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5.45.80.218:valid:Content Nonsensical, Duplicate Survey, High Vulgarity, High Grammatical Error, Probably Admissions, Content Useless, Malicious Intent/Faked, SPAM, :1
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5.45.80.218:valid:Content Nonsensical, Duplicate Survey, High Vulgarity, High Grammatical Error, Probably Admissions, Content Useless, Malicious Intent/Faked, SPAM, :1
5.45.80.218:valid:Content Nonsensical, Duplicate Survey, High Vulgarity, High Grammatical Error, Probably Admissions, Content Useless, Malicious Intent/Faked, SPAM, :1
5.45.80.218:valid:Content Nonsensical, Duplicate Survey, High Vulgarity, High Grammatical Error, Probably Admissions, Content Useless, Malicious Intent/Faked, SPAM, :1
5.45.80.218:valid:Content Nonsensical, Duplicate Survey, High Vulgarity, High Grammatical Error, Probably Admissions, Content Useless, Malicious Intent/Faked, SPAM, :1
5.45.80.218:valid:Content Nonsensical, Duplicate Survey, High Vulgarity, High Grammatical Error, Probably Admissions, Content Useless, Malicious Intent/Faked, SPAM, :1
5.45.80.218:valid:Content Nonsensical, Duplicate Survey, High Vulgarity, High Grammatical Error, Probably Admissions, Content Useless, Malicious Intent/Faked, SPAM, :1
5.45.80.218:valid:Content Nonsensical, Duplicate Survey, High Vulgarity, High Grammatical Error, Probably Admissions, Content Useless, Malicious Intent/Faked, SPAM, :1
5.45.80.218:valid:Content Nonsensical, Duplicate Survey, High Vulgarity, High Grammatical Error, Probably Admissions, Content Useless, Malicious Intent/Faked, SPAM, :1
5.45.80.218:valid:Content Nonsensical, Duplicate Survey, High Vulgarity, High Grammatical Error, Probably Admissions, Content Useless, Malicious Intent/Faked, SPAM, :1

Statistical Analyzer:

*****It Sucks, But Where Else Was I Going To Go?*****

To put it in a nutshell, CMU is hard as hell. In HS, I got accepted to 10 schools, 2 of them being CMU and Cooper Union. I chose CMU because I wanted to get out of NYC for 4 years. I got into IS, but was planning to transer into CS. Boy, was I wrong. I think after I started working 30hrs/week on advanced programming (One class!), I rethunk my options. My brain just didn't work like a CS brain. Now I'm more interested in Wall Street/Business-y type stuff. I'm planning to transfer. We'll see how that goes. But for now, I give you - CMU:

Academics:

The workload is intense. It's not uncommon to see someone sitting in their dorm room doing their homework on a Friday or Saturday night. In HS, I coasted. About 15 mins of Hw a night, and I had a 98 average. At CMU, I saw that 15 mins turn into 15 hrs of work. HS just didn't prepare me. What a shock to the head. All this work, mostly because of a few CS classes. But it's not cutthroat, people dont destroy other people's projects to have a different grade curve, people are generally friendly. If you are in Tepper, SCS, IS, or CIT, you will get a very good job when you graduate. That is an upside to CMU. Just go on our website, go to the career center, and look at the salary statistics / placement rates. They speak for themselves =]

Athletics:

