Questions about life at Carnegie Mellon

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carnegie Mellon University
1

<p>Hi guys,</p>

<p>I am very dissatisfied with my current school and am strongly considering transferring to Carnegie Mellon. Yes, I am very aware that admission is extremely competitive, but it is a risk I am willing to take. On this thread, I don't want to focus on admissions as much as I want to ask questions about student life.
If I am going to transfer, I want to love my new school exactly as it is, not as a romanticized ideal. For that reason, I want to know both as much of good and the bad as possible. Here are my questions:</p>

<ol>
<li>Is Carnegie Mellon considered an environment where workaholism is common, or is it a 'work hard, play hard' school?</li>
<li>I intend to be apply as a Creative Writing major. How are they treated on campus versus the hard science and engineering majors? Are they taken seriously, or are they mocked horribly and thought of as 'lesser' students?</li>
<li>How much is there to do on Carnegie Mellon's campus and how much is there usually to do in Pittsburgh?</li>
<li>Can Carnegie Mellon ever have the feel of a 'social bubble'--a world in which life, news, and joy from the outside world is absent on-campus?</li>
<li>Is there one social group that overpowers everybody else and dominates campus life?</li>
<li>What do students commonly do on a Friday or Saturday night?</li>
<li>Is Carnegie Mellon considered a 'red tape' environment because of its size?</li>
<li>How possible is it for a non-music major in H&SS to take classes over at CFA? From your experiences, are there any open spots available for someone who is not in the major or is it restricted to music majors/CFA students only?</li>
<li>For any Creative Writing/ English majors who read this, how difficult is it to manage two majors and have a social life?</li>
<li>I've read that the men-to-women ratio on-campus overall is 3:2. What's the ratio for H&SS?</li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>1. Is Carnegie Mellon considered an environment where workaholism is common, or is it a ‘work hard, play hard’ school?</p>

<p>Very much the latter. While you do have some workaholics, CM does have a reputation as a “party school” on the weekends and during breaks. Nothing violent or (too) illegal, of course! but when I was there you would buckle down during the week and cut loose on the weekend – after you’ve taken care of your obligattos, of course!</p>

<p>2. I intend to be apply as a Creative Writing major. How are they treated on campus versus the hard science and engineering majors? Are they taken seriously, or are they mocked horribly and thought of as ‘lesser’ students?</p>

<p>I didn’t really interact much with the non-engineering majors, but I didn’t have anything particularly against them. I don’t think that CW is as “hard” as engineering, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some derision/mockery, but most of us took and still take education seriously and understand the value of a plurality of skillsets. </p>

<p>**
4. Can Carnegie Mellon ever have the feel of a ‘social bubble’–a world in which life, news, and joy from the outside world is absent on-campus?**</p>

<p>Not at all. The school is very interactive with the surrounding Pittsburgh community. It’s not really a “campus bubble” feel whatsoever. </p>

<p>What do you mean by “red tape”? There are rules, of course, but nothing that you won’t hsee at any other colleges. It’s not a super-bureaucracy like Liberty or Wheaton or one of the military academies; it’s your standard big-state school atmosphere (minus the big-state, of course!)</p>

3

<ol>
<li>Is Carnegie Mellon considered an environment where workaholism is common, or is it a ‘work hard, play hard’ school?</li>
</ol>

<p>Those two are not mutually exclusive. There are workaholics, and it is common. However, most people work hard and play hard – though people have varying definitions of play. Right now there is a giant papier mache volcano down the street for a giant Dante’s Inferno party going down tonight. </p>

<ol>
<li>I intend to be apply as a Creative Writing major. How are they treated on campus versus the hard science and engineering majors? Are they taken seriously, or are they mocked horribly and thought of as ‘lesser’ students?</li>
</ol>

<p>Engineering and science majors who are your friends will probably joke around with you. I am a CW major myself and I’ve never had anyone seriously make fun of me or mock me. Most CW students seem to be very serious about publishing and/or teaching and/or moving onto their thesis, so it’s a different kind of “serious” from something like mechE or ECE. However, to call the CW classes “difficult” would be a bit of a stretch. It’s difficult in the way Art or Drama is difficult. You will be a self-motivated student; you are what you make. Unlike most tech majors you’ll be expected to be completing your own work and projects outside of class, and professors will encourage that and ask you to bring things to them.</p>

<ol>
<li>How much is there to do on Carnegie Mellon’s campus and how much is there usually to do in Pittsburgh?</li>
</ol>

<p>What is your definition of “to do?” It’s a mid-sized city. That answer can vary wildly depending on where you’re from and what you’re used to, and what you like to do.</p>

<ol>
<li>Can Carnegie Mellon ever have the feel of a ‘social bubble’–a world in which life, news, and joy from the outside world is absent on-campus?</li>
</ol>

