10. Don't insult the current students. Whether you are curious as to whether or not they accurately portray a stereotype of the school, or you think their major is silly or they come from a rough city----do not insult them.  You would not want a high school senior and his/her parents insulting YOU while you are just trying to live your life.

9. Do ask questions.  If you want to know about school stereotypes, try something like "I hear a lot of people are nerdy hear; however, after speaking with you and hanging out on campus, I can't imagine how anyone would even fit that stereotype!" or if you think someone has a major that won't land them a good career try saying, "Oh wow!  I didn't even know that dark magic was even a major!  What kind of classes do you take?  What do you plan on doing after graduation?"

See, you can find out more about what sparks your curiosity without making people feel lame.

8. Don't come back to your hosts room past 1AM or 2AM without giving him or her advanced notice.  College students sleep too.

7. Do thank your host when you leave to go home.  A little graciousness can go a long way.

6. Don't act like you are better, smarter and way cooler than everyone else at the college that you are visiting.  First of all, it's nearly impossible to be better, smarter and cooler than anyone and secondly, you are applying to that college to be among these people.  They all got in, you may not necessarily get in.  You probably aren't all that smarter than they are.

5. Do make friends. Make friends with your host, the tour guides, the fellow prospective students.  Get a feel for the student body and see if you can envision yourself there.

4. Don't let your parents do all the talking.  We want to hear from YOU.

3. Do ask the questions that you keep on wondering about.  If you are telling yourself that you might possibly be able to find the answer online, so you keep it to yourself, ASK IT!  We love questions.

2. Don't make outrageous demands on the admissions team, professors, students and faculty.  We are all here to make the campus community feel like a community.  We want to help you, but we wont if you are disrespectful to us.

1. Do trust your gut.  If you love the campus, admit it to yourself.  Allow yourself to love a college.  If you just have a bad gut feeling, follow that.  No matter how much other people love a college, you don't need to love it as well.

Moving along...life is pretty awesome as a Civil Engineering senior (of course with it's ups and downs).

• We actually get to build stuff!

....Bob the Builder was always my childhood hero

Mother Nature hasn't been so happy with me since I discovered the wonders of free printing.

Now, I have another opportunity for everyone to help to bring Camp Kesem to CMU.  Camp Kesem is in a national competition to win ONE MILLION dollars.  All we need is your vote! 

Currently, we are in the student recognition process and so close to having Camp Kesem as an official student organization.  By the time the next incoming first year class comes to CMU, Camp Kesem should definitely be a full fledged student organization.  Be on the lookout!!

And we took too many shots

Think we kissed but I forgot....

JUST KIDDING

Unlike Katy Perry, my Friday night was pretty tame.  Yet, still fun at the same time.

Last Friday night I went to Diesel, a nightclub in Pittsburgh.  I went out to celebrate's my boyfriend's sister's 25th birthday and I could not have more fun!!  Coming from NYC, I had low expectations of Pittsburgh's nightlife, however, Diesel did not disappoint.  For the 21+ crowd, Pittsburgh has a lot to offer.  For the under 21 crowd, the past three years of my life at CMU has had its fair share of fun times for sure.  Come to Pittsburgh and enjoy.

Not quite.

It is only 4 weeks into the school year and I am already feeling the woes of being at senior at CMU.  Yes, of course, I LOVE CMU----absolutely love.  BUT, I don't love the job search so much.

College gets complicated.  Freshman year, you are still figuring things out, joining organizations and getting a feel for what things you like and don't like.  Sophomore year you dedicate yourself to a select few organizations.  Junior year you serve on some executive boards for a couple of different organizations.  And for me, senior year is when I decided to become a co-director and co-chair/founder of another organization.  Although I couldn't be more in love with these two different organizations, all of my activities do start to add up.

Then comes all of my academic classes.  Luckily, I am not taking a heavy academic course load, but all of my civil engineering classes do require a lot of outside group work.  Classes such as personality, my directed study and salsa, bachata and merengue remind me of why CMU is so amazing---the range of classes any one student can take.

