I am currently a student majoring in CS at CMU and I disagree with this post. Yes, there is a lot of work and a lot of time is spent studying, but what else would you expect from a leading university in STEM? There’s no shortcut to learning. However, I don’t believe the atmosphere is hyper-competitive. CMU courses are made so that many classes require you to collaborate. In addition, exam averages for most of my classes are around 75%. I don’t think this is “astronomically high”. Even so, don’t let this average scare you. One of CMU’s famous courses, Concepts, had a cutoff for an A around 80% (maybe lower).
Although I cannot speak for other majors, I think the benefits of coming to CMU for CS are very good. At most universities, freshman have no opportunity for internships; even second years have difficulty getting one. However, here around 40% of CS freshman get internships, including big name companies, such as Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook.
From a social aspect, yes there will be a lot of nerdy people, but there are lots of opportunities to socialize as well. I go out every Friday night and am able to have fun with my friends while staying on top of my studies too. People that complain about the social atmosphere simply lack the social skills to make friends and the work ethic to manage their work efficiently.
Also, I do want to say CMU is not the best at scheduling prospective student tours. They are generally during midterm week when everyone is trying to study; who isn’t in a hurry to study for a midterm when it’s two days away?
Thanks for the advice. I applied for Dietrich. Out of all the schools, I like Boston College because its atmosphere and location but my parents does not want me to go because CMU is ranked higher. I am a social person and I’m looking forward to meet friends and go to parties tbh. I am complete fine with people that loves studying all day long but I’m the type of kid that can study but also I want to have a colorful college life. After reading this, I don’t really know if CMU is a good fit for me or not.
As a student do u think CMU is really racially segregated? I’ve known a couple college that’s full of preppy kids and they only hang with their circle while there rest hangs elsewhere.
CMU offers majors in Art, Drama and Music. Did you meet any of htese students?
From Carnegie Mellon’s Common Data Set 2019-20
Enrollment & Persistence
Degree-seeking First-Year # %
Asian, non-Hispanic 561 35.4%
Nonresident aliens 273 17.2%
White, non-Hispanic 360 22.7%
Hispanic/Latino 150 9.5%
Race/ethnicity unknown 112 7.1%
Two or more races, non-Hispanic 67 4.2%
Black or AA, non-Hispanic 61 3.8%
Am. Indian, or AN, non-Hispanic 0 0.0%
Hawaiian or PI, non-Hispanic 1 0.1%
Total 1,585 100.0%
Seems heavily skewed to Asian, non-Hispanic and Nonresident aliens (of which a majority are Asian, hence the ordering of my table)…
Currently I have SIR-ed to CMU for cognitive science. I hope to get a cognitive science major with a concentration in Artificial Intelligence. Yesterday, I was offered UCSD cognitive science (in-state) which I know is #1 in the field. However, I feel that CMU will get me more recognition because I plan to enter the tech field. Also, with a undergrad at CMU, is it either to finish masters off as a 5th year (CMU grad is very valuable). If you have been in either school, what is your advice?
Want to add my 2c to balance out all the negative vibes here.
As context I graduated in mid 90s (engineering) and thereafter worked in banking
- I did very little studying (except a few days prior to exams)
- I missed some classes (overslept)
- Graduated with decent GPA
In short: CMU was NOT stressful
The fact is if you’re stressed at CMU you’ll be stressed almost anywhere else
People forget that some kids liked “the stress” then forgot that they liked it