The beauty of road trips is flexibility. I had planned to drive through North Carolina to visit three more colleges when my husband’s allergies caused us to take a shortcut home. We decided to stop in Pittsburgh on the long trip back from Philadelphia. This turned out to be a good decision, since it gave us the opportunity to spend some time walking around Carnegie Mellon University.
Carnegie Mellon sits on just under 150 acres in a wealthy suburban neighborhood, just steps away from the University of Pittsburgh. In fact, students can take classes at Pitt, as well as three other schools in the area.
Carnegie Mellon is an unusual school; it is equally strong in STEM (science technology, engineering and math), as well as the performing arts. An admissions officer told me that five Carnegie Mellon grads have won Tonys. Moreover, the campus is physically beautiful, with modern buildings adjoining two huge quads. And the sports facilities are beautiful. In recent years the school has gone from a regional powerhouse to a national one.
Carnegie Mellon is divided into seven colleges–six are for undergrads. Each college has its own admission standards and is applied for separately. Although about 30 percent of the students are enrolled in the liberal arts, the university is definitely more science-oriented. While it is working on changing this reputation, the school is known to be serious and very demanding.
For the student interested in a STEM or performing arts curriculum, Carnegie Mellon may just be ideal. For those in liberal arts, I am not so sure.
Check out my photo album of Carnegie Mellon on Facebook.
