carnegie mellon application essay

4 Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essay Examples (2024)

Table of Contents

If you want to get into Carnegie Mellon in 2024, you'll need to write responses to CMU's writing supplement that help you stand out and get accepted.

In this article, I've gathered 4 of the best CMU essays that worked to hopefully get you inspired to write your own stand-out essays.

I've also included this year's supplemental prompts for CMU and some ideas for getting started.

Let's get started.

What is Carnegie Mellon's Acceptance Rate?

Getting into Carnegie Mellon is more difficult every year. Last year, 42,015 students applied to CMU and only 7,143 students were admitted.

Which means Carnegie Mellon University an overall acceptance rate of 17% , or in other words less than every 1 in 5 students get admitted each year.

And admissions into certain programs like Computer Science or the School of Drama is even more competitive, with acceptances rates of 7% and 4% each.

Carnegie Mellon Acceptance Scattergram

That's a comparable admit rate to the most selective Ivy League schools like Princeton University for example.

To have your best chances of getting into CMU, you'll need to write great essay responses. Below are 4 of the best examples of CMU essays to help improve your essays and get accepted.

What are the Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Prompts for 2022-23?

This year Carnegie Mellon requires students to write three short essays of 300 words each.

Here are the Carnegie Mellon University writing supplement prompts for 2022. The questions on this page are being asked by Carnegie Mellon University:

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 word maximum)

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 word maximum)

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 word maximum)

Carnegie Mellon has used these prompts in past years.

And below you'll find several examples of essays that responded to these prompts. I've also included some personal statement essays from admitted CMU students.

4 Carnegie Mellon University Essays That Worked

It's safe to say students who get into Carnegie Mellon write interesting and creative application essays. Or at least these ones did.

Here are 4 of the best Carnegie Mellon essays that have helped students get admitted.

Carnegie Mellon Essay Example #1

Carnegie mellon essay example #2, carnegie mellon essay example #3, carnegie mellon essay example #4.

Carnegie Mellon University Essay Example #1

Prompt: 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 max)

When I was younger, I faced a lot of negative emotions including anxiety and low self-esteem. For a long time, I felt alone and as if no one understood how I felt. My self confidence was at an all-time low when I started taking psychology. All of a sudden the negative emotions I was feeling started making sense. I was suddenly able to understand how people were wired and why others treated me a certain way. I in fact was able to feel empathy for my aggressors after understanding that those who treated me negatively often faced struggles of their own. Most importantly, I felt as though something out there finally understood me. Because psychology offered insight into my own behavior and helped me to understand others, I was eventually able to overcome my insecurities.

In the future, I would like to help others do the same. No matter where I end up, understanding why people behave a certain way and being more considerate and empathetic for others will only help me thrive. Mental health is a growing issue in our society. The world we live in is a confusing place filled with pain, but psychology provides a way to determine the cause of this suffering and how to change it. I never want anyone to feel the isolation and sorrow I felt when I was younger. I want to help others become compassionate and unconditionally loving not just toward others, but to themselves. Even if I only make a small change in the world and affect just one person’s life, I would like to pursue that.

• Improve your essays in minutes, instead of hours
• Based on lessons from hundreds of accepted applications & essays.
• Easy and actionable strategies

Carnegie Mellon University Essay Example #2

Prompt: 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 max)

I recall entering the intimidating world of high school as an exorbitantly introverted, stereotypical Asian girl. My father urged me to assert myself and attempt new activities I wouldn’t have typically participated in. I didn’t want to be disappointed in twenty years by the things I didn’t attempt in high school, so I decided to pursue my long-time dream of becoming a cheerleader. I had always admired the optimism that cheerleaders had, and I was at a point in my life where I needed more positivity.

I faced obstacles trying to join the team. An Asian cheerleader? But Asians were supposed to be smart and cheerleaders were dumb! I broke racial stereotypes by becoming the first Asian cheerleader in my high school.

When I made the squad, I was exposed to individuals which whom I did not ordinarily traverse paths. I stepped outside of my bubble and met girls who were extremely extroverted and seemed to be in a constant state of elation. They taught me how to spread positivity throughout my daily interactions and taught me to use optimism as a strength in facing the hurdles of life. These were qualities I would have never learned from a textbook.

My parents had possessed strong reservations about me joining and feared I would meet girls who weren’t motivated in academics. This was false. Many of the girls were brilliant and creative in ways my regular friend group wasn’t. All avenues of life met there on that team.

Cheerleading was the rain and sun that helped a small seed like me bloom into a flower. It delights me knowing that I gained social skills and made friends I never thought I could gain. Cheerleading has changed my perspective on life and joining that family is one of my greatest treasures.

• Make a Strong Impression
• Capture Your Unique Strengths
• Write Outstanding Essays
• ...and Apply Confidently!

Carnegie Mellon University Essay Example #3

Prompt: “When we‘re connected to others, we become better people,” said Carnegie Mellon University‘s Randy Pausch, author of The Last Lecture .

At Carnegie Mellon you‘ll have the opportunity to collaborate with a diverse community of scholars, artists and innovators. Given the students, faculty, staff and resources that have been available to you as a student, how have you collaborated with others, in or out of the classroom?

Or, what lessons have you learned from working with others in the past, that might shape your experience in the future? (300 words max)

Because it took some time for me to pass my driving test, I was unable to get a traditional job at the same age as the rest of my peers. I had another friend who was also unable to drive. To fund our shopping addictions, we started our own business, "Velour Slimes," where we sold slimes of a diverse number of scents and textures. The experience gave us a taste of entrepreneurship and the elements of what it takes to run a successful business. One of those elements was collaboration.

Going into business with a friend can get ugly, even with a small scale operation like ours. One of our most grueling conflicts was deciding whether to spend our first profit paying off our debts or buying new materials to make more slime with. Neither of us were transparent with our goals, or on the same page. We let our conflict escalate to the point where we could not look at each other. Eventually we solved our issue by effectively communicating together. By being honest with each other about our ideas and concisely supporting our arguments with evidence, we were able to understand each other and find a balance. In the end, we compromised. We spent half of the money paying off our debts and the other half on more materials to create even more slimes.

This experience brought me closer to my friend. We were able to strengthen our relationship while becoming more understanding and considerate of each others’ feelings. I discovered empathy is deeply necessary in improving the negative aspects of modern day society. If we were all a bit more empathetic, the world would be a more pleasant place. For that reason, I try to continuously improve my own compassion.

Carnegie Mellon University Essay Example #4

Prompt: Why Carnegie Mellon? (650 words max)

With a strong background in computer science and communications, I hope to incorporate both into a future career of building data systems, conducting research, and consulting for organizations that serve underrepresented citizens.

Why This Essay Works:

Specific details and anecdotes will almost always be more compelling than less specific ones. In this essay, the student does a great job of including specific, "nerdy" details, such as "an association test between melanoma associated variants and survival outcome." These details demonstrate your in-depth knowledge of an area and make your essay more engaging.

This essay does a fantastic job of addressing real-world problems and emphasizing the "bigger picture" impact of their studies. Rather than just explaining what they want to study, this student explains how their education will help them have an impact on the world. Make an argument for what problems you see in the world and how you could potentially help solve them.

For "Why Us?" college essays, one of the most important parts is to reference unique aspects to the school. Almost all colleges have strong academics, great faculty, etc. So instead of referencing those points, reference what makes the school unique and different. In this essay, the student talks about "CMU's Technology Consulting in the Global Community" program, which is both highly specific to CMU and relevant to their own interests.

What They Might Improve:

In general, you should avoid simply listing your achievements. This student has many remarkable activities and experiences, but it comes across less interesting because the first half of the essay is simply describing these accomplishments.

For "Why Us?" essays, it is also a good idea to reference the values the school represents. Each school has a different "culture" and type of student body, and admissions wants to know how you will fit in.

If you're trying to get into Carnegie Mellon, here are 4 of the best essays that worked. Read example answers to Carnegie Mellon's writing supplement for 2022 and see how other students got into CMU.

What did you think of these Carnegie Mellon essays?

Meet the Author

Ryan Chiang

I'm Ryan Chiang and I created EssaysThatWorked.com - a website dedicated to helping students and their families apply to college with confidence & ease. We publish the best college admissions essays from successful applicants every year to inspire and teach future students.

You might also like:

12 Best Stanford Supplemental Essays That Worked 2024

6 Northwestern Essay Examples & Why Northwestern (2024)

9 Tufts University EssaysThatWorked

8 Notre Dame EssaysThatWorked

What do outstanding essays have in common? Here are our 23 most effective strategies based on lessons from admitted students.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

By signing up you agree to Terms and Privacy Policy

© 2018- 2024 Essays That Worked . All rights reserved.

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms and Conditions , Privacy Policy , and Cookie Policy .

We have no affiliation with any university or colleges on this site. All product names, logos, and brands are the property of their respective owners.

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) 2024-25 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide 

Early Decision: Nov 1

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 3

Carnegie Mellon University 2024-25 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: 3 short essays of 300 words

Supplemental Essay Type(s):   Why ,  Short Answer

How to Write Compelling Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Supplemental Essays

Admissions wants to know about “your passions, goals, aspirations, and experiences to gain a deeper understanding of who you are…beyond a list of accomplishments.” In these three supplemental essays, they’re asking what drives you, what you’re looking for in a school, and what you feel is missing from the rest of your application. All of these prompts focus on your passions, so try to think of specific moments, ideas, or experiences that have shaped you. As with all admissions essays, you will want to infuse your response with details that will differentiate you from other applicants. Keep reading for more CMU application essay tips!

Carnegie Mellon Essay Prompt Breakdowns

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.

So many factors go into shaping your educational experience: course selection, professors, classmates, campus culture, even the city where you’ll live. Think through how each of these will affect you and jot down some examples of what you’re looking for in each. Do you value a professor who is accessible via office hours? Do you focus well in a stadium-seating lecture hall? Are you excited to start a small study group for your Shakespeare: Comedies and Romances  literature course? Additionally, do some research on their website and show them that you value what they specifically have to offer. Give them a peek into how you learn and help them visualize you as a thriving student in their community.

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?

This prompt sounds simple enough: describe what you want to study and why you like it so much so that you’re willing to dedicate four years of your life to it (at the very least). While you might be tempted to get technical or poetic in your response, your reader will expect you to connect your intended major with some prior experience and/or passion. In other words, tell a story. Lucky for you, we would have advised you to start with an anecdote anyway. The most personal, memorable essays spring from concrete descriptions of your lived experience. What excites you and why? When was the last time you got drawn down a Reddit rabbit hole – and what was the topic? While you don’t need to drill to the origin of your interest in a given topic, try to zero in on some formative experience: the best TED Talk you ever watched, the first time you spoke to your new friend in ASL, that one time when you shadowed an EMT and saw what it’s like to help people in need! Your story should showcase your unique connection to your chosen course of study. And don’t forget: CMU asks what passion OR inspiration led you to choose this area of study. You can also talk about a particularly powerful book you read or a life-changing experience that set you on this path. Just make sure to use details to bring your story to life.

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).

This prompt is a kind of free for all opportunity. Much like Common App’s prompt #7 , CMU is giving you free reign to write about any topic under the sun. If you’re overwhelmed by all the potential possibilities, don’t fret. Instead take a breath and ask yourself: What doesn’t admissions know about me yet? What do I wish I’d had more space to write about on my resume or activity list? If you’ve written a supplemental essay for another school about a particularly rewarding activity, this is an excellent place to tweak and recycle that essay. Almost any essay that you have already written in response to supplemental essay prompts for other schools will be applicable here, as long as it doesn’t address what you want to study or how you work with others. If you haven’t already drafted any others supplemental essays that would fit here, feel free to seek inspiration in the prompts for other schools (ideally the ones on your list). Worst case scenario, revisit your personal statement brainstorming notes and think about the topics that you almost wrote about. Can you write about any of those memories or stories in 200 words?

Common Mistakes to Avoid in CMU Essays

We have been reading Carnegie Mellon University essays for over twenty years now, so we know a thing or two about the most common mistakes students make. The most common mistakes to avoid are repeating the prompt in your essay (don’t waste your words), trying to sound like an academic (admissions wants to hear your authentic voice!), and using cliches (they’re ineffective and—let’s face it—lazy).

Why Choose College Essay Advisors for Carnegie Mellon Essays

We at College Essay Advisors have been guiding students one-on-one through the essay writing process for the CMU supplements for over twenty years. We take a holistic approach to these essays, considering each student’s application package as a whole and identifying their strengths to highlight. Our Advisors accommodate each student’s scheduling needs to virtually brainstorm, draft, and revise winning essays. It’s incredibly important to us that each student’s voice is preserved, and we pride ourselves in helping students to write successful Carnegie Mellon University supplemental essays that differentiate them from similarly qualified applicants. For more information, submit a contact form below or review our one-on-one advising services or list of student acceptances . 

About Amanda Amah

View all posts by Amanda Amah »

We're here to help.

Frequently Asked Questions

Carnegie Mellon requires applicants to submit three (3) essays.

As with all supplemental essays, the admissions committee at Carnegie Mellon University is hoping to learn more about you. With these questions, specifically, CMU is curious to learn more about your goals, aspirations, and what’s important to you. In order to give your application an edge, you’ll want to be as thoughtful and specific as possible to show admissions that you’ve done your research, developed a plan, and are ready to contribute to their campus community and beyond. 

In order to make your Carnegie Mellon essays stand out, we recommend giving yourself plenty of time to brainstorm , reflect on your aspirations, and piece together cohesive narratives that reveal new information about who you are and what you hope to accomplish without relying on common cliches.

Each CMU essay should be 300 words maximum.

"[My son] was accepted at Carnegie Mellon. Yay and thank you!!! He earned a 4-year ROTC scholarship, too!!"

– CEA Parent, CMU, Class of 2024

"It's a good feeling to be able to submit an application with essays that give such an accurate portrayal of my strengths and sentiments. I'm so glad I found you."

– CEA Student, CMU, Class of 2027

Contact us for information on rates and more!

• I am a * Student Parent Potential Partner School Counselor Private College Counselor
• Name * First Last
• Phone Type Mobile Landline
• Street Address
• Address City State / Province / Region Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, Democratic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czechia Côte d'Ivoire Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Macedonia Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine, State of Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Réunion Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Sweden Switzerland Syria Arab Republic Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania, the United Republic of Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Türkiye US Minor Outlying Islands Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Åland Islands Country
• Which best describes you (or your child)? High school senior High school junior College student College grad Other
• How did you find CEA? Internet Search Podcast New York Times Guidance counselor/school Social Media YouTube Friend Special Event Delehey College Consulting Perks at Work Other
• Common App and Coalition Essays
• Supplemental Essays
• University of California Essays
• University of Texas Essays
• Resume Review
• Post-Grad Essays
• Specialized Services
• Waitlist Letters
• Private School Essays
• General College Counseling
• School list with priorities noted:
• Anything else we should know?
• Phone This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

School Stats:

• Agnes Scott College
• Alvernia University
• American University
• Amherst College
• Babson College
• Bard College
• Barnard College
• Baylor University
• Bennington College
• Bentley University
• Berry College
• Bethany College
• Boston College
• Boston University (BU)
• Bowdoin College
• Brandeis University
• Brown University
• Bryn Mawr College
• Bucknell University
• Butler University
• California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
• California Lutheran University
• Capitol Technology University
• Carleton College
• Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)
• Catawba College
• Centre College
• Chapman University
• Claremont McKenna College
• Clark University
• Clemson University
• Coastal Carolina University
• College of Charleston
• College of William and Mary
• College of Wooster
• Colorado College
• Colorado School of Mines
• Columbia University
• Cornell University
• Culver-Stockton College
• D'Youville University
• Dartmouth College
• Davidson College
• Dickinson College
• Drexel University
• Duke University
• Earlham College
• Elon University
• Emerson College
• Emory University
• Flagler College
• Fordham University
• George Mason University
• Georgetown University
• Georgia State University
• Georgia Tech
• Gonzaga University
• Hamilton College
• Hampshire College
• Harvard University
• Harvey Mudd College
• Haverford College
• Hillsdale College
• Hofstra University
• Howard University
• Illinois Institute of Technology
• Illinois Wesleyan University
• Ithaca College
• Johns Hopkins University
• Kalamazoo College
• Lafayette College
• Lehigh University
• Lewis and Clark College
• Linfield University
• Loyola Marymount University (LMU)
• Lynn University
• Macalester College
• Manchester University
• Marist College
• Mary Baldwin University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• Meredith College
• Monmouth College
• Moravian University
• Morehouse College
• Mount Holyoke College
• New York University (NYU)
• North Carolina State
• North Park University
• Northwestern University
• Occidental College
• Oklahoma City University
• Olin College of Engineering
• Pepperdine University
• Pitzer College
• Pomona College
• Princeton University
• Providence College
• Purdue University
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Rice University
• Roger Williams University
• Saint Anselm College
• Saint Elizabeth University
• Santa Clara University
• Sarah Lawrence College
• Scripps College
• Seattle Pacific University
• Seattle University
• Siena College
• Smith College
• Soka University of America
• Southern Methodist University
• Spelman College
• St. John’s College
• Stanford University
• Stevens Institute of Technology
• Stonehill College
• Swarthmore College
• Syracuse University
• Texas A&M University
• Texas Christian University (TCU)
• The College of Idaho
• The George Washington University
• The New School
• Trinity College
• Tufts University
• Tulane University
• UNC Wilmington
• University of California
• University of Central Florida (UCF)
• University of Chicago
• University of Cincinnati
• University of Colorado Boulder
• University of Florida
• University of Georgia (UGA)
• University of Illinois Chicago (UIC)
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• University of Maryland
• University of Massachusetts Amherst
• University of Massachusetts Lowell
• University of Miami
• University of Michigan
• University of Minnesota
• University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)
• College of Mount Saint Vincent
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC)
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• University of Notre Dame
• University of Oklahoma
• University of Oregon
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Pittsburgh
• University of Richmond
• University of Rochester
• University of San Diego
• University of San Francisco
• University of Southern California (USC)
• University of Texas at Austin
• University of Tulsa
• University of Vermont
• University of Virginia (UVA)
• University of Washington
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Vanderbilt University
• Vassar College
• Villanova University
• Virginia Tech
• Wake Forest University
• Washington and Lee University
• Washington University in St. Louis
• Wellesley College
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
• Yale University

Want free stuff?

