<p>What kind of cliques do CMU have?</p>
<p>Can I learn piano at CMU? I have little experience in piano and want to be able to play piano on a more serious level.</p>
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<p>Not really familiar with that program, but if you want to take college classes for transfer credit I’d recommend going somewhere less expensive. You’ll be introduced to CMU and “the college experience” soon enough. :P</p>
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<p>SCS students who want to study abroad typically do it freshman or sophomore year, since later on you’ll want to take advantage of CMU’s more advanced CS courses. The Qatar campus is popular, and I know a handful of people who have gone/are going there. I also know a CS junior who’s in France, and seems to be enjoying it. I think she’s studying mainly music while she’s there, though (and resuming CS courses when she gets back).</p>
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<p>Nope! I myself have a macbook pro and I love it. I actually think macs have a slight edge for SCS because they come with terminal (command line) and if for some reason you really need Windows you can get it free from CMU’s Dreamspark and dual boot.</p>
<p>There will be PC labs near your classes if you need to use one for any reason. I’ve only needed to do so on a couple occasions in order to use MS Office products (OpenOffice usually works well enough, though).</p>
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<p>SIO is already online. If it’s closed for other freshmen, then I’m sure they’ll open it up to you guys soon; if it’s only broken for you, you should call admissions and let them know.</p>
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<p>Eh. It’s really up to you. Even if you pick roommates beforehand, it can be hard to tell how well you’ll really get along until you’re actually living together. My roommates and I all did random selection and it worked out pretty well. But if you find three other people who want a quad and you seem compatible, I’d say go for it.</p>
<p>I think Mudge is pretty great, and Rez on 5th is really nice too if you don’t mind the walk (it’s really not that much farther). Henderson and E-Tower are good. Stever seems alright. Those would probably be my top 5, but maybe if I were more familiar with the Hill some of those would rank higher too. I can pretty much guarantee you’ll end up liking wherever you live the best, though. Don’t worry too much about it.</p>
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<p>You got your freshmen, ROTC guys, preps, J.V. jocks, Asian nerds, Cool Asians, Varsity jocks…</p>
<p>lol, jk. But actually, I don’t think we have those.</p>
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<p>I don’t see how any computer you have will be a problem, because most of the basic work you will need to do can be done on pretty much any OS. Everything else, like very demanding software can be found in CMU clusters (there are linux, mac, and windows clusters all over campus, and major software programs are available for your use). So unless you reaaally don’t want to use the clusters, you shouldn’t worry about buying a new computer.</p>
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<p>I believe it should be up soon, I just checked and some of the first emails related to my info were sent in May-June, but I was one of the last applicants and they could’ve changed the system. There’s nothing much to do in SIO until you register for classes, which isn’t until July or so</p>
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<p>Picking your roommates shouldn’t guarantee you guys a place anywhere in Mudge, so pick your roommates if you actually want to live with them, and not random ones (although it’s more fun to do random selection as an incoming freshman)
Honestly, The residence on fifth is HIGHLY underestimated because everyone says “it’s too far away” It really isn’t. The extra 5 or so mins you walk to campus really pays off for pretty much having your own apartment (personal bathroom, living room, kitchen)
But then again, people have their preferences (some people want to experience typical college dorm experience)</p>
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<p>Well…any ones you’re looking for in particular? We probably have them here :)</p>
