Social Stereotypes and Campus Life–Carnegie Mellon University
College campuses have social stereotypes:
The geeky, intellectual campus.
The very conservative campus, both socially and politically
The earthy-crunchy campus where veganism is common
The laid-back, middle-of-the-road, “I-don’t-take-life-too-seriously” sort of place
The quirky campus full of off-beat individuals
Carnegie Mellon University has a reputation for attracting intellectually-intense math and science geeks who are studying computers, engineering, or likely both. Students have sallow complexions from too many late nights in the lab or the library, and they think a social life is sitting next to someone while in the computer lab working on their problem sets.
Actually, CMU is more diverse than that. It has a renown drama school and and excellent College of Fine Arts. So there are plenty of artsy-fartsy types, too.
Part of my job as a counselor is to visit colleges and investigate for myself the degree to which these stereotypes are true. And sometimes you just have to ask a student (or two or three or four) to get an idea of the sort of student who would be happy on that campus.
So I did. I talked to a student about the stereotypes, and here is what he had to say.
Mark Montgomery
College Consultant
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About the Author
Mark Montgomery
As a former professor, administrator, and high school teacher, Mark has the knowledge and skills to counsel students as they make the transition from high school to college.
2 Responses to “Social Stereotypes and Campus Life–Carnegie Mellon University”
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I really want to know about dos and donts on campus life.
Hello, Lola. Thanks for your comment and question. Campus life has many aspects to it, from housing to eating to activities to drinking to studying to making friends. Which aspect is most important to you, and what are your particular concerns?
Thanks!