<p>With respect to news - Sure. It’s college. There are clubs for people who like to debate politics and that sort of thing, but on average unless something large happens (like DADT getting overturned or those gay kids killing themselves last month) people aren’t too talkative about outside news. I don’t know what you mean by “joy from the outside world,” I’m afraid. Could you clarify?</p>

<ol>
<li>Is there one social group that overpowers everybody else and dominates campus life?</li>
</ol>

<p>No. Although the Greek community tends to get pretty loud, they’re only about 16% of the campus right now. They just, you know, get in trouble the most and make the most noise. If you don’t have any Greek friends odds are good you’ll never hear about greek life, though. (I’m not Greek myself.)</p>

<ol>
<li>What do students commonly do on a Friday or Saturday night?</li>
</ol>

<p>The same thing normal people do - what they enjoy. Robotics nerds build chess bots. People who like action go out and party. Quieter types hang out with their friends, order pizza, and maybe put on a movie. Campus events are frequently popular as well, such as dollar movie nights. </p>

<ol>
<li>Is Carnegie Mellon considered a ‘red tape’ environment because of its size?</li>
</ol>

<p>Red tape with regards to what?</p>

<ol>
<li>How possible is it for a non-music major in H&SS to take classes over at CFA? From your experiences, are there any open spots available for someone who is not in the major or is it restricted to music majors/CFA students only?</li>
</ol>

<p>You can take non-major music courses, lessons, join the All University Orchestra, participate in numerous bands around campus, and/or join the Kiltie Band (our official band, which is hugely popular). You cannot take most music major courses, to my knowledge, unless you have some special professor permission. </p>

<ol>
<li>For any Creative Writing/ English majors who read this, how difficult is it to manage two majors and have a social life?</li>
</ol>

<p>Are you considering CW/English as your double majors? If so, then that’ll be easy and not at all challenging to complete. Most of those majors’ courses overlap so there will really be only a few that will be unique to each major. </p>

<ol>
<li>I’ve read that the men-to-women ratio on-campus overall is 3:2. What’s the ratio for H&SS?</li>
</ol>

<p>That ratio is no longer accurate. It is about equal for the university as a whole. I don’t know the exact breakdown for H&SS, but it seems very balanced - I’ve always had roughly 50/50 split classes.</p>

4

<p>All right, so I’m not currently enrolled at CMU, nor have I applied there, but I’ve lived in Pittsburgh my entire life in a neighborhood that’s about a twenty minute walk (or three minute drive) from CMU’s campus. This isn’t by any means an accurate representation of life inside the school, given that I’ve never attended, but I feel like I can answer your questions about Pittsburgh in general fairly well.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>How much is there to do on Carnegie Mellon’s campus and how much is there usually to do in Pittsburgh?
I know more than a few people at CMU, and they seem to have no trouble finding parties, activities, etc.etc. One place where a lot of college students (both from CMU and University of Pittsburgh) gather is the Waffle Shop, which is, for lack of a better words, really freaking awesome. [The</a> Waffle Shop](<a href=“Luke - Home Improvement Blog”>http://www.waffleshop.org/)
As far as Pittsburgh in general goes, I’ve managed without becoming too bored. The trick is to look for things. We’re a city, sure, but not a particularly large one, and unless you really love either football or hockey, sometimes it seems like there isn’t much here for you. That’s entirely untrue. If you’re looking for a more artsy scene, I love both the Mattress Factory and Wood Street Galleries (both just a bus ride away from campus, though, let’s be honest, Pittsburgh public transportation, while free for CMU students, is absolutely abominable) because they both have ever-changing and often interactive exhibits. There’s also a pretty strong indie music scene in Pittsburgh with lots of local bands. Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Point Park University students, and Dance Alloy always put on pretty great dance performances, too.
Big(ger) community events include the Zombie Walk every year at Monroeville Mall (site of the original Dawn of the Dead) which is a bit outside of the city itself, but still accessible by bus, Empty Bowls (sponsored by the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, it’s a large performance/auction/charity dinner to raise money for the food shelter), and the Pittsburgh Polar Bear Plunge (essentially, jump in the water of one of our three rivers in December and try to stay there to raise money for charity). Additionally, there’s a rather inexpensive outdoor ice skating rink downtown all throughout the winter, as well as a free disc golf course located a ten-ish minute walk from CMU’s campus, if you’re at all interested in things like that.
Basically: Pittsburgh is what you make it. There’s plenty open besides the normal city night-life kinds of things, but those certainly exist, as well.</p></li>
<li><p>Can Carnegie Mellon ever have the feel of a ‘social bubble’–a world in which life, news, and joy from the outside world is absent on-campus?
I’m sure it can, but one of the best things about Oakland (the neighborhood where CMU is located), in my opinion, is that both CMU and University of Pittsburgh have their campuses spread out within it. You really can’t separate the two campuses from the neighborhood around it, which I would imagine acts to mitigate the bubble effect at least a bit.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>If you have any further questions about Pittsburgh, I’d be happy to answer them.</p>