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<p>Some of the dorms have piano room(s) where you can learn to play by yourself. If you’re looking for lessons, you can either make friends with someone who is willing to teach you (finding someone who plays piano is like finding donuts in a donut shop: they’re everywhere) If you want even more professional than that, School of Music students have some kind of requirement where they give private lessons, thought they might not be free (I can ask around and get back to you with details later, unless somebody knows)</p>
<p>EDIT: sorcelator got most of it haha, so just adding on!</p>
<p>Alpha Kappa Psi is not a social fraternity, and in that sense it is unlike what you are probably thinking of when you think of fraternity.</p>
<p>Alpha Kappa Psi is a co-ed business fraternity, and focuses on primarily businessy type things. It’s co-ed. It does not have a house. It does not throw (official) parties. Pledging AKPsi is actually a significant time commitment, far more than any social fraternity.</p>
<p>I did AP/EA before enrolling in CMU, and here’s what I will say about it. It’s summer school. There’s really no difference. You may have a lot of fun at it because you will get to live on a floor with other people in similar programs, so you may enjoy it from a camp type perspective. When you actually take classes, depending on what you take, many or most of the other students will be Carnegie Mellon students who are actually taking summer school.</p>
<p>AP/EA was a lot of fun for me, and is good if you want to see what basically being in actual college is (aside from the extremely obnoxious curfew rules).</p>
<p>1) What are some popular student organizations at CMU?</p>
<p>2) How are school parties at CMU?</p>
<p>3) What are some club sports? I looked at the list, but just making sure every sport is listed there. For example, is there a club basketball or hockey at CMU?</p>
<p>4) Would I be in trouble if I score 1 or 2s in upcoming APs?</p>
<p>AP/EA is expensive. Do you know some other summer programms for transfer creditd. What courses CMU accept as a transfer credit?</p>
<p>1) I would like to know whether it was possible for me to transfer from Bryn Mawr College into CMU SCS. I’m top of my class and have excellent recommendations and all. Pls reply as soon as possible</p>
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<p>There are a ton of organizations at Carnegie Mellon. If you can think of an activity, there is probably an organization dedicated to it (actually, there are probably 4). It would be tough to say which are more “popular” without being incredibly biased.</p>
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<p>I’m not sure what you mean by this. If you’re just asking about the party scene generally, then it is definitely less intense than at other schools. There are still parties every weekend, but you might not be able to get into them. Parties (especially fraternity parties) at CMU tend to be a lot safer and follow much stricter safety rules than at other schools.</p>
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<p>There are many club sports at carnegie mellon. I know for sure that there is a club hockey team, and I imagine there is probably a club basketball team (in addition to the varsity basketball team, of course).</p>
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<p>If you’re scoring 1’s or 2’s you should probably realize that you haven’t mastered that subject area. If it’s in a field you never plan on touching again, then you’ll probably be fine. If it’s in your major, you might want to reconsider.</p>
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<p>It’s extremely unlikely that you’ll be admitted to SCS. SCS accepts very few internal transfers, and practically no external transfers. If you’re interested in majoring in computer science, you may have a better shot at trying to transfer into a different college (like Dietrich), and then double majoring in computer science.</p>
<p>Popular organizations wise, i just want to add on that Buggy is something that is CMU native and it’s pretty popular, though not everyone does it.</p>
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<p>Why is it more time-consuming to pledge for AKP than any other fraternity? Also, when is the earliest you can join?</p>
<p>Which dining plan is the best and why?</p>
<p>what is the difference between DineXtra dollars and flexible dollars? (or are the same thing, and I am just being confused?)</p>
<p>Can you use the flexible dollars on groceries, laundry, etc. like you can at other colleges?</p>
<p>I went with the cheapest plan (that is not Yellow, unless you live in the Rez, I don’t think they’ll let you get that one) and i still had plenty meal blocks and dinex remaining.
