<p>Hey, I am visiting Carnegie Mellon tomorrow and am staying overnight for a few days (until Wednesday). What do you guys recommend for me to see while I am there (other than the info session and tour)? I'm thinking about touring the Software Engineering Institute as well.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Ask the admissions folks about sitting in on classes. When we were at CMU last month for Sleeping Bag Weekend, they had a whole schedule to choose from.</p>
<p>I worked in the SEI for a few months at the beginning of this year. Don’t waste time taking a tour there-- it’s basically a lot of cubicles and some meeting rooms. I mean, they offer classes there, but they’re few, far between, and highly specialized. There’s a small library too if you’re interested in technical manuals I suppose.</p>
<p>Things I definitely recommend seeing/doing:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Eat lunch at Gingers in Tepper. Awesome sandwiches, the best on campus, and the guys who work there are hilarious.</p></li>
<li><p>Check out all the dorms, especially the freshman row (Morewood E-tower, Stever, Mudge). They’re fine with you just walking in most of the time. Donner’s on the opposite end of campus but also probably a good place to check out.</p></li>
<li><p>If you’re interested in SEI type stuff, go see the Gates center and its awesome displays of… well, random fun things. The classrooms are mostly glass too, so you can see lots of classes going on at the same time and get an idea for how it all functions. </p></li>
<li><p>Eat at Primanti Bros. or Quaker Steak, then go across the street for Dave & Andy’s handmade ice cream. Pretty much the best meal ever. </p></li>
<li><p>Tour all of the other buildings you might be interested in, class-wise. Baker/Porter are Humanities, Wean/Doherty/Gates/Newell-Simon are tech based, Tepper’s business, and CFA/Purnell are arts.</p></li>
<li><p>Check out the game systems in the basement of the UC.</p></li>
<li><p>Phipps Conservatory is around the back of the school. It’s gorgeous. We get in free with our IDs and I sometimes do my homework there if I have a break. Have a look around 
They have enormous exotic flowers and trees and jungle waterfalls-- and it’s like 79 degrees in there, so even in the middle of winter you can strip down to a t-shirt.</p></li>
<li><p>Craig Street! It’s down the hill from CMU. There’s a Starbucks on the corner and a ton of other fun things.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Go to the undergraduate advising office for whatever schools of interest…
CIT – see Kurt Larsen
SCS – see…etc.<br>
Ask to meet some current students…that’s really very easy to do.</p>
<p>If you’re a URM, stop in at CMARC
Jewish-- stop in at HIllel on Craig Street
Catholic-- stop in at Newman center
Asian- check out ASA office
Sports…see if you can meet some players of any potential club or division III team</p>
<p>If you have 2-3 days- you can do a bunch to see if the fit is right academically and socially</p>
<p>Go to classes
You can usually find a freshman class of interest-- Dean’s office can approve a visit with a faculty member or you can reach out to faculty member in advance.
Find a class at this webpage of interest, and email the professor and see if you can sit-it
<a href=“https://enr-apps.as.cmu.edu/open/SOC/SOCServlet[/url]”>https://enr-apps.as.cmu.edu/open/SOC/SOCServlet</a>
there’s a directory on the CMU home page, top left hand corner to get the email address of the relevant faculty
Keep in mind, last week there were 3 missed days-- so MWF faculty may be a bit behind, or giving missed exams…it’s 5th week of class, time for midterms…</p>
<p>Also a great speaker at 4:30 tomorrow
[Feb</a>. 15, 2010 - University Lecture Series - Carnegie Mellon University](<a href=“http://www.cmu.edu/uls/february/topper.html]Feb”>http://www.cmu.edu/uls/february/topper.html)</p>
<p>Be prepared for lots of snow and lots of melting slush everywhere…it’s all very pretty.</p>
<p>I</p>
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<p>Man, can’t second the Dave & Andy’s enough. The O is also a classic Pittsburgh restaurant, though I’d recommend only ordering one small fries per 2-4 people. 
If you’re up in Squirrel Hill, Zaw’s has terrific Chinese food. It’s a little bit down Murray towards the entrance to route 376.</p>
<p>You can also try contacting particular departments you’re interested in and seeing if they’d be willing to give you a personal tour. I used to do them for my department (materials science & engineering) and know the families I talked with really appreciated the extra attention.</p>