Skip to Main Content

Carnegie Mellon University

Overall School Rating
21 Ratings

4.5 out of 5 Stars

12
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Star
0

21 Student Reviews

Sort by

“Good school, unique culture”
February 2019CURRENT STUDENT
Uppers

-unique culture

-nice people

-good orientation program

-flexibility in major (we are good at everything so if you're unsure, there is a variety)

-StuCo program (student taught courses)

Downers

-ALL HAIL THE CS MAJORS

-expensive

-bad food

-career center could use some work in helping students get jobs

Comments

At CMU, there are a lot of opportunities, but you get what you put in. Pittsburgh is a pretty decent place to live and the unlimited bus pass is super great. Take advantage of freebies provided by the school (AutoCAD, Photoshop, Microsoft Office Suite, Newspaper, etc.)

Would You Recommend

Yes

“One of the best decision of my life is to come here”
July 2017CURRENT STUDENT
Uppers

Job securities, respect, prestige, ambitious and hard-working students, passionate people, great faculty

Downers

workload is really huge compared to some other schools but it really prepares one for the work place

Comments

Be prepared to work hard and get results. It's worth it!

Would You Recommend

Yes

2011VERIFIED STUDENT
Academics

Bachelor of Fine Arts in opera performance- conservatory program. (essentially all music and performing classes)

Also required to take 3 languages: french, german and italian. All classes are extremely small. Average class size at CMU is 15-25 students. Student to faculty ratio: 12:1.

Big study abroad opportunities.

Quality of Life

Pittsburgh is the 3rd safest city for its size in the country. Live off-campus alone, no problem walking home late at night after rehearsal.

Pittsburgh is fairly livable - not too expensive. On-campus living is extremely close to campus (2-3 min walk to the heart of campus max).

Great library and resources. 22 24 hour computer clusters scattered across campus. supports all systems (mac/pc/linux/etc.) Access to all Carnegie libraries in country as well as most universities in the city of Pittsburgh.

Students are extremely diverse, intelligent, driven and positive. So easy to get help and support from faculty, professors and friends. Students are extremely well-rounded and generally interested in different, dynamic things.

Admissions

Regular decision Common application and standard supplemental materials, had to submit a prescreening CD by December 1st to music faculty - once I passed this round, I was asked to come audition at the school in February.

Applied for financial aid in February as well - CMU is a completely need-based institution, no merit scholarships.

Level

4

Graduation Year

2012

2011VERIFIED STUDENT
Academics

CMU puts alot of pressure on students with the rigor and amount of coursework loaded on but as you progress it gets better. The class sizes are approx 15-20 people on average and the professors are pretty nice about meeting if you need help. There are plenty of opportunities for research and design but they are all very competitive.

Quality of Life

Everything is pretty good.

Admissions

Multiple applications and essays. no common app form. Scholarships are available.

Level

4

Graduation Year

2013

2011VERIFIED STUDENT
Academics

Studio based curriculum

Quality of Life

absolutely great

Admissions

Portfolio based

Level

3

Graduation Year

2014

2011VERIFIED STUDENT
Academics

FABULOUS

Admissions

Portfolio, essay driven

Level

3

Graduation Year

2014

2011VERIFIED STUDENT
Academics

Class Size: 15 to 25

Student to Faculty Ratio: 12 to 1

Admissions

Uses Common App and a supplemental one. You can apply to 5 of the 6 colleges individually.

Level

3

Graduation Year

2013

2011VERIFIED STUDENT
Academics

very rigorous

Admissions

early decision, very long application

Level

3

Graduation Year

2013

2011VERIFIED STUDENT
Academics

Academics are very challenging and require a large time commitment. There is a large emphasis on the general education program, yet there are lots of opportunities to explore majors. Academic advising is excellent and very easily available. Class size is small compared to other large universities.

Quality of Life

All facilities are relatively new and maintained really well. The neighborhood is very calm, yet also has the perks of any large city. Most people are happy when they're not completely swamped by work.

Admissions

The admissions process was made very easy and simple. I had no problems when applying to CMU.

Level

2

Graduation Year

2014

2011VERIFIED STUDENT
Academics

This very much depends on your college. In my college (Humanities and Social Sciences) there are a lot of general education requirements (math/science, social science, humanities, language, and the arts). For your major you generally have several core requirements and several electives. You get an academic advisor when you enroll and he or she helps you register for classes and decide on what your major will be. Once you declare your major, you get a major advisor who helps you map out the rest of your courses. If you have any additional majors or minors you are assigned advisors for those as well. Carnegie Mellon is definitely an academically rigorous school, but it's not competitive at all. It's actually a very collaborative environment, and students tend to work together on assignments.

Admissions

Common application and supplement with essay about why you want to attend Carnegie Mellon; binding early decision and regular decision; optional interview with admission counselor or alumni; financial aid but no merit scholarships

Graduation Year

2011

“”
Uppers Downers Comments Would You Recommend

Academics Quality of Life Admissions Level Graduation Year