Carnegie Mellon University

Overall, CMU is a place for overachievers. Everyone is focused on their work and getting ready for the real world. In doing so, many students lose their perspective of what the real world really is, and are therefore pretty introverted. Most students are friendly, however, and aside from being beaten down by the extreme course load and pressure that is constantly put on students, they are reasonably well spirited. Activities such as Carnival and Buggy are touted as the coolest thing since sliced bread by the university, when really they are just ridiculous competitions for Greek Life to squabble over while they completely lose track of the teamwork and camaraderie that the events are supposed to inspire. Housing and Dining Services as well as the Office of Student Life are awful, taking advantage of students whenever they can without offering anything in return. The cost for on campus housing is absurdly high, and continues to increase despite the residences being mediocre at best. I often feel like the university is trying to suck every penny out of its students while just decreasing the services it gives in return (the current cost for a years tuition and housing is approx $56,000+). I just seriously hope the degree I get is worth it, or at least is made out of solid gold.

3rd Year Male -- Class 2011

Perceived Campus Safety: A, Individual Value: F