Applying to Carnegie Mellon for a Major in Mechanical Engineering is not what you think. Prospective students must apply to the Carnegie Institute of Technology, or CIT, which houses all of the engineering departments, including Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical and Computer, Civil, and Materials Science Engineering. Once accepted into this college within Carnegie Mellon University, incoming freshmen will not declare their major until spring of their freshman year. In the meantime, students usually take CIT requirements and two introductory engineering courses and are introduced to all of the engineering disciplines via orientation courses their freshman year. This gives them a broad perspective of engineering and enables students to make more informed decisions when choosing their major. Before you apply, just remember you want to be accepted by CIT, the college, not the Mechanical Engineering Department. Good luck - we hope to see you soon!
Not so fast.
http://www.cmu.edu/admission/forms/09/CA_Supplement.pdf
Check out the application. Section IV. Under Carnegie Institute of Technology.
“If you want to be considered for Electrical and Computer Engineering, you must specify this department.”
So maybe we’re both right. To be in the ECE department (which I was) you had to be declared and considered before admission.
Other, lesser majors may have been more open and lenient.
We didn't have this coddling back then. LOL.