We thought so. Sign up for free instructional videos, guides, worksheets and more!

One-On-One Advising

Common App Essay Prompt Guide

Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

• YouTube Tutorials
• Our Approach & Team
• Undergraduate Testimonials
• Postgraduate Testimonials
• Where Our Students Get In
• CEA Gives Back
• Undergraduate Admissions
• Graduate Admissions
• Private School Admissions
• International Student Admissions
• Common App Essay Guide
• Supplemental Essay Guide
• Coalition App Guide
• The CEA Podcast
• Admissions Stats
• Notification Trackers
• Deadline Databases
• College Essay Examples
• Academy and Worksheets
• Waitlist Guides
• Get Started

Are you seeking one-on-one college counseling and/or essay support? Limited spots are now available. Click here to learn more.

Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essays 2024-25 – Prompts & Advice

August 7, 2024

When applying to a school like Carnegie Mellon that only accepts 11% of applicants, it’s important to keep in mind that the other 89% of applicants will ultimately be denied admission. Many of these rejected individuals will have straight A’s in high school and/or SATs in the 1500s. Those applying to certain programs—computer science, for example—will face even more harrowing odds. We don’t bring up this harsh reality in an attempt to crush your dreams or deter you from applying. Rather, we want to impart to prospective CMU applicants the need to maximize every component of your application. The aim is to ultimately shine just a touch brighter than your well-qualified competition. This includes the Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays.

(Want to learn more about How to Get Into Carnegie Mellon University? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into Carnegie Mellon: Admissions Data and Strategies  for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)

The three 300-word essays required by Carnegie Mellon give applicants the chance they need to separate themselves from the throngs of other extremely talented and deserving CMU hopefuls. Below are CMU’s supplemental prompts for the 2024-25 admissions cycle along with tips about how to address each one.

Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essays – #1

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).

Here, CMU is asking you to share your story of how you became interested in your selected discipline. You can structure the narrative of this essay as a soup-to-nuts chronicle of your entire journey toward your discipline of interest. Contrarily, you could share one or two vignettes that illustrate your burgeoning passion for engineering, history, French, computer science, business, psychology, etc. As you begin the prewriting phase, you may want to ask yourself the following questions:

• What is your first strong memory relating to your future area of study?
• What fills you with wonder?
• What books have you read on the subject?
• Do you consume podcasts or documentaries related to your passions?
• Have certain online or print publications helped to fuel your interests?
• What subtopics of your prospective discipline most intrigue you?
• Did a teacher excite you about this topic or was it a parent/relative or outside mentor?
• How did you seek our subject-relevant opportunities outside of the high school classroom?

CMU Supplemental Essays – #2

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).

There’s a lot to unpack in this prompt before you even enter the brainstorming phase of the essay-writing process. First, they want to know a bit about your goals, which could be:

• Degree-oriented
• Career-focused
• A combination of two or all three of the previous options.

Given that CMU requires you to apply to a particular college within the larger university, you likely already have a reasonably strong notion of what discipline you hope to study. You’ll definitely want to share everything you already know about the degree you aim to earn. Additionally, you’ll want to discuss how that fits into your larger life plans.

Next, you’ll want to take note of the fact that “learning” is mentioned twice in this prompt, a solid indicator that CMU is sincerely interested in how you will take advantage of the unique learning opportunities available to you at their instruction. While not required, you should consider discussing items such as:

• CMU-specific academic programs , professors, or course offerings.
• Undergraduate research opportunities .
• Study abroad programs .
• The classroom environment at Carnegie Mellon— class size , laboratory settings, etc.
• Campus organizations that will help you continue your learning outside of the classroom.

In short, generic thoughts about how you envision engaging in the learning process throughout your collegiate experience are perfectly fine, but school-specific detail can take an essay from good to great.

CMU Supplemental Essays – #3

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).

After completing your main Common App essay and the first two CMU essays, is there anything that you have yet to share that is absolutely elemental to who you are as a person/student? Without the benefit of an in-person interview, it may feel like you never fully had a chance to connect intimately with a Carnegie Mellon admissions officer. You have a burning sense that you have not communicated the full you, your true essence, your je ne sais quoi, your…you get the idea. If you feel something important about yourself has yet to be communicated elsewhere in the application, then CMU Prompt #3 is the answer to your prayers.

Consider that the admissions reader is already familiar with your academic history, activities, and awards. What don’t they know, or, what could they understand on a deeper level? This could be a particular skill or talent, or something about your character or personality. This one is intentionally open-ended, so use this space to share your most cherished accomplishments or most winning attributes. The university itself is inviting you to “brag” here. We recommend obliging, by presenting the equivalent of a “closing argument” at the end of this admissions trial.

One example of what not to do would be to say, “I work as a camp counselor in the summer” if that was already listed in the Activities section. Another no-no is deciding that the admonition regarding linking to websites doesn’t apply to you, because, well…they simply have to see your art exhibit or performance on stage in Oklahoma! last year. We promise that it is better to take CMU at their word that they prefer that you describe it. This remains true no matter what “it” is.

How important are the Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays?

CMU rates the essays as being an “important” factor in their evaluation process. The essays are listed alongside recommendations, talent/ability, character/personal qualities, and first-generation status. The only factors ranked above the essays as being “very important” are: GPA, the rigor of high school coursework, class rank, extracurricular activities, work experience, and volunteer work.

Want Personalized Essay Assistance?

Lastly, if you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays, we encourage you to get a quote  today.

Looking for additional writing-related resources? Consider checking out the following:

• Common App Essay Prompts
• 10 Instructive Common App Essay Examples
• College Application Essay Topics to Avoid
• How to Quickly Format Your Common App Essay
• Should I Complete Optional College Essays?
• How to Brainstorm a College Essay
• 25 Inspiring College Essay Topics
• “Why This College?” Essay Examples
• How to Write the Community Essay
• College Essay

Dave Bergman

Dave has over a decade of professional experience that includes work as a teacher, high school administrator, college professor, and independent educational consultant. He is a co-author of the books The Enlightened College Applicant (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) and Colleges Worth Your Money (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).

• 2-Year Colleges
• ADHD/LD/Autism/Executive Functioning
• Application Strategies
• Best Colleges by Major
• Best Colleges by State
• Big Picture
• Career & Personality Assessment
• College Search/Knowledge
• College Success
• Costs & Financial Aid
• Data Visualizations
• Dental School Admissions
• Extracurricular Activities
• General Knowledge
• Graduate School Admissions
• High School Success
• High Schools
• Homeschool Resources
• Law School Admissions
• Medical School Admissions
• Navigating the Admissions Process
• Online Learning
• Outdoor Adventure
• Private High School Spotlight
• Research Programs
• Summer Program Spotlight
• Summer Programs
• Teacher Tools
• Test Prep Provider Spotlight

“Innovative and invaluable…use this book as your college lifeline.”

— Lynn O'Shaughnessy

Nationally Recognized College Expert

College Planning in Your Inbox

Join our information-packed monthly newsletter.

How to Write the Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essays 2024–2025

Subscribe to our newsletter for college app advice!

Carnegie Mellon University, known for their School of Music , School of Computer Science , and interdisciplinary programs , is a competitive academic institution. Applicants seeking admission to Carnegie Mellon hope to join the ranks of storied alumni like Andy Warhol, John Nash, Kurt Vonnegut, and Leslie Odom Jr. If you’re interested in applying to Carnegie Mellon, then you might want some guidance on your supplemental essays. Let’s dive in.

Carnegie Mellon’s 2024-2025 Prompts

Carnegie Mellon’s admissions team asks three short answer questions, each of which needs to be 300 words or less. Although Carnegie Mellon requires more essays than many other schools, with a little bit of forethought, these essays can actually be to your advantage. Even if your CMU application require more effort to complete than some other applications, you can strengthen your profile by presenting your authentic self in your essays. Here are the prompts:

• 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?
• 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?
• 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).

We’ll review your essay

Receive edits in as little as 24 hours

General Tips

All three of these prompts seek to fill in the blanks of your application. A student’s passion for a certain subject is likely clear from their other application elements, but not necessarily the origin of that passion. A student’s vision for their college experience is typically not discussed comprehensively anywhere in their application. And the third prompt allows you to discuss any other topic that isn’t covered by the rest of your application materials. Because the admissions team has structured the Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays in this way, you may want to start your brainstorming process by considering what is missing from your current application profile .

For all of these essays, because they are so short, it is necessary to be concise. Therefore, before you start drafting (unless you’re free-writing to gain inspiration), you will want to know what topic your essay will focus on. You may even have an anecdote or a few examples in mind to add dimension to your essay. You can also consider which details from your experience will best illustrate your point(s) in the essay. Outlining beforehand isn’t a prerequisite to writing a strong essay. However, it is a strategy that can help keep such a brief piece of writing cohesive and focused.

You may also have a particular “message” or “takeaway” that you would like to leave your reader with. If this is the kind of essay you are hoping to write, it can be helpful to compose your first drafts with those messages or takeaways already prepared to make sure they are communicated throughout each of your Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays.

Lastly, if you’re already thinking about your engaging opening hook or thoughtful concluding line, this might stall your essay draft’s progress. Unless you have a wave of inspiration, elements of style like these are often hard to pin down during the drafting stage. Once you’ve got something on the page, though, it can be easier to come up with your opening hook. Therefore, don’t stress about these elements yet, just focus on defining your essay’s topic and keeping your essay well-organized.

Carnegie Mellon Short Essay Questions

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 or fewer).

When beginning this essay, you may struggle to identify how you settled on your chosen major or area of study. Many students choose a major because they were good at the subject in high school. Or maybe it’s because their parents are pushing them toward that subject. Alternatively, a student might be pursuing the career associated with that major. Thus, these students may feel like there was no spark of inspiration leading them to this area of study. Given how many students change their major in college, this is not too surprising.

If that sounds like you, you may want to consider this question differently. Instead of trying to think of a magical moment when you determined your future college major, think of the moments when you have found joy or fulfillment in this area of study. These moments may have been in the classroom or elsewhere. The key is that these are moments when this subject area was important to you, no matter how big or small.

In your essay, you can dive into these moments and build your narrative around them. Think broadly: has there been an occasion when you have seen someone with a degree in your field of interest make a positive impact on the world? If so, that moment could be part of your essay. You could write about just one moment, or you could cover a few. Note that the prompt uses the phrase “developed over time.” Thus, don’t feel restricted to describing a single moment. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with focusing on a single source of inspiration, if that is true to your experience.

In sum, look into your past experiences, plural, to guide the progression of this essay. If you’re having trouble deciding which moment(s) to focus on, try free-writing to figure out which topics you find most meaningful to explore in your writing.

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 or fewer)

It can be difficult to zoom out while in the thick of the college application process. But this prompt is asking you to focus on the fact that college is about learning and receiving an education , whatever that means to you. When you chose the area of study you explored in the last essay, what did you have in mind for your future? How will that vision of your future motivate you during your college years? While the last prompt asked you to look into your past, this one asks you to look into your future.

Note that this prompt does not restrict your response to career motivations or academic aspirations. You can also consider your social and personal development as you answer this question. It may be helpful to visualize yourself at college. Without getting too idealistic, what is the college experience you dream about? If that feels too intimidating to describe, you may want to get more specific.

What specifically would you like to have achieved before you graduate? You can even think of this as a bucket-list for your college experience. Of course, some items on this bucket-list won’t be appropriate for a college essay. At least some of those items should be, though, and you can discuss them in your response to this prompt.

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 or fewer)

This supplemental essay can be your application’s golden ticket. There is a part of you that doesn’t appear elsewhere in your college application. If so, this essay is your opportunity to address it. If there is a topic you wanted to bring up in your personal essay but didn’t have room, here’s your chance to explore it deeply. And if there is a part of your academic journey that might not make sense to an admissions officer at first glance, you can explain those complexities here.

That said, you may feel like your application comprehensively captures you as a person and nothing is missing. If that’s the case, you can take this essay as an opportunity to “emphasize” an existing aspect of your application, as the prompt’s wording indicates. For instance, you may want to give some of your extracurriculars more depth than the Common App Activities section. Similarly, you may choose to explain how and why you received an honor or award mentioned on your Common App.

Another path you could take with this essay is to discuss something you’ve failed at or struggled with. College applications may look like highlight reels of students’ high school academic lives. But perhaps you really struggled to achieve that math grade last semester. Or perhaps you made a sacrifice in your personal life in order to pursue a certain extracurricular. Exploring the challenges you’ve overcome can provide nuance to your story. After all, these challenges may underlie the achievements highlighted elsewhere on your application.

If you need help polishing up your Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays, check out our College Essay Review service. You can receive detailed feedback from Ivy League consultants in as little as 24 hours.

Sign Up for More College App Tips

Subscribe to the Next Admit newsletter, a weekly newsletter where you'll receive our best college essay and college app advice. You can unsubscribe at any time!

Students Also Read

• Search All Scholarships
• Exclusive Scholarships
• Easy Scholarships to Apply For
• No Essay Scholarships
• Scholarships for HS Juniors
• Scholarships for HS Seniors
• Scholarships for College Students
• Scholarships for Grad Students
• Scholarships for Women
• Scholarships for Black Students
• Scholarships
• Student Loans
• College Admissions
• Financial Aid
• Scholarship Winners
• Scholarship Providers

Student-centric advice and objective recommendations

Higher education has never been more confusing or expensive. Our goal is to help you navigate the very big decisions related to higher ed with objective information and expert advice. Each piece of content on the site is original, based on extensive research, and reviewed by multiple editors, including a subject matter expert. This ensures that all of our content is up-to-date, useful, accurate, and thorough.

Our reviews and recommendations are based on extensive research, testing, and feedback. We may receive commission from links on our website, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our marketing partners don’t review, approve or endorse our editorial content. It’s accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted. You can find a complete list of our partners here .

How to Ace the 2024-2025 Carnegie Mellon Essay Prompts

Ginny Howey is a former content writer at Scholarships360. Ginny graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 2022 with a degree in Media and Journalism (Advertising/PR focus) and minors in Entrepreneurship and Spanish. Ginny’s professional experience includes two summers as a writer intern at global creative consultancy BCG BrightHouse. More recently, Ginny worked as a content marketing intern for Durham-based software engineering bootcamp Momentum, where she gained SEO skills. She has also written freelance articles on emerging tech for A.I. startup Resultid.

Learn about our editorial policies

Bill Jack has over a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. Since 2008, he has worked at Colby College, Wesleyan University, University of Maine at Farmington, and Bates College.

Maria Geiger is Director of Content at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.

Carnegie Mellon University is one of the nation’s top universities. With a 11% acceptance rate , CMU surely gets top applicants each year. If you want to rise above the rest, the Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays are your chance.  Carnegie Mellon’s prompts touch on different aspects of your background, interests, and goals. They are a great way to show off more of your personality and enthusiasm for the school. Planning strong examples to weave throughout your essays is key to success.

We will walk you through each prompt and offer tips on how to craft stellar responses for each of the Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays!

Also see:  How to write an essay about yourself

“ 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)

Say you are interested in Computer Science. Well, you would not be alone, given it is Carnegie Mellon’s top major. Fortunately, this question invites you to back up your chosen area of study with a reason that is distinctly yours. For example, you could discuss your obsession with Guitar Hero as a kid and thus how video games are made. This inspiration for why you want to study programming makes this response personal and unique. 

