Is Carnegie Mellon or Northwestern more competitive for undergraduate admission?

Northwestern is generally more competitive for undergraduate admission on a university-wide basis. It attracts a large applicant pool across a broad range of strong academic programs, and admission is highly selective regardless of intended major. Carnegie Mellon is also extremely selective, but its overall admission picture varies more sharply by undergraduate school.

Carnegie Mellon is especially demanding for students applying to its School of Computer Science, engineering programs, design, drama, and certain arts programs. In those areas, CMU can be every bit as competitive as Northwestern, and in computer science or drama it may be tougher for a particular applicant because of the limited spaces and specialized preparation expected. Other CMU colleges can have a somewhat different admissions profile.

For a student targeting computer science, engineering, design, or the performing arts, the meaningful comparison is the specific CMU school or program, not Carnegie Mellon’s university-wide selectivity.