Carnegie Mellon is a research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While the school does offer art and humanities degrees, it is most known for the science, computing, and engineering programs. Carnegie Mellon breaks down their admissions statistics by college and program, which you can read about on their website.
Carnegie Mellon did not change their three supplements since last year, but we still want to a fresh look at things:
Most students choose their intended major or area of study based on a passion or inspiration that’s developed over time – what passion or inspiration led you to choose this area of study? (300 Words)
You should aim to check two boxes using all 300 words here. Trust us, you’ll need them.
Tell Carnegie Mellon your origin story, which is a story about how your academic interests came to exist. Tell them why you want to study Computer Science or Drama. If you plan to study outside the field of science, tell them why you’re choosing to study art or humanities at a primarily STEM-focused school. If there is a link, be sure to flesh it out. The first part of this supplement is how Carnegie Mellon will get to know you, so it’s important that you tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end before you move on to the next part of your response.
Explain why Carnegie Mellon is the only place for you to study X major. Do extensive research about the academic program of your choosing. Do more than you think is necessary. Then, look at your resume and highlight everything that you’ve ever done that is related to your major of choice. Your job is to prove that there is a very strong link between your past and Carnegie Mellon’s offerings, and this part of your response should be dedicated to writing about those connections. Write about two upper-level classes that you want to take, and include a reason why for each course. For example, if there is a machine learning course that you want to take, write about the M.L. online course that you took last summer. Then, find a professor whose expertise aligns well with your interests and pitch yourself as their research assistant. Should there be any other highly specific academic reasons that you’re applying to CMU, you can include that as well. Just make sure that what you’re writing about can’t be found at other schools.
Be sure to edit your work before you submit. Your entire response should read like a story, not just the beginning. By finding a way to incorporate the CMU offerings into your story, you’ll show the admissions team that you’ll be contributing to the school by attending.
Many students pursue college for a specific degree, career opportunity or personal goal. Whichever it may be, learning will be critical to achieve your ultimate goal. As you think ahead to the process of learning during your college years, how will you define a successful college experience? (300 Words)
Excellent question alert! In addition to wanting to know what you plan to accomplish academically, Carnegie Mellon wants to ensure that you’re a good cultural fit for the school.
Let’s use a metaphor. You’re travelling to a new state and you’re not super familiar with the area. You stop at the hotel reception desk in hopes of getting a good recommendation for a new restaurant to try tonight with your family. You tell the front desk that you want somewhere that’s not fancy, with good pizza, but also has options for vegetarians. You’re told that you should go to a local favorite spot, and you and your family love it. Awesome! You realize that you and your family are a ~perfect fit~ for the place you tried.
Just like the scenario that we just made up, you want to tell Carnegie Mellon what you’re looking for in a college experience. You can’t describe it exactly (that would be too obvious,) but you can tell them what you’re looking for and ensure that it matches up with what Carnegie Mellon has to offer.
Start by researching the school. Keep in mind that they underlined the words “process of learning,” so you need to familiarize yourself with what it’s like to actually be a student on campus. Carnegie Mellon is known to have an intense and competitive academic environment, but what else? Do you work well with others? Do you enjoy group projects? What kind of relationship do you want with your professors? Research the school until you identify a few things that CMU has to offer that speak to you.
In terms of writing your response, you can either break it up into sections or write one big paragraph. Whatever you choose, check your language. Be genuine. If you’re looking for classmates who push you to be better but also support you when you’re falling behind, that’s totally fine and normal. But avoid canned phrases like “diversity of thought,” as that is not how teenagers actually talk.
Consider your application as a whole. What do you personally want to emphasize about your application for the admission committee’s consideration? Highlight something that’s important to you or something you haven’t had a chance to share. Tell us, don’t show us (no websites please). (300 Words)
When working with TKG clients, we look at this as a second common app essay. But we almost exclusively take a lighthearted approach. Chances are you just went into detail about a subfield of computer science that the admissions team may or may not be familiar with. Now, you should remind them that you’re human.
Show them how you think. Read through your notes from the initial brainstorming session for your common app essay. Tell them what you think about at night, or what you do first thing in the morning. Read this blog post. Tell them about someone who has made an impact on you, or a memorable conversation with a stranger. And if you can, make them laugh.
Getting into Carnegie Mellon is not easy, but their supplement gives you an opportunity to show off both your academic interests and unique personality. Give yourself ample time to research the school before you start writing.
Want help? Contact us here. We’re pros at helping our clients get on track.