Carnegie Mellon University

I love this school because it fuses arts and technology perfectly. On my way from my dorm to receiving the best Computer Engineering education in the country, I am serenaded by piano and flute recitals.

In addition, the campus is very manageable. It never takes me more than 5 minutes to get from one class to another. Definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made.

1st Year Male -- Class 2011

Collaboration/Competitive: A+, Social Life: B-

One of the major things that helped me coming from Carnegie Mellon were the hands on "project" type classes. Not only did these give me great practical examples of the type of critical thinking work I could do in the real world, they also helped me learn to manage my time and work with groups from 3 - 20 people on a given project. Those experiences, which are not available at every school, have been very valuable to me. If I could go back I would take more classes like that.

Carnegie Mellon is not for everyone however. This is not a party school, if you are into sports as a major extra curricular I wouldn't recommend it. It is a great school for people who are open minded, interested in off the wall and off the beaten track things and who like meeting people that don't fit "typical" molds.

There are opportunities to play hard, and when the school plays hard it doesn't mess around, but there is a lot of work. And there is no "grade inflation" at CMU like some other New Ivys. If you earn an F in a class, you will get an F, you don't get A's just for showing up.I would recommend that prospective students visit the campus and also arrange an interview with a local alumnus which can be done through the school. This can help them get a better idea of what the student body is like.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000