<p>In my acceptance letter, CMU mentioned that housing and dining services are not provided during summer and spring breaks. Being an international student flying back home every year is quite expensive. So do you know what internationals like me do during these breaks? Is there an affordable housing option certified by CMU?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance</p>
<p>@pratyush795 During summer break, you’ll have to either fly back or find somewhere to stay in the meantime. Dorms close over the summer.</p>
<p>As for Winter break/Spring Break and all other breaks, the dining locations on campus usually close (for winter break) or get limited hours. You’ll either have to stock upon food beforehand, or just order pizza (Vocelli’s pizza delivers to the dorms off of th cash on your meal plan).</p>
<p>As for the dorms, many dorms close. If you plan on staying on campus during these breaks, I would advise shooting for Morewood E tower (where I currently reside). E tower stays open during these breaks and you won’t have to be like the other internationals who have to apply to borrow a room from a person in an open dorm who leaves for winter break so they have a place to stay.</p>
<p>I have many internationals on my floor who stay here for breaks and they have the luxury of just staying in their dorms during the breaks with no hassle.</p>
<p>I’m sorry if these have already been asked:</p>
<p>How are the class sizes? Are most classes taught by a professor? Do they have the ta recitation like a lot of colleges?</p>
<p>I’m CIT and civil engineering, are there a lot of labs and hands on work? I like a learn by doing philosophy.</p>
<p>Do students seem genuinely passionate about what they are doing?</p>
<p>Finally best and worst things about the school in your opinion?</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>
Here’s one option: become a counselor for PreCollege (which is a summer program offered by CMU for high schoolers). You get food, board, and pay.</p>
<p>Dorms do not close for spring break, but they close for winter break. The only freshman dorm that is open is Morewood E-Tower. Oftentimes what happens is that internationals from other dorms will have to find someone in these dorms to let them stay (and then they go through a short application process that basically is just the occupants of said room officially agreeing that you can stay there over winter break).</p>
<p>Source: I live in MWE and my roommate and I essentially just let a friend stay in our place for winter break.</p>
<p>@pratyush795 I looked into the Summer housing, and CMU does have summer housing options, though of course that summer housing is not covered in your normal cost of attendance. (you pay more) [Summer</a> Housing-Housing Services - Carnegie Mellon University](<a href=“http://www.cmu.edu/housing/summer-housing/index.html]Summer”>http://www.cmu.edu/housing/summer-housing/index.html)</p>
<p>@AuroraTNO</p>
<p>Freshmen lectures tend to be somewhat big. (for cmu that’s like 100-150 students) So far all of my courses have been taught by a Professor, except for my mandatory Writing class (Interpretation and Argument) which is a small class of 20-30 kids and there are dozens of sections for that class, so it makes sense to use Grad students instead of professors in that scenario.</p>
<p>Most courses have recitation taught by a TA. Usually you will have recitation 1-2 times a week. The introduction engineering courses tend to have labs/hands on assignments frequently. For Intro to ECE I had a lab every week where we we created circuits to do what our goal was and for Mech E we have two projects for the semester. One which i have just completed where we design a wrench using CAE software and then bringing it to life by having it cut from a block of metal based on our design. The other project being a small car powered by a mousetrap to maneuver a course which I have just begun.</p>
<p>Do the students seem passionate? Oh yes. You can’t get by here if you don’t have any passion for what you are pursuing. That is the major reason why I dropped ECE for Mech E. I have always loved computers and all that stuff, but academically speaking, I have a passion for physics and math over electrical concepts.</p>
<p>The students here will impress you from day one. You go from the head of the class to another smart person (unless you are a real super genius) and it is a humbling experience.</p>
<p>Best and worst. Hmmm…</p>
<p>Worst comes first.</p>
<p>Worst: The work. The work. The work. You need to manage your time effectively if you want to succeed. Last semester I took intro to ECE and (15-112, the intro to programming for ECE/CS majors) and though I enjoyed learning what I did, I was a grumpy old ■■■■■ from lack of sleep and just bad time management.</p>
<p>Best: The people. Don’t get me wrong, you will see kids here that you will wonder how they ever got in, but you will soon learn to not judge a book by its cover. You will find a range of people here from the crazy party-goers, the anti-social awkward people, the social awkward people, and the “normal” people and so on. I’m happy with the friends I have made. </p>
