by 
Woke up early today in Pittsburgh for the Carnegie Mellon University college tour and information session!
- Really pretty hall for architecture/art/design 😀 And good thing they’re strong in that area too.
- Other than that, the residential halls and such kinda looked old…. not as amazing as Colgate University, but livable.
- They have a double major program where I can combine arts with a humanities major! [need to apply to that.]
- Their liberal arts major [humanities] needs a Math SAT 2. And since I haven’t taken that particular subject test, I should do that this October.
- Unlike the really ghetto looking city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon’s environment is nice… it’s surrounded with residential areas and other universities instead of the really old part of Pittsburgh.
- Meh… they have classes up to 180 students and some will be taught by TA’s. Kind of a downer, but I mean, I can’t apply JUST to small schools right? Gotta keep my options open.
- Hehehe. Andy Warhol is an alumni. Just thought you should know. 🙂
- I think in my essay, I should write something about how it is similar to Troy High School, in that I am surrounded with students who are interested in computer science and engineering and technology, but a more balanced version of my high school with a much stronger appreciation in the arts. So it’s a comforting to be with people who are like the people at my high school, but better in the way that it supports the arts much more.
- To apply to their Fine Arts College, it’s 50% portfolio and 50% academics :/ So I gotta make sure my portfolio is like… A+++++ This is actually kind of a downer for me, since I’m positive my grades will look alright to the school, but unsure of how my portfolio stands comparing to other applicants.
- Research in all fields of study. So even though I’m not sure of what there is to research in art, I know there must be something for me to get involved in.
- People paint something called The Fence with their organization’s colors and stand post 24/7 to keep it their colors.
- Their mascot is a scotty dog XD and the school colors are plaid.
- Just the name Carnegie Mellon has a nice ring to it… doesn’t it?
To be honest, the campus was kind of a let down…. I wish it was newer, prettier, like Colgate. But still, academics should outweigh environment right? Maybe I had too high hopes of this school, like I did with Syracuse. I’m not a big fan of an industrial looking environment. Plus, Carnegie Mellon is always near the top of those best college lists for art majors! I could spend 4 years there… I don’t mind. In fact, I could learn to love it.
After the campus visit and information session, drove 5 hours to Philadelphia! Tomorrow? University of Pennsylvania! [I have this down for early decision at the moment on commonapp.org, but uh… this might change to Brown. Depends all on the tour tomorrow]
P.S. I kind of wish I was born a boy. Because if I were a boy, my name would be Andrew instead of Ashley. And maybe that gives me extra perks because the names were ANDREW Carnegie and ANDREW Mellon. HECK EVEN THE INFORMATION SESSION PRESENTER WAS NAMED ANDREW! Just sayin’
