Current student answering questions (round 2)

<p>Very few classes I took had compulsory lesson hours. Attendance was optional, though generally highly recommended.</p>

<p>There are horror stories like that from just about every school. I don’t know of anyone within my major dealing with stress in the way the people in that article did. I think a lot of it might have been because we were a really close knit group that worked on everything together.</p>

<p>And, if you do start to feel yourself having problems, it’s best to try and get help before it becomes overwhelming. This is true no matter where you go to school.</p>

<p>The happy mask: Carnegie Mellon must address stress culture - The Tartan Online</p>

<p>Just read this article and the comments. This is pretty disturbing. Is CMU that stressful?</p>

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<p>If you go to all your classes, it’ll probably be about 4 or 5 hours a day total. Maybe more with labs.</p>

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<p>This is a question I addressed in the original thread. Here’s my answer from then:</p>

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<p>My answer now:
Some people get overwhelmed by the work at CMU, but plenty of other people love it. As long as you go in expecting a challenge, realize that it’s normal to struggle sometimes, and keep in mind all the backup options you have when you get into trouble (nobody wants you to fail - whatever your difficulty, there are systems in place to help you!), you’ll be okay.</p>

<p>(For what it’s worth, there were a bunch of town hall meetings and discussions about “stress culture” after the article went out, and the administration does seem to genuinely want to help in any way they can. I haven’t been following it so I don’t know what changes they’ve made, but I know they’re doing something.)</p>

<p>To add on to RacinReaver and sorcelator, college is going to be stressful for you in the beginning no matter what school you go to. After a while, you should learn how to get used to it. To be honest, college is probably the last stop before you go out into the real world, which doesn’t get any better. So it’s just there as a stepping stone to prepare you for what’s ahead (I’m sorry if I’m sounding like when your parents are lecturing you…) Yes, I sometimes feel like there is a semester where I seem to have endless work: when one assignment is due another is on deck. But professors and TAs and any staff at CMU understand what they’re giving you. You have advisors for a reason and the staff in general is AMAZING here (they sometimes even have free candy!). It really frustrates me how popular it is for college kids everywhere to say “oohh I’m so cool, I’m gonna overload and take 6-7 classes, just because I can and I want to show off”. They give their proposed schedule to their advisor, who suggests that they shouldn’t take such classes because it will be very tough. Advisors can’t stop you from taking the courses if you have all the requirements for it, but those people just don’t listen and then spend the whole semester whining about how they’re always pulling all nighters, how they’re falling behind classes, calling professors “stupid and unfair” because they’re just stressed and frustrated. In addition, some might feel too embarrassed to seek help and end up doing poorly, which adds on even more to their stress.
So to all incoming freshman, no matter what college you go to, PLEASE listen to your elders. Don’t think you’ll be the “cool kid” because you’re always sleep deprived: it doesn’t reflect how smart you are because of how much work you have. The more sleep and food you get, the better you do in classes. I’m an ECE major getting ~9-10 hrs of sleep/night, have hobbies, friends, (a significant other), and all of that is what’s keeping me sane and with an above average GPA. And I’m not even close to being a super genius. As sorcelator said, “it is REALLY IMPORTANT that you take your health (physical AND mental) seriously”. If I could, I would repost this quote over and over again because of its importance. :P</p>

<p>p.s. many of you probably had your parents sit on your head and annoy you at some point in your life when they would yell at you to eat, give you curfews, yell at you to clean your room, shower/clean yourself, and overall keep a good hygiene. The first thing I realized after my first year at college alone is how much they were right…:)</p>

<p>If I am in HSS and I am interested in filling up pre-med requirements for med school WTHOUT majoring in a scientific field, can I do that? Or do I have to transfer into MCS? If so, what would I have to do?</p>

<p>Hello, could you please thoroughly explain how paying for CMU works? I know that 8/15 is an important payment day, but what do I have to have paid by then?</p>

<p>One quick question… Does anyone know if CMU is known to decrease financial aid over the years even if the family’s income stays at the same level or if they give pretty much the same amount of aid each year?</p>

<p>Here is a question for current CMU students: I know CMU has a very gay-friendly atmosphere, but what would lesbian life be like? I heard there aren’t as many “out” women as men.</p>

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<p>In my opinion, the whole payment process is pretty scary (because I don’t know much) so my financial advisor walks me through it. There is a way to link your bank account with the SIO and they would charge you every month. If you’re taking out loans, you have to fill out loan documents and all that and send them to the HUB, or the financial aid office. I think that by 8/15 you must fill all of these out if you’re applying for aid: [Applying</a> for Aid-Student Financial Aid - Carnegie Mellon University<a href=“ignore%20the%20year,%20it’s%20the%20same%20thing”>/url</a>. if you’re an incoming freshman, you should pay your deposit (though I don’t think it’s due on the 15th)
Other than that, I’m not 100% sure what you need to do, so my biggest suggestion is to call the HUB services ([url=<a href=“http://www.cmu.edu/hub/hours.html]Hours”>http://www.cmu.edu/hub/hours.html]Hours</a> & Contacts-The HUB - Carnegie Mellon University](<a href=“http://www.cmu.edu/finaid/undergraduate/applying.html]Applying”>http://www.cmu.edu/finaid/undergraduate/applying.html))</p>

