<p>Hi. I'm from New York City and I haven't visited Carnegie Mellon let alone Pittsburgh. Can you all share your opinions on the school campus? Please include if it is in the city, has easy access to the city, or has almost no access to the city.</p>
<p>Also, what do you LOVE/really like about Carnegie Mellon and what do you HATE/dislike about it?</p>
<p>Im from Brooklyn. :)
Pittsburgh is not New York City. It is, however, the sort of place that nearly everyone I have ever talked to, including myself, hated for the first few months but now loves it. It's not New York City, but it's quirky and artistic. Like NYC, everything is here. It all just closes earlier and it's quite a bit harder to find things.</p>
<p>Also, it isn't exactly in the city, nor would I want it to be. It's attached to a state park, schenley park, which is really really nice. A 5 minute walk in one direction will take you to Oakland, which is a street with some normal shops and stuff, and then Upitt campus, the city, and beyond. It's pretty easy to get everywhere on buses once you get used to them, but it's always better if you have a car (I don't). A 5 minute drive (and a 35 min walk) from campus in the other direction takes you to Squirrel Hill, which I would call more of a town than a city, but again, the resources are there. </p>
<p>Love/hate?</p>
<p>I love the people. So many people are brilliant, creative, unpretentious, and otherwise amazing. I love the school, in general. I love Pittsburgh. I love the Pgh museums (there are soooo many) and I love the Pgh art scene. I love the CMU co-op, I absolutely love all but one of my teachers this semester, the school newspaper, schenley park, squirrel hill, the College of Fine Arts Building, Morewood E Tower as a place for freshman to live, Red White and Blue (crazy Pgh thrift store), Kiva Han (awesome indie-esque coffee shop close to campus), the trucks (cheap tasty non-american-style food), CMU Health services (they gave me stitches today completely for free. Not that I'm usually happy about stitches...) and sometimes, depending on what day it is and what I need them for, I occasionally love Pittsburgh public transit. </p>
<p>I hate the meal plan they force the freshman to buy (it was a huge waste of money), and how much work some of the classes are. CMU has this thing about being, at times, exremely unecessarily difficult.</p>
<p>Overall, though, its definitely pros. And there's a lot of people from New York, not that that matters really, but I thought you might be interested to know. :)</p>
<p>My d is considering CMU for Art but wants to be in a town with a good live music scene...Indie or hard core stuff, I guess. Will she find any?</p>
<p>I heard that there are some good venues, but I didnt get much info. about it(I'm a prospective student as well) So you'll prolly have more luck from a student.</p>
<p>Thanks, give us an update after you visit. We have not visited yet.</p>
<p>The CMU campus is in Pittsburgh, but is in between residential area and one of the main cultural centers of the city. It definitely isn't downtown, but you can easily catch a bus there. Truthfully though, downtown isn't the big place to be for everything. I have never been to New York, but I like the resources right by campus and what Pittsburgh has to offer. The art and natural history museums are right down the street and then, like sots said, a bunch of stores and food places. Also, a big city park is right next to campus. Actually, buses may be more convenient in some ways because parking is very limited in places like Oakland (the neighborhood with the cultural stuff and shops). CMU is kind of tucked back behind it and has a green campus, so it's not right in the middle of busy streets or anything. Squirrel Hill also has a little shopping district with some neat little stores. Actually, i'm not a student at CMU, so i can't tell you the real deal on student life. However, i am in the area (though more in Oakland) all the time and have walked around the campus several times. However, the vibe i get from CMU students is that they are very smart, nice, and diverse. As for live music, i'm not into the indie/hard core scene so i can't help you. I'm sure it's there, though i don't know it's strength, but I mostly just know about the classical scene.</p>
<p>D is in her 1st semester and finds the music scene pretty lively - saw Ted Leo & Pharmacists at Mr. Small's on Tues. - also has been to about a half dozen concerts since school started - some on campus, one at Pitt, some on South Side. She's had no problems getting to and from the farther away venues either by bus or taxi.</p>
<p>Don't know that I'd want a car there - seems like much more hassle than it's worth - parking is pretty pricey, assuming you can find it in the first place. Buses run fairly often, stopping right along Forbes Ave., the main street through campus.</p>
<p>Agree with sots about the frosh dining plan being a racket and about some courses being LOTS of work. Oh - and Schenley Park is actually owned by the city - about 400+ acres - 2nd largest city park in the nation behind Central in NYC.</p>
<p>2 things i remember from CMU: i got to see the filming of Wonder Boys and to see Katie Holmes and Michael Douglas. And the annual Regatta fireworks in downtown Pittsburgh are much better than fireworks that i see elsewhere.</p>
<p>Here is a link to the local city paper with info on coming events, music, arts, etc: <a href="http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/main.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/main.cfm</a></p>
<p>There is so much to do in Schenley Park alone: skating rink, nine hole golf course, frisbee golf, movies on Flagstaff Hill, Phipps Conservatory, tone of walking and biking trails. It butts up against CMU, so it feels like an extension of the campus.</p>
<p>For shopping try Waterfront, South Side (including the new Southside Works development) and Walnut Street in Shadyside.</p>
<p>That movie mentioned, Wonder Boys, was filmed around the corner from me. It featured Robetr Downey Jr. and Tobey McGuire in addition to Katie (No Tom Then) Holmes and Michale Douglas.</p>
<p>A car is easy to accomodate if you live of campus and housing in the 'burgh is reasonably priced, especially compared to NYC.</p>
<p>alright. first of all. i haven't been to NY, but my roommate is from brooklyn, and this is no NYC in her words. However, I'm from california, and pittsburgh definitely isn't LA either. Its much better. Why? Here's my list:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>ITs cheaper. no sales tax on food or clothes. that means instant discount, and if you shop, thats always a good thing. things are cheaper in general here too tho.</p></li>
<li><p>transportation. ok, no subway, but the busses are free and you can usually catch one going you're way. just be sure to check the schedule ahead of time so you're not stuck waiting for one.</p></li>
<li><p>entertainment. bored? especially on a weekend, there's a lot to do. including station square where you can eat some great food, waterfront where you can shop and eat, and there's shady side where the cheesecake factor sits. at any given time, there's something going on around town or on campus. The museum is a 3 minute walk from campus, starbucks is on the corner, and theres about 5 churches within walking distance. </p></li>
<li><p>if you read the tartan (our newspaper) or READ ME you can find out who's playing where. Believe it or not, there's something for everyone, from jazz and blues, to rock and indie at local places to eat and clubs. Most of it is either free or realllly cheap. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I love it here. The cold weather doesn't phase me, and honestly, I couldn't have picked a better place to go school just because Pittsburgh has so much to offer and so close to campus. No need for a car really. You'll probably end up walking everywhere anyway, but nothing is too far out of reach!
