While not a requirement, have you been interviewed by an alumni or on campus representative prior to applying for admission? If so, indicate the name of your interviewer and tell us how it impacted your decision to apply. (500 word maximum.)
At CMU, I am interested in pursuing both Business Administration and Human-Computer Interaction, so I was delighted to discover that my interviewer [name of alumni] was a Tepper alumna. Finding a school that would be able to accommodate my disparate interests is a crucial piece of my college search, so I inquired about CMU’s flexibility. [name of alumni] chuckled and said CMU is extremely flexible, to the point that individuals often graduate after four years with three diplomas. The school is also unique, she said, in that undergraduates are allowed to major in fields typically reserved for graduate students. She raved about how CMU supported her in all of her academic choices, enabling her to double major and minor, start a student organization, and intern at a local company. [name of alumni's] experiences reassured me greatly, as they reaffirmed that CMU would not just allow me to pursue my various interests, but help me to thrive in this pursuit.
Elaborating on CMU’s unique qualities, [name of alumni] went on to talk about how Tepper’s curriculum shapes students into critical thinkers. She highlighted that job interviewers could often tell you were a Tartan simply by the way you thought, like the way viewers can often recognize a movie’s director simply by the way it looks, without ever seeing the credits. In fact, when asked about what she liked most about CMU, [name of alumni] answered quite simply, “I loved my college experience because the school shapes the way you think. Here, analytical thinking is not just a catchphrase. It is something that will set you apart from other individuals for the rest of your life.”
Next, we talked about CMU’s location. I knew that I did not want to attend school in the middle of a big, bustling city. Delighted to hear this, [name of alumni] mentioned that CMU would be ideal because Pittsburgh is akin to a small college town, but still close enough to a larger city. Citing her own internship as an example, [name of alumni] explained that the proximity to Philadelphia afforded students opportunities to explore internships off-campus.
Apprehensive of being thrown into a sea of freshmen, each of us left to fend for ourselves, I feared not being able to connect with anyone. [name of alumni] answered with a phrase that stuck with me throughout the entire conversation. “On paper, CMU is a big school,” she said. “But in reality, it can often seem small.” After that, she went on to explain the week-long orientation programs, the extraordinarily diverse student body, the life-long friends that you will meet in dorms, and CMU’s overall community-like atmosphere.
Before meeting [name of alumni], CMU was my top choice; after speaking with her, I realized that CMU exceeds what I was looking for in a college experience, with its unique, yet flexible curriculum, perfect location, and collaborative, community-like environment. Talking to [name of alumni] helped me understand that CMU would provide me with numerous opportunities to pursue both academic and personal interests. My interview resolved concerns I had about college and made me genuinely excited to become a Tartan.