Finally, here comes the tricky part.  No matter how many resources CMU gives you, YOU have to go out and find the job.  I wish they gave us a week off just for the job search.  But unfortunately, time stops for no one.  So as I brace myself for the job fairs and prepare my resume, I just need to remember---once I get the job, I can easily slip right into that carefree, jovial senior year.

Of course, I am not actually escaping Pittsburgh with my 10 minute walk down 5th Ave.  But, there is that feeling of escaping the CMU "bubble" that helps me to regain my sense of identity (and even sanity at times too).  So, heading over to the neighborhood of Shadyside is enough of an escape for me.

Shadyside's form of main street, Walnut Street, is home to an eclectic grouping of stores and shops.  The small mom and pop variety store and markets give you the comfort of walking down a suburban street right out of a 60's movie---the only thing missing is my white picket fence and home baked cookies. However, there is a sprinkling of modern and higher end stores such as Sephora, Apple and Coach, which also appeal to any college aged female's shopping senses.  And for this (temporary) NYC transplant, shopping, good food and a sampling of the cute small stores provide all that I need for a great Saturday.  Not to mention, the Shadyside nightlife can be a fun environment to watch a Steelers game or to take a friend out for a birthday dinner.

So, whenever the CMU grind has gotten a bit overwhelming, remember, your most needed escape maybe be closer than you think.

I had spent the week prior to the start of classes, living with my residents, getting to know them and convincing myself that I could totally handle being the responsible RA that I was expected to embody.  We spent the entire week, going through orientation, learning about Carnegie Mellon and challenging the first year class to get to know more about themselves.  Luckily, my floor is full of an eclectic mix of AMAZING people.  During the first day of RA training, Helen Wang, a Housefellow of a first-year house, stated that every person has something inherently awesome about them---and as I sat through my first floor meeting, nothing could more accurately describe the group of women beyond me.  

Of course, orientation has it's peaks and valleys.  Saying goodbye to Mom, Dad and Rufus the dog, is always challenging.  However, meeting super cool people who you instantly connect with, makes each moment feel like a firecracker waiting to go off. The peak of my orientation experience definitely has to be House Wars!  Each first year house goes out to "The Cut" to defend their honor in a battle to the death.  But in reality, all the houses dress up in their house color, embodying their house theme of that year, and playing silly games like transporting water from one bucket to another with a sponge and bat-spin relay races.  This year, Stever House's theme was Toy Story, hence the attempt at a Slink Dog costume with another RA in Stever.

Overall, after a long week of orientation, it was nice to start classes and get back into the daily grind of life at Carnegie Mellon.  Club meetings, classes and back to work at the Office of Admission.  Although I could not be further away from my freshman residents than I am now, as a senior, Year 4, Week 1 doesn't feel all too different from Year 1, Week 1.  Yes, I now know how to find Porter 100 and I already have friends who I can call up to each lunch with.  However, the anxiety of where my life will take me in the next couple of years, feels all the same.  Who knew? Three years later and I would end up reliving aspects freshman year all over again.

Each year my job is filled with fun, crazy stories and memories that I will share with my co-workers.  It is a nice break from homework and classes---and the extra money doesn't hurt either.  Although I am excited to get back to school, I am really enjoying working with the Fresh Air Fund and I will most definitely miss all of the friends I have made here. It is interesting, because each person has a very different summer experience.  Especially as a Civil Engineering student, I am expected to be working in my field. However, working with the Fresh Air Fund has been very fulfilling and it is nice to work in something entirely different than what I am doing all the time during the school year.

In less than a month, I will be saying BYE to home and NYC and HELLO to CMU and Pittsburgh once again.  As exciting as it is, it is also very scary to know this will be my last summer vacation of college.  I don't know if the feeling has really sunk in.

In writing my blog, checking out facebook groups and on tours and Sleeping Bag Weekends I have come across some great questions or concerns that I feel, need their own blog post.  Hopefully my responses answer some of your own questions that you have too!

