Carnegie Mellon University Top Questions

The social scene is often mocked by CMU students, but it is what you make of it. If you want to party, you can find a place to party. If you just want to hang out with friends, there are movie theaters, sporting events (Pirates and Penguins games are pretty easy to get tickets to), bowling alleys, bars, some pretty darned good restaurants, et cet - all in Oakland, Squirrel Hill, and Shady Side.

I don't know. I'm an Architecture Major. Sleep is my extracurricular activity. Sometimes showering and eating as well....

Social life? If you're looking for a party school, keep on truckin'. CMU is by no means a part school. There are parties on some weekends, but definitely not all. There have been a couple of woeful weekends when there was no party, but that is usually because something else is going on (read HOMEWORK). Students here usually will choose to study if necessary. This is not to say we don't procrastinate (believe me we DO) but there is a deadline and the closer it gets to the deadline the less parties actually happen. If you're up at 2am on Tuesday, you're more than likely not drinking, but doing some assignment or just finishing watching the second airing of the Colbert Report (a personal favorite) or both (once again a personal favorite). There are great things like CARNIVAL in April which I don't have the time to explain (look it up on wikipedia under Carnegie Mellon traditions), Fiesta de Primavera, Greek Sing, Playground, Gaypril, and many others. Students who participate in Greek life is a little under 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} if not mistaken. The fraternities and sororities play a huge part in things like Carnival and (obviously) Greek Sing, but whether or not you're a greek is not a huge deal. And of course there is the whole city of Pittsburgh at hour fingertips. You can go to the Waterfront, Southside Works, the Strip District, Squirell Hill, just to name a few. All with a different flavor of Pittsburgh for you taste.

You work very hard, and if you're awake at 3am on a given evening, chances are you're working still. The payoff is rewarding, but do not come to CMU if you do not want to work. Athletics are not popular; they are getting better with each year, but it is not a school intent on school spirit. Greek life provides a welcome retreat for those that wish to have a social life, but is very easy to either be Greek on campus or not: no pressure with either and every Greek has more non-Greek friends than Greek ones.

The only reason I

There is tons to get involved with here on campus. Greek Life is very involved and has opened many doors for me to get even more involved in campus life. As for parties, it depends who you are. People aren't going to judge you here. You can drink every night of the week if you so choose or you can never drink. Either way there will be a group of people here for you.

I don't do extra-curricualrs because I don't have time. That's pretty common with the arts kids. We just have different schedules. That's also probably why so many of us move off campus. Our schedules are extremely rigorous and we are awake at 7 every day and in the studios until 1 or 2 am so hearing girls screaming about One Tree Hill in the lounge is the last thing we want. The dorm life is very involved if you want it to be...there are always outings and functions. I've never really taken advantage of that. The arts kids throw amazing parties...that's pretty much it. Computer science or engineering kids usually just linger around the frats or play guitar hero in their dorms on the weekends. The frats and sororities are not a big part of campus life at all. The frats are disgusting and awful places to go. If they aren't shooting people with their be-be guns, they're broadcasting the fact they popped some girls' cherry or had a three-some by painting the lions outside their building a different color. The frats on the CMU campus might be the most immature atmosphere I've ever been in.

There are activities going on on campus all the time, from guest lectures to concerts to plays to competitions. CMU gives lots of money to student organizations, so there are a lot of groups that thrive on campus. For instance, student activies board puts on $1 films in the student center on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, many of which are recent releases. Sports are present but they aren't emphasized on campus. If you want to work out CMU has two weight rooms, a few gyms, a huge swimming pool, fields, and a series of raquetball courts. Favorite pasttimes in good weather are frisbee or cricket on the cut. Most people study on weeknights, but you can also go to club meetings, practices, or lectures. On weekends there are people who study at the library whenever it's open, but others will go hang out at a fraternity or go shopping or out to dinner off campus. Computer clusters are popular places on both weekdays and weekends for people who like to program.

Sports aren't huge on campus, but there are students who really support our teams. Basically, if you want to be involved or have that school spirit, there are other people on campus who feel the same way. We also have a lecture series where professors, authors, or even actors come in and speak. We have concerts throughout the year. Our school of drama & music are amazing, so it's nice to see them perform as well. The dating scene can be a little frustrating at times. We are a nerdy kind of school, so that may tell you something. Although people really find their fit here. I really like the freshman dorms. I met almost all my friends through freshman housing. They don't segregate between majors, so my friends include computer science majors, physics majors, other engineers, and an econ major. What's also nice is that you may have to stay up until 2 doing work, but so are other people. There's also things to do (half-price food, $1 movies) late at night to serve as a study break. Carnival is a huge tradition (as mentioned earlier). We also have a lot of Scottish pride, so bagpipers come & play at major events. The Kiltie band wears the full Scottish garb, including the kilts. Partying is not a major aspect of CMU. Most people don't belong to Greek life, although that's where you can go to find a party. A lot of upper classmen move off-campus & throw parties, too. We definitely aren't the type of school that parties all weekend, every weekend, but we definitely do when we need to.