I am on the track team. I hate the (Jump) coach. In high school, I made it to Junior Nationals in 9th grade and was named to the All-City Track and Field team in 12th grade. We've won 25 interscholatic (city) championships - almost as many as the Yankees. We had VERY good coaches. When I came to CMU I was disgusted by how awful my coach was. Sure, he's Level-III or whatever certified by USA Track and Field, but that doesn't mean shit when I'm going home from practice, EVERY PRACTICE, not sore, nothing. Don't feel a goddamed thing. I swear, practices in 9th grade were more demanding and rewarding than track practices in CMU. The jump coach is terrible. (In HS, the jumping events alone scored about 90% of our team's points at sectionals. At CMU, it's the other way around. I wonder why? *Rolls Eyes*) CMU's track coach, however, is very laid-back and approachable. It's a shame that I don't train under him. For a D-3 school, CMU has a very, very good Swimming and Diving team. I don't remember their exact place, but they did place in the top-10 at Nationals. School Spirit? Don't make me laugh. I believe its the heavy workload which doesn't allow for students to attend games. I was walking from class to my dorm, and I pass by Gesling Stadium. Our girls were having a varsity soccer game against another school. I counted the number of people in the stands. 5. And they were rooting for the other team. But you know, CMU's team name is the Tartan. No university can expect loyalty from its student body when its team name is a Tartan, it just doesn’t work that way. Bill Gates would be a suitable replacement. Also, football is the biggest sport here, even though…coughthey'renotthatgoodcough. They pride themselves on having 30 non-losing seasons. Uhm? That sucks? Finishing 5-5 is not something to be proud of. If Joe Torre went out and made a statement that says "I expect the Yankees to finish above .500 this year", Steinbrenner would fire his ass. Where's the committment to excellence? What if President Cohen says "I'm happy if CMU is an above mediocre school". It just doesn't work that way. CMU has a committment to academic excellence. Athletic excellence should be no different. CMU football should aim for a conference championship, not a non-losing season. Ironically, they draw the most fans. Personally, I'm not used to having a football team (I went to HS in NYC and we didn't have one). I was also going to play baseball for CMU, but it's only a club team. Meaning anyone can get in, and you have to pay to play. I watched one of their practices, and some of them are just awful. I think my HS JV baseball team would've destroyed them (Until 4-5-2005, we had the national record for most consecutive HS baseball games won - at 68). Sorry CMU baseball. I'm doing track. Wish I had a better coach though.

Campus Dining:

Food sucks. There's no other way to put it. We've been ranked 12th in the Princeton Review for the category 'Is It Food'? So basically we have the 12th worst food in the nation. Food is also expensive. $2.50 for a slice of pizza. And Pittsburgh pizza, mind you. Also, a lot of Sundays in the dining hall, i'd see for brunch - was was left over from Monday's, Tuesday's, Wednesday's, and Thurdsay's dinner. Crappy, expensive food. Um. And don't eat at the 'O'. They cook their fries in grease…twice. It's basically a heart-attack wating to happen. Worse then McDonalds, I say. Off-campus food is better. Some places are half off everything after a certain time.

Campus Housing:

It's overpriced, and sucks. I lived in the basement of Donner House in 2004-05, and my heater broke. I called housing 3 times to fix it. 3 times. The first two, they went into my room for 5 minutes, and claimed that it was fixed, but of course, no heat comes out. Idiots. The third time, they just ignored my request. I've learned to sleep in a 30 degree room. Comfy, but it sucks getting out of bed in the morning. Off-Campus housing is cheaper ($400/month on average), but once you get off-campus housing, you're not guaranteed on-campus housing. Ever. Again. If you stay in on-campus housing, you are guaranteed on-campus housing until you move out. Or graduate. Even if they put you in Webster Hall (which, for on-campus housing, is too damn far from campus)

Campus Strictness:

CMU Police aren't really strict about the alcohol policy. I believe that if they were hardasses about it, no one would have anything to let them wind out, and the suicide rate on campus would jump. They have been cracking down on the frats a lot lately. One lost their charter last year, and another got kicked off campus the year before, due to a hazing incident. (I believe they made their pledges chug half a gallon of maple syrup. Or was it a quarter gallon? I was on 12th grade then, so it's just what I've heard by ear.)

Computers:

As the #1 Computer Science school in the US, CMU better give us excellent resources to technology. And they do. The whole campus is wireless. There are a lot of clusters where you can do your work. Though they are installing a printing quota this year, which sucks, but it's some insane amount that I'd never go over anyway. I think like 5000 pgs a semester. Something like that. Oh yeah, and the machines send you an e-mail when your laundry is done so you can pick it up. How hot is that?

Diversity:

I'm from Queens, NY. The most diverse county in all of the United States. When I walk into my interp class of 30 people and see one minority (Affirmative Action speaking), I'm very, VERY, dissapointed. From the time I walked on campus in August, I don't think I saw a hispanic person until I stepped off the Greyhound bus in Times Square, when I was going home for Christmas. Pathetic. CMU is trying to recruit minorities though. It seems like many of the minorities get swept up by elite schools like Stanford, MIT, Duke, etc. They don't come to CMU.