<p>On a side note, the best thing to occur to me here was Orientation. Orientation is just great. Many people become orientation counselors just so they can experience it again. Orientation helps you make friends before the academic year starts and comes for your soul.</p>
<p>Could not agree with BlizzBlazer more regarding best and worst. Especially the people. I love this school so much I could become a blogger for it. Though the majority of CMU is pretty nerdy, it’s a diverse type of nerdy. Orientation was just the best time. I was actually talking about it with a friend about how well CMU introduces you to college and friends through it yesterday.</p>
<p>I actually didn’t feel that the work was so bad (Math/CS/Logic -ish person here – not really sure which yet), but I never took 18-100 or Physics which I hear are extremely tough, so. The professor for 15-112 is amazing, though. Sort of unpredictable and predictable at the same time. Definitely pushes you hard to succeed.</p>
<p>One of my favorite parts about CMU is the amount of resources it offers to help students excel in classes. The professor for 15-112 practically insists on students getting tutoring every week. Academic Development, the main resources center, offers supplementary education, small group tutoring, walk in tutoring for numerous classes, and so on. CMU really emphasizes the resources and there’s NO stigma, from what I can tell. I was a bit shy about signing up, only to find that tons of people that I knew had asked Academic Development for help way earlier than I did. They were the wise ones (:</p>
<p>Have you heard of anyone double majoring in Physics(No specialization) and Mathematical Sciences? I was looking at the course guidelines for both, and they seem very specialized compared to the schedules of other schools where there is much overlap, even in the upper level courses. Still, there is a lot of overlap it seems, and I’d certainly like to do it, but physics will remain a priority and I don’t want to compromise many physics electives to accommodate for the mathematics ones, yet I’d like to experience some of the theory elements of mathematics as well, especially upper level Analysis and Algebra.</p>
<p>Another option for places to stay over the summer is to sublet an apartment. I did that for two summers while staying in the city because I was working with professors at CMU.</p>
<p>Likewise, I think internationals tend to move off campus a little faster since you can then have a 12 month lease with no worries about dorms/food closing down when everyone else goes home.</p>
<p>I know another popular thing to do over winter break is to take an extended vacation. Maybe stay with a few friends over the break, and over Christmas go on a trip to a major city (NYC and Washington DC are popular) right around Christmas when people might be less willing to have a random guest in their house.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I have a similar question to condensate’s: how common are people who double major in Math and CS? I think that’s what I want to do, but will it take me more than 4 years? I’ll probably enter as an SCS freshman with a lot of AP credit for most of the non-CS requirements. (I think I’ll only need to take 2 or 3 humanities/arts courses.)</p></li>
<li><p>I checked out the math department and I think the Matrix Theory/Vector Analysis/Mathematical Studies courses look really interesting, even though I will have taken the equivalents of 21-241 (introductory linear algebra) and 21-259 (multivariable calculus) by the time I enter college. If I’m interested in majoring in math, would it be a good idea to take these courses instead of, say, skipping straight to a 21-3xx course?</p></li>
<li><p>How should I rank the housing choices to optimize distance from classes, distance from good food, and living conditions (e.g. internet access, newer rooms)?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>@condensate/energize</p>
<p>Double majoring is certainly possible with graduating in 4 years if you are up to the work. Physics/MathSci and Math/CS should be close enough where they don’t force you into more than 4 years. Having AP credit makes it much much easier.</p>
<p>@energize</p>
<p>2) I would recommend taking multivariable calculus and intro to linear algebra unless you are 10000% sure you have a solid foundation in them. Though you may have covered this or that in high school, CMU tends to go more in-depth in their courses. It’s all up to you and what you’re comfortable with.</p>
<p>3) It really depends on what you want from your dorm. I can’t just rank them in terms of what is better than what, but the top dorms are Morewood E tower, Mudge, Donner, and Stever. The entire campus and all the dorms have wifi and an ethernet port. All freshmen dorms are close to campus minus the residence on fifth which is somewhat farther away. Donner is closest to resnik which has the best food and probably the biggest rooms but again, the campus isn’t big, so it’s not like distance should be factoring much into your decision. Stever is the newest dorm with new rooms and only dorm with air conditioning, but they are pretty small. Morewood E tower I consider decent in size for rooms, and is convenient in that it has The Underground which is an eatery (though it is mostly fried foods that you shouldn’t be eating everyday) in the basement and you don’t need to step outside to get to, and also has a printing/computer cluster, housing services, and fitness room in the building complex.</p>
