). If you are a female, dont choose the triples either.</p>
<p>The roach thing is not caused by grossness on the floor. Its caused by kids leaving stuff from the year before. Also London/Terrace are now freshman only.</p>
<p>I’m wondering about the fraternity thing. At most colleges, my impression is that they are basically drinking clubs disguised as service clubs, but CMU definitely doesn’t fit that profile. And it looks like my son is going to join one. So…what is the picture of a frat here? Animal House or pretty tame?</p>
<p>I think they fit a pretty broad range. Some of them tend to have wilder parties than others, so it’s really up to the culture of the fraternity he joins. From what I’ve heard you can get a pretty good feel of the culture of each fraternity during the pledge period, so hopefully he’ll choose one he likes.</p>
<p>(That said, I think the only time I set foot on the fraternity quad during my four years there was during orientation week when they gave us a tour of campus and there was free food there.)</p>
<p>Thanks! I always thought fraternities were all about the drinking, but then again CMU seems different in many other ways.</p>
<p>There are a few that have reps for being the big party hosters. Sig Nu, Sig Ep, Pike (Pi Kappa) and Beta are the top ones that come to mind at the moment, while the smaller ones like the CS, Jewish and Business frats (I forget their Greek names, since that’s what everyone seems to call them, weird as it might sound) host small parties with little liquor and soda for the non-drinkers. I do a modest amount of hanging around the frats. </p>
<p>Don’t put on your rose-colored glasses, though-- there is absolutely no counter-impression on campus that the frats, aside from the three small ones I named, are there for anything but partying and drinking. And trust me: there’s plenty of both going on, all the time, every week. I know this to be a fact. 
As long as your son’s safe he shouldn’t have a problem.</p>
<p>I know this is a dumb/vague question but tell me this: What are your favorite parts about CMU? Besides the prestigious academics, that is. What do you do for fun?</p>
<p>For me, it’s the incredible diversity. You have one of the best technological academies in the world-- but unlike, say, MIT or Harvey Mudd, you also have an incredibly strong arts and humanities program aside it. Everyone’s diverse; you have your CS kids who read poetry by moonlight, or your fine arts majors who love engineering, too. </p>
<p>People are just so unique and colorful here in a way that they never were back home. And we all seem to mostly get along-- the parties are great, fun, safe, and classy. People are dumb enough not to drink and drive. </p>
<p>We’re also literally in the heart of the city. There are clubs, movie theaters, museums, libraries (some of the best I’ve ever seen!), amusement parks, great restaurants, game stores (Gamestop is dead sexy) and parks/conservatories within a ten minute walk or a ten minute bus ride. If you don’t come from somewhere very urban, it’ll blow you away. It’s such a new and fantastic experience. </p>
<p>There are also tons of events on campus every week, and lots of clubs to join. My friend wants to be a lawyer, so she’s on the Mock Trial team. They just headed to Buffalo for a tournament a few hours ago, and they’re going to stay in a hotel, compete, go out on the town and just generally have fun for three days, courtesy of CMU’s funding. I’m staying in tonight and going to a dollar movie on campus ($1 to see Inglourious Basterds? Heck yes!). After that, we’ll head to Late Night, where some of the best restaurants in town discount most of the menu to half of its usual cost. </p>
<p>Even despite all the things I’ve mentioned, I think you’ll find you spend a good deal of your time just hanging out in your dorms with your group of friends. It never gets old. :)</p>
<p>Hmm…do you know about Sig Tau Gamma? That might be the CS one (though not everyone is CS in there).</p>
<p>I do like that from what I’ve heard, CMU seems to have the big picture as far as putting the emphasis on safety, as far as drinking goes. Of course college kids are going to drink, if they are into that-- as a parent, I just want them all to stay alive. It helps that most kids don’t even have cars on campus.</p>
<p>busdriver, you’re right, that’s the name! 
it’s basically just a brotherhood frat for guys who love counter-culture type stuff. My friend just rushed/joined, and he’s definitely -not- the typical frat type, but he absolutely loves it. </p>
<p>It’s true that most of us don’t have cars, but a lot of the frats fixed that by having brothers who live nearby drive up instead of flying up after break. Fortunately, they also seem to be very, very safe about it. I went to a party last friday and we drove there, but I was planning to walk back, since I didn’t think it would be safe for anyone to drive me. To my surprise, they had a designated driver for the evening, and she drove me and my friend home gladly. It was nice. </p>
<p>There’s also the issue of drug use. While I understand it’s a big deal at some colleges, at CMU most people just seem to stick with pot. (Don’t understand it myself, but I respect their choice.) And roofies are very seldom heard of either, so girls generally don’t have to be worried. It’s nice to not feel scared of the punch.</p>
<p>That sounds so much better than the scene at most schools, that should definitely relieve anxiety for any parent reading this. And I wonder if your friend is my son, he just joined too…that would be funny. CMU has been better than we ever could have expected, in so many ways. Now my younger son has heard so much that he wants to apply! And we will never have any money left after that…</p>
<p>Haha, your son’s name isn’t alex, is it?</p>
<p>Oh, I feel I should also add that CMU operates under an amnesty policy, too. If someone is intoxicated to the point of being in danger of serious harm/death/impairment, you can call campus police and they will be taken via ambulance to the hospital. If you and your group wait with the intoxicated person, no administrative consequence will come to you and your name will be kept completely anonymous. I know a few people who’ve used this policy before. It vastly lowers the risk of someone drinking too much and then being left to die on a couch somewhere because people are too afraid to call for help.</p>
<p>fwiw, if I may, my son, who graduated in '05 was a member of one of the more social fraternities mentioned previously. Absolutely, there was partying and drinking, for sure, but I’d like to think DS was one of the tamer members;). Anyway, although the scene is not like Florida State (thank goodness) my point is there is definitely a place for social types like my son at CMU. Son loved the fraternity, and CMU in general…was an officer in the fraternity, involved in some community projects, Carnival prep was big. Drinking aside, I think living there was a good diversion from the academic demands of a school like this. There were other CS majors in his house, so they were able to help each other. His best friends now, four years out, are, by a wide margin, his fraternity brothers.</p>
<p>Besides what’s mentioned, I took son and friends to a few Steelers games, which are crazy. He spent two summers at school, and went to a number of Pirates games. They are terrible but it was cheap, the stadiums are new and beautiful, and it was a nice way to spend a summer evening. We loved visiting…it’s a great city.</p>
<p>Nope, at least not the one going to CMU. Though if you hang out with the CS frat, you’ll probably get to know him. And I would think any girl who loves Gamestop has got to be one of the most popular girls at CMU…</p>
<p>2331, I’m sure your son was one of the tamer ones, he was probably watching over the others! That is fantastic for him to still be so close to his frat brothers, they’ll probably be friends for life. There are so many fun things to do there, it seems like there is constant action and activity, anything a person could want. Oakland and Pittsburgh were much nicer than I ever expected.</p>
<p>hmm my cousin was talking about the interesting rumors about what goes on during pledging…</p>
<p>They make some of the pledges sign NDAs now. Talk about secretive rushing practices.</p>
<p>I’m interested in Carnegie Mellon and want to major in chemical engineering. How do you like your cheme classes/profs/the program overall? Was there any specific reason you picked CM for cheme over another college? And what are the internship/research opportunities at CM? Thanks a bunch!</p>