Quotes: Women Make Up Majority of CMU's Incoming Class

Farnam Jahanian, interim president, Carnegie Mellon University

"More and more, Carnegie Mellon University is becoming the destination of choice for outstanding students who want a powerful education that will benefit them throughout their lives. This reflects CMU's historic academic strengths, our well-deserved reputation for innovation and collaboration, and growing culture of developing the whole person."

"This is a major achievement, and a tribute to the relentless hard work by faculty and senior leadership across the university to offer a distinctive and transformative undergraduate experience."

Laurie Weingart, interim provost, Carnegie Mellon University

"The quality and makeup of the incoming class is testimony to our strong belief that diversity in all forms makes for a stronger and richer learning environment. At CMU we don't just talk about it, we make it happen."

Michael Steidel, dean of admission, Carnegie Mellon University

"As we look at the factors that helped attract this record-breaking class, each college and school has its own story to tell. What they have in common is a clear priority to attract diverse and outstanding students, and faculty and leadership that make it their own mission to foster that culture."

"At CMU, we really do have something distinctive to offer, something that is particularly attractive to students right now."

Rebecca W. Doerge, dean of the Mellon College of Science

"Our high yield was unexpected, but exciting. It shows that more students want to come to Carnegie Mellon to learn science and take advantage of the exciting opportunities that we provide to them. We give them a unique, forward-thinking educational program and access to some of the world's top scientists. Students also have the chance to engage in interdisciplinary coursework and research with the university's top ranked computer science, engineering and statistics programs."

Richard Scheines, dean of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences

"We provide an alternative model at a time when traditional liberal arts programs have come into question. Our innovative, data-driven approach to the humanities and social sciences resonates with students, who are driven toward making a positive impact on society."

Robert Dammon, dean of the Tepper School School of Business

"We have such a strong track record of women taking leadership roles during their Tepper educations, whether it is in student organizations or other venues. That culture, at a school that helps them to develop the skill sets employers need at the intersection of business, technology and analytics, is making a difference."

Nikhila Vembu, first-year student, College of Engineering

"I just love being able to look around in my classes and see girls just like me pursuing our dreams of engineering."

"We're traditionally underrepresented. It's really awesome to be in my physics, math and intro classes. There's so many girls raising their hands, speaking up, just like me."

Sarah Shy, senior, Statistics and Data Science, Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences

"It's so great to see the diversity of students, even in just within a department. We're all sitting in the same classes. We're all studying the same thing, but ultimately we all want to do something different with what we learn."

"The opportunity to study independently was a great experience for me. I reached out sophomore year to a professor to see if there was something that I could work on without very much experience with hands-on data analysis. I was given a data set from the Open Learning Initiative, and I was asked if I could figure out what led to success in a students' final exam."

Hannah Daniel, first-year student, Mellon College of Science

"I was looking for a program where I could not only learn my discipline but also be pushed to study other sciences. The Core Education at MCS gives me the depth of studies I want, as well as placing me within a larger, interdisciplinary university that excels in diverse subjects such as musical theater, computer science and design."

"During the admissions process, I also talked to some current MCS students. I saw myself in the individuals I spoke with, and even more, I saw them succeeding. I realized that meant I could succeed here too."

Amber Griffith, first-year student, School of Computer Science

"I know that I've had classes in the past at a high school level where I was one of maybe two girls in a class of 20, especially in my coding classes."

"In the last week-and-a half at CMU, I've already had interactions or have planned interactions with Google and with Facebook. It's amazing that such a small and focused community has access to all those different resources, and I'm just thrilled to be a part of it."

Emily Newton, 3-2 MBA program student, Tepper School of Business

"The Tepper School of Business has been working on, focusing on, talking about and having an open environment when it comes to diversity issues or gender equality issues. It's not just one time that we talk about it. This is actually something that is ingrained in a lot of the classes that I'm taking."

"One of my favorite things about being at Carnegie Mellon University and at the Tepper School was being able to be a student athlete. I was on the volleyball team. My professors knew that I had nighttime games and had to meet different deadlines. But everyone, even the students in my class, was willing to work with me and make sure that I was meeting those deadlines, while also being able to represent the school playing a sport I love."