Carnegie Mellon University is a fantastic school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a strong focus in both STEM and the fine arts. Like most mid-sized universities, you can study almost anything there, but what CMU are the research opportunities and the emphasis on hands-on learning. From leading classical musicians on faculty to cutting-edge technologies being developed on campus, CMU empowers students by surrounding them with the best. It should come as no surprise, then, that Carnegie Mellon is hard to get into. The acceptance rate is only about
The acceptance rate for CMU, like other top schools, has dropped precipitously over the past decade. For the Class of 2029, the first year acceptance rate was just over 11%. A decade earlier, the acceptance rate was . This can be chocked up to a few things, including a large increase in the number of applications and a stronger yield rate which means that they have to admit fewer students to fill the class. Whatever the precise reason, though, the bottom line is that it is harder to get in than ever.
A question we get often from the students we work with (and their parents) is “Can I get into Carnegie Mellon?” We invite them to reframe the query because the answer is nearly always yes — if they are willing to work for it. This takes time, planning, and concerted effort over more than just the 4-6 months that students will be working on the actual application.
This is because a successful application is made up of many parts. It isn’t just about grades, test scores, or a few essays. There is no single component that cancels out the importance of the rest. When colleges like CMU talk about “holistic” admissions, this is what they are referring to. Every piece matters. This can be empowering but also overwhelming. In this post, we’ll break down each piece that goes into an impressive CMU application, providing you with a look at how we build an acceptance-earning strategy for our students with CMU at the top of their list.
If you want to go deeper, we can help. Every year we help motivated students get into dream schools that felt out of reach. Get in touch to learn how.
Step 1: Top Grades and Strong Scores
Carnegie Mellon is a university that loves numbers. This is true in the classrooms, in the research labs, and in the admissions office. When considering any applicant, having grades and scores that make you stand out positively is critically important if you want to get in.
When we look at what Carnegie Mellon finds impressive, they want to see you succeeding academically as an individual, and in comparison to your peers when that data is available.
| Class Rank | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Top 10th of HS graduating class | 83% |
| Top Quarter of HS graduating class | 94% |
| Top Half of HS graduating class | 99% |
| Bottom Half of HS graduating class | 1% |
| Total submitting class rank | 19% |
Now, as you can see from the final entry on that chart, the percentage of schools that submit class rank is fairly low. However, we find that it is still a useful guide when assessing if a student is academically qualified to even consider applying to CMU. Ideally, if we have concerns about CMU as an option we are early enough in the student’s high school experience that this can serve as a wake-up call that turns into a stronger transcript through strategic course selection, supplementary academics, and additional learning opportunities. If we are closer to deadline, there are fewer options but still many opportunities.
After your grades, the next measure of your academic prowess is whatever standardized test score you chose to submit. Whether scores are required , with the College of Engineering operating on a test flexible policy while the School of Computer Science requires and SAT or ACT score. The Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences is also test flexible, so applicants can choose whether to submit the SAT, the ACT, IB exam results, AP results, Cambridge A-Levels, or the French Baccalaureate.
Most students who are accepted and who decide to enroll do choose to submit the SAT, with more than 3x fewer submitting the ACT. We guide our students towards the test that they perform best on, but do have a preference for the SAT when applying to CMU.
| Test | 25th Percentile | 50th Percentile | 75th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT Composite | 1500 | 1540 | 1560 |
| ACT Composite | 34 | 35 | 36 |
If at all possible, you want to submit a score that is for CMU. While you can get in with a lower score, the lower the score the more extenuating circumstances have to come into play. Perhaps someone had very limited access to test prep (hard to prove in the internet age), or they are being recruited as an athlete and all their academic results are a bit below where an academic-centric applicant would need to be. These exceptions do not apply to most applicants, so you want to aim for the 75th percentile.
On top of strong grades and impressive scores, CMU wants to see you taking the hardest courses that you have access to — and thriving in them. This is super important to the university, as they want to see more than that you can get a great GPA. They want to see that you pushed yourself, too. We guide our students towards a course mix that optimizes for excellence while challenging them at the level CMU wants to see.
Step 2: Pinpoint a Passion
Inside of school, and especially during the class day, there is only so much that you can control as far as how you spend your time. Some schools insist that students take basically all the same classes, while others give students room to explore. Regardless of which type of high school you attend, you need to be developing your interests outside of your coursework in a way that underlines your prospective major and shows a true passion to application readers.
Passion can show up in countless ways. It can be packing your schedule with the hardest science classes, and then adding a few at a local college. It can be serving as Editor-in-Chief of a literary journal, or even starting one. When we work with students, we help them not only identify where a passion lies, but we also help them access the opportunities, from internships to online classes, that will make their passion jump off the page. This is more than frosting on an application. CMU wants students who care deeply about something, so building a passion and honing it are actually essential pieces of a strong application.
There is no cookie cutter method for pursuing a passion that actually works. It has to be personal, which is why we love working with our students significantly in advance of pressing submit. We aren’t just helping them tell the story of what they have done, but creating opportunities for stories far in advance of typing a single sentence. In the past year, we’ve had students attend prestigious programs, raise tens of thousands of dollars for causes they care about, and even start companies. What mattered most in the end, though, wasn’t how fancy the accomplishment sounded, but how well they carried themselves through it.