Note that this prompt says a passion or inspiration that’s developed over time. Talk about the origin of your interest, then trace the ways you have further cultivated it. What started as a Guitar Hero fascination then led you to take a summer coding bootcamp. Now, you spend hours viewing YouTube videos on game development. Whatever your major is, try to get to the core of what intellectually excites you about it and what sparked that curiosity. This will ensure your sincerity and voice shines through. You can close with your long-term aspiration in this field or conclude more specifically with how you plan to pursue this interest at CM. 

Questions to consider: 

• Is there a role model you look up to whose career you’d like to emulate? 
• Have you taken a class that piqued your interest in this major?  
• Are you drawn to a particular field of study because of the positive impact it can make in the world? 

“ 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)

This question can be tricky for some students because there are many directions to take your response. There is no one right answer for what you’d like to achieve in college and what constitutes a successful experience. After all, learning takes place both in and out of the classroom. Instead of being scared of this freedom, embrace it. Before writing, take a moment to really envision yourself in four years. How do you hope to grow personally and academically at Carnegie Mellon? If one goal does not dominate, make a list of all the things you want to achieve and find a way to summarize them into an overarching theme. 

One example could be how the prospect of meeting new people energizes you. You might discuss how you grew up in a small, southern town as an only child. Moving to Pittsburgh to live with peers of diverse backgrounds will be a big shift. Studying abroad could be another related wish for your time at CM. Talk about how these experiences will fulfill your ultimate goal of expanding your worldview. This avenue is a great way to discuss CM’s values and how you hope to align them with your own, as well.

Some students approach this question by discussing college as the key to unlock their dream profession. If you take this route, be sure you are not repeating information you discussed in prompt #1. You could go at it from a more abstract lens, like discovering how to engage both your creative and analytical sides. You could talk about an interesting major/minor combination, clubs you’d like to be involved in, or a research project you wish to explore. 

Questions to consider:  

• What would you change about your high school mindset? For example, do you want to do a better job taking risks, or make community service a weekly priority?
• In what ways will college enrich your character? 
• What academic benchmarks do you hope to meet? 

“ 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)

Similar to prompt #2, this response is incredibly open. You can choose to write literally anything about yourself here. Of all the prompts, this is perhaps the best way to differentiate your essays.  It is helpful to look over your application as a whole. What have you already shared with admissions, and what have you left out?

Is there something meaningful to you that you could only briefly mention in your activities section? For instance, you may have been in the improvisation club in high school. You could describe how you used to be incredibly shy, but this form of theater lets you discover a whole new witty side to yourself. It may have taught you humility and the value in stepping outside of your comfort zone. These are terrific qualities to take with you to CM. 

In a whole different vein, you could use this space to be vulnerable. Maybe remote learning was especially hard on you and resulted in a semester of lower grades. You could explain the obstacles you overcame and how it made you realize the importance of prioritizing mental health. This showcases your resiliency and informs admissions about an inconsistency on your transcript. 

The admissions team wants to know what makes you, you. They also are curious about your road to get to this point. So, anything is fair game. Trust your gut, and choose something that you feel is genuinely important to paint a whole picture of yourself and your experiences. 

• What have you been involved in that has shaped who you are today?
• Are there any red flags on your application that require explaining? 
• Do you have any unique hobbies or stand-out personality traits?

Final thoughts

After these deep dives, we hope you feel inspired to tackle each of the Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays with ease. Use our tips to organize your responses, then get all your thoughts down. You can cut out the fluff and revise for grammar and writing quality later. Be genuine in sharing what matters to you, not what you think admissions want to hear. You are well on your way to crushing these essays!

Also see:  Top scholarships for high school seniors

Additional resources

As you continue in your college application process, make sure to check back with us for other useful resources! We can help you decide how many schools to apply to , how to write a 500 word essay , and how to get a college application fee waiver . We’ll also help you decide whether you should send your ACT/SAT scores to test-optional schools. Good luck!

Other colleges to consider

• University of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Boston, MA)

Start your scholarship search

• Vetted scholarships custom-matched to your profile
• Access exclusive scholarships only available to Scholarships360 members

3 reasons to join scholarships360

• Automatic entry to our $10,000 No-Essay Scholarship
• Personalized matching to thousands of vetted scholarships
• Quick apply for scholarships exclusive to our platform

By the way...Scholarships360 is 100% free!

Choose Your Test

• Search Blogs By Category
• College Admissions
• AP and IB Exams
• GPA and Coursework

4 Tips for Stand-Out Carnegie Mellon Essays

College Essays

Carnegie Mellon is ranked among the top 25 universities in the nation , so you'll need to have an impressive application—with stand-out essays, of course!—in order to get admitted. Applicants must submit a total of four Carnegie Mellon essays, three of which comprise the Carnegie Mellon supplement.

Keep reading to learn what the current Carnegie Mellon essay prompts are, what topics you could write about, and what qualities make for a great Carnegie Mellon essay.

Feature Image: Mathieu Thouvenin /Flickr

What Are the Carnegie Mellon Essay Prompts?

In addition to the personal statement you must write for the Common App (for which you get to select one out of seven possible prompts), Carnegie Mellon requires all applicants to submit three supplemental essays; these essays make up the Carnegie Mellon Supplement.

Applicants are not allowed to submit other supplemental materials with their applications, such as websites, artwork, or resumes. (Note that the only exception to this is if you're applying to a school that requires additional materials , such as the School of Architecture.)

Each essay may be up to 300 words long, making them a little shorter than your typical personal statement for college, which is usually around 500-600 words.

So what are the Carnegie Mellon essay prompts? Let's take a look:

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?

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?

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).

As you can see, each Carnegie Mellon essay you must write will focus on something different about yourself. Specifically, you must explain the following in your essays:

• For Essay 1, what you plan to major in and why
• For Essay 2, what you hope to get out of attending college
• For Essay 3, something you want to emphasize about yourself

How should you write each Carnegie Mellon essay? We give you specific tips next.

All Carnegie Mellon Essay Prompts, Analyzed

In this section, we'll go over the three Carnegie Mellon essay prompts in detail, giving you key tips so you can ensure your essays stand out from the rest of the crowd.

Carnegie Mellon Essay 1: Your Intended Major

Though it might look a little wordy, all this Carnegie Mellon essay prompt is really asking is, "Why this major?" More specifically, this prompt wants you to relate the intellectual path you've taken by explaining the experiences, people, and/or events that have led you to want to major in this particular field.

By far the most effective way to answer this prompt is to tell a compelling story about how you came to be interested in your intended major. Think about the most important moments from your life that showcase your love of what you want to study, and then write about those.

For example, say you plan to major in musical composition. You could start off by recounting the first time you tried to write a piece of music on your family's piano and how hard it was. However, you really enjoyed the process of creating something new. This prompted you to enroll in weekly piano lessons; you also continued to compose piano pieces in your spare time. As a sophomore, you decided to enter your school's talent show and ended up winning with a musical piece you'd composed.

While you don't need to stick to chronological order, using this organization ensures your essay is easy to follow and clearly illustrates how you progressed from someone who knew nothing about the field to someone now highly devoted to it.

In addition, be sure to focus on not only how you became interested in your major but also how this journey of discovering your passion has affected you and your goals. For example, perhaps you want to major in architecture because you hope to use your skills to encourage eco-friendly living and therefore combat the effects of climate change.

It's also a good idea to mention, explicitly or implicitly, how Carnegie Mellon will help you accomplish your goals in your intended field. You could talk briefly about a particular faculty member in your field whom you hope to work with, an expensive piece of equipment offered at Carnegie Mellon, or specific professional opportunities available to students.

Finally, be careful not to exaggerate. Don't say you suddenly developed an interest in literature after reading The Great Gatsby for English class if you actually loathed the book or had a passion for literature well before then.

It's OK if there wasn't one single moment in your life that made you realize this major was the right one for you. Instead of acting as though some particular incident was more significant than it actually was, just focus on the overall journey you took to get to the point you're at now—that is, the major you've chosen to pursue.

Carnegie Mellon Essay 2: Why You're Going to College

Going to college isn't just about getting your degree. That's part of it, of course—you'd feel pretty cheated if you got all the way through college only to find out that you weren't getting your degree—but learning new things and growing as a person are also really important.

In this essay, Carnegie Mellon wants to see you discuss how learning, not just having a degree, will represent your growth in college. That might feel a little intimidating since you haven't actually left for college yet, but you have two important things to draw on: experience in your prior education, and your hopes for the future.

When responding to this prompt, think less about the individual classes you'll take, what grades you'll get in them, or what essays you'll write. Think about the learning process, all the little things that go into your education beyond the grades and assignments. How do you learn? And beyond that, what did you learn?

Think about what having a "successful college experience" would look like for you. When you graduate, what knowledge and experience do you hope to have? What unique experiences will you have at Carnegie Mellon that will shape the person you ultimately want to become?

This is a time to be specific. Maybe you see yourself as belonging to a thriving intellectual community, and thought-provoking discussion is one of the ways that you learn best. You can look at what groups there are on campus, for example, and see which ones you'd like to join.

Joining re:verb might be a way that you connect with other people who love having thought-provoking discussions, or maybe you're drawn more toward MOSIAC to learn about concepts like intersectionality. You can identify groups that appeal to you in your specific niche, and mention them in your essay as places where you hope to find your intellectual community.

Of course, that's not the only way to go about it. The important thing you need to convey is that you have an interest not just in attaining your diploma, but in the experience of learning. How you do that is up to you—you can describe how you learn and how Carnegie Mellon will help enrich you as a person through their teaching methods, through being around other accomplished and intellectual individuals, or by naming specific clubs, groups, or classes you want to be part of.

Show Carnegie Mellon how you learn and how they'll contribute to your specific goals, and you'll be on the right track!

Carnegie Mellon Essay 3: Something Important About You

This essay prompt is the most open-ended of the three and a great opportunity to really dig into any important attributes of yourself that you feel you didn't get to write enough about or at all in other parts of your application.

Did you write about something in another essay, such as the one you wrote for the Common App, that you wish to talk about more here? Do you want to write about something that's important to you and that you haven't had a chance to elaborate on yet?

Your topics are pretty endless here —just make sure whatever you write about for this essay is revealing something important that you think the admissions committee should know about you.

This could be a specific personality trait —maybe you want to emphasize your leadership skills by talking about your role as team leader at the local youth club—or something about your life that's had a major impact on how you see yourself and your future.

Here are some topics you could write about (but don't feel limited by these suggestions!):

• A specific incident that holds importance for you, and what it taught you about your academic and/or professional interests, your goals, your personality, etc.
• Someone you know who has impacted you in a significant way, and how that person has specifically influenced your interests and/or goals
• An explanation for something that negatively impacted your grades or another part of your application —for example, perhaps you spent a lot of time taking care of a sick relative during your sophomore year of high school, which caused your grades to dip slightly
• A particular interest, passion, hobby, or skill you have, and what you've gained, either intellectually or emotionally, from it

Once again, don't try to write about what you think the CMU admissions committee wants to read—be honest about what's important to you and why. If you volunteered somewhere a few times but didn't enjoy it or gain anything valuable from it, do not write about it here!

Similarly, don't be afraid to focus on something seemingly mundane. Just be sure you're using the topic you choose—even if it's pretty commonplace—to ultimately reveal something important about you. So, no, it's probably not a good idea to write about how you spend hours on Instagram every day, since this hobby isn't really revealing anything significant about you, your goals, or your personal growth.

2 Real Carnegie Mellon Essay Examples + Analysis

In order to write a great Carnegie Mellon essay, it helps to see what kinds of essays actually got applicants accepted to this prestigious university. Here, we give you two real Carnegie Mellon essay examples we found online and explain what makes them successful.

Carnegie Mellon Essay Example 1

This first of the two Carnegie Mellon essay examples comes from the college essays website Essays That Worked . The essay is quite long— more than 650 words! —and was written in response to the following (old) supplemental Carnegie Mellon essay prompt:

And now here's the essay:

When I was younger, I faced a lot of negative emotions including anxiety and low self-esteem. For a long time, I felt alone and as if no one understood how I felt. My self confidence was at an all-time low when I started taking psychology. All of a sudden the negative emotions I was feeling started making sense. I was suddenly able to understand how people were wired and why others treated me a certain way. I in fact was able to feel empathy for my aggressors after understanding that those who treated me negatively often faced struggles of their own.

Most importantly, I felt as though something out there finally understood me. Because psychology offered insight into my own behavior and helped me to understand others, I was eventually able to overcome my insecurities. In the future, I would like to help others do the same. No matter where I end up, understanding why people behave a certain way and being more considerate and empathetic for others will only help me thrive. Mental health is a growing issue in our society. The world we live in is a confusing place filled with pain, but psychology provides a way to determine the cause of this suffering and how to change it. I never want anyone to feel the isolation and sorrow I felt when I was younger.

I want to help others become compassionate and unconditionally loving not just toward others, but to themselves. Even if I only make a small change in the world and affect just one person’s life, I would like to pursue that.

Here's why this Carnegie Mellon essay works so well:

• It has an honest, compelling narrative that flows well. This applicant begins by explaining how their feelings and experiences allowed them to form a connection to the field of psychology from a young age. This story is raw and honest, and it highlights the applicant's reasons for wanting to pursue psychology in an appropriate and relevant manner.
• It's extremely specific. The applicant uses concrete details to explain their background and why the psychology major is a perfect fit for their goals and interests. In addition, the essay connects the applicant’s present interest in psychology to how they hope to help others in the future, giving us a clear indication of why the applicant is so interested in psychology.

Carnegie Mellon Essay Example 2

This second Carnegie Mellon essay example also comes from the website Essays That Worked and, like the essay above, responds to a current Carnegie Mellon essay prompt .

It was written in response to Carnegie Mellon essay prompt number three:

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 max)

Here is the essay:

I recall entering the intimidating world of high school as an exorbitantly introverted, stereotypical Asian girl. My father urged me to assert myself and attempt new activities I wouldn’t have typically participated in. I didn’t want to be disappointed in twenty years by the things I didn’t attempt in high school, so I decided to pursue my long-time dream of becoming a cheerleader. I had always admired the optimism that cheerleaders had, and I was at a point in my life where I needed more positivity.

I faced obstacles trying to join the team. An Asian cheerleader? But Asians were supposed to be smart and cheerleaders were dumb! I broke racial stereotypes by becoming the first Asian cheerleader in my high school. When I made the squad, I was exposed to individuals which whom I did not ordinarily traverse paths. I stepped outside of my bubble and met girls who were extremely extroverted and seemed to be in a constant state of elation. They taught me how to spread positivity throughout my daily interactions and taught me to use optimism as a strength in facing the hurdles of life. These were qualities I would have never learned from a textbook.

My parents had possessed strong reservations about me joining and feared I would meet girls who weren’t motivated in academics. This was false. Many of the girls were brilliant and creative in ways my regular friend group wasn’t. All avenues of life met there on that team.

Cheerleading was the rain and sun that helped a small seed like me bloom into a flower. It delights me knowing that I gained social skills and made friends I never thought I could gain. Cheerleading has changed my perspective on life and joining that family is one of my greatest treasures.

• It's tightly focused. This essay centers on a struggle the applicant overcame, a topic that is made clear quickly and acts as the focal point throughout the essay. We learn that the applicant made a decision in high school--to become a cheerleader--that defied racial stereotypes and helped her grow as a person. The role that cheerleading played in the applicant’s personal growth remains the focus through the end of the essay.
• It goes into significant detail about a specific incident. In order to showcase the uniqueness of their experience and the impact it had on their identity, this applicant wrote a detailed description of what being a cheerleader was really like, beyond the stereotypes, and what they learned from that experience. This provides information about who the applicant is that can’t be conveyed through the other parts of their application.

4 Tips for a Great Carnegie Mellon Essay

As you now know, you'll need to write three essays for the Carnegie Mellon supplement. Here are some general tips to keep in mind as you begin to work on each Carnegie Mellon essay.

#1: Use Highly Specific Details

Don't rely on catch-all phrases to get your points across in your essays. Instead, try to think of real, concrete examples you can use.

Specific details will make each Carnegie Mellon essay you write (and your application as a whole!) stand apart from others; it also proves to the admissions committee that you know what kinds of opportunities are available to you at Carnegie Mellon.

#2: Avoid Exaggeration—Be Yourself!

Many students think they need to write about topics that sound "impressive," but this isn't actually what admissions committees want. What they really want is to learn more about who you are, what you sound like naturally (on paper, of course), and what you value in life.

This is why it's so important for you to clearly channel your voice in your writing. For example, it's OK to tell a joke or focus on a lighthearted topic if you would describe yourself as a comedian.

