<p>My D signed up for an info session and tour. She's a junior and according to the CM web site, that session will cover:</p>
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From February-April, we offer a Carnegie Mellon Preview Session for freshman, sophomores or juniors, who are typically looking for an overview of the college search process and university. This general session, lasting 45-minutes, will review the college admission process, what sets Carnegie Mellon apart from other universities, how to connect with us during the college search process, as well as how to prepare yourself for the application process.
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<p>As her tour is later in the day, we'll have to travel really early in the AM to make the info session.</p>
<p>Is it worth doing? We are already familiar with "an overview of the college search process and university". What she really wants is an idea if CMU might be a good fit for her and what her options are there with CS or engineering.</p>
<p>So embarrassed, don’t know how to make a link, but on the SCS website, there’s a page that tells how interested high school students can set up a visit with the department. This may be much more informative for you. I don’t know if CIT offers the same.</p>
<p>PS: to make a link just copy it from the address bar of the page, and paste it into a message. CC makes links clickable and with a description automatically.</p>
<p>I want to give a brief report - info session was fine, decent overview and actually a thing I didn’t know - that students apply to up to 3 colleges and rank them in order pf preference. I thought D would have to choose one and only one. Session was otherwise just OK - mostly a video shown in spurts but covered decent ground in an hour.</p>
<p>Tour…well there were like 60 people in our info session and when we were told the tour guideS would meet us after I assumed we’d be split up into smaller groups like we have been at every other school we’ve visited. Uh, no. Those three guides led us ALL around campus as one huge group and simply took turns speaking at each stop. Though the tour guides were actually engaging and funny, most of the group couldn’t hear them. At other schools we’ve not only been broken into smaller groups but the guides have taken different routes around campus so as not to all arrive at each stop together. Its not a “she’ll never go to CMU” thing but it makes me wonder.</p>
<p>In general, Pitt the city was a bigger hit than I expected form my “need to be in a REAL city” kid and the free city bus pass for students sounded great. Are around campus was cool, Pitt to one side, safe and fun looking area all around. There was a football game going on and hardly anyone was there watching it, but that’s not why D is interested in the school so not a big deal. </p>
<p>So…looking good so far, she’d probably apply.</p>
<p>But.</p>
<p>The serious turn-off was that the financial aid brochure makes it very clear that CMU not only doesn’t meet full need but will probably gap everyone and that on top of max loans. For that reason it will probably not make the final app list. I’ll do a CC visit report in the next couple of days.</p>
<p>Although CMU can be a little on the stingy side with financial aid, they are willing to negotiate on price if you get into one of their peer schools with a better offer. I was able to save a few thousand a term in loans by showing them the substantially better offer RPI had given me.</p>