<p>Honestly, the only people who are unhappy with their dorms are people on the hill. The sroom there are eh, the dorms are separated by gender (McGill is all female, the rest are all male) and it’s just dreary. It’s where people who give in their deposit end up being dumped since it’s everyone’s last choice.</p>
<p>(The other ones are the hill are Scobell, Boss, and Hamerschlag, which are all male dorms)</p>
<p>How hard is it to go from HSS to MCS? I got admitted for the psychology major but want to switch to biology. Thanks in advance</p>
<p>I was looking on college board and it says cmu doesn’t have a jazz band, is that true?</p>
<p>Also, do you know anything about CMU’s co-op and study abroad options? Are they good?</p>
<p>Thanks again</p>
<p>My son was accepted and we want to visit campus before we accept. However, due to a previously scheduled band trip and sports, we can’t visit on the Accepted Student days during April. It takes a full day to drive there so I don’t want to visit if I won’t get a chance to see anything. We’re thinking of coming on April 6th (Good Friday). Do you think we could find anyone who would be willing to show us around campus? and where would be the best place to try to connect with someone?</p>
<p>Hi, I have a couple of questions:</p>
<p>1- How unlikely/difficult is it to double major in CS as a student in Tepper?</p>
<p>2- Does anyone have any experience with the financial aid appeal process in terms of matching with peer institutions like Duke, Emory, etc?</p>
<p>3- How quickly do dorms fill up? I’m almost 98% sure I’m going to appeal my financial aid award, and the FA told me that the earliest anyone should receive notification is April 17-18, and so I won’t be able to send in my deposit until I see my hopeflly adjuted award.</p>
<p>4- What are the job placement/internship opportunities like for SCS and Tepper kids?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>There are no official Tours or Information Sessions on Good Friday.</p>
<p>If you are driving a full day to get there, you should really attend an info session and tour and not try and wing it. </p>
<p>[Admission</a> > Information Session](<a href=“Home - Computing Services - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University”>Home - Computing Services - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University) </p>
<p>[Admission</a> > Tour Campus](<a href=“Home - Computing Services - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University”>Home - Computing Services - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University)</p>
<p>Unfortunately, due to my son’s schedule, the only time we have free is Good Friday. The band is going to Florida during part of his vacation for a competition and the Friday of that week there are no tours. If there was a Saturday tour that would have been really good but the tours are only during the week. The other days we can’t fit a 3 day trip in during the week because he is the tennis team’s #1 singles player and they are really short on players this year so he can’t miss any matches.</p>
<p>@Anthropology</p>
<p>1) If you think you can do it, you can always attempt to do so, assuming SCS has room for you. SCS is hard start to finish, and Tepper is hard at the beginning and gets a little easier in the final 2 years. You probably can, but I wouldn’t advise you too unless you just like working every weekend instead of every other weekend.</p>
<p>2) No idea. They try to work quickly though, especially if you call (politely) and put pressure.</p>
<p>3) A lot of people wait until the final days to send in their deposits, so you shouldn’t be too worried. Odds are you won’t end up on the hill, but might not get your first choice.You’ll be fine.</p>
<p>4) SCS <a href=“http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/Students/gps1/explore/survey/pdf/scs.pdf[/url]”>http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/Students/gps1/explore/survey/pdf/scs.pdf</a></p>
<p>Tepper <a href=“http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/Students/gps1/explore/survey/pdf/business.pdf[/url]”>http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/Students/gps1/explore/survey/pdf/business.pdf</a></p>
<p>zomggg-</p>
<p>I’m currently in MCS. If you asked me, I don’t think its necessarily hard, but you have to show some skill. You would have to take chem 1 and modern bio and show that you’re capable of our work. I know the bio department is actually pretty big, if you were trying to major in chemistry I bet it’d be easy because there’s only 16 of us as first years.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how hard it would be to transfer from the Carnegie Institute of Technology to Tepper? What particular classes would you have to take to transfer, and how would the difficulty be?</p>
<p>How hard is it to transfer from MCS to CIT?</p>