<p>So, I just thought now that decisions are [coming] out, you guys would have some questions.</p>
<p>Whether it be housing/meal plan/orientation/mustard, I would be happy to be of help.</p>
<p>On a side note, there is a website TakeoffCMU</a> | Fasten your seatbelt that answers questions submitted about CMU, but it isn't a forum which can be used interactively. April 1st they will be holding such a session at night.</p>
<p>A little background on myself:
I live in Morewood E tower. I am in CIT, I applied for ECE going in, but have switched to Mech E and plan to pursue it. I came in with zero knowledge in programming/ECE, and though it was a bit rough at times, it is certainly doable.</p>
<p>When do financial aid letters go out. I was accepted ED II. I expected it to go up with Regular Decision fat letters, but, alas,it has not. Do you remember when you got Financial Aid info?</p>
<p>Not long after I received my RD acceptance. I believe it was the same week. Looking at the date marks on my last financial aid process, I received my financial aid package March 29th.</p>
<p>Le sigh. I’m so anxious to know. I have entirely too many anxiety problems for this process. I can handle work, I can handle waiting for things, but I cannot handle not knowing how things are going to turn out.</p>
<p>I probably won’t qualify for any financial aid. Do you think that a computer science degree from CMU is worth the extra $80k or so it would cost to go there instead of a competitive state school?</p>
<p>If the only thing you care about is job opportunities afterwards, then your competitive state school would be the best option.</p>
<p>In my case, I had close to full rides to my state schools where I could have came out of college very decent, but I chose to come to CMU because I wanted a change in environment. I wanted the environment and the opportunities CMU has to offer that no state school has close to offer whether it be research opportunities, or just being apart of a melting pot of intellectuals.</p>
<p>I’m not going to lie. My first semester (once Orientation wore off), I was somewhat kicking myself for not going to a state school where life would be “easier”, but I’ve come to be happy here.</p>
<p>How exactly does the waitlist work? I’ve heard something about a priority waitlist and a regular waitlist - what’s the difference, and how do I know which one I’m on?</p>
<p>I was waitlisted to CIT. I have no idea what to do. I don’t have an email explaining the situation, when I will be notified of my final decision or anything. Just the word “Waitlist” on my decision page.</p>
<p>Hi! I’m the parent of a high school Jr. son who will be looking for engineering schools. I recently added CMU to the list. I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about the campus. DS is not into cities and is looking for a campus that is not mixed in with the city. I had assumed that since CMU was in Pittsburgh it was like that, but now I am thinking otherwise? I’ve looked at aerial maps and it looks pretty nice! Can you tell me what you like about the campus? And also, what made you pick CMU? Where else were you looking at and in the end, which colleges were you deciding between? Also, what is ECE? I feel like I should know… but I can’t come up with it. Thanks!!</p>
<p>@my3gr8boyz: Hi, I’m not a sophomore but a recently accepted freshman who knows a fair bit about CMU. The campus is nice… but it seems to me to be a love/hate thing. I know people who hate the campus while I personally love it. It <em>is</em> integrated into the city, but there is still a campus. It’s hard to explain and you should definitely visit. ECE stands for electrical and computer engineering. I am looking into several schools, but CMU appeals to me for its highly interdisciplinary nature.</p>
<p>@my3gr8boyz:Let’s see. I happen to love the campus. While on campus, you would have no idea you are in a city if you didn’t see buildings in the distance when in one of the taller buildings. Lots of green, and it’s neither too big or too small. I admit my dorm is one of the closer ones to campus, but I can get to class in under 10 minutes, and that 10 being just an unfortunate event of scheduling. I had at first not considered any colleges in cities thinking they would all be like NYU and be integrated into the city (like NYU), but I changed my mind and I’m glad I did. CMU is in a great location since Craig street is within walking distance and has lots of nice restaurants (and has a Subway which you can order from with your meal plan) and other locations like Walnut street are not much farther. CMU students ride the public buses free and they are (usually) reliable. The Waterfront which has a Target, Movie Theater, and is basically a large shopping center is a 15-20min bus ride. (Though I haven’t timed myself)</p>
<p>Why did I pick CMU? Well, first, the campus was nice. I had already started to like Pittsburgh from my visit at UPitt, and CMU sold me over on campus when I had already been sold on the city. On top of that, CMU is an Electrical/Computer Engineering & Computer Science powerhouse. I have freshmen friends getting interviewed for internships at Dropbox/Facebook and other big names, and it’s pretty impressive. Though I chose Mech E over ECE in the end (Mech E is another of many top 10 programs at CMU) I plan on taking some courses in that area along with CS for my own knowledge. In the end it is what you know that lands you a job, not the title of your major on a diploma. I had decided between Cornell, Columbia (though that was a waitlist), and CMU, and CMU was just too nice to pass up. ESPECIALLY with my financial aid package that actually made CMU less expensive than any of them, I was sold.</p>
