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What's the CMU campus like? Is it really urban, or what?

By Roger (Roger) on Thursday, December 13, 2001 - 11:37 am: Edit

The Carnegie Mellon campus is in an urban area, but it's next to a very large city park. This makes that side of the campus feel a bit more rural, or at least park-like. The surrounding neighborhoods tend to be mostly residential. A couple of bridges cross a sort of gorge, and the University of Pittsburgh is right there, along with the Oakland commercial district. CMU and Pitt are about a five minute walk from each other. There are plenty of college-oriented restaurants and shops in and around Pitt. The Oakland area has a kind of college-town feel to it, although like CMU it is right on a major street that goes downtown. The CMU campus itself is fairly compact, although there are large grassy areas in the center of the campus. Much of the campus is fairly flat, but at the edges it can be a little hilly. (The annual buggy races take advantage of the hills - these races are an unusual test of engineering and athletic ability. Each "buggy" is a sleek, aerodynamic vehicle that is powered uphill by a team of sprinters, and traverses a curvy downhill course guided by an on-board driver.)

By Kyle on Thursday, December 27, 2001 - 02:37 pm: Edit

Thanx for the data, Roger. Just checked in after being away for a while and saw your reply. (I saw a picture of one of those buggy things somewhere, too, and wondered what it was - now I know!) I'm interested in Computer Science, so CMU is definitely on my list.