Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any thoughts on whether kids are more miserable at CMU than Hopkins or Chicago?

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i thought chicago was super social these days?

My kid thought CMU would be a top choice (CS major), but after visiting and meeting current students, didn't even apply.

Met a couple of CS juniors that were super depressed. They said that they were assigned crazy amounts of work and the grading was too strict. Skipped classes in order to finish work for other classes.

I believe CMU and Waterloo out of Canada are some of the few programs where CS is out of the Math department vs. the Engineering department. Much more theoretical...better for someone who is interested in inventing a new computer language, or in the case of Waterloo, inventing the Etherium Blockchain.

Also, while CMU has a business program and a renowned arts/theatre program, STEM dominates the campus. Just a larger concentration of overworked unhappy kids.

While CMU is adjacent to Pitt, it is at the far end of all the shops and restaurants which are directly adjacent to the other side of Pitt. Not a huge deal, but it's like a mile or so from CMU while across the street from Pitt.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any thoughts on whether kids are more miserable at CMU than Hopkins or Chicago?

Similar.

Disagree, CMU is in a class by itself. The kids I know at Chicago and Hopkins are happy.

Chicago has improved dramatically over the years, but I have to wonder how many Hopkins students you know. From what I gather CMU, JHU and URoch are the unholy trinity of misery.

More than you since I am an Hopkins alum and currently mentor a Hopkins club I was a member of while an undergrad. I also know a few current undergrads from my kids’ high schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any thoughts on whether kids are more miserable at CMU than Hopkins or Chicago?

Similar.

Disagree, CMU is in a class by itself. The kids I know at Chicago and Hopkins are happy.

Chicago has improved dramatically over the years, but I have to wonder how many Hopkins students you know. From what I gather CMU, JHU and URoch are the unholy trinity of misery.

DC is happy at CMU, fantastic professors and super collaborative even though school can be hard. CMU values work and hard working and doesn't practice admission tricks to beautify yield rate numbers. The down side is that ED CMU doesn't give much of an admission boost.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD suffered through 4 years. She did not enjoy college and was happy to graduate. With that said, she got a job and is excelling. Most of her friends felt similarly. It’s just a really hard school and the location isn’t great. She will not make the same mistake for grad school.

I thought people live Pittsburgh? Is it CMU’s particular neighborhood that is bad?

I have a son at Pitt and will add that transportation to/from DC area isn’t great. You are either driving six hours on the Turnpike or taking train to Philly and switching (a 10 hour ordeal) or flying. And even flying isn’t always direct - he’s connected in PHL and LGA to get to DC.

??? There are cheap flights directly to DC. And there are numerous bus companies that cater to college students and will drive them directly from Pittsburgh to Montgomery Mall.

We’re in Virginia, and drive time is usually 4 1/2 hours total - I feel like you are doing it wrong.

I’m doing it on a Friday afternoon for a weekend visit. So heavy traffic to Frederick and then again from New Baltimore to Somerset on the Turnpike where all the construction is. Agree that flights are good and plentiful weekdays but weekend availability is not great.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any thoughts on whether kids are more miserable at CMU than Hopkins or Chicago?

Similar.

Disagree, CMU is in a class by itself. The kids I know at Chicago and Hopkins are happy.

As someone who went there for a while and left, I can say that CMU is probably the most miserable college in America. If you're not going to join Greek Life or play on a varsity sports team, I would seriously recommend avoiding it at all costs.

Imagine a school where at least 50% of the students ate lunch by themselves in the corner during high school. Add this to a curriculum (even in the "easy" majors) that is made needlessly hard and time-consuming, CONSTANT gray/rainy weather, no significant party or sports scene and insane tuition (despite the fact that the school is incessantly hounding alumni for donations).

College, and life in general, is not meant to be a miserable slog. There are plenty of prestigious schools (Duke, Vanderbilt, UMich, USC) that offer top notch academics and a vibrant, fulfilling experience. I have even noticed the complete lack of people skills among CMU grads in the workforce decades later - whether they were always that way or just failed to develop adult social skills after missing out on their late teens/early 20s is beyond me.