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<p>I know that CMU is strictly need-based, so they will only give you aid based on your family’s income (and student status, must be full time students). I don’t see why they would decrease your aid if your information stays the same. Although, the Carnegie Grant requires you to have at least a 2.0 average I believe.</p>

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<p>Actually, I know more lesbians than gays, but then again, I personally don’t know many. But honestly, you shouldn’t worry because you can always find people. You can attend events and programs, if you’re interested here’s more general info: [LGBTQ</a> Resources - Student Life - Carnegie Mellon University](<a href=“http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/student-life/glbt/]LGBTQ”>http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/student-life/glbt/)</p>

<p>Hello, Could you please also PM me the list of topics covered in 15-121, 15-211 and 15-212 ? I heard that these are being replaced by 15-122, 15-150 and 15-210. If so, any idea what is different between the earlier courses and the new ones ? Thank you in advance for your help.</p>

<p>…no? That change happened a while ago; I took 122 last Fall, I’m taking 150 now, and I’ll take 210 either next semester or in the spring. I have no idea how those courses compare to the ones they replaced, but essentially 122 uses C and covers common data structures and algorithms, 150 is about functional programming in SML and proving code, and 210 is a kind of sequel to 150 that apparently focuses on analyzing code. What do you want to do? There’s no way you’ll take 150 before Spring semester, and it’s a prerequisite for 210, so I’m not sure what good a summary of those topics would do you now.</p>

<p>I am most likely attending CMU next year…I was just wondering, is the social life really bad there? Ive heard that its more like, what you make of it and stuff, but I’ve also heard its pretty bad. If I joined a frat would that be better? and which frats are known more for like their parties and stuff (if theres any)</p>

<p>It’s apparently pretty bad in terms of parties, but if you’re into that Pitt is right next door.</p>

<p>If you’re a social person, you’ll meet plenty of other social people during orientation and find social things to do together. I don’t know anything about frats, sorry, but it’s easy enough to find all that out once you’re on campus.</p>

<p>Thank you very much! I will pay my deposit in about a week. So I DON’T need to have my room and board already paid by the 15th, but I must have started paying it by then, correct? I plan on paying off whatever I owe with a payment plan, as well as work study.</p>

<p>^ Have you got access to SIO yet?</p>

<p>So, question. I was admitted ED, & this never even occurred to me before, but ED kids are given full financial need. Does this continue for the whole four years?</p>

<p>& I was given a lot of financial aid, but what happens next? Is it just automatically applied or do I have to sign something or confirm it? I would imagine if i had to do the later, they would have given me instructions, but seeing as how all financial aid things seem to operate in a black box, I’d just like to make sure.</p>

<p>For ED they will meet your need each year you reapply. </p>

<p>I think there’s something you need to do to accept your financial aid package… I remember there being like a page online where you had to fill in a text field saying how much of the offered loans you would accept. It’s probably better to call Admissions for any financial questions, though.</p>

<p>My son is planning to do CS at CMU starting this fall. While exploring dorm options, the following questions come to mind:
a) Are CS students typically grouped in a specific dorm? Is so, which one?
b) Among Mudge/Boss/Welch/Henderson/Donner which one is closest, say from Bldg-16/9A/9B which are marked as SCS?
c) During fall/winter (rainy/snow season), would commuting to Welch/Henderson (that are up in the hill) be a problem?
d) Beyond first-year, how easy or difficult would it be to get placed within the campus dorms?
Thank you for any insights.</p>

<p>a) No, they’re not grouped.</p>

<p>b) Freshman year it won’t matter, you’ll be taking a lot of general classes and won’t be dumping all your time in clusters. And they’re all pretty close anyway.</p>

<p>c) I used to live in Scobell which is up the hill, and it was a little annoying early in the morning on snowy/icy days before they could get the ice out. Then again, the whole city is icy and hilly, and I slipped a lot more often on peoples driveways when I lived about a mile off campus.</p>

<p>d) It’s not that hard to be in campus dorms your second+ year, the question is if you wind up in a dorm you want. I was in Donner my freshman year (great) and Scobell my second (smaller rooms, and only the top floor was non-freshman only). It wasn’t the worst because I had a bunch of friends up there with me, but we had some of the worst luck with room draw numbers. The following year we moved to Shady Oak which is a little ways away (still an easy walk) and enjoyed living in the campus owned apartments.</p>

<p>Hey racinreaver, are you going to carnival this weekend? We’re here for the first time, waiting for the comedy show. Exciting!</p>