Carnegie Mellon University Visit Report by Marilyn

Visit Activities:

Admissions Interview: Yes - Official interview during SBW - not scary ,very friendly, mainly there to answer questions. Also talked to a couple of professors and the admin in SCS, who had a package of useful information.

Information Session: Yes

Campus Tour: Yes - Two drama majors took us around and really gave us the flavor of the campus. The campus is not very large and easy to get around.

Classroom Visit: No - Privately arranged to sit in on computer class. Didn't understand what was being taught but found the teacher very friendly.

---

Campus:

---

Excellent presentation during SBW and honest and helpful with questions.

---

All staff members were helpful and eager to please.

---

Campus is compact; variety of old and new buildings. Center grass covered "cut" great place for students to hang out; also Univeristy Center.

---

Nothing particularly positive or negative stood out.

---

Son stayed in dorm and found it to be fine; very nice common rooms.

---

Friendly and accessible

---

Off-Campus:

---

We only saw the Oakland area, which was very student oriented. I've heard Shadyside is quite nice and only a few minutes walk. The conservatory in the park was fantastic.

---

Pittsburgh looked beautiful and it sounds like CMU really wants the students to experience it. They say it's second only to Boston in the number of college students so its very student-friendly. Fabulous views from Mt. Washington.

Campus Visit Notes for Carnegie Mellon University

Visit Description:

My first report was clearly not useful so I'll try again. We went on two visits - the initial visit to check out the school, and a return visit on SBW so my memory combines the two. CMU is oriented to students who have a fairly strong idea of what they want to study; it's not at all like a LAC where you enter and wait to see what looks interesting. They make this clear during orientation; it's not always easy to switch colleges. My son has always been interested in Comp Sci and this is one of the top in the country. Depending on your major there's a lot of work but plenty of people to help. They have one full week of freshman orientation to integrate the students into both the university and the city. The professors are highly regarded in their specialties; one of the strengths is the opportunity for research. CMU is interested in students who want to take advantage of the opportunities. All of the professors and staff we met were very approachable. You can also take one class a semester at U-Pitt which is only a few minutes away, which very much expands the possibilities.

The physical school is neither great nor terrible; the dorms seem to be set up to encourage social activities. Although there isn't a huge social activity calendar there are movies, musicians, and plays on campus most weekends, and coffee shop type performances in some of the eating areas. The freshman mostly live in traditional double rooms sharing a common hallway bath; upperclassmen are more likely to be in suite arrangements with semi-private baths. There are also college supported apartments nearby. Most of the big dorms are within a couple of blocks of campus. There are some large grassy areas to hang out but not really the classic ivy covered quad. They have broken ground on a new Gates computer center which will open in a couple of years, but the entire campus is high tech. All class buildings are fairly close to each other.

The food routinely gets panned but my son didn't think it was so bad; all freshman are required to be on a meal plan which is a combination of meal blocks and ala carte dining. The majority of the dining places are in the University Center (think food court) but there are several others scattered around campus. A wide variety of ethnic dining is included.

The students get free city bus service (actually included in fees) and the school sponsers off campus trips and activities. Students do seem to get off campus on weekends to shop, dine, go to movies, etc. There seems to be a wide variety of clubs to join, plus students can volunteer to teach some very unusual classes.

Hotel/Lodging Recommendations or Comments:

As Hilton Honors members we stay at the Hampton Inn University Place; very friendly staff; free hourly shuttle service within 3 miles; they drop and pick up right on campus.

Dining/Restaurant Recommendations or Comments:

Haven't eaten at the impressive places yet (on Mt. Washington) but will when we drop son off this weekend (sob). Also heard Shadyside has many nice restaurants.

Other Comments (Transportation, local attractions, parking, etc.):

There's a bus from the airport - the 28X shuttle - that drops you right at CMU. If you have younger children the Carnegie Science Center was quite nice. If the conservatory is having a flower show don't miss it.