Student Life
Summer Program residence life involves much more than just a place to live. Students will do their fair share of work in the academic portion of the program, but there’s also plenty of time for socializing. Our resident counseling staff plans a full schedule of activities throughout the summer, including sightseeing trips in and around Pittsburgh, movies, museum visits, sporting events, amusement parks and theater productions. Some of the on-campus programs may include movie nights, dances, intramural sports and a talent show.
In the past, groups of Summer Program students have gone to the Six Flags and Kennywood amusement parks, Pirates baseball games, Fallingwater, the Pittsburgh Zoo and the Gateway Clipper river cruise and dance.
Residence Life
Students in Carnegie Mellon’s Summer Programs are housed in university residence halls. Students who live in or around Pittsburgh have the option of commuting to campus. However, all Summer Academy for Math and Science (SAMS) students will be required to live in university housing. AP/EA, Pre-College Fine Arts or NHSGA applicants wishing to reside in university housing must be 16 to 18 years old (born between August 10, 1993 and June 30, 1996) and have completed 11th grade by the start of the program. SAMS participants must be at least 15 years old and will be required to stay in university housing.
Residential students are housed in facilities that are typically used by Carnegie Mellon first-year students. Most rooms are standard doubles, which means that students will have a roommate. Many students develop close friendships with their roommates that last well beyond the end of the summer program.
Residence halls are staffed by undergraduate counselors who have been trained to help students with academic and personal concerns. They assist students by mediating interpersonal conflicts, responding to emergency situations, enforcing policies and generally providing any assistance students may need during their stay. Counselors are available to offer support and guidance based on their own experiences as students at Carnegie Mellon. All counselors are supervised by a professional staff member from the Division of Student Affairs.
Dining Services
Summer Program students are given a meal plan for the entire six-week program. In addition, we recommend that all students take advantage of PlaidCa$h; a prepaid, stored-value/debit account accessible via student ID card. PlaidCa$h can be used to purchase textbooks, laundry tokens and meals on-campus and at multiple off-campus eateries. PlaidCa$h is nonrefundable after the start of the program.