Carnegie Mellon University

Date: May 25 2011
Major: Architecture & Urban Planning Department (This Major's Salary over time)
Carnegie Mellon will work you hard, and chances are good that if you get in and are reading this now, you're thinking, "I can take it." I know I was, but it is a constant onslaught of work that is taxing both in volume and in the mental faculties required. I found myself wishing for busy work, because I could do that in my sleep. Instead, I was exhausted 80% of the time because there was that much work, and not enough time to do it. Every professor teaches as though theirs is the only class that you are in, and you learn an exceptional amount. You also learn how to accept that you're not going to have the time to do your best on every assignment, and that sometimes turning a C-paper in on time is better than turning an A-paper in a day late. Attending CMU is an education in your limits as a student as much as it is an exercise in the persuit of academic knowledge. The downside to this is that it is very easy to burn out, but the upside is that everyone is in that boat with you. There may be competition between students, but you're all suffering through the same sort of self-inflicted, sleep-deprived torture, and it brings you closer together. CMU students, while almost always secretly thinking that our own program is the worst, have a bond of mutual respect wrought in the all-nighters of the computer clusters that runs as deep as the tartan that lines our hoods. Generally speaking we come for the academics, but we stay for the unique and crazy cast of characters that compose the student body, and we learn as much from them as we do from our professors. Carnegie Mellon will challenge you, and push you to the limits of your stess-meter; for other brilliant and talented individuals out there who are up for an emotional and academic roller-coaster, welcome to the clan!