You can read the official site's description of the university here: http://www.cmu.edu/home/about/about.html

Carnegie Mellon is a top research university in the United States of America, and is well known both for the results of its various research labs, as well as its excellent undergraduate and graduate programs. More importantly, its where a bunch of us call home for quite a few years of our youth.

One of the first things that will strike you about CMU is probably how diverse it is. The administration bandies the label "diversity" all over the place so much that you may dismiss it as some advertising gimmick, but truly its not easy to find a place like this where the various disciplines mix and merge as much.

Most Singaporeans who enter CMU are either aiming for an engineering/computer science degree, or wish to graduate as a professional architect. These two do represent majors that CMU is quite well known for; Carnegie Mellon is one of the top names in computer science, and architecture graduates are held in high regard. However, as you spend more time on campus, you're going to meet people in all sorts of different fields.

There's quite a high chance that somebody on your dorm floor is majoring in drama and will one day star in some Broadway hit. As you eat your dinner in the UC, your deep conversation involving triple integrals will suddenly be interrupted by the operatic singing of voice majors talking about their homework as well. On your way home, a guy on a Segway (http://www.segway.com/) zooms past, while another person lying on the grass is busy modifying her operating system on ther laptop.

Unlike other tech-oriented universities, CMU's campus scene is not dominated by engineering types. As described above, there are many people aspiring to do jobs in the artistic domains of work, because CMU's College of Fine Arts is famous for its programs. For example, the jazz music program here is top-notch. At the same time, housing various research institutions that make significant contributions to the future of computer science mean fast internet access, well established computer systems, and no shortage of geekiness at all.

So what's the point of all the preceding paragaphs anyway? More propoganda to convince you to come to CMU? Well, not really. Basically, what we're trying to say here is that coming to CMU means you'll have ample options to advance your education in directions far beyond just your primary major. If you choose to take a few courses in design or music, you'll be getting instruction from professors just as good as those in your home department. American education is known for its broadness; at CMU you'll get that without sacrificing depth.

Yes, so CMU seems like this great place to study, eh? Surely its not without its downsides. It wouldn't be fair not to mention them. And of course, we must be honest.

Pittsburgh, home city of CMU, is quite a boring place to stay in, especially if you're used to Singapore. Not much night life, no cool places to hang out, and very extreme weather conditions. Transportation can be a problem sometimes; although there are buses, they don't come all that often. Shopping is more or less nonexistent. If you're a fan of Sim Lim Square, I'm sorry, but you'll have to buy all your hardware online, which can be a pain if all you need is a 3' long ethernet cable.

There's also the endless homework, which threatens to bury you if you're not careful. Some of you may end up not having a social life after a few months of school. While some of the humanities programs are decent, the H&SS department isn't much to brag about. And did I mention the weather?

/* Don't listen to him, H&SS rules!!! YEAH!!! No but seriously I find H&SS courses a nice breather from all that technical stuff, so I don't think it means that you should discount it totally when it comes to choosing courses (anyway you probably HAVE to take H&SS courses). But of course people here don't have a really good impression of the school for their own reasons (shall try to remain politically correct here). -- TJ */

<I agree with TJ. H&SS certainly has very strong programs in certain disciplines. wonder where the author got his ideas from... -- Derek>

That being said, CMU is still a kind of home to the bunch of us over here. The Singaporean community is small, but close and tightly-knit; everybody knows everybody else. Since the campus isn't that big either, that kind of applies to all the non-Singaporeans as well.

That's CMU for you.