DineX can be used only at campus dining facilites, including the campus’ convenience store, and only very few off campus diners (Subway close to campus, Vocelli’s pizza, and EatinPark restaurant a bus ride away from campus)
I’m not sure about flex dollars, but I believe its the same thing, except that dinex can roll over per semester, but flex dollars can’t. I know plaidcash can be used in more locations, like campus vending machines, a few places near campus, extra printing…
You use your dinex at the school’s convenience store which has your basic needs, and laundry is “free” in freshmen dorms, as in you just go to the laundry room and use your ID card or if you’re in Rez just press start button. No extra charge, the laundry fee is already included in your tuition.</p>
<p>If you’re not in the Res. on Fifth, the Red 9 plan is the best. It’s much nicer to have the DineX to buy off-campus food at a few places (I think the Bagel Factory on Craig might also accept it now?), get various snacks from Entropy (or like, laundry detergent if you run out), or snacks that aren’t on a block at the campus eateries.</p>
<p>Meal blocks are very rigid because you can only use blocks at specific times of the day, and you might get tired of the food you’ll get. Also…getting a plan with fewer meal blocks allows you to eat off-campus (which honestly costs the same if not less than a meal block) without feeling guilty.</p>
<p>Everyone I know who got a larger-than-red meal plan regretted it.</p>
<p>DineX and flexible dollars are virtually the same. The only difference is that DineX rolls over from fall to spring (but not from spring to fall), whereas flexible dollars expire at the end of each semester. While people usually refer to DineX and flexible dollars as DineX regardless of which it actually is, the main meal plans technically offer flexible dollars.</p>
<p>I strongly agree with the comments to get the red plan. Within the red plan, go for red 9 (the maximum flexible dollars and minimum DineX plan). Even if you think you’ll eat more than the meals allotted for the red 9 plan, you can just spend flexible dollars on those meals and you would still end up better off than you would if you got a different red plan.</p>
<p>Edit: but if you are allowed to get a yellow plan, do that (so living in certain apartment buildings or moving into a greek house with a greek meal plan). Campus dining is fairly expensive, and the primary meal plans involve wasting a lot of your blocks/flexible dollars, and they don’t even offer much discount on full price for those items. Practically no non-freshmen opt for and yellow/red/blue/green meal plans.</p>
<p>@CarnegieMellonU Is there any reason to get a meal plan after freshman year? I know you recommend the yellow plan for upperclassmen, but why is that plan better than buying meals on your own?</p>
<p>^ Honestly, I think it’s a waste of money to get any of the traditional meal plans after fresh year. I’m on a community plan (Whitfield’s) and I’ve lasted on it the whole semester. It gives you room to go out to restaurants and not feel guilty, but it also gives you enough blocks and dinex to survive in case you have way too much work to go off campus/cook or if you’re stuck working on campus day and/or night. So don’t completely go off a meal plan, unless you have a car and/or time to make frequent trips to grocery stores and to cook.</p>
<p>It’s all about your own eating habits. I got stuck living in Scobel my sophomore year, and it was well worth being on a meal plan (as much as I was sick of the food already). The only kitchen was in the basement of my four story walkup. Once I moved off campus I started cooking most of my own meals, so there was no need for a meal plan. I had some friends that moved off campus, but didn’t cook, so a commuter plan was worthwhile so they could buy lunch every day at a slightly discounted inflated price.</p>
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<p>I know the Ghetto Eagle closed down about 7 years ago, but we still did fine taking the bus either to the Shadyside or Squirrel Hill Giant Eagle and making our own meals. I’d certainly say buying as many groceries as I could carry and then spending an hour every few nights cooking enough for leftovers took way less time than my friends that went out to eat every night.</p>
<p>Hey guys, sorry to interrupt the discussion about meal plans :P</p>
<p>1) What can I expect in terms of hours of lecture a day and lab hours? i’m well aware that i will be spending hours a day after classes studying material, but id like to know how many compulsory lesson hours I can expect per day/per week.</p>
<p>and before people say “it depends” etc, i’m accepted to do Mech Eng/ECE. Even if you have no idea about the engineering lecture length, tell me something about your class time!</p>
<p>2) I was wondering if anyone could tell me something about this article:</p>
<p>[The</a> happy mask: Carnegie Mellon must address stress culture - The Tartan Online](<a href=“http://thetartan.org/2012/12/3/forum/mentalhealth]The”>The happy mask: Carnegie Mellon must address stress culture - The Tartan)</p>
<p>From what i understand this is the student run newspaper, and after reading that I must admit i’m a little shaken in terms of accepting my offer at CMU. Is it really that bad? are there any current students here who have experienced that themselves or have friends who have? </p>
<p>Id like to believe my work ethic is really good but I don’t want to end up emotionally wrecked/transfer schools like some of the horror stories on that post :/</p>