Pittsburgh, PA
Carnegie Mellon University

Very nice school. It has a rich history. It needs some updating on one hand. The students are very involved in their academics. They have great sports teams. They do have a girls golf team that does very well in their conference. The school is located in a big city but the school provides security.

Honestly I've stepped foot one campus once in the last two years, and that was during Spring Break to boot. I've essentially spent none of the time necessary to form an educated opinion about any of the questions asked in this review thing, but given that any little bit helps when it comes to funding an education, I'll crank out some words for you guys.

The school has a really supportive environment where students, faculty, and staff are working to help you succeed. There are a lot of departments that exist solely to help students with anything ranging from financial aid to career and leadership development to tutoring. The school is relatively old, so the campus is built kind of haphazardly; it's quirky but you learn to accept/enjoy it. CMU is primarily asian institution located in a safe, affluent suburb, but that also means that it can be hard to get off campus and explore more of Pittsburgh. It's a city with a lot of culture, a lot of activities and museums, and a lot of growth. A lot of the people here feel that they find a place where they belong because there is so much overlap in communities, and very few people identify themselves with one "group" or "activity." Like many higher ranked universities though, the school has developed a stress culture in which all nighters and excessive stretches of work are considered a norm. The campus and greek life have recently brought attention to mental health issues, and there are support systems in place. CMU is a great fit for a lot of people, and, depending on what you're looking for, it could be a perfect match.

Overall, I decided to transfer to another school after spending one of the hardest years of my life at Carnegie Mellon. Not only did CMU's workload wear me down to the point where I was consistently sleep-deprived and sick, but it also provides hardly any stress-relieving or extra curricular activities. Carnegie Mellon is not the school for anyone who wants a bonafide, American college experience. Its sports suck. Students don't tailgate for games. Greek life is lame. While people will venture off campus, any effort to maintain an active or consistent social life will be completely quelled by the miserable weather Carnegie Mellon suffers year-round. From October until the time you leave for summer break, the sun will disappear. Rain is constant; the cold unrelenting. If you are from a tropical or Southern area, strongly consider the impact weather has on your feeling of wellbeing. I myself experienced seasonal depression for the first time in my life. While the academics are marvelous and the job opportunities post-graduation are outstanding (or so I've been told), the steep price you will pay for this is a hellish four year career that takes $70k a year to afford. I transferred because changing majors was very difficult and I valued my own mental and physical health more than a semi-prestigious undergraduate degree. Graduate, medical, or law school can always be completed at an Ivy. Carnegie Mellon boasts its interdisciplinary curriculum, but that was not the case for me. I would have never dreamed of pursuing a double major or even a minor with the amount of hours I was REQUIRED to take and all the work that entailed. Yes, this is an academically rigorous school. Yes, I attended a college prep high school and received A's and B's here. However, the competitive sleep deprivation culture, weather, workload, and the lacking student life ultimately drove me away from my dream school.

CMU is really hard academically for most STEM majors, & there's a pretty serious stress culture. There are very few blacks/latinos, but campus is pretty diverse in many respects. Students are very nice, hard-working, and they actually like to party (on occasion)! CMU is super rough but the degree will be worth it.

Carnegie Mellon is a very impressive school with a very impressive pedigree, and it lives up to those expectations. The curriculum is intense in the drama school, but the teachers are readily available at all times and extremely passionate about what they do. Small class sizes and well-maintained facilities only add to the experience. Campus life is relatively quiet, owing to the smaller student body. People join Greek life and there is certainly revelry to be had on a given weekend, but the campus is by no means wild. The real strength of the student body is in its diversity. Students from very disparate backgrounds are able to forge lasting connections through the many extracurricular activities available on campus. Whatever you're into, there's bound to be a club or organization dedicated to it. Dorms are iffy, and depending on where you live you'll either be very comfortable or not at all. The food is good, not spectacular, but it's varied, and the school recently opened a branch of Au Bon Pain on campus if you prefer to eat at a chain. Pittsburgh itself is a fascinating city to live in, and off campus housing and dining can be found for cheap if you don't want to live on campus after freshman year. Overall, CMU is a really great school. It's not perfect, but it does provide a world-class education and amenities far above many other universities.

Carnegie Mellon provides an amazing college experience to the motivated college undergraduate. It is abounding in resources, so I feel like I can achieve any of my aspirations as long as I put in the effort to seek those resources out. There's also a diverse set of people, so it isn't hard to find a place to fit in.

Whether you want challenging courses, research experience, top-of-the-line professors or you want to be philanthropically involved, CMU can give you the chance to experience all these things. Carnegie Mellon does not hide from politics or from standing up for what they believe is right and will continue to pursue advancements in science and the humanities. While the direct surroundings may not offer a lot of great weekend getaways, CMU has ample access to downtown Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh campus for exploring. Where else would anyone want to pick up that extra bagpipe major? (Hey at least it might impress your relatives.)

I truly do love this school. Although it has rightfully gained its reputation as a pretty intense school academically, the campus is nice, everyone and everything-- especially professors and advisors-- is geared to help you ultimately succeed, grow, and learn. This paired with the unparalleled research and academic opportunities it offers make it worthwhile.