<p>Another big reason I chose CMU, was to be challenged. I breezed through high school, and it was boring. I wanted to be pushed to better myself and not be in an environment where my intelligence was more than adequate. Coming here, I got my wish. Students here will impress you from day one with their intelligence and talents, so I quickly practiced the art of not comparing myself to anyone.</p>
<p>How hard or easy is it to take courses across schools? Do people often get shut out of courses because they’re from a different school and it’s already filled once they register? How does registration work - I assume if you’re in the school, you get priority, but how do they decide after that?</p>
<p>Also, how easy or hard is it to transfer schools, and is it easier at some schools than others? My S was accepted at HSS but waitlisted for SCS, and he’s a future comp sci major. I’m not sure he should take the chance of being turned down again when he tries to transfer into SCS. It would mean that he’d have to totally transfer out of the school.</p>
<p>The way it usually works is that there is a certain amount of spots in a course reserved right off the bat for the students in the college that course is geared toward. Whether or not you get to claim one of the remaining spots that are up for grabs is based off of how good of a registration time you are given, and how popular a course is. I’ve seen over and over again kids get off waitlists to get courses after kids drop out, or the professor makes room for them once they see the student is working hard and really wants to be in the class.</p>
<p>Transferring schools depends on from what school you are leaving and where you are going. It is much easier for an ECE/CS major to transfer to HSS/MCS than it is for the HSS/MCS kids to declare ECE/CS majors. It’s certainly possible, but you have to be able to show that you belong in the school you want to transfer to. I have a friend on my floor who is in Information Systems at HSS and is transferring to SCS. He pretty much has a green light from his advisor that was hesitant at first simply because he has a ridiculously strong CS background, and is one of those kids who got facebook/dropbox interviews as a freshmen. Impressive to say the least.</p>
<p>One downside is, since HSS/SCS requirements differ, your S might find himself taking a heavier course load than his peers as he satisfies HSS requirements but also takes SCS requirements so that when he transfers, he is not behind.</p>
<p>How do they decide registration times? Is it lottery, by year, by alphabet…?</p>
<p>I had a feeling it was going to be tough to transfer into SCS, but when you ask admissions, they tell you it’s not hard at all. Do you know of situations where someone wanted to major in comp sci but couldn’t get into SCS? When you say that you have to show that you belong in the school you want to transfer to, how do they do that other than taking classes from that school and doing well? And how well do they have to do - would he have to get all A’s? I’m just trying to get a good feel for whether this is a good option or not because CMU is very high on his list.</p>
<p>Registration times are by lottery. I can remember my S (class of 2012) got great times freshman year, horrible times sophomore year and average times junior & senior years. He was able to talk to some professors and get into classes he really needed/wanted.</p>
<p>Registration times are done based on the last two digits of your social security number. There’s 20 groups throughout the day, and I think the first term is random, and then your order is flipped for the spring term. So, if you get first pick for fall, you get last pick for spring. Registration dates are also separated by day for each year, with grads/seniors, then juniors, then sophomores, then freshmen.</p>
<p>Hi, I’m a rising sophomore too and will be glad to answer questions. I don’t think they reverse them. I have had a pretty good time for both semesters while some of my friends have had crappy times for both.</p>
<p>I am an international student and was accepted at CIT (1st choice) and MCS. It will be tough for me to visit the campus, but is it small? From numbers only, it seems small compared to other schools.
Also, where and when can we accept the decision? I have not gotten any email or anything?
Also, I was waitlisted for SCS, though it’s my 2nd choice. People are talking about a priority and normal waitlist - so how does that work? How do I know which one I’m on?</p>
<p>Would appreciate replies for the above questions. Thanks!</p>
<p>@megan12 Like others have said, it is a lottery. Seniors go first, then juniors, then sophomores, then freshmen. They go off the last 2 numbers of your social, and randomly assign every 5 digits or so (50-54 for example) a time slot that is 30 minutes different than the next time slot. You can register at anytime, but if you get a good time, you have a head start over the rest of your peers.</p>
<p>I say show you belong in the school you want to transfer to only because their are students who apply for the more non-competitive majors in CMU to get in, then transfer into SCS/CIT as a cheap way of getting in. If you take the classes and do well, you have a good shot. I don’t know the SCS acceptance methods by heart, but I know that for ECE (the 2nd most selective program at CMU), they have never denied a student who wanted to major in ECE if they did well in the introduction course.</p>
<p>@LFCYMWA: Campus isn’t small. I think it’s a great size. If you are worrying about campus being too small or there not being enough people, there is nothing to worry about. Especially now that the weather has gotten nicer, campus is nice and lively. </p>