<p>I really like CMU for its cs program, but I am a bit frightened by its atmosphere. I heard science students only hang out with science students and not art students (and that many such cliques exist), everybody is very competitive about their grades (people purposely skip out on their sleep to beat others), and many other bad things about it. I also heard that the social life sucks and that Pittsburgh isn't too fun a city (as I would imagine). Can anybody elaborate on their experience at CMU??? Is any of this true??? Thanks.</p>
<p>I can't speak to the atmosphere at CMU, as we couldn't afford to send out son there, but Pittsburgh is a fun city. We have major league sports, performing arts, shopping & dining, museums, parks, neighborhood festivals, etc. It's a nice town without being too overwhelmingly big or dangerous. Also, Oakland is a nice college area.</p>
<p>oakland??...this is a stupid question, is there an oakland in pennsylvania?</p>
<p>Pittsburgh, particularly the Oakland section is great: museums, a nice park, scores of restaurants, and the University of Pittsburgh are all within walking distance. Public transportation is also fairly easy and convenient.</p>
<p>There is a tendency at CMU for students to segregate according to schools: business, CS, art, music, etc., It's less a matter of cliques, and more a matter of the workload being intesnse enough that you spend your time with people who share similar interests (often working together). The place is big enough that there are lots of interesting people in all of these areas.</p>
<p>Oakland is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, I believe.</p>
<p>I don't go to CMU, (was just accepted to it's grad school, so I'm considering it) but many of the fears the OP stated aren't limited to just one college. There will be cliques no matter where you go. Going without sleep sometimes is common at my school too when deadlines come around, though it isn't because of competition.</p>
<p>It is true that many people hang out mostly with those in their own major, but everyone I know who actively wants friends who aren't in their major has them. I suggest taking foreign language classes to meet people in other majors (and girls, there are lots of girls in foreign language classes). One of my friends with the widest social network plays ultimate, and has found that sports is a great way to meet non-CS folk.</p>
<p>We aren't very competitive. Many people work on homework in pairs or small groups (quite a few classes have a collaborate but don't copy answers policy). In one class, 15-251, there seems to be a general "we're all in this together and we need each other to pass" mentality. I know some people who skip out on sleep so that they can do more fun things or take some insane courseload (I wouldn't recommend taking 7 or 8 classes at once, but some people insist...), but the majority of people aren't crazy and horribly sleep deprived.</p>
<p>If you want to go to a party school, CMU is a bad choice. Otherwise, the social life is pretty good.</p>
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It is true that many people hang out mostly with those in their own major, but everyone I know who actively wants friends who aren't in their major has them. I suggest taking foreign language classes to meet people in other majors (and girls, there are lots of girls in foreign language classes).
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<p>Yes, I was in CIT (ECE), but I took 6 semesters of German at CMU. Quite oddly, I was the only engineer in the class (there may be more these days though, as students are beginning to realize the importance of learning foreign languages). My classmates were mostly H&SS and CFA (especially music majors) . There were also a few MCS kids and one Tepper (back then, GSIA) guy (an international student like myself).</p>
<p>I believe you'll find schools that generate the most competition <em>between</em> students are those that send a lot to medical or law school, where gpa is very important. CMU isn't one of them, at least not like, say, JHU pre-med where your class standing really is important. If you read CMU is competitive I'd take that to mean self-generated competitive, trying to do the best you can.</p>
<p>Social life is what you make it...there are fraternities and sororities if that's your thing. Pitt is next door, that's 20,000 more college age people in the area. Plus imho Pittsburgh's a nice city (especially Oakland) with most of what you'd want without the hassles of a huge sprawling city.</p>
<p>it's not competitive in the way you think, this isn't JHU</p>
<p>not sure what you mean by a fun city but pittsburgh is alright....certainly there will be enough for you to do to take up whatever free time you'll have (probably)</p>
<p>some places do close rather early though</p>
<p>the social life is rather poor in comparison to your average college, especially if you like to party</p>
<p>you can have fun but it really is a tossup depending on who you meet/where you go/etc....overall though personally when I look back on my years here I won't be thinking "hey that was fun!" but "hey I got a good education!"</p>
<p>I've even had a professor tell me that he knows there is a lack of a social life at CMU - wonder where he was during orientation!</p>
<p>First of all, don't knock Pittsburgh. I used to complain that there was nothing to do or that it's boring, but I soon realized that I was looking in all the wrong places. If you want some to do stuff you can go Southside, Squirrel Hill, U Pitt, the Strip, or even Station Square (although this one is usually for expensive dining). Buses (which are by far the most unreliable and worst thing about Pittsburgh) will take you anywhere if you take the 10 minutes to learn the local bus lines - 61, 67, 54C, 71, 500, 100, 59U, 28X, (within Southside the 51 lines run). Do your best to leave campus and explore Pittsburgh as much as possible. The only places I would avoid alone, at night are the Hill District, East Liberty, and Wilkensburgh (good luck finding a bus to get home from a Mr. Robot show). But ya, I love Pittsburgh now.</p>
<p>As far as CMU's social scene, you'll probably see the most parties during orientation week and the next week. Those were some pretty crazy weeks, and it's a good opportunity to meet a lot of people really fast. (If you're looking for a gf/bf, that probably the best time to strike.) But the rest of the year has a more laid-back social scene. A party will be thrown somewhere every week or two, but most aren't that fun and aren't free (in contrast to the beginning of the year). Now I find myself either hanging out in groups of 5 -10 people more often than partying, and frankly, it's better. Although I wouldn't recommend throwing a party because of cost and risk, my building threw a few parties first semester, and they worked out quite well.</p>
<p>If you have an interest, someone else shares that interest. Try to meet people in your classes, and join a club or two. If you're quirky like most CS kids I know, you might end up spending more time with other CS kids because you'll share interests ... not just computers. I think the number one reason people spend time with others in their major is that they take a lot of the same classes and just see each other a lot.</p>
<p>So... CMU is not a party school, but there are parties if you seek them. Most cliques aren't exclusive and will welcome you if you share interests. Although, I do find some truth in the notion that art students kind of segregate themselves from others. So make friends with that art stundent down the hall if you want to be a part of that whole art student scene.</p>