<p>To CTKS22: Congratulations! Did CMU offer you any financial aid? There is a huge difference in price between UCSD in state and CMU. One thing to think about before you decide in the big picture: If you go to UCSD, you will probably get a great job in San Diego or California. If you go to CMU, there is a good chance you will end up in Pittsburgh. I like San Diego a lot more than Pittsburgh.</p>
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To CTKS22: Congratulations! Did CMU offer you any financial aid? There is a huge difference in price between UCSD in state and CMU. One thing to think about before you decide in the big picture: If you go to UCSD, you will probably get a great job in San Diego or California. If you go to CMU, there is a good chance you will end up in Pittsburgh. I like San Diego a lot more than Pittsburgh.
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<p>That's the thing. Practically everything about UCSD is perfect - weather, environment, people. Plus I live in California. Snow? What snow?</p>
<p>But the Information Systems at CMU matches up what I want to do so perfectly it's scary. The main thing that I'm currently stuck on is exactly that - financial aid. I did not get ANY from CMU - which means $53,000 for this year alone.</p>
<p>Did you apply for any financial aid at CMU? Do you have an offer of financial aid at another comparable university which you could show CMU to try to match it? Don't you think that UCSD can offer you enough to make it worth it? The UCSD web site has tons of internships and there are many great companies in San Diego to find part time work which could lead to a great job on graduation.
Also, think about the fact that at CMU if you change your mind about your major, it might be really hard to transfer to another major due to limited and/or non-existent openings. I personally think you have it great at UCSD unless you have very rich parents/grandparents who will pay for CMU. It is not worth taking loans.</p>
<p>Well ... I didn't get off either (found out through e-mail). </p>
<p>Congrats to those who did!</p>
<p>In any case, while I don't doubt that yield was higher than what they expected this year, did they have to lie to some that 'no one was accepted off the PWL'?</p>
<p>so... what is this high yield going to mean for next year's applicants? will there be a few % admitted, or just fewer placed on the waitlist?</p>
<p>Fistandantilus: I don't think they "lied" to people by saying that no one was accepted off of the PWL.
The reason must be that certain schools have spaces available (for example HSS and whatever school it is that has an Information Systems department that CTKS22 got into) while other schools do not have spaces available (MCS, CIT, etc).</p>
<p>To iKrystin, o0shuo0o and Space Ranger 454 were on the PWL for HSS and/or Tepper. Space Ranger was accepted whereas o0shuo0o was informed that no one would be getting off those lists </p>
<p>I see no reason for either poster to be lying ... so the misinformation should be from the CMU admissions office</p>
<p>(Edit: 3373cw got into HSS as well)</p>
<p>Information Systems is in H&SS, but it's a separate program in itself. Strangely, the waitlist letter was addressed to my e-mail, instead of a mailing list or something. Perhaps since the IS waitlist was so small, they were able to send out individual e-mails?</p>
<p>From another user:
"What I learned from my phone call last night:</p>
<p>This year, 0 kids were accepted from the CIT priority wait list, and only a handful for the other schools; the class is a bit larger than they predicted, apparently. Priority wait list students will get first dibs on any more spots that do open up, as the class is not set in stone yet - but, don't count on it."</p>
<ol>
<li><p>IS is not entirely in HSS, its in an interdisciplinary major. IS majors have a few spots left.</p></li>
<li><p>Carnegie Mellon isn't the one that lies and cheats. In fact, it is the students. The number of confirmed students that back out, ED students that attend other schools, etc, are more numerous than you all think. The class size is NOT SET IN STONE until later, so yes, spots can always open up even if they are "full" at the moment.</p></li>
<li><p>There is not a huge conspiracy for CMU to lie and steal your money and then destroy your lives. It is a college and a business. It is aware that nothing among incoming freshman is permanent until the students are actually here getting their shots at the tents August 31st or whenever. I hate to say it also, but sometimes students die or get deported or cannot enter the U.S. With a large international body, this opens up spots in the class even after a class is "set". </p></li>
<li><p>If anything, CMU's phone ladies are to blame for not giving the same answers but their intentions are good and you can easiliy piece together the information yourself. Basically, there was higher yield this year and most schools are full or have a few spots. Even the full schools though, can open up spots later on from any of the circumstances I have listed.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Good luck to all!</p>
<p>Regarding IS major, mdcissp said "If you go to CMU, there is a good chance you'll end up in Pittsburgh."</p>
<p>Out of about 50 grads last year (my son was IS/CS double major) a grand total of one "ended up" in Pittsburgh, and he accepted a job at CMU (11 stayed for MISM). Odds are much more likely you'll end up at a top investment bank or other financial firm in New York or San Francisco. It's a great program, ranked #2 USNews.</p>
<p>To 2331clk: I asked at one of the local hotel presentations for CMU about where the grads end up and he said most of them end up in Pittsburgh. Clearly, I heard this response in the presentation before the graduating class this year so perhaps your class had a different response. Also, I heard of a couple of CMU grads getting fantastic salaries in NY (which also happens to be an extremely expensive city to live in so the high salary fits the high prices in NY).</p>
<p>mdcissp (don't want to highjack the thread)...oh, gotcha, you'd think the person giving the talk would know better. Actually the city of Pittsburgh (very nice city btw but it's no LaJolla) tries to get CMU kids to stay, there've been many articles about this, without much success. I'd say most grads get great jobs...son's in NYC, cost of living is high, but salaries go up very fast from those starting salaries. Big raises, bonuses that exceed salary...we'll see what this economy does though.</p>
<p>Good luck to your son!</p>
<p>To 2331clk: Congratulations on your son's success. I am sure you are proud of him.</p>
<p>Of all my friends that graduated with myself last year (pretty much all engineers), none of us wound up staying in the Pittsburgh area. Most of us are scattered around the country for grad school, a few took jobs in NY/NJ area, one or two ended up near Boston, and a handful are in the south/midwest working at various companies.</p>
<p>I think most people that stay in Pittsburgh post-graduation are there because they stay at CMU/Pitt for some reason or another.</p>
<p>I had given up my opportunity to be on the priority list because CMU is no longer my 1st choice..
but, I just wanted to say congratulations to those of you who will be attending CMU this fall. and BEST LUCK TO YOU GUYS :)</p>