Did you recently visit Carnegie Mellon University? Share your experience with the community! Post your review in the comments below.
Some ideas for what to share:
- When did you visit?
- Where did you stay? Would you recommend it?
- Where did you eat? Did you try any local specialties?
- How did you get there? What’s the best transportation mean to get to-from the campus?
- What was the campus vibe?
- What did you think of the dorms?
- What are some must-see things in or around campus?
- How were the school facilities?
- Did you like it more or less than you thought you would? Why?
- Did anything surprise you?
We’d love to hear any tips or recommendations you can share for people planning their CMU visit!
I visited campus twice with my son two years ago when he was applying to engineering schools, and I visited for Spring Carnival last year, but since there are not more recent posts, I’ll give it a shot. I’ll respond according to the bullet point list in the original post.
2. We stayed at Spring Hill Suites by Marriott at Bakery Square. The hotel was fine and it was a short drive from campus.
3. We made a point of eating at Primanti’s because it is required in Pittsburgh. No, we did not go the OG Primanti’s in the Strip District. Sadly, the Original Hot Dog down by Pitt finally closed.
4. We drove. There is a parking garage on campus so parking isn’t a chore as it often is on college campuses.
5. The vibe could best be described as “serious” and “diligent”. The students we saw in common areas were studying, rather than shooting the breeze, but they did not look like survivers of the Bataan Death March. I defer to students currently attending the Nerd Farm.
6. There were some relatively new dorms on campus, and more under construction, but we did not see any rooms.
7. Your intended major will drive what you should see on campus. Since my son was applying to engineering programs, we made sure to visit labs, the makers center and engineering classrooms. CMU is in the Oakland neighborhood with shopping, restaurants and bars, and Pitt is just down the street. Just down Forbes Ave are the Carnegie Music Hall, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and Carnegie Museum of Art.
8. CMU is incredibly well resourced, and it shows in the facilities. The school just added to the main science building with labs filled with the latest and greatest equipment. They doubled the size of the computing center, which was one of the best in the country before the addition (thank you Bill Gates). When I was there last they had just razed Scaife Hall and were replacing it with a larger building. They also recently built an entire quad with three buildings for the business school.
9. I attended CMU in the 1980s, and was greatly impressed with the added buildings and changes made to the campus.
10. No surprises.
Any hotels that are ‘right there’ and not a drive away?
The Wyndham Pittsburgh is just a few blocks away on Fifth Ave. It’s a nice hotel with a great bar.
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Perfect thanks - booked! (I also came across The Mansion but it’s totally booked already!)
Going to Tartan day on 4/7 and first time in Pittsburgh. Any places near campus we must eat or see? Arriving Saturday afternoon to look around since it’s a 6 hr drive for us. D24 admitted to engineering, so want to focus on those buildings, programs, and dorms. Any advice? Thanks!
Not sure if you’ve been in the Class of 2028 thread, but we were there too. I posted my thoughts on the visit in that thread, but would love to hear your take.