not sure why anyone would go to yelp for a review of their university, but as the duke, i feel obligated to inform my subjects. cmu has some of the most interesting people you'll ever meet. though be warned there will be arrogant jerks. its unavoidable, however preppy rich kids and arrogant jerks are less common here than at other schools, even other schools of lesser renound. its a lovely school and the campus is gorgeous. its proximity to pitt keeps it grounded in the world, which is to say, you can go to pitt parties and no one bats an eye. pittsburgh is a fantastic city for college, especially for those who are not accustomed to a city setting (pittsburgh is small). otherwise be prepared to do a lot of work, the school prides itself in being hard so even if you know the material the school wants you to do tons of work, be prepared. freshman courses are easy too, they warn you about difficulty, don't follow through and hit you with it when your guard is down.
spring carnival is awesome, great time to pretend you aren't stressed. tons of clubs and interesting things. but tepper cit and scs are the best, i was chemistry and realized late that chem e would have been a better idea. don't go here for humanities generally, but philosophy is a very unique department and i hear its pretty great here, though do double major in a humanity, very interesting spins to standard majors here.