What is life like at CMU? What do students do for fun? Do they mainly stay on campus or venture off? What is the surrounding area like?Are the academics cutthroat, so much so that free time is rare? What do you think is the best thing about CMU and what do you think the worst is?
In addition, I often hear that CMU has a massive emphasis on engineering. Is this true, as I am not sure if I want to go into engineering, but it remains an option.
Thanks so much!
@bbbaaa784, Since you have posted that same question in the CWRU, Pitt & CMU thread I had to respond. It made me laugh because my husband graduated from CWRU and his brother attend CMU undergrad and Pitt grad. Back in the day…those 3 schools were basically interchangeable and I am sure not much has changed since then, same type of students in a similar urban setting. The academics were tough back then and are still today. All three schools are heavy engineering/premed schools. Obviously you must know that Pitt and CMU are right next to each other how different can the surrounding area be? CMU maybe a bit more diverse with the Arts, Case is solidly engineering/premed.
Hope you get an answer to your questions from some current students. Good Luck picking. In the end I think you will find that your experience will be just about the same at all three schools. They are all great choices.
CMU has been on your radar for a year, stick with it. You will probably like it.
Academics are challenging but students are inclined to collaborate rather than compete. My profs are actually good at teaching, which isn’t always the case with universities in general (some put more emphasis on research than teaching). You should have enough free time to go off campus multiple times a week if you want to. I have a lot of friends who go to parties/concerts etc. relatively frequently. Worst thing about CMU is probably its athletics and/or food, but it’s not really a deal breaker.
CS/Robotics/HCI/IS/Engineering are CMU’s strong points, but there isn’t anything sorely lacking. Some majors (like IS) are a lot easier than others though (CS, ECE, etc.). Of course, you can always take harder classes.