As an Emerging Leaders mentor, I went with my Emerging Leaders group to Habitat for Humanity's ReStore.  At the ReStore, we organized merchandise, transported materials and finished a television shelf.  Throughout the day helped the ReStore get closer and closer to their goal of opening in 2011.  See the pictures below!

Reason #2: Pittsburgh is an AMAZING city.  There are sports, museums and great food galore.  Pittsburgh never runs out of reasons to have "yinzer" pride.

Reason #3: World-class academics.  Majors from musical theatre to computer science are ranked as top academic programs.

Reason #4: The people.  With an international student body population of about 12%, students with a diverse range of majors and students engaged in an even greater variety of extra-curricular activities, you have the opportunity to meet so many amazing and unique people.  However, with all of the diversity, it is still easy to find and meet people who are still similar to you.

Reason #5: Campus.  Carnegie Mellon strikes the perfect balance between city and campus. Our 110 acre campus provides all the green space that students could need, yet, we are a 10 minute walk away from a typical college-town neighborhood.  Students can feel at home on campus yet walk or take a bus to their favorite shops, restaurants and hang out spots.

Reason #6: Extra-curricular Activities.  Carnegie Mellon has over 250 current student organizations.  These organizations range from your typical major specific organizations and cultural organizations to lighter things like the lego club.  Throughout my time at Carnegie Mellon, I have developed a strong passion for community service.  Through student organizations, I been able to mentor girls in Pittsburgh public schools, paint a mural in a local community center, travel to the Dominican Republic and meet some Steelers players!

Reason #7: Carnival.  This year's Carnival theme is "When I was your age." Booths are being built with the theme of Scooby-doo, Toy Story, Dr. Suess and many more.  Buggy Races.  Big Boi in concert.  Eddie Griffin as comedian.  Fried Oreos.  Amazing.

Reason #8:  Great alumni.  Who wouldn't want to say that they went to school with: Ted Danson from Cheers, Ming Na, the voice of Mulan, Gela Nash-Taylor, co-founder of Juicy Couture and Scott Fahlman, the creater of the smiley :)

Reason #9: ORIENTATION.  The BEST time to be a Carnegie Mellon student.  Our week-long orientation consists of 34930980 ice-breakers, Playfair, exploration of Pittsburgh and culminates with an intense battle to the death---HOUSE WAARRRSSSSS!!!!

Reason #10: 96% of our graduates are doing exactly what they want to do six months upon graduation.  So whether that is working for Goldman Sachs, volunteering in Malaysia or going to graduate school, CMU graduates are basically winners.  

We all know (and if you don't know, you will soon know) that midterms can be a VERY stressful time of the year---which is why you should always take some time out to have fun and take your mind off of the tests and papers and presentations that you have to do.  I promise it is not as bad as it sounds.

Two great things that I was able to do were got to a Pitt basketball game and attend a Point Park ballet.

One of the great things about Pittsburgh is that it is a huge college town. In fact, we are the third largest college town in the country.  With 10 other colleges and universities in the area, we have a plethora of extra-curricular activities to take part in.  The first event that I went to was a University of Pittsburgh men's basketball game.  If you are unlucky like me and you do not have friends at the University of Pittsburgh to get free tickets from, you can sign up for the Pitt basketball mailing list.  Pitt e-mails the mailing list to let people know when extra tickets are available.  Once you sign up to get the tickets you can usually get them for about 20-30 dollars a piece.  It was a really cool thing to take part in especially since Pitt's team is seeded so high in NCAA Division I athletics. 

The second great event that I attended was a Point Park ballet.  Point Park is a leading performing arts university in downtown Pittsburgh.  Through a LivingSocial Deal, I was able to get discounted tickets to their performance of Dance at the Byham.  The performance took place at the Byham Theater located in downtown Pittsburgh and with a 20 minute bus ride from campus, I was able to see a high quality performance.  

Pittsburgh has a lot of to offer from food, to shopping to wonderful cultural districts and as a student, it is important not to forget to take advantage of all that is around you.