CMU Likes/Dislikes

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carnegie Mellon University
1

<p>There have been some posts on this topic here, but I need more :-). I am trying to narrow down the list of schools to apply to next year, and would appreciate a more meaty discussion. Yes, I plan on visiting, but in the mean time I would appreciate info on the topics below. PLEASE BE SPECIFIC WHENEVER POISSIBLE.</p>

<p>Thanks - Da Geek</p>

<li><p>What are the top 3 things you like about ACADEMICS. I don’t not care about the social life/party scene.</p></li>
<li><p>Ditto for the top 2 things you dislike about academics.</p></li>
<li><p>How would you describe academic instruction - buttoned down/routine; focused on rote memorization; quirky/free-spirited; etc. Do instructors on average try to make it engaging, or is it a typical “lecture” thing?</p></li>
<li><p>How difficult it is to get into the classes you are interested in?</p></li>
<li><p>How would you rate the opportunity for interdisciplinary studies? I am mostly humanties-oriented, but I do like art and some of the sciences, and would not mind to get a broad taste of things.</p></li>
<li><p>When are you expected to declare a major? Do you apply to a specific college and then have to major there, or is it wide open, e.g., through sophomore year.</p></li>
<li><p>Are students generally helpful and supportive of each other, or is it dog-eat-dog? </p></li>
<li><p>Did you feel that you had adequate internship/practical experience opportunites. Please include your major when responding to this one.</p></li>
<li><p>Does the school feel like it is on the upswing or downswing? Are facilities properly maintained, particularly the library?</p></li>
</ol>

2

<ol>
<li><p>What are the top 3 things you like about ACADEMICS. I don't not care about the social life/party scene. Brilliant teachers and professors. Nobel Prize winners and caring professors who are at the top of their respective fields. I also love the job opportunities upon graduation that are associated with academics and the high paying salaries! Learning is also fun here and not boring or super competitive (students trying to ruin each other's GPA because of curves, etc). </p></li>
<li><p>Ditto for the top 2 things you dislike about academics.
I can't really complain. I can complain about professors making me write essays and stuff but it has really taught me to write a great persuasive essay instead of the old high school "absorb and spit back out" tactic. I hate writing essays though but thankfully intro classes are gone after Freshman year. </p></li>
<li><p>How would you describe academic instruction - buttoned down/routine; focused on rote memorization; quirky/free-spirited; etc. Do instructors on average try to make it engaging, or is it a typical "lecture" thing?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I would call it very open-minded and lecture/discussion oriented. Our professors always encourage us to talk though almost nobody does at 8:30 in the morning :) My discussion classes have been amazingly interseting and informative though. I've learned many things from arguing with my peers (and winning those arguments :)). I like how everyone is friendly and respect each other's opinions rather than shoot each other down or compete against each other. Cooperation is really helpful here because you'll find your peers all have strengths and weaknesses and everyone is a genius in their own way.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>How difficult it is to get into the classes you are interested in?
Not hard at all. The professors care a lot about your academics (instead of being research whores) and will let you off waitlists if you email them saying you want to attend their class. </p></li>
<li><p>How would you rate the opportunity for interdisciplinary studies? I am mostly humanties-oriented, but I do like art and some of the sciences, and would not mind to get a broad taste of things.
CMU is absolutely the BEST for double majoring. They encourage students to double major and dabble in other schools a lot. They also make double majoring relatively easy compared to other schools. Where else can you freely double major in CS and Business; both top 5 in the nation?</p></li>
<li><p>When are you expected to declare a major? Do you apply to a specific college and then have to major there, or is it wide open, e.g., through sophomore year.
Sophomore year to Junior year. You can transfer/change majors and schools as many times as you want. Obviously space has to be available but it is not that hard. I know quite a few people who have transferred over to more than 1 school from their original freshmen college.</p></li>
<li><p>Are students generally helpful and supportive of each other, or is it dog-eat-dog? CMU is academically challenging but because of many non-curve classes and the general friendliness of people, there is almost no ultra-competitiveness at all. You will not find UChicago, JHU, or Cornell curve-bashing here. We help each other and freely collaborate on academics. Upper level courses even REQUIRE teamwork and professors will assign teams. This applies to just about every single major! </p></li>
<li><p>Did you feel that you had adequate internship/practical experience opportunites. Please include your major when responding to this one.
My major is Business as of now and the interns here are amazing. I can copy/paste my email box for you (they give you more than 1 gig of space) and it is packed full with intern and job information as well as competition info. Frequently you see CMU people wearing suits around campus as recruiters come to us. There is a reason we are ranked as the school with the hottest jobs :)</p></li>
<li><p>Does the school feel like it is on the upswing or downswing? Are facilities properly maintained, particularly the library?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>It is definitely on the rise. 20% increase in apps and we are getting money ( I can only speak for Tepper on this one). We have multiple libraries but the main one is more than sufficient. It has multiple floors including a mini-blockbuster to let you rent out or watch videos of academic and non-academic movies/shows. Of course wireless internet is available throughout the campus and computers are just about everywhere (even in the halls of buildings where you have your classes). We also have access to Upitt's huge library as well as several small ones located in Wean.</p>

