Carnegie Mellon Reputation

Crazyshow
Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:34:42 +0000

I think that bruno made a great general comparison, but there are certain things that are not uniform across the US higher education system, especially when considering CMU that he didn’t really address or mentioned differently because he was speaking in generalities.

For instance, while overall the entrance standards in the UK may be higher, for engineering especially at CMU I doubt you’ll find much difference because CMU is a fairly high-level engineering school. It’s also a research institution, so you’ll find a lot of research opportunities there as opposed to strictly theory based classes you may find at other universities.

In addition, CMU is known (and in fact this is a differentiating factor) throughout the US as a school that has an uncommon focus on your major. This is why you are required to apply to your specific school during admissions and not the university as a whole. There is a very minimal ‘core’ at CMU, and I think the classes they do require you to take are ones that are truly beneficial to all people receiving a degree - so nothing that you may perceive as ‘out there’ like studying a specific subset of literature or something. This is another facet that is somewhat related to CMU’s position as an international research institution - and that again allows undergraduates to get involved directly with their material instead of simply learning theory.

Another thing, and I cant speak for all US institutions, but I would tend to disagree that there is a paternalistic/high school-like system in college, at least at CMU. Whether or not to consider attendance as a factor is a professor-specific question, its their discretion whether to penalize you for not attending. Many professors, though, will not penalize you for not coming to lecture/recitation so long as you maintain a grasp of the material. In any case, its certainly much less rigid than high school.