Carnegie Mellon UniversityComputers Summary

Written by Raina Bradford-Jennings

Raina Bradford-Jennings

Hometown

Brookfield, CT

Major

Professional Writing

Grad Year

2014

View all previous student authors

Computers are a hallowed item at Carnegie Mellon. It is not because there is a shortage of computer space—quite the opposite actually. It is because Carnegie Mellon runs on computer and Internet systems. There are public computer clusters in almost every building on campus, and wherever there is a computer station, there is a printer nearby. Some stations are notoriously busier than others because they are more convenient. Do not try using the printers in the University Center during peak class hours because usually there is either someone printing a 70-page document for his or her next class, or the printer was already used so much that it's out of ink. The biggest complaint about the computing services is probably the wireless Internet. It is supposed to work within all of the confines of campus, including the cut and near the fence—two popular places to hang outside between classes when the weather is nice. Wireless is pretty slow in these areas, if it works at all. Inside, you usually won't have a problem getting a connection, though random sections of dormitories have been known to lose wireless for unbearable periods of time (from a few days to a few weeks).

On the positive side, students rant and rave about the wired Internet connection because through it they get access to CMU's file-sharing database, which is great for collaborating on class projects from their own rooms. Overall, students will be set with any computer needs, to the point where some students get away without having one. However, unless you want to spent most of your college career with dedicated programmers in a computer cluster, it is probably a good idea to bring one to school. Leave the printer, though—that's just a waste of cash.