Just make sure that, no matter what kind of topic you choose or how you write, you're ultimately making a bigger, important point about yourself —one that ideally emphasizes essential facets of your personality, your experiences, and/or your ambitions.

#3: Don't Repeat Anything You've Written for Your Common App Essay

Carnegie Mellon requires all applicants to submit the Common App essay in addition to the three essays described above, so you'll want to ensure there's not too much overlap between them. While it's OK to elaborate on a specific topic or point that you briefly mentioned in another essay, don't end up writing about the same experience more than once.

The point of these essays is to showcase various aspects of your personality and life, and you won't succeed if all you're doing is repeating yourself in each Carnegie Mellon essay!

#4: Edit, Polish, and Proofread

Our final tip is to take a lot of time to edit, polish, and proofread each Carnegie Mellon essay you write. Look over each essay multiple times to catch typos and other technical errors, such as grammatical problems, and spelling mistakes.

You should also be on the lookout for the following problems:

• Any inconsistencies in style, tone, voice, tense, etc.
• Any areas that are unclear, vague, or awkwardly worded or placed
• Any irrelevant details or descriptions that don't add anything important

Once you've edited and changed your essays a few times, give them to someone you trust, such as a teacher, mentor, or parent, and have that person offer feedback on how you could improve your writing.

Here are some key questions to ask this person to think about as they edit your essay:

• Is the topic/theme effective and appropriate for a college essay?
• Does the essay sound as though you wrote it (and not someone else)? Does the voice sound like your authentic voice?
• Does the overall organization make sense? Is there a story, and does it flow well? Does the structure successfully get the main point across?
• Are the details specific and relevant?

With all these tips in mind, you should definitely be able to write a great Carnegie Mellon essay!

What's Next?

You'll need to use the Common App if you're applying to Carnegie Mellon. Get tips on how to write a great Common App essay with our expert guide.

Thinking of applying to other great schools like Princeton , Brown , or Columbia ? Then be sure to check out our guides to learn how you can write amazing essays for these schools' supplements.

Learn more about Carnegie Mellon's admission requirements by visiting its school page in our extensive database.

Trending Now

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

ACT vs. SAT: Which Test Should You Take?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Get Your Free

Find Your Target SAT Score

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

How to Get a Perfect SAT Score, by an Expert Full Scorer

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading and Writing

How to Improve Your Low SAT Score

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading and Writing

Find Your Target ACT Score

Complete Official Free ACT Practice Tests

How to Get a Perfect ACT Score, by a 36 Full Scorer

Get a 36 on ACT English

Get a 36 on ACT Math

Get a 36 on ACT Reading

Get a 36 on ACT Science

How to Improve Your Low ACT Score

Get a 24 on ACT English

Get a 24 on ACT Math

Get a 24 on ACT Reading

Get a 24 on ACT Science

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Hannah received her MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. From 2013 to 2015, she taught English in Japan via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

How to Write the Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essays

Reviewed by:

Former Admissions Committee Member, Columbia University

Reviewed: 7/8/24

Find out how to write stellar CMU essays in this complete guide, including tips, FAQs, and examples!

Carnegie Mellon University is an internationally recognized educational institution in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Since CMU is competitive, many applicants look for ways to stand out in their application. That’s where the CMU supplemental essays can come in handy.

The Carnegie Mellon supplementals are crucial to your application and provide an opportunity to showcase your personality, interests, and experiences. However, writing these essays can be daunting, especially if you're unsure what the university is looking for. 

We’ll walk you through the process of writing the Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays. We’ve included expert tips, examples, and FAQs to help get you started on your CMU supplemental essays and help you write something unforgettable. Let’s get started!

How to Write Each Essay Prompt for Carnegie Mellon

So, what are the Carnegie Mellon essay prompts? Let’s discuss! First of all, let’s talk about volume. In total, there are four CMU essay prompts. However, only three are required, while the fourth is optional. 

Although writing multiple essays can be intimidating, think of the positives. For one, you have many more chances to stand out as a candidate . Writing multiple essays also allows you to demonstrate various facets of your personality and experiences you may not have been able to share in your application. 

Here are the Carnegie Mellon supplemental essay prompts : 

“ 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)”

How to Write Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essay #1 + Analysis and Tips

Analysis of prompt #1 : The first Carnegie Mellon essay prompt asks you to explain your choice of major in three hundred words or less. In other words, this is considered a “why this major” essay, a common question in the college application process. 

In our college essay webinar , Kayla Kirk explains that colleges use these essays to evaluate initiative and a willingness to challenge oneself.

“The top colleges and their admissions offices are going to want to see what you’ve done to pursue your passion so far, and maybe what you’re going to do in the future with the foundation you build at this university. They want to get the sense that you are a curious individual who is already taking the initiative to challenge yourself, to explore something you might take on in a professional level in the future.” 

Let’s go over some tips on how to handle this prompt.

• Choose One Anecdote : It’s not uncommon for students to have many reasons for choosing a major. “My parents did this, I like the subject, I want to learn more,” etc. However, you should choose to narrow in on your strongest anecdote before writing this essay to formulate one strong story around a timeline of events. 
• Create a Timeline : Before you start writing, create a timeline of events to help guide you. In the beginning, share when you first became interested in your major. The middle should tell the story of how your interest became a serious commitment, and you can end your essay by sharing your goals. 
• Write Now, Trim Later : Shorter essays may seem easier. However, it may be more challenging to get your point across in fewer words. So, focus on the writing first, then trim the fat. Ensure each sentence helps to tell your story and that every word serves a purpose. 

Here’s how a response to prompt #1 might look: 

Introduction : Begin by introducing your interest in your chosen major. You may choose to talk about the first time you engaged with the main subject (for example, the first book you loved if your major is English literature). 

Body : Talk about how this interest grew and developed over time. How have you engaged in this passion? What have you learned from it?  

Conclusion : Discuss how this interest led you to consider attending CMU for this specific major and how attending will help you move toward your ultimate goal and plans for the future. 

“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)”

How to Write Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essay #2 + Analysis and Tips

Analysis of prompt #2 : With this essay prompt, CMU is trying to understand what you hope to take with you from your education. A successful college experience is subjective, so there’s no correct answer. Ultimately, this is the place to outline what you intend to achieve during your college years and after. 

This prompt might be seen as an intellectual curiosity prompt. Admissions expert Darryl Tiggle discusses how to answer this type of prompt in our webinar. 

“Intellectual curiosity goes beyond what you want to study, what you want to major in. It really speaks to how you want to grow as a scholar… Intellectual curiosity talks about what you want to do with your mind and your intellect and what your passions are… Talk about what excites you and what you really want to learn.” 

Here are some tips to help you get started:

• Speak From the Heart : Answer this earnest question honestly. Talk about your future goals, your passions, and how you intend to contribute to your chosen field. Consider what goes through your mind when you picture your graduation day. What are you proud of? What will you do next? 
• Tie In Your Past, If Applicable : Opening this essay with an anecdote about your past that ties into what a successful college experience means to you can be impactful. You should only do this if it applies to your situation and ties into why you’re applying to college and your future goals.
• Talk About the School : This shouldn’t be the main focus of your essay, but in general, colleges love it when you’ve done your research and know about the clubs and programs they offer. To answer this prompt well, you should get familiar with what you’d like to participate in. 

Here’s what your structure could potentially look like for this prompt: 

Introduction : Open with a hook that sets up the theme. What are the things you’re looking for in a college experience? Challenge? Community? Opportunity? Start there. 

Body : Discuss why you seek these things in a college experience and, if you choose, mention how CMU can help you obtain them. Tie in anecdotes from your past and dreams about the future. 

Conclusion : End by returning to the theme you set up at the beginning. You can do this through metaphor, imagery, or a variety of other literary devices. 

“ 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)”

How to Write Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essay #3 + Analysis and Tips

Analysis of prompt #3 : The third CMU essay prompt is an excellent place to pop in one more achievement you’re really proud of or haven’t been able to share yet. Consider what you’ve shared so far and if there’s anything else you’d like to tell the admissions committee. Many applicants use this space to write about an extracurricular interest.

Use these tips to help you approach your essay: 

• Find Your Subject : There are various directions you could take here. You may choose to frame this as an adversity essay, where you tell the story of a challenge you overcame to achieve something. If you want to highlight a particular skill, you can write an extracurricular essay to delve into your passions . 
• Make Sure Your Topic Is Relevant : With a broad prompt like this one, it can be easy to get lost. It’s important to stay on track and add value to your application. If you write about something you’ve briefly touched on in your application, ensure your story isn’t repetitive . 
• Be Authentic : It’s important that you write about something you genuinely care about. Don’t tailor your responses according to what you think the school wants to hear. 

Here’s an example of what your outline could look like: 

Introduction : Choose something that is truly meaningful to you. This could be an achievement, an experience, a community that you belong to--the list goes on. You should select something that suits your application narrative and adds something new to your application. 

Body : You can go into detail now about why your chosen subject matters to you and how it has influenced your life. Think about how it might also influence your future goals and endeavors at CMU. 

Conclusion : Here’s where you need to answer, “So what?” With your final words, make the admissions committee see why you care about your chosen topic. By the end of this essay, they should know more about who you are at your core. 

Prompt #4 (Optional)

“ When it comes to deciding whether to submit standardized test scores, occasionally applicants want us to better understand the individual context of their decision. If you’d like to take advantage of this opportunity, please share any information about your decision here. This is an optional question for those who may want to provide additional context for consideration. (150 words)”

How to Write Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essay #4 + Analysis and Tips

For the optional fourth prompt, you need to first figure out if you should write this optional essay at all. This prompt targets students who have chosen not to submit SAT or ACT scores. If you have chosen not to submit scores, you should absolutely explain your decision through this essay. If not, there’s no need to write the essay.

If you do decide that you need to write this essay, here’s what you might say: 

Introduction : Begin by stating the circumstances that influenced your decision not to submit SAT/ACT scores. Don’t over-explain; keep it simple and straightforward. 

Body : Here is where you might discuss the specifics of why you made this decision. Remember not to make excuses or try to invoke pity. Provide an explanation and nothing more. 

Conclusion : You can choose to end by talking about what you might have done differently or how you plan to demonstrate academic achievement at CMU. Don’t go overboard, and remember to stay humble, but your ending should make the admissions committee feel confident that you can handle academic rigor despite a lack of test scores.

For more tips on how to write an incredible essay, try taking a look at our college admission cheat sheets! You can find downloadable guides on personal statements as well as all the other aspects of the application process. 

Examples of Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essays That Worked

If you still have no idea where to start with your Carnegie Mellon essays, don’t worry. Take a look at some of these examples, written by real, admitted students, to give you inspiration! 

Sample Essay #1

Prompt : “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)”

Read through this sample essay for some inspiration: 

“When I was younger, I faced a lot of negative emotions including anxiety and low self-esteem. For a long time, I felt alone and as if no one understood how I felt. My self confidence was at an all-time low when I started taking psychology. All of a sudden the negative emotions I was feeling started making sense. I was suddenly able to understand how people were wired and why others treated me a certain way. I was able to feel empathy for my aggressors after understanding that those who treated me negatively often faced struggles of their own. Most importantly, I felt as though something out there finally understood me. Because psychology offered insight into my own behavior and helped me to understand others, I was eventually able to overcome my insecurities.

In the future, I would like to help others do the same. No matter where I end up, understanding why people behave a certain way and being more considerate and empathetic for others will only help me thrive. Mental health is a growing issue in our society. The world we live in is a confusing place filled with pain, but psychology provides a way to determine the cause of this suffering and how to change it. I never want anyone to feel the isolation and sorrow I felt when I was younger. I want to help others become compassionate and unconditionally loving not just toward others, but to themselves. Even if I only make a small change in the world and affect just one person’s life, I would like to pursue that.”

Why Essay #1 Worked

In this example, the writer uses a clear timeline of events to convey the story of how they became interested in their major. What the student has done especially well here is demonstrate a developed passion and deeper meaning to their choice of program. 

Your story doesn’t have to start in childhood – for many applicants, it doesn’t! Whatever your story, just ensure your devotion to the study of your subject is apparent and your story is concise, easy to read, and moving. 

This essay also does a great job of showing authenticity and vulnerability. In our personal statement mistakes webinar , consultant Arianna gives some tips on staying authentic. 

“Try and really dig deep in your personal statement. It is therapeutic; it is you really thinking over your life and your progression, and it’s okay to take time to do that. So, really outline and try to think outside of the box. Don’t just come up with things that you think admissions officers want you to say.” 

Sample Essay #2

Prompt 2 : “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)”

This essay provides a great example of how to answer this prompt: 

“My main goal in college is to attain a specific degree so I may pursue a stable career I’m happy with. However, the manner in which I achieve this is imperative since I will spend a considerable portion of my early adulthood in college. This is why I want to attend an institution that will teach me what to learn, how to learn, and why I should learn. 

When I leave college and enter the real world, I don’t want to stop learning about how the world works or how I can improve upon myself. I believe that to give up the pursuit of knowledge is to give up hope for true happiness. I don’t want to die knowing I could’ve achieved more through my time on earth but chose not to, especially considering the people in less fortunate circumstances who would’ve taken full advantage of the opportunities I was presented. I have a sense of duty to improve myself in some way each day so in the future, I may apply the lessons I’ve learned and experiences I’ve gained to make a positive impact on this world. I fervently believe that true education prepares students for the outside world by emphasizing this mindset. 

Therefore, a successful college experience to me is one that facilitates this kind of growth by providing bountiful opportunities for me to pursue my goals and even open my eyes to activities I never thought of attempting. This sort of environment is one that must be achieved through the collaborative effort of faculty and peers alike. I believe Carnegie Mellon-with its vast undergraduate and graduate majors, research programs, student organizations, and diverse campus culture-accomplishes this well.”

Why Essay #2 Worked 

In this essay example from an accepted Carnegie Mellon student , the writer focuses on their passion for the pursuit of education and why learning is important to them. This is an excellent approach; it indicates that this student wants to soak up as much of the CMU learning experience as possible rather than simply get a degree and move on. 

This Carnegie Mellon essay briefly mentions what the school has to offer, why they’re attracted to it, and how attending will help them fulfill their goals. 

Sample Essay #3

Prompt #3 : “ 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)”

Check out this sample essay to help you respond to prompt #3: 

“Haunted romanticism, ravaged gaze, desperation bordering on lunacy, Saturn Devouring His Son first caught my attention as a bored nine-year-old wandering around a museum, and once again as a high-school student, after catching a glimpse of it in a textbook. 

Because after looking at angelic frescos after more Church frescos, I could not stop myself from flipping back to the tiny printing of this unholy piece. I sought to discover the story behind it—what caused this artist to create something so raw and naked, in the age of staid royal family portraits?

I became immersed in unraveling each bit of the story, how Goya had long transitioned from a royal painter, to a harsh, but veiled critic of society, the desolation that occurred during the French occupation of Spain, the corruption of Charles IV— who was really only a puppet ruler to Godoy. I learned how kingdoms rose and fell—and rose again, how art is unafraid to capture the seditious attitudes of the common people, and how it has endured to teach us of past mistakes.

I fell in love with dissecting the messages from the past, and discovering how we still have not listened to them.”

Why Essay #3 Worked

In this example from a similar Yale prompt , the writer chose to delve into their appreciation for visiting art museums beyond the classroom and discovering their curiosity for art history. 

The essay is particularly effective because it doesn't just list the paintings they admire but instead delves into the meanings and significance behind each piece. 

The key to a successful extracurricular essay is to showcase your enthusiasm for the activity. To transport the reader into your world, it can be helpful to include sensory details that create a vivid picture of your experiences. 

Consider including descriptions of the smells, sights, and emotions that surround your extracurricular interest. By doing so, you can help your reader feel as though they’re there with you, experiencing the activity alongside you.

Get More Sample Essays Here!

If you found it helpful to look at sample essays, good news! You can check out our college essay example database down below for tons of great essay examples. 

FAQs: Carnegie Mellon Essays

Here are our answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about how to write each Carnegie Mellon supplemental essay.

1. How Important Are Essays for CMU?

Supplemental essays are an important part of the application process for Carnegie Mellon University. They allow applicants to showcase their unique qualities, achievements, and perspectives that may not be evident from other parts of their application.

2. How Many Supplemental Essays Does Carnegie Mellon Require?

The CMU essay requirements vary depending on the program you are applying for. For most applicants, there are three required essays and one optional essay. 

3. What Is the Word Limit for Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essays?

Each CMU essay must be 300 words or fewer, while the fourth optional essay word limit is 150 words or fewer. 

4. Are the Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essays Required for All Applicants, Including Transfer and International Students?

Yes, all Carnegie Mellon applicants must write supplemental essays, including transfer and international students. 

