Carnegie Mellon University is a private University with a reputation for high academic standards and rigorous courses. Students often both love and hate their school from an academic standpoint. They enjoy the challenge, but sometimes despise the amount of time they have to devote to homework. The professors are some of the top in their fields, the University offers a number of research opportunities, and there are many extracurricular activities available to sharpen students’ skills outside of the classroom. Some of the most esteemed departments at Carnegie Mellon include Engineering, Management, Economics, Computer Science, Design, and Information Systems.
Sports are not a huge part of life at Carnegie, considering their teams are Division III. However, many students enjoy participating in club sports. Greek Life thrives here, with a whopping 20% of students affiliating themselves with a fraternity or sorority. With that being said, no one is judged for choosing not to participate. In all likelihood, you’ll end up engaging in Greek Life whether you realize or not. They’re the center of campus social life and activities, including carnivals, house parties, and other events. Many students end up venturing over to PITT parties as well. The city itself also offers some great nightlife if house parties aren’t your thing.
With that being said, it’s important to note that Carnegie Mellon students are incredibly studious. Though they’re not constantly locked in the library studying, they do spend a significant portion of their time focusing on academics. Part of this has to do with the kind of students that attend Carnegie, but mostly because of the intense academic demands of the program.
When to Search
If you’re looking for a place right on Beeler Street, then you’ll need to start vying for places almost a year ahead of time. Even if you’re not looking into apartments in hot spots like these, it’s best to start grabbing roommates and scoping out a good place as far ahead of time as possible; typically, people try to snatch up apartments fast. By January, people are already touring places and signing leases. Between March and May, people will be cleaning up the last highly desirable apartments within a fair price range. The key: Plan ahead, search ahead; get what you want.