CMU - A good school if you are willing to make the best of it!

Introduction
CMU was not high on my list of schools to go to. I decided to come after they gave me a huge scholarship. With that said, I really enjoy myself here. Don't come to CMU if you are looking for a party school or even a "typical" college experience. You should also consider not applying to CMU if you can not handle doing a lot of schoolwork. This is not the set of Animal House by any stretch of the imagination. But, that doesn't mean that it can't be fun. Pittsburgh is no Chicago or Manhattan, but it is a city and there are plenty of things to do if you look for them. If you do choose to come to CMU, that is the best advice that I can give; look for things to do outside of campus. Go out and actively seek interesting events.

Campus Life and Social Life
For a large part of the population here at CMU, social life is pretty dismal. Attendance at sporting events is appalling for a college and school spirit can be nonexistant with some people. There are plenty of clubs on campus and most people are involved in at least a couple. The frats throw parties that are fun, but a lot of the campus chooses not to be a part of that scene. A typical weekend would involve a frat party or two, going out to eat, studying...just regular college stuff. Advertisement
Academics
The best thing about Carnegie Mellon is that there is no department that sucks. It is amazing how good every single department is. This is nice, because nobody really looks down on you because you have an "easier" major. The professors are great as are the TAs. The workload is definitely intense and I have gotten grades here that I would never get in high school, but it's worth it in the end. CMU has the highest percentage (at 100%) of students who are either employed full-time or accepted to graduate school within six months of graduation and that's nice to know. Seeing CMU on a resume actually means something.

Student Body
There is not as much diversity at CMU as the brochures would like you to believe. There are many more guys than girls and MANY more Asians than anything else. There are very few black or hispanic people and they tend to keep to themselves. A lot of the students are dorky (computer science and robotics are huge here), but some are not. The most "normal" people are usually the athletes, so my recommendation is to get involved in a club sport or just get to know the athletes. I think that many of the guys play a lot of video games. If you are a girl at Carnegie Mellon, the odds are good, but the goods are odd. I mean, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of normal, fun people to hang out with, but you will have to search for them a little bit more than at other schools.

In Closing...
Carnegie Mellon is a great school. Pittsburgh is a good city. For the most part, a college is a college, and many stuudents will have fun no matter where they are. Carnegie Mellon is the place to go if you are wiling to do work in order to insure a promising future.