5. Can I Reuse Essays That I Wrote for Other College Applications for Carnegie Mellon's Supplemental Essays?

You may be able to recycle content to an extent based on the essay you’ve previously written. For example, your description of why you want to pursue a particular major may not change, but the school-specific details you add will. 

Final Thoughts

Writing strong CMU essays is a critical part of your application. These essays provide an opportunity to showcase what makes you a fantastic CMU candidate. They also provide a platform to discuss personal achievements that may not be evident in other parts of your application. 

Because the CMU essays are relatively short, it's important to be concise while sharing your stories. It's also crucial to ensure that your essays are cohesive, flow smoothly, and make a strong case for you as a candidate. 

By following our tips, you’ll be able to craft memorable essays and increase your chances of standing out to the admissions committee at Carnegie Mellon University. Good luck!

Access 190+ sample college essays here

Get A Free Consultation

You may also like.

How Long Are SAT Scores Valid?

How to Become a Digital Marketer

The Common App is Open! Get your application done over a weekend with the College Application Booster​®.

Command Education Guide

How to write the carnegie mellon supplemental essays, updated for 2024-2025.

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 word maximum)*

Explanation:

With this prompt, the admissions committee seeks to understand more about your academic journey and your intellectual curiosity, a quality that the university specifically looks for in applicants. First, consider your intended area of study—what initially sparked your interest? A teacher? A documentary? A book? One strategy you can employ when approaching this prompt is to start your answer with a story or anecdote that connects your prior experience with your intended major. However, be mindful that this essay should not simply restate content shared in your personal statement—tailor your response specifically to your intellectual interests and experiences. While Carnegie Mellon requires prospective students to apply to the particular school that houses their chosen discipline, the university also prides itself on its interdisciplinary approach to academics. In order to demonstrate your intellectual curiosity as well as your commitment to the school’s vision of intellectual collaboration, consider how your area of interest intersects with other disciplines or perhaps how you arrived at your major area of study through a line of inquiry in another subject area.

The day I turned twelve, my parents gifted me a jigsaw puzzle—a thousand-piece challenge depicting a sprawling cityscape. As I slowly started to connect the pieces, I felt a thrill of satisfaction with each small victory. While my friends were engrossed in video games or sports, I would spend hours solving puzzles, trying to fit ever-more complex pieces together to make increasingly intricate pictures.

During my freshman year of high school, I enrolled in a computer programming class. As I stared at numbers and symbols on the screen, I felt the same thrill of discovery I often felt as a child sorting through a sea of puzzle pieces. I discovered a new way of thinking that combined my love for problem-solving with the ability to create something tangible. The first time I successfully programmed an algorithm to solve a real-world problem—an application that helped local businesses optimize their inventory—I was hooked. After helping a few more businesses optimize their systems, I started hosting weekly webinars for businesses and organizations teaching simple coding solutions, expanding throughout local counties as my events became more popular.

As a student at Carnegie Mellon, I hope to continue giving back to my community as I deepen my knowledge of computer science. Carnegie Mellon’s rigorous computer science program, with its emphasis on both theoretical foundations and practical applications, is the perfect place for me to deepen my knowledge and pursue my passion. I am particularly drawn to the intersection of computer science and data analytics, where vast amounts of information can be harnessed to make informed decisions in fields ranging from healthcare to finance. I’m eager to collaborate with like-minded peers and learn from leading experts in the field as I continue to use technology to make a meaningful impact on the world.

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 word maximum)*

This question inquires about how the process of learning will help you achieve your goals, and as such, students should consider both the what and the how of their academic and career aspirations in their answer.

First, consider your ultimate academic and professional goals and work backward. Think specifically about where you hope to be in ten years, how you hope your degree will help you arrive at that destination, and finally, what you would hope to gain from your time at Carnegie Mellon in pursuit of those goals. Keep in mind that while these goals could be academic, professional, social, and personal, the language of the prompt is guiding you to think about how learning will help you to achieve them. There is a wide array of possible answers to this question, but make sure that your answer foregrounds things that are specific to Carnegie Mellon and the ways in which the university’s offerings are uniquely suited to your goals. The admissions committee wants to know what you intend for your own trajectory of growth, and as such, this prompt is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your curiosity, teachability, and motivation. Do you want to work in the nonprofit or social justice fields? Perhaps a successful college experience entails some sort of community engagement, study abroad, or charity work. Do you want to be a researcher? A successful college experience might include presenting at conferences, conducting an internship or research project with a Carnegie Mellon professor in your field, or taking part in one of Carnegie’s numerous undergraduate research opportunities.

The year is 2035—I imagine myself standing in a bustling innovation hub, surrounded by a team of brilliant engineers, each of us working tirelessly to bring a groundbreaking project to life. As I look around the room, I remember the late nights spent debugging code over my dorm room desk, the animated discussions with professors that spilled over after class, and the moments of breakthrough in the classrooms of Scaife Hall. It was at Carnegie Mellon that I realized the power of collaboration, the thrill of solving complex problems, and the importance of using technology to make a difference in the world.

When I look back as a Carnegie Mellon graduate, the experiences that stand out the most are not the grades I earned, but the way that my peers, professors, and coursework at CMU pushed me to grow and develop as a person and scholar. Success was defined by more than just academic achievements—it was about the relationships I built, the challenges I overcame, and the impact I began to make in the CMU community. Those years shaped me into the leader I am today, equipped with the skills, knowledge, and drive to turn my visions into reality. And as I look toward the future, I know that the foundation laid at Carnegie Mellon will guide me in my journey to innovate, inspire, and lead—in 2035 and beyond.

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 word maximum)*

This space allows for you to share anything about yourself that you believe is important for your candidacy but has not been adequately conveyed in your essays, activities list or through your grades or test scores. Perhaps you’d like to elaborate on an aspect of your application that would require more context to be fully understood. Perhaps you feel as though your test scores or good grades don’t properly convey that you are a hard worker and have overcome personal or academic challenges to achieve your grades. This is also a great opportunity to write about your passion project or involvement in an extracurricular activity that you have not yet had the chance to write about elsewhere in your application. Alternatively, you could show your diverse range of interests by discussing another passion or activity outside of the classroom that would help the admissions committee get a holistic sense of who you are. Whatever you choose to write about, be sure to use this space wisely—you shouldn’t use this space to brag about all of your amazing accomplishments, but rather, highlight a new aspect of who you are or what you devote your time to, or provide more context about something mentioned elsewhere in your application.

At eight years old, I found myself sitting in a parent-teacher conference, my feet barely touching the floor, watching my mother struggle to understand the words coming from my teacher’s mouth. My mother nodded politely, her face tight with concentration, but I could see the confusion in her eyes. When we left the room, she squeezed my hand and asked me to explain what was said. I translated as best as I could, but even at that young age, I knew something important was lost in the process—an understanding, a connection, a shared meaning.

While my transcript and other application materials attest to my love of language and my desire to study Linguistics at CMU, it cannot fully convey the way in which my childhood experience as an immigrant made me passionate about cross-cultural communication. My 3.8 GPA that steadily grew over my four years of high school does not capture the many frustrated nights I spent wrestling with math problems and school essays alone because my parents did not understand the assignments. My improvement wasn’t just about mastering the material; it was about learning how to navigate a system that my parents, despite their best efforts, could not fully engage with.

This self-sufficiency has fueled my determination to succeed and deepened my commitment to studying language and culture at Carnegie Mellon, where I hope to continue exploring how our words shape our world.

• Privacy Overview
• Strictly Necessary Cookies

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognizing you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

Carnegie Mellon University Supplemental Essays Guide: 2021-2022

Not sure how to approach the Carnegie Mellon essay prompts? CollegeAdvisor.com’s guide to the CMU supplemental essays will show you exactly how to write engaging Carnegie Mellon essays and maximize your chances of admission. If you need help crafting your answers to the Carnegie Mellon essay prompts, create your free  account  or  schedule a no-cost advising consultation  by calling (844) 343-6272.

Carnegie Mellon  Supplemental Essays Guide Quick Facts:

• Carnegie Mellon has an acceptance rate of 17%— U.S. News  ranks Carnegie Mellon as a competitive school.
• We recommend answering all CMU supplemental essays comprehensively and thoughtfully.

Does Carnegie Mellon have supplemental essays?

Yes. In addition to the main essay prompt in the  Common App , you’ll also have to answer additional Carnegie Mellon essays. Three of the Carnegie Mellon essay prompts are required, while the final prompt is optional.

Need some help writing your Common App essay? Get great tips from our  Common App essay guide .

What are the Carnegie Mellon essays?

The Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays are available on the  Common App site . You can also visit the  Carnegie Mellon admissions page  to view the Carnegie Mellon essay prompts as well as a full list of application requirements.

How many essays are required for Carnegie Mellon?

There are three required Carnegie Mellon essays in the 2021-2022 Common App. There is also one optional prompt to explain circumstances surrounding test scores. We recommend that most students just answer the first three Carnegie Mellon essay prompts. Students should only complete the fourth Carnegie Mellon essay prompt if they have extenuating circumstances related to standardized testing.

How do you answer the Carnegie Mellon essays?

The Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays can make a huge difference in admissions. To help you maximize your admissions odds, we’ve provided each of the Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays below.

In this guide to the Carnegie Mellon essays, you’ll find a breakdown of how to approach each of the Carnegie Mellon essay prompts as well as tips for creating an application narrative that will stand out in admissions.

Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essays – Question 1 (Required):

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 word maximum)

You may notice that this Carnegie Mellon essay prompt feels similar to some of the Common Application Personal Statement prompts. The good news is that if you’ve already completed your Personal Statement—which you should do before writing any CMU supplemental essays—this Carnegie Mellon essay prompt should be relatively straightforward. The bad news, however, is that you’ll need to be careful to avoid repeating information from your Common App essay. You might think of this prompt as a second Common App essay—that is, it should enrich the rest of your application by providing crucial insight into your identity.

This Carnegie Mellon essay prompt is your opportunity to show a different side of yourself–something that you have yet to highlight in your other materials. Although the prompt encourages creativity, when it says, “tell us, don’t show us,” it means just that. Do not include links to external resources, even if they show something you could never say with words. If you were hoping to include links to an artistic portfolio, don’t worry! Although this CMU supplement essay might not allow it, CMU has a  separate program  for those who wish to apply with an art portfolio.

Use dynamic, descriptive language

The instruction to not “tell” the admissions team rather than “show” them extends only as far as this CMU supplement essay prompt says it does. When they say, “don’t show us,” they simply mean, “no links.” This instruction does not mean that your CMU supplement essay has to be matter-of-fact. You can still paint a compelling picture with your words!

While your chosen topic should enrich your overall candidate profile, this topic does not necessarily need to relate to the rest of your application. This is your time to cover some new ground! If you’re struggling to come up with a topic for this CMU supplement essay, go back and look at the topics you considered (yet didn’t select) for your Common Application personal statement. What topics intrigued you most, even if you didn’t end up choosing them? What elements of your identity will help you enrich the CMU community? Do you have a niche hobby or interest? A unique personal story? This is an excellent time to talk about any of those areas.

If you still can’t think of a topic, spend some time brainstorming the things that matter to you. Make lists of your interests, identities, hobbies, and other key characteristics. Your CMU supplemental essays should show the non-academic side of you, so take advantage of this opportunity! You can also draw inspiration from prompts you’ve answered for other colleges (so long as you don’t repeat information from your Common Application or other Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays).

CMU Supplemental Essays Key Questions:

• Is the topic of your first CMU supplement essay authentic?
• Does your essay avoid repeating information found in your other Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays?
• Do you avoid including links to external material?
• Does your first CMU supplement essay enrich the other parts of your application?

Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essays – Question 2 (Required):

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 word maximum)

Out of all of the Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays, this one might be the most complex. Let’s break down this Carnegie Mellon essay prompt together!

This prompt uses the framework of learning to ask how you will define a “successful college experience.” As you approach this Carnegie Mellon essay prompt, think about how you define this prompt’s two key concepts: learning and success. Both of these topics are vast—learning can come both in and out of the classroom, and success can’t be measured by just one metric. Think about your hopes for your future and what you hope to learn in college. How will Carnegie Mellon help you achieve these goals? The strongest CMU supplemental essays will answer all parts of this prompt.

Like your other Carnegie Mellon essays, you might start this CMU supplement essay by brainstorming. Make lists for each of the following questions: Why do you want to go to college? What is your “ultimate goal”? How do you define learning? How do you define success? Finally, how can you use this CMU supplement essay to show why you belong at Carnegie Mellon?

In your other Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays, you might have addressed your educational and career goals. This CMU supplement essay, however, lets you think about these goals in a broader sense, focusing both on academic and non-academic aspirations. A good approach is to break the essay down into two sections: one where you talk about your concrete career goals and how CMU will help you achieve them, and another devoted to the less inherently academic question of your “ultimate goal.”

Let’s start by discussing your academic goals. To recap: this CMU supplement essay asks about your “ultimate” goal for your  academics  and future  career . Think about what interests you and how CMU will help you engage with these interests. For example, you might discuss CMU’s opportunities for undergraduate  research . Better yet, you could discuss how CMU’s variety of  centers and institutes  enables cross-disciplinary work. Be as concrete as possible. The best Carnegie Mellon essays will illustrate in specific terms the reason why CMU—and CMU alone—will help you achieve your academic and career aspirations.

Define “successful college experience”

Now, let’s shift to the less academic side of this prompt. Start by thinking about the following questions: why do you want to go to college? What do you hope to get out of CMU? How do you define a “successful college experience”?

Think about what you want out of your college experience and how CMU will help you attain it. Maybe you want to forge relationships with your peers through one of CMU’s many clubs and organizations, or maybe you want to meet your future writing partner in a CMU economics lecture. Use specific details to emphasize why your “successful college experience” should be at CMU.

If you’re struggling to define a “successful college experience,” try thinking about your future–a future where you’ve presumably attained your “ultimate goal.” In twenty years, what will you remember from your college days? Will it be the exhilaration you felt watching your peers  play basketball or baseball ? Or the memory of reconnecting with your Scottish roots at  Spring Carnival ? Do some research on CMU’s specific offerings, and use this essay to discuss why these offerings will enrich your life on campus.

Of all the Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays, this is the place to visualize your ideal college experience as well as the many ways you might “learn” at CMU. At CMU, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from those around you both inside and outside the classroom. The “ultimate goal” you describe in this CMU supplement essay, therefore, should extend beyond classes alone. Use the second of the Carnegie Mellon essay prompts to show how CMU will give you the tools to become the kind of professional, person, and community member you hope to be.

• Do you describe your “ultimate goal” in both a professional and personal sense?
• Does your essay define your idea of a “successful college experience” at CMU?
• Do you use specific details to explain why CMU will help you attain your personal and professional goals?
• Does your essay add context and nuance to the other elements of your application?

Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essays – Question 3 (Required):

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 word maximum)

You should begin this Carnegie Mellon essay prompt by choosing an intended major from Carnegie Mellon’s  offerings . Do your research—you don’t want to spend 300 words gushing over your passion for studying zoology when Carnegie Mellon doesn’t offer it as a major. However, you can discuss how your experience as a volunteer at the  Central Park Zoo  developed your interest in pursuing Biological Sciences at the  Mellon College of Science .

For this CMU supplemental essay, think about the experiences that have fostered your interest in a given major. Did a specific moment make you realize a passion for a given field? Or did a set of experiences help you develop an interest over time? What other factors have influenced your academic development?

Start with a story

To give some insight into how I would approach this Carnegie Mellon essay prompt, here’s a snippet of an essay I wrote when I was applying to colleges.

“My fascination with the stock market all began at the tender age of seven. A flurry of red and green numbers and arrows emerged on my TV screen accompanying the words S&P and Dow Jones. ”

This excerpt is only two sentences, but I used the remainder of my response to explain how I later joined a youth investment program, won a stock trading competition, and became the treasurer of two organizations. In essence, I would use this anecdote to show how I became interested in my chosen field, then use the following sentences to reveal how I nurtured this interest throughout high school. Finally, I would tie everything together with a statement like  “That day in 2008 changed my life; I still have the same set of encyclopedias, but now I am ready to embark on a future in finance beyond the pages.”

Keep in mind that this CMU supplement essay should focus on you rather than on CMU. By painting a clear picture of your academic development, you can help admissions officers envision who you’ll be on CMU’s campus. Don’t worry if you don’t directly connect your interests to CMU’s programs in the third of your CMU essays; however, if you have the space, feel free to include one or two sentences about how you would develop these interests at CMU.

• Does CMU offer the intended major you discuss?
• Do you use an interesting anecdote to explain how your interests in this major developed?
• Does your essay show how you’ve actively nurtured this interest over time?

Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essays – Question 4 (Optional):

When it comes to deciding whether to submit standardized test scores, occasionally applicants want us to better understand the individual context of their decision. If you’d like to take advantage of this opportunity, please share any information about your decision here. This is an optional question for those who may want to provide additional context for consideration. (150 word maximum)

In most cases, students should complete all “optional” prompts to maximize their admissions odds. But for this CMU supplement essay, you should respond only under one condition: you have extenuating circumstances surrounding your test scores.

Essentially, this prompt lets you explain any circumstances surrounding your test scores. This can be particularly useful if external factors influenced your ability to study for or take standardized tests, particularly given the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether you chose to omit your score under Carnegie Mellon’s  test-optional policy  for Fall 2022, were unable to take the exams, or scored lower than you would have due to unforeseen circumstances, this prompt lets you elaborate further. However, you should only fill it out if you have a legitimate reason.

Don’t use this Carnegie Mellon essay prompt to describe how you tend to procrastinate on TikTok or Netflix. However, if you had to work full-time to support your family during COVID-19 or lost a family member to the pandemic, you may well use this prompt to help contextualize your scores for the admissions team. Regardless, with only 150 words to work with, ensure that you convey your thoughts concisely and clearly.

• Do you clarify any extenuating circumstances that influenced your test scores
• Does your essay provide essential context for understanding your test scores (or your decision not to submit them)?
• Does your essay reflect well on your commitment and work ethic?

Are the Carnegie Mellon Essays Important?

As with all school-specific supplements, the CMU supplemental essays are a critical component of your application. However, don’t let that scare you! Strong Carnegie Mellon essays can make a major difference in admissions, particularly if you have lower grades or test scores. A well-crafted set of Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays will help your application stand out to admissions officers.

Think of every Carnegie Mellon essay prompt as an opportunity. The CMU supplemental essays are your chance to address the admissions team on your own terms. At the end of the day, what do you want your readers to know about you? How can you use the Carnegie Mellon essay prompts to tell them why you belong at their school?

Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essays: Final Thoughts

Completing the CMU supplemental essays can seem daunting, but don’t let them discourage you from applying. At the end of the day, the Carnegie Mellon essay prompts are not intended to trip you up. Rather, view each CMU supplement essay as an opportunity to further introduce yourself to the admissions team.

Use this Carnegie Mellon essay prompts guide to help you approach each CMU supplement essay with confidence. After completing your CMU supplemental essays, make sure to revise—you might even ask a counselor, advisor, or other trusted adult to help you proofread for spelling, grammar, and clarity. Good luck!

This 2021-2022 essay guide on Carnegie Mellon was written by  Juliana Furigay , Columbia ‘23. For more resources on the college admissions process,  click here . If you need help crafting your answers to the Carnegie Mellon essay prompts, create your  free account  or schedule a no-cost advising consultation by calling (844) 343-6272.

Personalized and effective college advising for high school students.

• Advisor Application
• Popular Colleges
• Privacy Policy and Cookie Notice
• Student Login
• California Privacy Notice
• Terms and Conditions
• Your Privacy Choices

By using the College Advisor site and/or working with College Advisor, you agree to our updated Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy , including an arbitration clause that covers any disputes relating to our policies and your use of our products and services.

Carnegie Mellon University

• Cost & scholarships
• Essay prompt

Want to see your chances of admission at Carnegie Mellon University?

We take every aspect of your personal profile into consideration when calculating your admissions chances.

Carnegie Mellon University’s 2023-24 Essay Prompts

Why this major short response.

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?

Process of Learning Short Response

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?

Additional Info Short Response

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).

Standardized Test Scores Short Response

When it comes to deciding whether to submit standardized test scores, occasionally applicants want us to better understand the individual context of their decision. If you’d like to take advantage of this opportunity, please share any information about your decision here. This is an optional question for those who may want to provide additional context for consideration.

Common App Personal Essay

The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don‘t feel obligated to do so.

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you‘ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

What will first-time readers think of your college essay?

• [email protected]
• (650) 338-8226

Cupertino, CA

• Our Philosophy
• Our Results
• News, Media, and Press
• Common Application
• College Application Essay Editing
• Extracurricular Planning
• Academic Guidance
• Summer Programs
• Interview Preparation

Middle School

• Pre-High School Consultation
• Boarding School Admissions

College Admissions

• Academic and Extracurricular Profile Evaluation
• Senior Editor College Application Program
• Summer Program Applications
• Private Consulting Program
• Transfer Admissions
• UC Transfer Admissions
• Ivy League Transfer Admissions

Graduate Admissions

• Graduate School Admissions
• MBA Admissions

Private Tutoring

• SAT/ACT Tutoring
• AP Exam Tutoring
• Olympiad Training

Academic Programs

• Passion Project Program
• Science Research Program
• Humanities Competitions
• Ad Hoc Consulting
• Athletic Recruitment
• National Universities Rankings
• Liberal Arts Colleges Rankings
• Public Schools Rankings

Acceptance Rates

• University Acceptance Rates
• Transfer Acceptance Rates
• Supplemental Essays
• College Admissions Data
• Chances Calculator
• GPA Calculator

National Universities

• College Acceptance Rates
• College Overall Acceptance Rates
• College Regular Acceptance Rates
• College Early Acceptance Rates
• Ivy League Acceptance Rates
• Ivy League Overall Acceptance Rates
• Ivy League Regular Acceptance Rates
• Ivy League Early Acceptance Rates

Public Schools

• Public Schools Acceptance Rates
• Public Schools Overall Acceptance Rates
• Public Schools Regular Acceptance Rates
• Public Schools Early Acceptance Rates

Liberal Arts

• Liberal Arts Colleges Acceptance Rates
• Liberal Arts Colleges Overall Acceptance Rates
• Liberal Arts Colleges Regular Acceptance Rates
• Liberal Arts Colleges Early Acceptance Rates

Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essays 2022-2023

By Eric Eng

When it comes to applying to the top schools in the country, your application is vitally important. In order to give yourself the best chance of gaining admission, you need to make sure all aspects of your application are top notch. In this post, we’re going to do a deep dive into how to write Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays, and everything you need to keep in mind as you write.

Carnegie Mellon uses the common app, and this means that you will be asked to answer essay questions contained in the common app. But like many top schools, Carnegie Mellon also requires that you complete several additional essays about your personal or intellectual growth. The Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays 2022-2023 allow applicants a certain amount of freedom when choosing their supplemental essay topic, but we’re going to look at each essay prompt and discuss the best way to respond to each topic.

Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essay Prompts 2022-2023

So, let’s start by looking at each supplemental essay prompt, and then we will discuss how to approach each one individually.

Carnegie Mellon requires that all applicants complete three supplemental essays in addition to the essays required by the common application. The Carnegie Mellon supplemental word limit for these essays allows you to write up to 300 words for each essay prompt, but you will still have to be efficient about how you craft your responses. The Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays 2022 are as follows:

• 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?

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?

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).

As you can see, these essays are quite in-depth, but we’re going to go through each one individually in order to craft a strategy for each one.

How to write the Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays?

Let’s start by looking at the first prompt. Each of these prompts asks you to write an essay covering a different aspect of you, your academic career so far, and your plans for the future.

Many students pursue college for a specific degree, career opportunity, or personal goal. Whichever it may be, learning will be critical to achieving your ultimate goal. As you think ahead to the process of learning during your college years, how will you define a successful college experience?

The first Carnegie Mellon supplemental essay 2022-2023 is complicated because it asks you to think about what a successful college experience means to you. Keep in mind that your personal opinion is more important than anything else. Students want different things out of their time in college, and you will have to ask yourself what you want out of the experience. Some students are focused on a clear career path, and they need specific instruction and certification to stay on that path. Other students are more interested in filling their heads with knowledge so they can pursue a number of different career goals.

This prompt allows you to look back and reflect on how you got to where you are now. While Carnegie Mellon doesn’t require that students declare a binding major prior to applying for admission, most students have a particular direction if they don’t have a specific major in mind.

If you have an idea of where you are headed in your college career, take some time and think about why you made that choice. Was there a single experience that turned you on to your chosen field, or did that passion develop slowly over time? Was there a specific class or teacher who inspired you to take a certain direction? Did you do work or activities outside of school that reinforced your path?

Regardless of your path and how you chose it, the key here is to demonstrate your passion for the subject. This is where you get to talk about your love of learning and your commitment to intellectual curiosity. Carnegie Mellon wants to accept the most creative minds from all over the world. In order to set yourself apart from the pack, you need to convince them that you are the kind of student they want.

This prompt is fairly common on applications because schools are becoming more and more interested in students as whole people. College applications feel exhaustive, but that doesn’t mean that they give you an opportunity to share everything important about yourself.

This final essay prompt allows you to respond in two different ways. You can either take a point from your application and elaborate on it further, or you can relate something about yourself that hasn’t yet appeared in your application at all. When reflecting on this prompt, consider the parts of yourself and your experience that are most important to you. It could be an academic pursuit or something extracurricular, but what’s really important is that you add something to what you have already shared.

Did you participate in high school band? Well, did you also participate in musical opportunities outside of school that were valuable to you? This is the place to share that. Did you play sports in high school? If so, it’s probably on your application already, but maybe you didn’t have the chance to talk about the specific lessons you learned while playing on the team. This essay can be many things, but most importantly, it’s another opportunity for you to make your application personal and unique.

At AdmissionSight, our goal is to help you with every step of the college admissions process. The Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays 2022 can seem daunting at first, but our experience and expertise will help you navigate the entire process with confidence. Hopefully, this guide to the Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays 2022-2023 has been helpful, but if you want more information about how AdmissionSight can help you realize your dreams, set up your free consultation today.

Want to assess your chances of admission? Take our FREE chances calculator today!

Why College Admissions Isn’t Perfect

US News Rankings

The Personal Statement: The Holy Grail of College Admissions

The Modern Day 4.0 and 1600 SAT Score Student Is No Longer Impressive

The Competitive Nature of College Admissions for Asian Americans

The College Application

Our Comprehensive Approach

Ivy League Schools

How Early Should You Prepare for College?

Featured in US News & World Report Best Colleges Publication

Congratulations to AdmissionSight Students and their Acceptances!

College Rejection

College Rankings

College Consultants Could Make A Difference

College Admissions Scandal and Higher Education

How to Nail Your Overcoming a Challenge Essay: Advice and Tips

What Happens If You Fail a Class in College? Insights + Tips

Do You Need a Bachelor’s to Get a Master’s Degree?

Top 7 Hidden Ivies in the US: Stats + Tips

What Can You Do with a Philosophy Degree? Job Prospects + Insights

Top 16 National Awards for High School Students

Top 10 Best Sororities in the US

How to Superscore Your SAT: Insights + Tips

Life after College: Insights and Advice

11 Best STEM Colleges in the US

Best Law Student Jobs to Make Money During Law School

The Top 5 Dental Schools in the US This 2024

Top Target Schools for Investment Banking Worldwide

The 7 Best Political Science Universities in Europe

How to Get into MIT: Admission Requirements and Tips

Is Lehigh University a Good School? All You Need to Know Before Applying

How to Succeed in the Duke Premed Track

Leave a comment cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Recent Articles

How to Nail Your Overcoming...

What Happens If You Fail...

Do You Need a Bachelor’s...

Top 7 Hidden Ivies in...

What Can You Do with...

Top 16 National Awards for...

Top 10 Best Sororities in...

How to Superscore Your SAT:...

Life after College: Insights and...

11 Best STEM Colleges in...

Best Law Student Jobs to...

The Top 5 Dental Schools...

Sign up now to receive insights on how to navigate the college admissions process..

Admissions Counseling

• Academic & Extracurricular Profile Evaluation

Copyright © AdmissionSight 2024

Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

How to Write Carnegie Mellon University’s Essays 2018-2019

See our updated 2019-2020 guide here . 

With its application pool rising to record highs and an acceptance rate that keeps dropping (2017 saw a 10.8% acceptance rate spanning its seven colleges), Carnegie Mellon University is amongst the most selective institutions of higher education in this country. As the university becomes more selective, its supplemental essays provide an increasingly vital opportunity for you to differentiate yourself from the pack.

For the 2018-2019 admissions year, CMU has announced that it will be using three entirely new prompts. This is your chance to show them something they’ve never seen before! Below, we’ll go into detailed explanation of what the prompts are asking—with tips, hints, and examples provided to ensure that you stand out.

Want to learn what Carnegie Mellon University will actually cost you based on your income? And how long your application to the school should take? Here’s what every student considering Carnegie Mellon University needs to know.

Carnegie Mellon University Supplemental Essay Prompts

Prompt #1: “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).

What CMU has done here is take a standard question— why this major —and ask it in a manner that will make you answer it a certain way. While the typical ‘why this major’ prompt gives students the freedom to focus on the past or future (i.e. how you developed an interest or what you plan to do with the major), this version of the question is asking you to focus on the former.

A successful execution of this prompt will:

1) elaborate on the path that led you to choose your major and

2) show the adcom why you deserve to pursue this major at their school.

The latter doesn’t necessarily need to be explicit. If you can do part one while showing drive, curiosity and all those good things that adcoms love to see, consider part two completed as well. Let’s dive in.

There are essentially two methods for completing this prompt. The first is a narrative arc or anecdote. If there’s a moment where you said to yourself “this is going to be my major,” that could be a great story to tell! Perhaps you were in a robotics competition and after weeks of toiling, your robot finally moves. And that’s when you knew, you knew beyond a shadow of doubt, this was the path you needed to pursue.

Here’s what telling that story does. First, it shows tenacity—even after weeks of failure, you didn’t give up. Second, it shows innovation. And third, CMU just happens to be known for offering a robotics major, so even without being explicit, you just told the adcom exactly why you belong at CMU!

Stories are a great method for drawing in your reader and creating pathos. The trick, however, is to not get so caught up in the narration that you fill your 300 words without actually saying anything. If you’re going the anecdote route, ask yourself the following questions:

Did I answer the prompt?

Does the story I just told show why I’m passionate about the major I’ve chosen?

Have I showed that CMU is the right place for me?

Don’t say you want to pursue a major in underwater basket-weaving if CMU doesn’t offer that (just an example, but you get the idea).

Do mention, either briefly or implicitly, how CMU would allow you to continue pursuing and developing your passion.

If you can honestly answer yes to those questions, then you’re all set! Let’s move on to the second method of answering this prompt. I call it the brag sheet method.

You may not be able to fully answer the prompt with just one moment or story. That’s okay! Not everyone has that kind of story to tell. An alternative is to briefly list key moments, progressions, or accomplishments leading up to your decision. Here’s an example:

“From writing short stories as a seven year old to winning my first prose contest in high school, creative writing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.”

Unlike the narrative arc method, this example is neither a story nor a specific event. Instead, it shows how creative writing has been pivotal to my life for years. Though arguably less compelling than a story, this method has the bonus of demonstrating growth, long-term commitment, and development. Being that CMU is one of the only universities to offer a BA in creative writing, it also shows why I’m applying.

This same method will work if you choose to talk about who or what inspired you. However , this comes with a warning. If you choose to talk about a person or work that inspired you, ensure that you don’t only write about said person or work. If the adcom learns more about the Pulitzer prize winner whose work inspired you than they do about you and your work, reassess!

Prompt #2 “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)

This prompt is a gift. Within the confines of the word limit, the options are endless. This is your chance to show the adcom exactly what makes you so special. But don’t get bogged down by the possibilities! So how do you know what’s worth writing about?

Is there something you mentioned on your Common App that you feel the need to elaborate?  This should not be even remotely similar to the subject of your personal statement. Think of your essays as a portfolio; they should be complimentary without being redundant.   For example,  if your passions are science and wildlife, and your personal statement is about wildlife, make this prompt about science.

Is there something you haven’t been able to mention anywhere that you’re dying to mention?  Let your personality shine through. Whether your passion of choice is volunteering with animals, taking apart computers, or almost anything else, it can have a place in this prompt. However, it shouldn’t be so random that it doesn’t say anything about you as an applicant.

Here’s a good idea: “ I collect postcards from all over the world because I love learning about new cultures.”

See how this paints a picture of a student eager to learn and expand their horizons?

Now here’s a bad idea: “I like watching Netflix in my free time.”

Does that tell the adcom something that helps them envision a contributing member of the CMU community?

Neither of the above? Just write about something you love. If you have a topic that you could talk about for hours, then here’s your place. 

Note: this has to be entirely different than your answer for the previous prompt.

The scoop : use this as an opportunity to show your personality and your passion.

The caveat: don’t get overwhelmed by the possibilities. Narrow in on something pivotal to what makes you you, and make sure it still shows CMU why you’re a fit.

The ideal : if you have a story, accomplishment, or passion that shows you possess drive, an entrepreneurial spirit, or a similar embodiment of the CMU spirit, here’s the place to prove it.

What not to do: Don’t be redundant. If you’ve already said it in another CMU essay or in your personal statement, don’t say it again.