The social scene is definately different than I expected. Comming in I am a partier like crazy. At home i drink with my friends all the time and go out and have fun. All I heard before comming here is that this is NOT the place for it. But that's not really true. I have gone out with my firends to drink every weekend and had a great time and there are lots of themed parties (foam party, wine and cheese, 80s party, preppy party, blacklight party, etc) and also UPitt is right down the road so lots of people go over there and party sometimes. There's usually not much during the week since people do care alot about grades, but during the weekend u can get drunk or high or whatever u want anytime haha.

The Greek community is pretty small, less than 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}, but extremely visible on campus. Greek organizations are always holding events, social or philanthropic. Most of the parties during the weekend are at the fraternities. There aren't too many wild parties during the week because everyone's doing homework. There are great university sponsored events (movies, games, actvities) on Friday and Saturday night if partying isn't your thing.

Pittsburgh's a pretty sweet place to go to college. The costs of living are pretty low compared with other college cities (Philly, Boston, NYC, etc.). There are a lot of things to do on campus, I can't even begin to count the number of clubs and student organizations you can join. The greek system is really good, and the frats and sororities are where really social people congregate. If you want people to party with, for a guy, you can easily find them in a frat. And all the houses are really different in their personalities so you'll definitely be able to find SOMEWHERE to fit in. There is also a great tradition at CMU called carnival. It's near the end of April, you get thursday and friday off, and I can't even explain everything that goes on. Basically just one big party all weekend, with a whole bunch of school traditions thrown in.

theengs r fun

I think the most popular groups are sororities/frats, RAs/Orientation counselors (OCs), Crossseekers/Intervarsity, ABTech, SDC, SWE, organizations specific to ones major. It depends on what dorm you live in, if you live a predominatly freshman dorm, the doors are left open all the time, but when it comes to upperclassmen, they're not trying to make new friends:) and the doors are barely ever left open. Athletic events are getting more popular, but not as big as a Division I school. Its mainly athletes and their friends supporting other athletes. The school movie is big b/c its cheap, so if they're showing a good movie, a lot of people will be there. Also, when there are really famous guest speakers like Bill Gates, there are huge lines to get in, but for other speakers they are usually specific for certain majors (not exclusive but lecture topic) and mainly graduate students/facult/staff go even though undergraduates are welcome. I think a lot of people date at CMU, for me I havent found anyone my type (mainly b/c I don't have time) also there are several other universities that people branch out to to find their potential mates, 2 of my closest friends boyfriends are from University of Pittsburgh, which is by the way literally a block away. I met my closest friends from the volleyball team and mainly from my dorm freshman year, but as the year progressed some people from my major became my closest friends as well. I usually am never up that late (which is not the case for most people), but if I am finishing a huge assignment. Annual events/traditions are Spring Carnival: (Buggy, Booth and freetime), Lunar Gala Fashion show, Spirit Fashion show, Mayur show, Dancer's Symposium, Winter Gala, Chili Cook off, Mobots, National Engineers Week, Greek Sing, Mr. Fraternity, the list could go on. I think people party a lot especially when the fraternites are not on probation. If they are there are a lot of house parties. Frats/Sororites are big only if you want to join one, if you don't (which most people do not want to) they are only useful for parties. Last weekend I went to my friends house (who now lives off campus) and a bunch of us made dinner and watched a movie. On Saturday night besides drinking, there are many things one can do: Aerobics classes in the gym, UC Late night (event every weekend which is free), watch a play put on by the drama school, go to the movies, shopping, bowling, out to dinner, etc. I unfortunately havent had much time to do stuff off campus yet, but a lot of other people do, (it may just be me) but their a lot of museums and cool stuff Pittsburgh has to offer.