If a student is struggling to identify where this type of passion is for them, we start by looking at their elective course list. What they choose to take when there are options is super telling, but not always in the most obvious ways. Yes, taking an additional science suggests that they like science. We go deeper by asking, “what is it in that course that makes you most excited?” This could be a particular project, activity, or module that truly captured your attention. Next, we look for ways to dive deeper through a student group, additional learning, or an independent project.
What you are passionate about doesn’t matter nearly as much as living it authentically and leaning into it hard. It is far worse to try to stand out through something that isn’t true to you than to put your passion at the center and run with it.
Step 3: Niche Down
Okay, so we’ve been talking about passion and zooming in, but this is where we challenge you to zoom in even further. For example, if you love economics, and have taken all the courses on offer and plenty online, too, and even if you are head of the economics club at your school, there is one main problem. “Economics” is too broad to be emotionally compelling.
As we work with students, we are consistently asking ourselves, “Will this keep an admissions officer reading?” Generalized interests do not spark fascination, and we want the readers to be asking for more, not already thinking about the next application they will be reviewing.
So, we work with our students to make the most of the time we have before submitting to make things more specific and more personal. If the student likes economics, great. We aren’t going to try to change that. But we are going to help them initiate an independent research project that focuses on a topic or issue within economics that they are especially interested. We find books, courses, and even an internship that focuses on that niche, too. Having a range of interests and activities is important, but going deep into your niche and proving your passion for your prospective major through how you spend your time is crucial, too.
Step 4: Developing Extracurriculars Beyond Your Niche
Remember how we said that not everything should be focused on your niche? That’s true, and there are some boxes we need you to check outside of the classroom if you want to build a strong application for CMU. Some of these, like summer programs and outside classes, would naturally be connected to your academic programs, while others, like volunteer work, may be connected to an issue you care about that branch off from your academic passion.
These are examples of the big buckets of activities we want to see on your application:
Clubs at school
Outside coursework
Summer programs
Research
Internships
Athletics (team sports or individual sports done with others, like rock climbing)
Jobs
Volunteer work
But you don’t need to do every one of those. Instead, think about having activities that address all three of the bigger themes below:
Teamwork
Leadership
Service to Others
A strong activities list isn’t all one thing, and it isn’t scattered and unfocused, either. We work with our students to find unexpected opportunities and, ultimately, high levels of success through activities that speak to their passions in the classroom and beyond. This illustrates for CMU admissions officers who you are, what you care about, and how you would engage with the Carnegie Mellon community once admitted.
Step 5: Apply!
The last step is obviously to apply, but there are some options you need to think through before you can press submit. CMU offers , and picking what is most likely to lead to an acceptance is not always obvious.
Early Decision: Due in November, the Early Decision option is generally the most likely way to an acceptance if you are a strong before you have any senior year grades. The typical university has an Early Decision acceptance rate that is much higher than the Regular Decision acceptance rate. More recent admissions statistics from CMU, though, show only a modest boost in the acceptance rate in the ED cycle. This means that while ED is still a strong option, you shouldn’t rush to seize it unless your application is as strong as it’s ever going to be.
Regular Decision: Regular Decision typically has an acceptance rate that is half (or less) of the Early Decision acceptance rate, but at CMU the RD acceptance rate is only a few percentage points less than the ED acceptance rate. If waiting for the RD deadline in December could increase your profile as an applicant through stronger grades or more successes extracurricularly, it can definitely be worth it to wait.
As you pick your path, cross check what you’ve been developing up to this point (and where you need to strengthen your application) with when reviewing applications.
| Nonacademic Factors | Very Important | Important | Considered | Not Considered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interview | X | |||
| Extracurricular activities | X | |||
| Talent/ability | X | |||
| Character/personal qualities | X | |||
| First generation | X | |||
| Alumni/ae relation | X | |||
| Geographical residence | X | |||
| State residency | X | |||
| Religious affiliation/commitment | X | |||
| Volunteer work | X | |||
| Work experience | X | |||
| Level of applicant’s interest | X |
Keep these priorities in mind when you start working on the supplement, which is an immensely important piece of your application. We work with our students to turn their hard work before applying into outstanding writing that amplifies their successes.
There are three questions in addition to the Common App essay that you will be required to complete, and you have up to 300 words to respond to each:
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).
Through working with driven students for over a decade, we’ve learned what it takes to get into many of the hardest to crack schools in the country. We specialize in helping students gain admission to extremely selective colleges, and we know what works when crafting an application. The biggest take-away for CMU is that there is no single formula that works. A CMU application must be personal, and that means crafting a story that is entirely yours. This is what we are truly exceptional at.
Conclusion
Getting into CMU isn’t easy. You can have the scores, the grades, and the activities, but still not sink the putt. That’s because, again, this isn’t a formula. CMU may have a huge focus on research, but studying what other people have done doesn’t crack the admissions code. You need to build an application that is uniquely your own, and we can help.
If you want to craft the perfect application for Carnegie Mellon, reach out to us today.