Prompt #3: “When we’re connected to others, we become better people,” said Carnegie Mellon University’s Randy Pausch, author of The Last Lecture. At Carnegie Mellon you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with a diverse community of scholars, artists and innovators. Given the students, faculty, staff and resources that have been available to you as a student, how have you collaborated with others, in or out of the classroom? Or, what lessons have you learned from working with others in the past, that might shape your experiences in the future? (300 words)

This prompt is clearly one CMU values highly. They give you an additional 50 words, provide an introduction for the prompt, and attach more than one question. Spoiler: they care a lot about your answer.

Let’s break down what this prompt is really asking because there are a lot of extra words.

• How have you demonstrated teamwork, be it in or out of the classroom?
• What did you gain from that experience?
• How will this experience impact your teamwork in the future?

The overarching goal for this essay is to prove to CMU that you deserve their “diverse community of scholars, artists, and innovators.” They’re proud of their network. Why do you deserve to be a part of it? If offered access, what do you have to offer to their collaborative environment? These are all implicit questions, meaning they may not outright ask them, but they secretly want them answered.

The only efficient way to ensure you account for all aspects of the prompt is to focus on one instance or example. Whether this is a long-term commitment (the teamwork you’ve encountered while playing football for the last four years) or one specific event (the time your group was falling behind on a school project, so you helped delegate roles to pull everyone together), the idea is the same. But don’t just start listing stuff.

Here’s the format your essay should follow (and for clarity’s sake, I’ll continue with the previous example):

The challenge : Regardless of whether you’re choosing the long-term or specific instance, your essay will be much stronger if you describe a challenge that had to be overcome. For example, you’ve been assigned to a group for a school project. The deadline is in a week, your group has communicated very little, and everyone seems to be inefficiently doing their own thing.

The solution: Solve your challenge using teamwork. Bonus: try to show leadership qualities!  You realize your group needs to work together, so you get everyone together and delegate roles to get things done. With everyone working on a role that caters to their unique talents, the project comes together.

The takeaway: What did you learn from the experience?  I learned that communication and teamwork allowed our finished product to be so much stronger than it otherwise would have been.

The future: How will you apply the takeaway to the future? Don’t be afraid to make it CMU specific! In fact, this is a great opportunity to throw in a few sentences of ‘why CMU.’

Example:  “CMU is constantly collaborating with leading companies, amongst them Sony and CH Robinson, to create results that would otherwise not be possible. In this environment, I would use my own talent for robotics and seek complimentary talents to push the limits of what I can achieve.”

The more specific you can be here, the better. Specific to you and specific to CMU.

Be aware that the above scenario is a very generic scenario. You will create a much stronger essay by using this space to share an example specific to you. Whether this is the time you entered a design competition with a group of friends or painted a city mural with your art club, just make sure it’s pretty specific to you! If it’s a situation that can apply to every high schooler in the world, definitely reassess.

So, there you have it! At the end of the day, you want your essays to answer the prompts in a way that screams ‘you.’ The more personality and you-ness in the essays, the better.

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

Undergraduate Admission Requirements

Your application checklist.

Required Application Materials for Undergraduate Admission

Common application, $75 application fee*, high school courses and grades**.

Please review our Academic Requirements .

  Standardized Testing Scores  

If English is not your native language, this includes the TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo English Test .

Secondary School Counselor Evaluation

Teacher recommendation, common application essay, common application writing supplement.

This includes three short-answer questions

*Carnegie Mellon accepts fee waivers from students who meet one of the indicators of economic need as outlined on the Common Application.

**Transcript and graduation requirements: A high school diploma or equivalent is required for admission to Carnegie Mellon (for applicants who are 17 and over). Applicants should submit courses and grades from all secondary schools attended, and enrolling students are required to submit an official final transcript as well. Applicants who have received a high school equivalency diploma are required to have their official High School Equivalency Examination (GED) scores sent to the Office of Admission in addition to courses and grades from all high schools attended.

Additional Requirements

For all applicants.

If admitted, you must provide proof of meeting all requirements for an official high school diploma by the end of May of the year of graduation. You must also submit an official final transcript, GED or certificate of completion from your local school district or state board of education by the end of July of the year of matriculation.

For Home-Schooled Applicants

You should submit an academic portfolio or transcript that’s consistent with your state’s guidelines and a list of all textbooks used.

For College of Fine Arts Applicants:

For the School of Drama or the School of Music, you must arrange a  required pre-screen, audition or portfolio review . For the Schools of Architecture, the School of Art or the School of Design, you must submit the  required portfolio and creative materials .

For College of Engineering Applicants:

Students applying to the College of Engineering are admitted directly to a major or, in the case of Civil & Environmental Engineering, a department. Students who are accepted to Civil & Environmental Engineering will declare either Civil Engineering or Environmental Engineering at the end of the fall semester of their first year. Requests to change major will be considered after the first year, but are not guaranteed to be approved and will be evaluated on a case by case basis.

Students admitted as undecided within the College of Engineering are allowed to choose among the primary majors during the spring semester of their first year. In the spring of their first year, all students will also have the opportunity to declare an additional major from among Biomedical Engineering; Engineering and Public Policy; Engineering, Design, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship; and Engineering and Fine Arts.

Supporting Documents and Supplemental Information

Carnegie Mellon doesn’t accept supplemental submissions, such as resumes, artwork, portfolios, recording or websites. We encourage you to use the Common Application, along with the Carnegie Mellon Supplemental Essays, to highlight experiences or activities that have enhanced or defined your personal growth during high school. Carnegie Mellon won’t accept updates from applicants after January 15 but will continue to accept documents and updates from high school counselors after that point.

Please note that mid-semester grades or transcript updates should be reported by your high school counselor throughout the admission process. For applicants to the College of Fine Arts, please refer to our  information for College of Fine Arts applicants .

Where Am I in the Process? Portal

Applicants, please note that you'll need to register for the Where Am I in the Process? portal in order to receive your admission decision and financial aid offer, so please review the  Terms of Service  prior to applying. The Where Am I in the Process? portal service is intended for individuals at least 13 years old; if you intend to apply and are not at least 13, please  contact the Office of Admission .

Instructions for DACA, Home-Schooled, Cyber and Non-Traditional Applicants

Applying as a deferred action for childhood arrivals (daca) student.

Carnegie Mellon welcomes applications from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students. Follow the instructions for either first-year or transfer applicants and review the admission requirements noted at the top of this page. We accept College Board and NACAC fee waivers for the nonrefundable application fee. If you need an application fee waiver, you should contact the Office of Admission.

Please also be aware of this additional information:

• When completing the Common Application, you should apply for either first-year or transfer admission as an international student. You’ll do so by selecting “Other (non-US)” as your citizenship status.
• You may be eligible for institutional financial aid and must apply for financial aid in order to be considered.
• To apply for institutional financial aid, you must complete the CSS Profile and provide either federal tax returns or documentation of household income to College Board IDOC. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) isn’t required for DACA students. If you need a CSS Profile fee waiver, you should contact the Office of Admission.
• At the time of admission, Carnegie Mellon may request DACA documentation to confirm your status in order to process your financial aid accordingly.

If you have any questions or concerns about the application process, please contact the Office of Admission .

Applying as a Home-Schooled or Cyber Student

Carnegie Mellon welcomes applications from students who have been schooled at home or online. In addition to the information below, please be sure to follow the instructions for first-year applicants and review the admission requirements noted at the top of this page.

To apply to the university, you must:

• Submit a completed Common Application.
• Submit a syllabus or course descriptions of the work you’ve completed prior to applying. This should include a list of all textbooks used for your coursework.
• Submit a transcript of grades and/or evaluation of your work that’s consistent with state guidelines.
• Submit a recommendation from a counselor, a representative of your state board of education, your home school association or other person of authority.
• Follow the instructions for required testing based on the college and program you’re applying to.
• Provide proof that you'll have met, by the end of May of the year of graduation, all requirements for an official high school diploma.

If admitted, you will also need to submit an official final transcript, GED or certificate of completion from your local school district or state board of education by the end of July of the year of matriculation.

Applying as a Non-Traditional Student

Carnegie Mellon welcomes applications from students with non-traditional academic backgrounds, including prospective students who are seeking a second bachelor’s degree, and those who are interested in a first bachelor’s degree several years after graduating from high school.

To apply for a second bachelor’s degree if your first degree is from Carnegie Mellon:

• Complete the Common Application.
• Arrange to have a copy of your Carnegie Mellon transcript sent to the Office of Admission by February 15, if you’re applying as a transfer, or by January 1, if you’re applying as a first-year student.

To apply for a second bachelor’s degree if your first degree is from another college or university:

• Follow the instructions for transfer applicants .

To apply for a first bachelor’s degree if you’re from a nontraditional background:

• Submit an essay explaining what you have been doing since graduating from high school.
• Submit a recommendation from a counselor, teacher, colleague or advisor who can speak of your potential for success at Carnegie Mellon.
• Note that campus housing is only available for traditional-age college students.

Applicants from the Veterans & Military Community and ROTC Applicants

Carnegie Mellon provides services to veterans and their dependents who are eligible for Veterans Education Benefits under the Montgomery G.I. Bill, the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, and the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program. Visit the Veterans and Military Community website  for more information.

For questions and additional information regarding military and veteran applicants, please contact Mike Danko, ROTC Veterans Affairs Coordinator, at @email  or 412.268.8747.

Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship information:

• Naval ROTC — hosted by Carnegie Mellon
• Air Force ROTC — hosted by University of Pittsburgh
• Army ROTC — hosted by Three Rivers Battalion

Applying as a First-Year Student

Applying as a transfer student, applying as an international student, advanced placement consideration, college of fine arts requirements, bxa intercollege degree programs, exploring carnegie mellon, undergraduate catalog, undergraduate admission.

Kristina Wong Davis, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management & Dean of Admission Location: Warner Hall, 2nd Floor, 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Phone: 412-268-2082 Fax: 412-268-7838 Email: [email protected] www.cmu.edu/admission

ADMISSION PHILOSOPHY

At Carnegie Mellon, we select our first-year class from a large group of very qualified candidates. We don’t use a calculation to choose who to admit because calculations can’t take into account all the factors we consider when making admission decisions. No single grade, factor, score or activity will automatically gain or deny you admission to Carnegie Mellon. We treat every applicant as an individual, taking great care to make our admission decisions fair, thorough and sensitive. We’re interested in students who can be successful at Carnegie Mellon while taking full advantage of all the university has to offer.

ADMISSION CRITERIA

Our admission process is designed to select a highly talented, diverse undergraduate population with high aspirations who will succeed at Carnegie Mellon. If you’re applying to academic programs, your high school performance will be a significant factor in our admission decision because it’s the most meaningful indication of your motivation and abilities. We pay close attention to your curriculum rigor, the grades you’ve earned and the work you’ve accomplished. We’re interested in seeing that you’ve challenged yourself within your secondary school environment. If you’re applying to programs in the arts, your artistic performance will be either the main factor or a significant factor (depending on the program) in our admission decision.

Standardized test scores add to our knowledge of your preparation, but we don’t make decisions on the basis of test scores alone. Carnegie Mellon is test optional for fall 2025 undergraduate admission applications. However, students applying to the School of Computer Science are strongly encouraged to submit either an SAT or ACT score, including the math subscore, to bolster their application's strength and to aid in determining their ability to succeed academically at Carnegie Mellon.  Pursuant to this policy, applicants aren't required to submit SAT or ACT results; however, results will be considered for those who submit them. Students who are unable to take either the SAT or ACT or choose not to submit their standardized test scores will be considered equally for admission along with those who submit scores.  Please also note that submission of any prior SAT Subject Test results won’t be considered in our admission review process.

Your non-academic interests, including extracurricular involvement, part-time jobs, family commitments, hobbies and community engagement play a very important role in the admission process. We also consider collaboration, perseverance, passion, advocacy for others and self-direction when making admission decisions. We’re interested in students who can be successful at Carnegie Mellon while fully engaging in the university community.  Because we want to have a sense of who you are as a person, we look closely at your Common Application essay, your short answer questions, your secondary school counselor's evaluation and your secondary school teacher's recommendation. By looking at this non-academic information, we develop a sense of your personality, motivation and responsibility. 

We don't consider demonstrated interest in our admission process. Demonstrated interest is a term used in undergraduate admission that describes the ways in which a prospective student shows a college that they’re interested by visiting campus and submitting additional materials that aren’t required in the application. As a result, we don't consider a campus visit or communication with the Office of Admission or other members of the Carnegie Mellon community when making admission decisions. 

Carnegie Mellon doesn't collect or review criminal history information as part of the admission process. However, individuals who are admitted to Carnegie Mellon will be required to disclose any past criminal conviction as part of the enrollment process. Learn how Carnegie Mellon considers criminal history information.

COLLEGE CRITERIA

Each college/program at Carnegie Mellon has admission criteria specifically related to each course of study.

Admission to the Schools of Drama and Music is based primarily on a pre-screen, audition or (for select School of Music programs) portfolio review. Applicants to the Schools of Architecture, Art and Design will be evaluated not only on the basis of their portfolio review but also on their academic performance. 

Applicants to the College of Engineering, Mellon College of Science, School of Computer Science and Tepper School of Business will be evaluated on their academic performance, with emphasis on strength in mathematics and science. Applicants to the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Information Systems program will be evaluated on their academic performance, with emphasis on reading and comprehension abilities along with mathematics coursework. We'll also evaluate both groups of applicants based on their ability to communicate thoughts and ideas in writing.

Applicants should be aware of our  admission requirements  (secondary school preparation, nonacademic information and counselor and teacher recommendations) when submitting applications. 

Think carefully about your Carnegie Mellon college selection(s) before applying. While you may apply to up to two colleges or programs that match your interests, bear in mind that most applicants will only be selected for their highest-choice college to which they‘re admissible. It’s rare for students, even of the highest quality, to be granted admission to more than one of their college selections. Early Decision and transfer candidates may only apply to their first-choice college or program at Carnegie Mellon. Please note that admission to the university is always contingent upon maintaining academic performance and community conduct commensurate with that which resulted in admission. Admission decisions will be rescinded for failure to maintain strong academic performance, community conduct, honesty, maturity and/or moral character.

If you're applying to Carnegie Mellon as a first-year undergraduate student entering in fall 2025, here's how to apply. Graduate students should refer to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs website for application instructions.

1. Choose your admission plan.  Carnegie Mellon offers the following application plans: Regular Decision, Early Decision and Transfer Admission.

• EARLY DECISION: Early Decision is a binding application plan for students who view Carnegie Mellon as their first choice university. This means if you're admitted through Early Decision, you're committed to attending Carnegie Mellon and must withdraw any applications you may have submitted to other institutions. Applications and supporting admission materials are due by November 1.  Early Decision is not available for acting, directing, dramaturgy, music theater, BXA Design programs or the School of Music.
• REGULAR DECISION: Regular Decision is the most common plan for students who apply to Carnegie Mellon. It’s common for students to apply Regular Decision to a number of institutions and then compare financial aid offers. Applications and supporting admission materials are due by January 2. Applications and supporting admission materials for Regular Decision for the Schools of Drama and Music is December 1. 
• TRANSFER ADMISSION:  Each year, Carnegie Mellon admits a small number of transfer students as space permits. The policy for transferring varies from college to college within Carnegie Mellon, so please carefully review the deadlines listed on the Undergraduate Admission website .

2. Complete the online Common Application . If you're applying for our Regular Decision plan, please r equest that your secondary school counselor submit all secondary school transcripts, including senior year courses and a school profile, to the Office of Admission as close to January 2 as possible, but no later than January 15. Mid-year grades should be submitted as soon as possible after they become available. It’s your responsibility to check what documents we’ve received on the Where Am I in the Process? portal to acknowledge receipt of these items. Receipt of mailed or faxed materials will be found on your Where Am I in the Process? portal within 7–10 business days after being received by the Office of Admission.

3. Apply for admission only to the specific college(s) or program(s) in which you’re interested.

• Rank your program and/or major preference. We strongly urge applicants to indicate a program and/or departmental preference at the time they apply. Although students might not declare a major until the end of their first or second years, we have to limit access to certain departments. 
• You may apply to up to two colleges/programs if your second choice program is from the College of Fine Arts—you cannot apply to more than one academic program. (Early Decision and transfer candidates may only apply to one college/program.)
• Students applying to CFA must apply directly to one or more of the following: School of Architecture, School of Art, School of Design, School of Drama or School of Music. 
• If applying to more than one college, you must detail your multiple interests in the Carnegie Mellon short response questions.
• Be sure to review the admission requirements for each college/program.