Drugs:

Most of the drugs used are Adderall - so kids can concentrate and study during finals week. You can find alcohol relatively easy, like I said, CMU police aren't that hard about it. Hardcore drugs, like coke, and crystal meth, aren't prevelant here. But you can find them, if you know who to ask.

Facilites:

One of the reasons I chose CMU over Cooper Union was because Cooper Union's facilities were disgusting and outdated. You'll find a lot of state-of-the-art, new stuff here. They just remodeled the gym 2 years ago, it looks nice. The campus looks - very modern, when you compare it to the ancient architecture of the Ivy's.

Girls/Guys: Playboy rated CMU as having the 3rd ugliest girls and the ugliest campus in the US. (I don't have the edition, this is what I've heard from word of mouth). Forbes also rated Pittsburgh as the worst city to singles to live in - for the 2nd year in a row. There are hotter girls/guys at U. Pitt though. Stereotypically, CFA has some hotties, and engineers…well they're engineers. Make of it what you will. Also, the guy/girl ratio is 3:2. Used to be worse though.

Greek Life: It's ok-ok, i'd say. It's not as big as say, a flagship state school, but they aren't unknown either, like at campuses where everyone goes home on the weekends. There's always at least one party at a frat during any given weekend.

Local Atmosphere: As a native New Yorker, I was NOT impressed at what Pittsburgh has to offer. Downtown - everything closes at 5PM. It's a ghost town. Also, the buses run on a very erratic schedule, and Pittsburgh is cutting back on service. The city is broke. That being said, there are some places to go, like PNC park for a Pirates/Steelers game, Oakland, or Squirrel Hill. There are some shady parts of Pittsburgh, nothing serious. If CMU is the school that never sleeps, shouldn't the city cater to this?

Nightlife: There is ONE club everyone goes to, called Cozumel. There's always a frat having some party going on during the weekend. During the week, the campus is dead.

Parking: Parking is a bitch, and expensive. But it's CMU and they suck the money out of you. Freshmen are not allowed to have cars. I recommend a bike.

Safety: CMU is relatively safe. Late at night, you need your ID card to swipe into some academic buildings. You need your ID's to get into your dorm room. Desk Attendants watch the front entrance of 5 dorms. 3 Drunk Pitt kids did try to mug me once (at 2AM on a Wednesday night), but when I dared them to hit me, they wouldn't bite. There are also reports of some thefts, but they happen rarely. When they do happen, they hit big. I think during the last 'wave', about $15,000+ worth of equipment was stolen from a dorm hall and that dorm's cluster.

Students: Some are arrogant, most are not. Sure, you have your arrogant, collar-popping, I'm-better-than-you-because-I-went-to-private-school trust fund babies, but all top colleges have that. It's not your John's Hopkins If-I-Destroy-His-Project-The-Curve-Is-Better-For-Me type of atmosphere. You don't have your typical NYU hipsters. Most people are cool, approachable, and easy to get along with. Everyone, EVERYONE, is weird, in his or her own way. I mean, this is CMU. I've heard that the depression rate at CMU is 2x the national average

Transportation: The buses suck. But with your CMU ID card, they're free. No subway system. (Or metro if you hail from D.C.) But I depend on the buses to go grocery shopping in Squirrel Hill and the Waterfront. Bus service is getting cut. I really wish Pittsburgh wasn't broke.

Weather: Pittsburgh weather sucks. It can be 40 degrees as you're walking to class, and 75 degrees as you're coming back. Winters are cold. Last winter, the wind chill got to -10. There was snow in April. Did I mention rain? It rains. A LOT. This keeps the sunlight, and Vitamin E out, which causes depression among the student body.

There you have CMU. Spoken from an IS major (hoping to be a business double), slated to Graduate in '08. That is, if I don't transfer out before then. I have a (as of time of this writing) 3.69 GPA. Hopefully I get out of this hellhole. If you have any other questions, or just like to hear me bitch, e-mail me at _email_removed_