Overview
Your application for admission will consist of an application form provided by Carnegie Mellon and documents you will be required to gather from other resources (i.e. high school transcripts).
Application Materials
Please mail all of your application materials together, with the Pre-College Cover Letter, to the following address:
Pre-College Programs
Office of Admission
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
- Apply Now! We'll accept applications past May 1, pending space in the program. We are no longer accepting applications for Game Academy.
- Application Fee - A $40 non-refundable application fee must be submitted after you complete the online application. Please note: You can not save your completed application. If payment is not received immediately, your application will be removed from our system.
- High School Transcript - Please send an official, recent high school transcript, including as complete a listing as possible of your classes and grades
- Standardized Test Scores - Submit your most recent PSAT, SAT Reasoning Test, PLAN or ACT with Writing standardized test results
- Letters of Recommendation - We require recommendations from your guidance counselor or two teachers who are familiar with your work habits, as well as your academic and artistic progress and promise or your response to teaching/directing and spirit of cooperation in group situations
- Activities Resume - Provide a detailed description of your extracurricular activities and/or work experience, or your experiences as they relate to the arts
- Essay - a one-page, typed essay answering one of the following topics:
- Please describe in detail some special interest, experience or achievement that you would like us to know about.
- Describe an intellectual, cultural or creative experience occurring within the past two years that has given you the greatest satisfaction.
- What characteristics do you possess or what academic or artistic experiences have you had that sets you apart from most other people your age?
- Drama Resume (Pre-College Drama Program applicants only) - listing of your experiences in theater
- Music Resume (Pre-College Music Program applications only) - statement describing your past musical training and a recent audio recording of a solo representative of your level of performance (vocal/instrumental applicants) or scores of recent original compositions (composition applicants). All recordings must be uploaded.
- Age Requirement: Students must be in high school, have completed their sophomore year and be 16 to 18 years old (born between August 9, 1994 and June 29, 1997) to reside in residence halls. This does not apply to commuters. No exceptions will be made.
International Applicants
If you are an international student, U.S. Permanent Resident or U.S. Citizen and your native language is not English, Carnegie Mellon requires a TOEFL score of 100 or better on the internet-based test or an IELTS score of 7.5 and above. Please arrange to have these scores sent with your application materials.
International students coming to Carnegie Mellon who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents may need to obtain an I-20 Certificate of Eligibility from the Office of International Education (OIE). If you are already in the U.S. on F-1 status, and will be returning to your current school next fall, you do not need an I-20 from us. Do I need an I-20?
If you will be coming to the U.S. from overseas and will either:
- return to your overseas high school/college
- attend Carnegie Mellon or another school in the U.S. in the fall
You MUST complete the necessary paperwork to obtain an I-20. If you are admitted to the Pre-College Program, the Office of International Education (OIE) will send you paperwork (an international student information form and an affidavit of support form) that you will be required to complete to obtain an I-20. The Form I-20 is used to apply for an F-1 student visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your home country. With your I-20, you will be sent detailed instructions regarding travel to the U.S. and a mandatory immigration check-in on Opening Day.
Admission & Enrollment
Admission is on a rolling basis. Applicants will begin to receive notification of our admission decision in early March. If admitted, you will need to submit a $200 deposit within one month of the date of notification in order to reserve your space in the program.
Full settlement of fees (excluding the cost of books) for all students must be postmarked by May 25, 2013 for enrollment in the six-week summer program.