4. Send a non-refundable application fee of $75 electronically as you complete the Common Application. This fee is required. However, if you have a College Board or NACAC fee waiver or if you have any of the Common Application’s listed economic indicators, you can note this on your registration form in order to have your payment waived. Only U.S. citizens, permanent residents and DACA students are eligible for fee waivers. An additional audition/portfolio review fee will be required at the time of online registration for Drama and Music pre-screening, audition or music portfolio review. For School of Music applicants, the additional audition fee is $55. For School of Drama applicants, the audition or prescreening fee is $120. These fees are payable at the time of reserving a pre-screening, audition or portfolio review online on the Fine Arts section of our website. For applicants to the Schools of Art, Architecture or Design, there is a $20 fee to submit the portfolio.

6. If you choose to have your SAT or ACT scores considered, you’re required to submit all official results. While we’re interested in the general pattern of your scores, we give the most weight to the highest score you’ve received on the SAT. On the ACT, we give most weight to the set of scores corresponding to the highest composite score. Carnegie Mellon does not super-score the ACT. We believe that college admission testing in the 9th and 10th grades adds to the anxiety of a process that students won’t encounter for several years. As a result, we encourage students to submit 11th or 12th grade SAT or ACT scores (tests taken the summer after 10th grade are appropriate). While earlier tests may measure knowledge at the time they are taken, that level of knowledge gradually evolves and doesn’t fully represent the knowledge students bring to college first-year courses. Should students present tests taken two or more years in advance of their first-year experience, we have to take the timing of the test result into consideration. The greater the amount of time prior to college matriculation, the less we can rely on the test result as a fair representation of a student's preparation entering first-year college courses.

7. If English is not your native language, submit additional test results. Applicants who don’t speak English as a first language must submit the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the Duolingo English Test.

8. If you’re applying to the College of Fine Arts, submit your Common Application before completing portfolio submission, pre-screening or audition requirements. All of our fine arts programs require that students apply to the university and obtain their Application ID before registering for a pre-screening or audition, or before submitting a portfolio. 

9. Sign the “FERPA Release Authorization​” on the Common Application School Report Form and then request your secondary school counselor complete the form. Your counselor should submit this form to the Office of Admission along with the school profile and your transcript.

10. Choose a teacher to complete the Common Application Teacher Recommendation Form. Make sure it’s submitted to the Office of Admission by November 1 for Early Decision and by January 15 for Regular Decision.

​ ​​11. If you're applying for financial aid, submit all requested documents. We require financial aid applicants to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and  the CSS Profile,  and submit signed copies of parent/guardian and student tax documents. Learn more about applying for financial aid  as an applicant.

Application Notification

• Students applying under the Early Decision plan will be notified of a decision by December 15.
• Students applying under the Regular Decision plan will be notified of a decision by April 1.
• Students who are applying for financial aid will also receive financial aid decisions by April 1 as long as they submit their financial aid forms by the preferred February 15 financial aid deadline.

If you're offered admission and wish to enroll at Carnegie Mellon, you're required to pay an $800 non-refundable enrollment deposit by May 1 (or February 15 for Early Decision admits) in order to reserve your place in the first-year class and in university housing. This deposit will be credited to your first semester's charges. The admission staff assumes that a student's deposit to Carnegie Mellon is their only deposit. We reserve the right to cancel our offer of admission if a student also posts a tuition deposit at another university. Throughout the summer, information concerning registration, enrollment, insurance, orientation, housing, dining, and more will be communicated to all incoming students.

Deferred Admission

If you're admitted to Carnegie Mellon and wish to defer your admission for one year, you must submit a written request to the Office of Admission. If permission is granted, your enrollment deposit must be paid to confirm enrollment for the following year. You must agree not to apply to or enroll in a full- or part-time degree program at another institution in the interim.

APPLICATION MISREPRESENTATION

We value academic and artistic integrity and authenticity in the admission process. Furthermore, Carnegie Mellon assumes that lists of activities, accomplishments, awards, essays and recommendations are authentic, original and accurately reflect student achievements. We reserve the right to launch an investigation when falsified transcripts, artistic submissions of work or misrepresentation of credentials that are not accurate, original and authentic representations of a student’s ability and level of accomplishment are suspected. A student’s admission status will be placed on hold during an investigation and can result in the cancelation of an application or the withdrawal of an offer of admission.  Carnegie Mellon does report confirmed cases of misrepresentation to the Common Application.

All offers of admission are based on the assumption that students will maintain the level of academic performance and community conduct that has resulted in admission to Carnegie Mellon. Admitted and enrolled students are expected to abide by Carnegie Mellon’s code of conduct, found within our student handbook, The Word.

Application Plans

Early decision.

These plans are ideal for students who view Carnegie Mellon as their first choice or if it has become their first choice before Regular Decision applications are due. For Early Decision, you’ll apply by November 1.  You'll apply to only one college within the university and receive your admission decision earlier (by December 15)  in your senior year than our Regular Decision plan.  If you're admitted under Early Decision, you've agreed to enroll, so this isn't the best plan if you want to compare financial aid offers from other institutions. Early Decision is not available for acting, directing, dramaturgy, music theater, BXA Design programs or the School of Music.

We give three admission decisions for students applying Early Decision: admit, not admit or, in some cases, defer to Regular Decision. Students who receive a "not admit" decision during Early Decision aren't eligible to apply for Regular Decision.

If you apply Early Decision, we encourage you to submit applications to other colleges/universities. However, you must agree to withdraw these applications if notified of Early Decision acceptance .

Applying Early Decision won’t affect your overall admission decision. Students applying Early and Regular Decision are admitted at almost exactly the same rate.

Regular Decision

Regular Decision is our most popular application option. You'll apply to up to two colleges (if your second choice is from the College of Fine Arts) by January 2  (December 1 for Drama and Music applicants). You'll be notified of your decision by April 1. Students admitted under Regular Decision will have until May 1 to accept our offer of admission.

Each year, Carnegie Mellon admits a very small number of transfer students where space permits. The policy for transferring into Carnegie Mellon varies from college to college. If you’re interested in transferring into one of our academic programs, we must first make sure there’s space available in your program of interest. Please note that space in these programs is extremely limited. If there’s space, we’ll look closely at your official college transcript, professor recommendations, high school grades and test scores (all SAT, ACT or language proficiency examination scores, if available). If you don’t have official ACT or SAT results, there’s no expectation to submit them.

In the College of Fine Arts, most transfer applicants are required to complete a pre-screen, audition or portfolio review.

Transfer Application Instructions

1. Apply for admission to the specific college or program in which you’re interested. Make sure to note which department you prefer on the Common Application. Transfer students will only be considered for one college.

• Fall transfer is possible if space is available.
• Spring transfer may be possible for some colleges, but is extremely limited due to space constraints. CFA applicants cannot apply for spring admission.
• External transfers cannot apply to BXA programs.

Please submit your application by the deadline:

• Spring transfer: October 15
• Fall transfer: February 15 (December 1 for drama and music, January 3 for architecture, art and design)

Learn more about Transfer Application deadlines. 

2. Send a non-refundable application fee of $75 electronically as you complete the Common Application. This application fee is required, except in extenuating financial circumstances. To request a waiver, send us a letter from a college advisor or your dean requesting an application fee waiver in place of the application fee. Only U.S. citizens or permanent residents are eligible for fee waivers.

3. Send all college/university and secondary/high school transcripts to the Office of Admission. If you wish to attend Carnegie Mellon as a transfer student and have previously applied to the university, you must resubmit an updated Common Application with your application fee and all other required materials.  If you’re admitted, make arrangements to have a final copy of your college transcript(s) sent to Carnegie Mellon.

4. Send a copy of course descriptions from a college catalog from each college/university you attended so we can evaluate transferable credits. Course descriptions should be sent through the Common Application or by  completing a form electronically . You should copy and paste your course descriptions into a single document, saved as a PDF that has your name, address and Common Application ID on the first page. If you’re applying to Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences for admission to select programs, you may also be asked to submit course syllabi.

5. Sign the “FERPA Release Authorization” on the Common Application College Report Form. Have your dean or advisor at the college you’re attending (or last attended) complete this form. Your dean or advisor should return the form directly to the Office of Admission.

6. Once available, check your Where Am I in the Process? portal for an official admission decision. If accepted, you’ll need to complete an enrollment reply form. Please note that admission to the university is contingent upon maintaining academic performance and community conduct commensurate with that which resulted in admission. Admission decisions will be rescinded for failure to maintain strong academic performance, community conduct, honesty, maturity and moral character.

Deposit Information for Transfers

If you're offered admission for the spring semester, Carnegie Mellon does not require a tuition deposit due to the short time interval between December 15 and the start of the spring semester. If you're offered admission to the College of Fine Arts for the fall semester, you must pay a non-refundable deposit of $800 by May 1. If you are offered admission to Engineering, DC, IS, MCS, SCS, or Tepper for the fall semester, you must pay a non-refundable $800 deposit by June 1, even if you are receiving financial aid. The enrollment deposit will reserve your place at the university and a place in university housing if available. It will be credited to the first semester charges.

IMPORTANT: If you accept our offer of admission, we assume that your tuition deposit to Carnegie Mellon is your only tuition deposit. We reserve the right to cancel our o ff er of admission if you post a tuition deposit at more than one university. Enrollment deposits received after the deposit deadline will be returned if space is no longer available.

University Housing for Transfers

University housing isn’t guaranteed for transfer students. Housing Services has a webpage available to help you locate housing accommodations in the local area in the event that campus housing isn’t available.

Transfer Credit Evaluated on Individual Basis

The college/school to which you’re admitted will determine transfer credit for courses you’ve taken at other universities. We only offer transfer credit evaluations to admitted students. Transfer credit is considered on an individual basis. We may award elective credit for courses with no Carnegie Mellon equivalent.

Transfer credit for courses you’re taking while we’re reviewing your existing college record depends upon successful completion of each course. Grades aren’t transferred — only credits. Sometimes transfer students have to take speci fi c courses and accumulate a larger total number of credits than the normal amount required for graduation. The time it takes for you to graduate will depend on the time you need to complete the full university degree requirements — not on your class standing at a previous institution.

If you transfer in the fall semester, you’ll be given instructions on how to receive an estimate of the additional academic work you must complete in order to fulfill the university degree requirements.

If you transfer in the spring semester, you’ll have the opportunity to meet with an associate dean or advisor in order to outline the additional  academic work you must complete to meet the university degree requirements.

It’s best for transfer students in CFA to assume they’ll receive first-year status. Occasionally advanced standing is awarded based on review of previous college courses.

You must make arrangements to have a final copy of your college transcript(s) forwarded to Carnegie Mellon’s Office of Admission by July 1.

International students should apply to Carnegie Mellon using the same procedures outlined for either first-year or transfer students. Also, note this additional information:

• Carnegie Mellon doesn't offer financial aid or installment plans to international students. International students aren't eligible for application fee waivers.
• If English isn't your native language, you're required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), the Duolingo English Test, or the Cambridge English Assessment. Learn more about accepted scores . 

Scores should be no more than two years old at the time of application, and we prefer that you submit all English proficiency test results from the past two years. 

Regular Decision applicants should arrange to have these scores sent to Carnegie Mellon no later than January 7.

• InitialView  or  Vericant  interviews are recommended for non-native English speakers but aren't required. Often these interviews can measure readiness for engagement in the classroom and also showcase a student’s personality, likes and dislikes as well as the area of intended major. These interviews can also show English language proficiency while also corroborating the application with more details about the student.

Advanced Placement Program

Carnegie Mellon recognizes the Advanced Placement program and may grant advanced placement and credit for test scores of four or five . When you take the tests, be sure you request that the results be sent to Carnegie Mellon.

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE PROGRAM

Carnegie Mellon also recognizes the International Baccalaureate Examination and  may grant advanced standing and/or credit in various fields if scores on the higher level examination range from six and seven.  Make sure you send these examination results to Carnegie Mellon.

College-Level Work

We may grant placement or credit for college work you’ve completed while in high school. Please have your college transcript(s) sent to Carnegie Mellon for transfer credit evaluation. Please send the descriptions of the college courses as well.

Cambridge General Certificate of Education

Carnegie Mellon recognizes the Cambridge GCE A-Level (advanced level) examinations in various higher-level subjects and may grant advanced placement and/or credit for exemplary grades . Please note that we don't accept GCE "O" level examinations for placement.

Detailed information may be found on the Office of Admission website .

• Early Decision applicants must submit a complete admission application, including any required artistic evaluation, by November 1.
• Regular Decision applicants to Drama and Music must apply and make all pre-screen, audition or music portfolio review reservations by December 1.
• Regular Decision applicants to Art, Architecture and Design must apply by January 2 and submit their portfolio no later than January 15.
• We recommend that you apply for admission as early as possible in order to register for a pre-screen, audition or portfolio review, which are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Communicating Admission Decisions

• Final admission decisions aren't made at the time of your audition or portfolio review. We'll consider the artistic evaluation alongside the rest of your application and notify you of your admission decision by April 1 (by December 15 for Early Decision applicants).

To be considered for the BXA programs , you’ll first select the College of Fine Arts school that you wish to apply to. You'll then be asked if you’re interested in a BXA program and note your interest in either the Bachelor of Computer Science and Arts (BCSA), Bachelor of Engineering Studies and Arts (BESA), Bachelor of Humanities and Arts (BHA) or Bachelor of Science and Arts (BSA). 

Note that BXA applicants are only reviewed for the College of Fine Arts (CFA.) If you indicate interest in the BXA program, you will not be reviewed for a second college/program outside of your CFA choice. The intercollege BXA offerings are designed for students who’d like to combine or juxtapose their interests in the arts and another academic program. Students must meet the admission standards of their academic choice and complete the specific application requirements for their CFA focus (portfolio review, pre-screen, audition or interview).

Indicating interest does not mean your offer of admission will include acceptance to one of our BXA programs. Notification of BXA admission will follow your initial offer.

BXA options aren't available for those applying to the School of Drama for Music Theater, or Acting, or for external transfer applicants. Under Early Decision, BXA is only available for the School of Drama options in Design/Production and the Schools of Architecture and Art.

A college visit is the best way to discover which school is right for you. We offer both in-person and online visit opportunities. Here are just a few ways to experience Carnegie Mellon from home, on campus and in your area. Learn more and register for visit opportunities .

CARNEGIE MELLON ON CAMPUS

Information sessions.

The Office of Admission offers on-campus  information sessions  throughout the year. The session provides an experiential look at the university through student and faculty stories. You'll have the opportunity to learn more about Carnegie Mellon's areas of study, admission, financial aid and the city of Pittsburgh. 

Campus Tour

During our campus tour, student "Tartan Ambassadors" will show you classrooms, laboratories, traditions and unique architecture around campus. They'll also answer your questions and share an insider's perspective on the Carnegie Mellon experience.

Outdoor Campus Walking Route

On this self-guided touring experience, you'll have the opportunity to walk an outdoor path around campus for one hour. Visit the Coulter Welcome Center for details about a self-guided tour.

Admission Counseling Session

An Admission Counseling Session allows you to meet one-on-one with an Admission Counselor to ask any questions you have regarding Carnegie Mellon, the opportunities on campus, or the application and admission process. These sessions are typically 20-30 minutes long. 

Contact Carnegie Mellon for Assistance

If you need assistance while visiting campus, please contact us at  [email protected]  or 412.268.2082. We'll help meet your needs during your visit!

Carnegie Mellon Online

Virtual campus tours.

When you can't make it to campus, we've got you covered. Our Tartan Ambassadors are hosting live Virtual Tours so you can experience Carnegie Mellon's campus from anywhere in the world. These Virtual Tours will offer you the opportunity to explore our campus while hearing more about the Carnegie Mellon experience.

Remote Information Sessions

Our remote Information Sessions are live events designed for you to learn more about the Carnegie Mellon experience. Led by our admission counselors, these hour-long webinars feature student stories, faculty highlights and detailed information about academics, student life and the admission and financial aid processes. You'll also have an opportunity to ask questions.

Remote Admission Counseling Session

We're currently offering remote admission counseling sessions for rising high school juniors and seniors. These virtual sessions allow students approaching the time of application to ask an admission counselor questions and seek guidance about Carnegie Mellon's unique colleges/programs and the admission process. Students and their families can join these sessions via video or phone call. Admission counseling sessions last about 20-30 minutes and allow time for parents or families to ask questions.

Tartan Talks

Tartan Talks are an online student panel series where interested visitors can learn more about the student experience at Carnegie Mellon University. Each Tartan Talk will feature our Tartan Ambassadors talking about their student involvement within academics, activities, research, the city of Pittsburgh and more. Bring your questions, and our Tartan Ambassadors will be ready to answer!

Carnegie Mellon in Your Area

Information sessions near you.

We realize that it's not always possible for you to come to campus. The Admission staff does travel to different parts of the country and may offer information sessions in a city near you .  

Print Options

Send Page to Printer

Print this page.

Download Page (PDF)

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.