Carnegie Mellon University isn't one of the original eight Ivy League schools. However, thanks to its outstanding reputation, it's generally viewed as a "New Ivy" institution.
The private research university's history influences much of its modern-day campus life. Students in the marching band perform in kilts and knee-high socks, and the school's mascot is Scotty the Scottish Terrier, a nod to founder Andrew Carnegie's Scottish roots.
When you apply to Carnegie Mellon, you apply to a specific college or program, such as its College of Fine Arts or the Tepper School of Business — and your chances of acceptance vary based on the individual school’s selectivity. The university has an illustrious alumni list, including Oscar winners and Nobel Laureates.
Although the school can be expensive, it performs well in various measures of return on investment. The median salary 10 years after enrolling is over $114,000, well over the national median.
Carnegie Mellon is rich in tradition. Each spring, student teams have designed and built "buggies," which look like a cross between a soapbox car and a luge racer, for a race called the Buggy Sweepstakes (or “Buggy” for short). Another well-known custom draws students outside in the middle of the night to paint a campus fence that serves as an announcement board for student groups. Tradition dictates the hours the fence can be painted — between midnight and sunrise — and that students must then stand guard to keep other groups from claiming the fence for their own message.
