Pittsburgh, PA: Colleges located at the center of a city choose how large of an affect that city will play on its campus, and Carnegie Mellon University has adapted superbly. It uses the benefits of the city, voted into the top ten of the best places to start as a young professional and to grow personal wealth, to help push its graduates into the working force with one of the highest post-undergrad job and grad school placings in the nation (at 96%). At the same time, it maintains a campus-centered liberal arts atmosphere that encourages students to learn.

Established in 1900 as a private research university, the school has grown to encompass nearly 6,000 undergraduates. With a history of rigorous academics and significant research achievements—in both the sciences and humanities—the students at CMU have access to some of the most-renowned professionals in their fields.

Today, the campus retains its original desert-like feel with peach-colored buildings that mix with newer technology. The construction of an IT building on the east side of campus took place at the beginning of summer ‘09. Beautiful architecture decorates all the buildings, with painted vaulted ceilings in the entrances of some buildings and sculptures decorating the halls of others. I enjoyed being in an atmosphere that combined the diverse life of Pittsburgh citizens and the intellectual atmosphere of the university to form a community that transends its campus boundaries.