I am writing a why essay for CMU’s SCS department. However, I am using a lot of technical terms and I am not sure if the admission officers have previous knowledge of. Does admission officers at schools like CMU have CS related background? Should I just avoid technical terms and focus on something else in my essay?
Hi! I’m also applying to CMU! different department though 
It’s likely that they will have some familiarity with computer science (given that its CMU) but I would err on the side of caution and say to ease up on technical terms. If there are some words that can be replaced with something easier to understand for a layperson, I would go with that. At the same time, though, don’t get rid of all of your technical terms- you want to sound like you know what your talking about.
I think a good thing to do would be to get a humanities teacher or a friend who’s not into CS to proofread your essay, and if they can understand the point you are trying to get across (even if they don’t understand all the words), your essay will be fine.
My cousin also recently graduated from CMU’s grad program in electrical engineering. I’m not sure how different the application process is for grad vs undergrad, but I could ask what he thinks about this, if you wanted.
Good luck on your essay! :~)
Thank you~