But to answer your question, yes, the majority of CMU students are unhappy at best.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD suffered through 4 years. She did not enjoy college and was happy to graduate. With that said, she got a job and is excelling. Most of her friends felt similarly. It’s just a really hard school and the location isn’t great. She will not make the same mistake for grad school.

I thought people live Pittsburgh? Is it CMU’s particular neighborhood that is bad?

I have a son at Pitt and will add that transportation to/from DC area isn’t great. You are either driving six hours on the Turnpike or taking train to Philly and switching (a 10 hour ordeal) or flying. And even flying isn’t always direct - he’s connected in PHL and LGA to get to DC.

??? There are cheap flights directly to DC. And there are numerous bus companies that cater to college students and will drive them directly from Pittsburgh to Montgomery Mall.

We’re in Virginia, and drive time is usually 4 1/2 hours total - I feel like you are doing it wrong.

LOL. Yeah, six hours on the PA Turnpike from Pittsburgh to DMV. Are you stopping for two hours at a diner in Breezewood?

It's like a friend of mine from college (Pitt) who was from the DMV and insisted that it routinely took 3 hours to go "all the way around" the DC beltway. I suspect he was high and circled the beltway more than once.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD suffered through 4 years. She did not enjoy college and was happy to graduate. With that said, she got a job and is excelling. Most of her friends felt similarly. It’s just a really hard school and the location isn’t great. She will not make the same mistake for grad school.

I thought people live Pittsburgh? Is it CMU’s particular neighborhood that is bad?

I have a son at Pitt and will add that transportation to/from DC area isn’t great. You are either driving six hours on the Turnpike or taking train to Philly and switching (a 10 hour ordeal) or flying. And even flying isn’t always direct - he’s connected in PHL and LGA to get to DC.

??? There are cheap flights directly to DC. And there are numerous bus companies that cater to college students and will drive them directly from Pittsburgh to Montgomery Mall.

We’re in Virginia, and drive time is usually 4 1/2 hours total - I feel like you are doing it wrong.

DS1 graduated from CMU in 2017 with a degree in CS, and he was extremely miserable there. Yes, he is doing well financially now, but he still has PTSD from his time there. He would be happy to trade his financial success for a piece of mind. DS2 also graduated from CMU in 2021 with a degree in Computer Engineering, and he was extremely miserable there. He is doing very well financially, but he experiences PTSD from his time there. Both DS1 and DS2 are in constant therapy. DS3 got accepted to CMU in 2022, but decided to attend JMU after seeing what happened to his brothers.

Anonymous wrote:Any thoughts on whether kids are more miserable at CMU than Hopkins or Chicago?

Similar.

Any thoughts on whether kids are more miserable at CMU than Hopkins or Chicago?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD suffered through 4 years. She did not enjoy college and was happy to graduate. With that said, she got a job and is excelling. Most of her friends felt similarly. It’s just a really hard school and the location isn’t great. She will not make the same mistake for grad school.

I thought people live Pittsburgh? Is it CMU’s particular neighborhood that is bad?

I have a son at Pitt and will add that transportation to/from DC area isn’t great. You are either driving six hours on the Turnpike or taking train to Philly and switching (a 10 hour ordeal) or flying. And even flying isn’t always direct - he’s connected in PHL and LGA to get to DC.

Anonymous wrote:Also, CMU is still focused on providing an excellent education. The Ivies have a slew of other agendas. Sports teams, raising billions of dollars for budgets rivaling those of whole nations, , catering to current and future broligarchs, getting cozy with every influential media outlet, promoting political agendas, etc. It’s a heady and thrilling environment for lots of people. CMU doesn’t offer as many thrills and chills. It’s about the work.

Yes, Pittsburgh is a more humble place than NYC or Boston. And that's o.k.