3

<ol>
<li>What are the top 3 things you like about ACADEMICS. I don't not care about the social life/party scene.</li>
</ol>

<ul>
<li>they give college credit for APs (not true for ivies etcs). i came in with 9 classes of AP's, helped a lot for scheduling.</li>
<li>you can double major, minor, take classes in most of the other departments without any issues at all.</li>
<li>everyone is very bright in their respective fields, and you are challenged to learn in every class.</li>
</ul>

<ol>
<li>Ditto for the top 2 things you dislike about academics.</li>
</ol>

<ul>
<li><p>i'm not a fan of the A/B/C vs A+ A- B+ B- grading system, if you are on the border, say with a 88.9%, you'd get a 3.0 at CMU, versus a 3.2 for a B+ at other institutions.</p></li>
<li><p>some courses have in my opinion pretty unfair grading curves, it's just a difficult school overall GPA wise. </p></li>
</ul>

<ol>
<li>How would you describe academic instruction - buttoned down/routine; focused on rote memorization; quirky/free-spirited; etc. Do instructors on average try to make it engaging, or is it a typical "lecture" thing?</li>
</ol>

<p>-most professors are defintely good teachers, care about students and pretty accessible i.e. not swamped during office hours.</p>

<ol>
<li>How difficult it is to get into the classes you are interested in?</li>
<li><p>not very, you won't be waitlistd for any classes in your major. getting into courses in tepper is sometimes difficult for nonmajors.</p></li>
<li><p>How would you rate the opportunity for interdisciplinary studies? I am mostly humanties-oriented, but I do like art and some of the sciences, and would not mind to get a broad taste of things.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>-very good, you can declare a double major in most depts without any approval, which can't be said for many other institutions.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>When are you expected to declare a major? Do you apply to a specific college and then have to major there, or is it wide open, e.g., through sophomore year.
-probably end freshman year beginning sophomore year to graduate in 4 years.</p></li>
<li><p>Are students generally helpful and supportive of each other, or is it dog-eat-dog?
-i strongly believe at CMU the culture is to help each other as much as possible, there isn't a huge prelaw/premed population, so student's arent terribly concerned with grades in terms of stepping on others.</p></li>
<li><p>Did you feel that you had adequate internship/practical experience opportunites. Please include your major when responding to this one.
-getting internships is hard, no matter what field. Companies are always interested in the tech majors for IT and such, but generally most students get experience during sophomore year on. Getting research is difficult in some depts, not as much as others. I am an ece major.</p></li>
<li><p>Does the school feel like it is on the upswing or downswing? Are facilities properly maintained, particularly the library?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>defintely upswing. library is very clean, same with all the buildings. academics are getting stronger, new Bill Gates building for CS coming soon? feel free to msg with any Q's.</p>