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CMU isn’t as well known as the others. The OP may have thought it stood for Central Michigan University. Nope, it stands for Carnegie Mellon University, #1 in computer science and also #1 in Pittsburgh vibes :)

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I (as a European) thought CMU was well-known in the US for being one of the top CS schools?

Same. CMU comes up a lot when talking about the BSDs (yes, I’m aware that BSD stands for Berkeley Standard Distribution. But cmu still comes up a lot)

I (as another European) associate it with the excellent CMU Common Lisp.

As a CMU grad, I can report literally no one I've ever met outside of academia has heard of CMU, despite it being mentioned in passing in several blockbuster hits including: The Core, and The Happening.

Fun fact, the bookstore wasn't allowed to make shirts that said CMU for some time because Central Michigan University had a problem with that. Eventually they came to an arrangement and now you can buy CMU shirts at Carnegie Mellon.

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