The Pros and Cons of Carnegie Mellon

What is Carnegie Mellon’s reputation?

“world-class technology” “leader in AI” “stellar CS and robotics” “top-ranked undergrad business school” “amazing arts programs for drama, music, architecture, and writing” “located on the edge of Pittsburgh” “insanely difficult” “crushing workload” “not much social life” “no school spirit” “lots of overworked, depressed students” “highly-motivated MIT rejects” “tons of international students” “amazing job prospects after graduation”

Carnegie Mellon is a private, mid-sized university with 7,500 undergraduates that’s located in the leafy, suburban neighborhood of Oakland on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, PA. It’s primarily known as a leading STEM university, with top-ranked CS, engineering, and AI programs that rival MIT, Caltech, Stanford, and UC Berkeley. But it’s equally impressive in the arts, and features some of the nation’s top-rated programs for drama, fine arts, music, architecture, and creative writing.

In addition, it has one of the top-ranked undergraduate business programs in the country, with a heavy emphasis on quant-focused fields such as analytics, information systems, and computational finance (similar to the business program at MIT Sloan).

When you apply to CMU, you apply directly to one of their many different undergraduate colleges, and they each have a different acceptance rate: the School of Computer Science (7%), Tepper School of Business (9%), College of Engineering (20%), Mellon College of Science (18%), Dietrich College of Humanities & Social Sciences (13%), School of Design (10%), School of Architecture (25%), School of Art (25%), School of Music (30%), and School of Drama (4%).

Tech innovation… at a cost.

CMU is known for being on the cutting-edge of what’s next. The school was the first to offer a standalone major in Artificial Intelligence, and its AI program ranks #1 in the nation. It also ranks #1 in cybersecurity. In addition, CMU’s Robotics Institute (RI) is frequently ranked as the largest and most advanced robotics research center in the world, specializing in everything from driverless cars to humanoid robots to space robotics.

But this comes at a personal cost because CMU is also known for having a grueling workload, over-stressed students, and a lack of social life, leading to frequent burnout and depression. In other words, the educational opportunities and job prospects are among the best in the world, but the four-year journey to get there might not be too much fun.

The Pros of Carnegie Mellon…

#1: Artificial Intelligence — Many people believe AI is poised to revolutionize our world, including everything from designing pharmaceuticals to picking stocks to exploring space. If you’re looking to pursue AI, or combine it with other disciplines, CMU offers arguably the best program in the nation. Its AI program is currently ranked #1 in the nation, compared with MIT (#2), Stanford (#3), UC Berkeley (#4), and Georgia Tech (#5).

#2: CS and Engineering — CMU consistently ranks in the Top 3 for both Computer Science and Engineering, competing neck-and-neck with elite schools like MIT, Caltech, Stanford, and Berkeley. It also ranks #2 for Undergraduate Research opportunities and #4 for Most Innovative academic programs. Its CS rankings are off-the-charts: #1 in AI, #1 in Cybersecurity, #1 in Mobile Applications, #1 in Software Engineering, etc.

#3: Undergraduate Teaching — As a mid-sized school with a very low student/faculty ratio of 6 to 1, CMU earns high marks for its small class sizes and excellent teaching, and ranks #7 in the nation for Best Teaching overall.

#4: Tepper Business School — According to US News & World Report (2025), CMU has the #6-ranked undergraduate business school in America. There’s a strong emphasis on quantitative fields, and some of its national rankings include: #1 in Information Systems, #2 in Quantitative Analysis, #2 in Analytics, #6 in Operation Management, and #8 in Finance.

#5: The Arts — Even though most people think of CMU as a premiere STEM institution, it also has exceptional programs in the creative arts, which means STEM students can minor in these fields or pursue one of many special interdisciplinary majors. Through programs like BXA, they can blend engineering with design, computer science with music, or architecture with environmental science, expanding both their technical skill set and their creative perspective.

#6: IdeATe Minor — CMU’s unique “Integrative Arts, Design, and Technology” minor merges tech and design by bringing together artists and engineering students to collaborate on innovative design projects, and partners with visionary companies like Pixar, Apple, Tesla, and SpaceX. Students have built responsive stage sets that shift with actors' movements, immersive VR art installations, and smart textiles that adapt to environmental conditions.

#7: Global Diversity — CMU attracts the best and brightest from around the world, and about 25% of students are international, which is about double the percentage you’ll find at other leading private universities like the Ivy League.

#8: StuCos — StuCos (short for “Student College”) are student-led classes that allow undergraduates to share their eclectic passions. You can take these classes for credit, they’re all Pass/Fail, and they encourage peer-to-peer learning in an interactive, informal setting. Topics range from “The Art and Business of Sneaker Design” to “The Science of Superheroes.”

#9: Pittsburgh — The city of Pittsburgh may not be as dynamic or walkable as New York, Boston or Austin, but there’s plenty to do, it’s affordable, it’s got great sports, and it’s a fast-emerging tech hub (CMU and NVIDIA recently announced plans to collaborate on a joint research center for robotics, autonomy, and AI).

The Cons of Carnegie Mellon…

#1: Lack of Social Scene — CMU is known for being a “work hard/work hard” school, meaning it’s all work and no play. There are some fraternities, but mostly students just work all the time, leading to frequent mental health issues. CMU competes in Division III athletics, and is probably best known for football, women’s golf, and men’s cross-country and track, but it’s not a “rah-rah” university with a lot of school spirit.

#2: Nerdy Reputation — As a STEM school, CMU is known for attracting a lot of “nerdy” introverted, socially-awkward types. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lively social scene like you might find at University of Michigan or Cornell to help pull these students out of their shell. If you go here, you’re going to have to create your own fun.

#3: Lack of Name Recognition — People in tech fields definitely know CMU as a world-class STEM university, but you will also encounter plenty of people out in the general public who have never heard of the school. It lacks some of the household name value of other tech schools like MIT, Berkeley, and Stanford.

If you like CMU (ranked #21 in the nation), you might also like…

#33-ranked Georgia Tech is another excellent STEM school that features world-class Engineering (ranked #4), AI (ranked #5), Cybersecurity (ranked #2), CS (ranked #7), and undergraduate research (ranked #8), with the added advantage that it’s the #3-ranked university for co-ops, which means you get real-world, on-the-job training. Georgia Tech is a much larger public university with 20,000 undergraduates, and has a much higher student/faculty ratio of 22:1 (compared with 6:1 for CMU). But it has a much livelier social scene and a really fun D1 football culture.

How to get into Carnegie Mellon…

#1: Apply to the Humanities College — The CS college at CMU is notoriously selective with a 7% acceptance rate. But if you have an interest in the humanities or social sciences, you can apply to the Dietrich (DEE-trick) College of Humanities and Social Sciences (which has a 13% acceptance rate) and major in something like History or Economics or Psychology, and minor in CS or AI or Machine Learning. That would double your admissions odds. But while Dietrich students can take many foundational and intermediate CS courses and pursue tech-focused minors, they won’t have full access to upper-level CS classes, exclusive research labs, or specialized advising reserved for students admitted directly into the School of Computer Science.

#2: Apply RD - While many top universities like Northwestern, Brown, UPenn, and Cornell provide a significant admissions boost when you apply ED (Early Decision), CMU does not. The Early Decision and Regular acceptance rates at CMU are virtually the same: 14% ED vs. 11% RD. Therefore, it may help you to apply ED somewhere else where you get a big admissions boost, since you really don’t “lose anything” by waiting to apply to CMU Regular Decision.