The most important groups on campus of the Greek organizations because they provide most of the social opportunities on weekends as well as random social activities on a day to day basis. The cultural awareness group I am involved with is called SPIRIT. We aim to unify minorities on campus and provide social as well as educational events for members and also unify minorities with their fellow students. Many of my friends are a part of the SPIRIT organization. However the organization cannot be as influential as a greek organization because we do not have the monetary capacity of those organizations. Organized athletic events are not very significant unless you yourself or an athlete. Typically other athletes support the other sports in the athletic department. However, many students get excited about intramural sports. I personally enjoy IM basketball and football. Every year there are two fashion shows, The Lunar Gala, and the Spirit fashion show which generate a lot of attendance from the CMU community and the Outside college community. People party at the fraternity houses on weekends if they are under 21, typically older students explore the pittsburgh party scene rather than the campus social activities. Because my fraternity is at the University of Pittsburgh, I spend a lot of time with students on Pitt's campus, as do many other CMU students because the school are in such close proximity.

Athletic events are not very popular thoughout campus. Atheles support other athletes. However, initiatives are being made to involve both athletics and academic extracirriculars so that everyone can have support and a fan base for their work.

There are large number of academic-oriented clubs and organizations in CMU, such as the Robotics club. There are also large numbers of guest speakers and seminars weekly in the many different departments of CMU. CMU is not however, that big of a party school. Fraternities do not seem to be as important or predominant compared to other universities. There is a very diverse student population and many people to meet, however the university could sometimes make it difficult for students in different fields to bridge outside of classes. Once again however, since CMU is in a city rather than a campus in the suburbs, it is easy for students to interact outside of campus and many subcultures exist.

people party like they're in high school. every party you go to someone will throw up and you'll see it happen. it might even get on you. If you're a guy and you don't know who's house it is or anyone in a fraternity, plan on getting kicked out, unless you're with cute girls. if someone doesn't know you at a party they will consider you an intruder-- plan on pushing and shoving.

Athletics are a joke here but they're fun if you're on a team because they're low key. Fraternities are alright but commonly get the shaft by the administration when it comes to having fun. Sororities are in general over active ugly girls but there are a couple good ones.

sports and greek. my fraternity. yes. not popular. work. painting the fence. once or twice a week. track meet. movie.

ASA is a huge club on campus, so is Mayur SASA. Dorms vary by people, and there is a great amount of people that are nerdy CS majors. Freshman year-most boys stay in the frat quad. So, do the girls. Eventually, they will get ballsy enough to grab a fake and head down to PHI. Unfortunately, most bars card, so the chance of leaving the greek quad is iffy.

Greek life is the main drive of events at CMU. Also, groups of students such as design majors or drama majors will have somewhat exclusive parties as well. CMU gets some great speakers to come and awesome live musical acts (such as Andrew W.K., MSTRKRFT, Broken Social Scene, and Whirlwind Heat to name a few) so live performances come by and kick some ass. There are also a ton of bars in Oakland and the Southside so you can go out anytime you want. Meeting a girlfriend/boyfriend is not hard as long as you are attractive. If you are good looking at CMU and were popular prior to attending, you will find it very easy to make friends and meet women/men. If not, it may be hard and you may be forced to settle for less than you normally would.

There are more activities to get involved with on campus than I could probably even make up. One of my favorite activities that I am involved with is the Women's Club soccer team which isn't as competitive as varsity, but we still compete against other schools. It is so much fun and the girls are super chill: we just get together and play soccer! Social life on campus is alright. Most weeknights you will be up late doing homework or studying. On the weekend there is always something going on. It's just about whether you know about it and whether you have the time. For example, last weekend I went to a 21st birthday party for my friend, a fashion show put on by students and an after party at a club downtown. At least one fraternity is having a party every weekend it seems but people also party off campus and go to the many bars in the south side or clubs in the strip. If you dont drink there are plenty of things to do in downtown pittsburgh or the surrounding neighborhoods.

There really isn't a popular sect, if I had to pick a group it would be the men's basketball team, but they certainly don't own the campus. Athletics events are getting more popular and now you can get a really good crowd at a lot of games. The big thing though is intramural sports. Everybody plays and it is the talk of campus, especially flag football and basketball. People love it. There are lots of great speakers but they are not well-attended. It's not if you're awake at 2AM on a Tuesday, but when you're awake on a Tues. at 2AM and you are STUDYING!!. People party every weekend and it's mostly drinking and hanging out -- frat parties aren't so big these days since the school has really cracked down on them for serving alcohol to minors. If you don't drink, there are free movies, cheap shows and lots of other kids like you too hang out with. I think there are also a lot of kids that don't socialize, don't date etc. They hang out in their rooms doing work or playing computer games, and many of them have never been to a party or kissed a girl. I'm friends with a lot of these people and they are not embarassed about it, it's just who they are.