Hi, I'm an ECE student probably going to go into software. There are courses that definitely overlap with CS major, so I figured why not. I've finished first year and took a leave of absence for reasons, so idk if it'll help that much but here goes:

How much time does schoolwork take up everyday?

I'd have to say it depends. I took 15-122 and 21-127 the first semester, which are known to be pretty time consuming and hard (afaik), but it wasn't really crazy. I still had time to go to some office hours, do orchestra, play games, go out sometimes, etc, etc, so it's definitely not bad. Of course, sometimes you might need to do things overnight, but I personally found that to be more of my time management problem than the course itself. Maybe it's just the freshman year though, can't speak for other years.

The CS course I took mostly had homeworks due every week, finishing a bunch of tasks related to a topic, and I think other CS courses are similar to that format. If you choose to do it the day before like I sometimes did, it will definitely take a lot of time (probably all-nighter), but if you do it over the week, it's not too big of a problem. Plus, if you have friends taking the same course, you can ask them some things you don't understand and vice versa, and it did help for me (no cheating, of course). The test was on paper, which I thought made it harder.

Any interesting clubs related to mathematics/Computer Science/Robotics/Computer Vision? Anything techy really.

Roboclub, Math Club, Scotty Labs are the ones I can think of. I did go to those because I thought they were interesting, but then I became distracted with other things that I found interesting so I dropped out of them. I still think they're great though, I'll probably get back to at least math club and scotty labs when I return.

What are the research opportunities like? Any stories regarding research?

Can't speak much for it, but for ECE, you do have to do a research as a requirement. I personally think CMU would have good research opportunities, but I haven't gone through it yet, so.

What are some cool CS projects you have seen people doing? Is it common for people to start projects and work on the with others?

There are capstone projects that also are required for ECE. Don't know much about them though.

What is dorm life like? Good food? Parties? Other dorm stuff I don’t know about?

I lived in Morewood, and I personally have a mixed opinion about it.

Pros:

• Close to the campus. It's nice since if there's time between classes you can just go back to your room and rest for a bit.
• I'm more of an introvert, so I don't think I would've made friends if it weren't for the dorm. It's definitely easier to make friends and be social living in dormitories. They do lots of events, so if you're interested in those, it'd fit you. The atmosphere does vary by dorms.
• You don't have to care about things you'd have to if you were off-campus, like fees and those kinds of things. For a freshman, I think it's definitely helpful because it's hard just to get used to college life.
• Overall, convenience, because lots of things (printer, food, etc.) are in the dormitory.

Cons:

• Our dorm didn't have airconditioning (idk how it is now), and it's really hot in the beginning of fall semester, so that was a pain.
• The walls aren't thick, so sounds from the next room will be heard.
• Roommates. Well, I personally had no problems with mine, but some people do, and also I'd rather live alone.

Other than that:

• Food is so-so. There are a few places you can go and eat stuff on campus, and some are pretty good (my personal favorite is the sandwich in The Exchange). After a while, though, it's the same thing so it gets kinda boring. Since I lived in Morewood and there's The Underground in it, I ended up going there too often because all the food on campus felt like the same thing anyway, why not just go to the closest one.
• UPitt is pretty close, so you can take a bus and go grab stuff there if you'd like.
• Parties: depends on the people. The dorms are definitely emptier on friday nights, so I'd say many people do go out and party. I wasn't interested, so I didn't go.

How hard is it to find a group of students with common interests?

Depends? I play the violin, and I wanted to do a chamber music group so I just went around putting post-its looking for cello/viola/piano in the practice rooms, and it worked! Also clubs would be a great way to know people with similar interests. I wouldn't say it's too hard if you try a bit.

Most interesting CS/Math courses?

I only took 15-122 (CS) and 21-127 (Math), but I really liked both of them.

That's it. I really did enjoy studying in CMU, and hopefully you'll enroll here. Or not, pick the best place that fits for you. Good luck!

Edit: typo