<p>mom2012and14 has left out a fairly important detail being that CMU will often adjust aid to compete with offers from peer institutions:</p>
<p>[Peer</a> Institutions - Institutional Research & Analysis - Carnegie Mellon University](<a href=“http://www.cmu.edu/ira/infox/external/peer.html]Peer”>Peer Institutions - Institutional Research and Analysis - Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning - Carnegie Mellon University)</p>
<p>So if you REALLY want to get a good deal at CMU, but you don’t necessarily fit into their model of a “diverse class”, your best bet is probably to also research the peer schools to find which ones are generous or meet full need, get in there, and then try and get CMU to match it.</p>