Hope that helps!</p>
<p>Ahh.. and what do I hate about it? Nothing really. ITs a small campus, easy to walk from one place to another. Loads of technology at every corner. The food isn't that great and sometimes are heating doesn't work in the middle of the night, but all in all, its a great place. Not a party school for sure, so if you're looking for big parties every night or every weekend, you might want to re-evaluate. cmu is academic oriented, but don't fear, its not as bad as we might want you to think! But be prepared. chances are you'll eat at the underground most of the time, and theyre menu is mostly fried foods like fries, chicken nuggets, and grilled cheese. Healthy alternative is the salad bar, but sometimes salad isnt enough. There's some other stuff I hate, but its all technical and wouldn't make sense unless you were at CMU. No worries. GREAT school. honestly. I won't lie, because i remember being in your shoes not that long ago and i wanted to make an honest evaluation without visiting. Glad I came, because i've fallen in love with it. Good luck!</p>
<p>What I love:
- The fact that you can be talking about line integrals in the hallway and people passing by won't give you weird looks, but will probably join in
- Wireless Internet everywhere on campus. You start to take it for granted, but then when you go somewhere without wireless Internet, you realize how awesome it is
- Living in the best dorm on campus freshman year (Morewood E Tower, definitely try to get it)
- The general sense of community around campus
- The atmosphere of Pittsburgh. It's so pleasant around here, and there's a lot of great places to eat and hang out either a short walk or bus ride away.
- The campus is very pretty, except for a couple of really ugly buildings (Wean Hall and the library). Those are part of CMU's charm, in a way.
- Anything that's not in the "what I hate" section.</p>
<p>What I hate:
- The food. On weekends there are two places where you can go for dinner, and they both are themed around crappy fried stuff. There is a very small range of choice as to where you can eat on-campus, and the meal plan is inflexible and expensive. However, you can go off-campus to eat, although this isn't always convenient.
- Uhh... it costs a lot to come here? Can't think of anything else.</p>
<p>Even though I'm having an awesome time here, I strongly recommend that you visit if you think you might want to go to college here. Every so often we have Sleeping Bag Weekends, where you get matched up with somebody and you stay overnight in their room and they show you around and tell you what life's like. (Actually, the stupid thing is that you stay over on Sunday night, and that's when everybody's in their room doing the homework that they've been putting off all weekend.) If you don't want to go to a school with lots of geeky people around, seriously don't even consider CMU. You'll want to shoot yourself after the first day of orientation.</p>
<p>I love:
-the small campus
- the academic support services (such as free individual tutoring in any subject, Supplemental Instruction, Tutoring in Dorm Buildings),
-the tremendous resources the Career Center offers (onsite interviews with alot of companies, interview preparation, resume reviews, easy access to guidance)</p>
<p>I hate:
-The Weather (it rains every other day.....or snows in the winter)
-The freshman meal plan (you must choose from a few preselected meals at most on campus venders)
-School Spirit is not very big (students would rather stay in their rooms and study then attend an athletic event or other school supported function)</p>
<p>Yeah, the weather...if you're from a warm/dry place, Pittsburgh in winter will not be kind to you. Take warning.</p>
<p>ThinkDifferent just likes laughing at me because I'm from Houston and it's alot warmer there. :p</p>
<p>General statement: Don't come to CMU assuming that if there aren't enough girls or parties, you'll go to Pitt to find them. Very few people actually do that.</p>
<p>haha KrazyKow that is true for girls looking for guys too. When it gets cold and you have work to do you don't feel like waiting for the bus to go down to Pitt.</p>
<p>If you are a girl seeking male company, go into one of the all-male dorms (Hamerschlag House, for example) and pretty soon a crowd of guys will form around you.</p>
<p>If you want to party a lot, you won't at CMU, but the next best thing is joining a frat. Greek life isn't huge here, but there is an appreciable number of frats. The first few weeks of the year bring about wild frat parties, but things calm down after that.</p>
<p>"...wait for the bus to go down to Pitt..."</p>
<p>Kidding, right? It's like six blocks away!</p>
<p>But it's cold out!</p>