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Carnegie Mellon University
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Inside Scoop

Quick Stats

School Slang
  • The Black Chairs: The black leather chairs in the middle of the UC where people meet; also known as the Airport Lounge.
  • C-Cons: The computer lab assistants.
  • CFA: College of Fine Arts; Can’t Fu***n’ Add.
  • Cluster: A computer lab.
  • CS: Computer Science; Can’t Score; Classes Suck.
  • The Cut: Carnegie Mellon’s central lawn.
  • DA: Desk Attendant.
  • The Donner Ditch: An area behind Donner Hall. The site of numerous BBQs.
  • The Dungeon: The basement of Donner Hall.
  • The Fence: Fence in the middle of campus that gets painted by students for tradition.
  • Flagstaff: A grassy hill behind Hunt Library and Baker Hall; part of Schenley Park.
  • H&SS: Humanities & Social Science; High School Studies; Hot, Sexy, & Stupid; H & Less Stress.
  • The Hub: Enrollment offices in the basement of Warner Hall. Pay your tuition here.
  • Maggie Mo: Nickname for Margaret Morrison, a building on campus.
  • The Mall: The grassy space between Baker, Hamerschlag, Wean, and Doherty Halls.
  • Mini 1 & Mini 2: One semester can be divided into two mini sessions. A few classes are offered in this shorter format.
  • Misc. Market: An online bulletin board where students post random messages and sell things.
  • OLR: Online registration.
  • P.H.I. or PHI BAR: Panther Hollow Inn, a popular bar right off campus.
  • The Quad: Where the fraternities are located.
  • Schlag: Hamerschlag Hall; a dorm.
  • The Trucks: Food trucks on Tech Street.
  • The UC: The University Center. This is the main student center on campus.
Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School
  • Don’t buy the bed sheets and linens from the school catalog.
  • Don’t skip “Playfair” during Orientation.
  • Get on the smallest meal plan possible.
  • Go to the frats during Orientation Week.
  • It’s not a big party school.
  • It’s not a good school for people who are undecided about their majors.
  • It’s really technical.
  • Learning to manage your time is crucial.
  • The workload is almost overwhelming.
Tips to Succeed
  • Actually go to class.
  • Always dispute bad grades.
  • Ask the TAs tons of questions.
  • Check your e-mail at least ten times a day.
  • Do your homework yourself so you actually understand the material.
  • Don’t ever fall behind.
  • Know what you want to study before coming here.
  • Pick classes you actually like.
  • Research your professors before choosing your classes.
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Carnegie Mellon Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Inside Scoop at Carnegie Mellon University

enp2

'15

Biological Sciences

4.6
A

Awesome Research Opportunities and Meet Awesome People

Especially in the sciences and engineering, undergraduate research is highly valued and the people you meet will probably help you in the future for networking and what not. The faculty and students are insanely passionate about what they're doing and the philosophy that nothing is more beautiful than someone who loves what they do is held pretty strongly here.

Jan 18, 2012

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Inside Scoop at Carnegie Mellon University

demony2393

'15

Management Information Systems

4.6
A

Students

The student are extremely knowledgeable and the majority know right from the start where they are headed in life.

Jan 18, 2012

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Inside Scoop at Carnegie Mellon University

Thristle

'15

Physics

5.0
A+

Fun and Difficult at the Same Time!

Carnegie Mellon is a little nerdy, extremely difficult, and a lot of fun. I can't imagine leaving all of the wonders of this university behind, unless I don't have enough money to pay for it. Go Tartans!

Jan 04, 2012

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Page 1 of 4

Facts

Traditions
  • Bagpipes: CMU has a strange and storied tradition of bagpipe-playing. It’s not uncommon to hear the comforting (shrill) noise of the pipes floating through campus on almost any night of the week. This is one of CMU’s more eccentric, endearing traditions that has come to grow on students. CMU is the only university in the country to offer a degree in bagpipe music.
  • Buggy: Buggies are small, cylindrical push carts that students race around the campus streets during Carnival Week. The buggies are piloted by a “pusher” and are steered by the driver, a female student who is situated within the buggy. Students prepare all year, building and testing their buggies so that they’ll be ready to race in time for Spring Carnival.
  • Clippership: The Clippership is constantly offering leisure boat trips around Pittsburgh’s three rivers. During orientation week, CMU reserves an entire ship for the incoming freshmen class to party on all night. Upon graduation, seniors ride the ship again in a trip bidding farewell to CMU. As a freshman, it’s a great way to meet new friends. As a senior, it’s a fun way to say goodbye to everyone you’ve gotten to know over your CMU career.
  • Dancers’ Symposium: Dancers’ Symposium is held yearly at the end of Fall and Spring semester. The show features student-choreographed dances ranging in style from ballet to hip-hop. Any student can volunteer to dance or choreograph a dance. Many students perform in more than one dance.
  • The Fence: In the middle of he Cut, at the center of CMU’s campus, is the Fence. While the Fence itself serves no practical purpose, it’s a Carnegie Mellon tradition for students to paint personal messages or advertisements for parties on it. Students can only paint the Fence after midnight, and once it’s painted, they must sleep outside to guard it from other students eager to paint it again before sunrise.
  • Greek Sing: Greek Sing is an annual event where CMU’s Greek organizations perform original song and dance routines to support a local charitable organization. Every March, the fraternities and sororities compete to raise money for a good cause and to see which Greek organizations can put on the best show.
  • The Green Room Wall: A tradition within the College of Fine Arts is for senior drama students to autograph the Green Room’s walls and ceilings before graduating. The Green Room is located on campus behind the stage of Kresge Theatre.
  • The Kiltie Band: Decked out in full Scottish gear and ready to release blaring bagpipe music, CMU’s Kiltie Band, an 80-plus year tradition, is an antiquated but beloved campus tradition. The band has been performing at every home football game since CMU hosted Notre Dame on Andrew Carnegie’s birthday in 1922.
Urban Legends
  • A complete network of steam tunnels provides an underground way to get around the whole campus.
  • Bill Gates once offered to hire CMU’s whole graduating Computer Science class.
  • Endowment at CMU is very small, which is supposedly why its ranking doesn’t go up.
  • Playboy ranked CMU the second-ugliest campus in America.
  • Wean Hall houses back-up computers for the Department of Defense.

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