Tell me about Pitt, esp honors college

[Anonymous]

Looking at 'safety' schools, understanding there is no such thing. DS will be doing ROTC, international relations/humanities focus. 33 ACT, 4.0 UW GPA at DC public. What is the culture like there? He is looking for a medium sized school. TIA. Of course, we'll check it out, just wanted to see if anyone has a kid there already.

[Anonymous]

Very friendly, most kids seem happy. Oakland is a great college neighborhood shared by Pitt, Carnegie Mellon, and at least one other local school. It can be hard to get into desired classes sometimes, though, so that may be something to consider and plan for.

[Anonymous]

There are lots of threads on Pitt from the past 2 months. Just search or Google with the site URL included.

[Anonymous]

Anybody go to the honors dinner on Friday? We tried to RSVP too late. How was it?

[Anonymous]

We just returned from an admitted students day at Pitt. My kid went in thinking the Honors College was a great opportunity but left unimpressed (didn’t do the Friday night dinner). He talked with the Honors College rep for quite some time, and said it sounded like HC wasn’t a ‘real thing’, just a notation to put on your transcript. Only 6 courses required across the entire 4 years, no real differences in the courses except you were in the HC section. Also was disappointed that a table at the Interest Fair was the only info they had for HC across the day. He was hoping for something different.
Just one experience/impression.

[Anonymous]

HC isn’t its own program unless you want to do the special philosophy major. Otherwise, it’s an opportunity for nice dorms and a few honors classes that are actually open to most. It’s more like you get some perks. You really have to want to go to Pitt anyway- HC does not change the experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HC isn’t its own program unless you want to do the special philosophy major. Otherwise, it’s an opportunity for nice dorms and a few honors classes that are actually open to most. It’s more like you get some perks. You really have to want to go to Pitt anyway- HC does not change the experience.

+ 1

Students there are in love with Pitt, not the honors college. It is nice to get early registration benefits, though.

[Anonymous]

I thought the whole point was to get the perks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just returned from an admitted students day at Pitt. My kid went in thinking the Honors College was a great opportunity but left unimpressed (didn’t do the Friday night dinner). He talked with the Honors College rep for quite some time, and said it sounded like HC wasn’t a ‘real thing’, just a notation to put on your transcript. Only 6 courses required across the entire 4 years, no real differences in the courses except you were in the HC section. Also was disappointed that a table at the Interest Fair was the only info they had for HC across the day. He was hoping for something different.
Just one experience/impression.

Pitt grad here. I have taken Honors College classes. I did not get the special degree (B. Phil). In my day, that was the only Honors College degree available. I did graduate "with honors" and was the top student in my major and near the top of the Liberal Arts college as I found out later when I had to collect my class rank for grad school apps.

The Pitt Honors College is a resource. It is best for people who are intensely interested in specific topics that they want to pursue. Or people who always want to do the hardest classes and programs. It is student-centric, which means the student is responsible for having ideas, goals, and questions and then getting help from the Honors College to succeed at meeting their intensely individual goals. That's why it seems like less of a "program" - because it is supposed to be very individual. These features are also why Pitt had luck for a lot of years getting kids considered for prestigious fellowships. Because students without clear goals aren't impressive enough to get to the selection rounds. In DCUM parlance, it's the "pointy" kids or kids with a real passion that do best with the Honors College.

Now, as for myself, I did not engage much with the Honors College because I wanted to be a "Renaissance" person and study a wide range of classes. Frankly, I also did not see the need to do more - to be in more special classes with the brightest kids on campus, to write extra papers, to create a thesis. I already had fantastic grades and I did not want to spend more of my time on academic projects. I considered and rejected several majors during my three years at Pitt and that kept me busy enough. I also socialized with the extended Honors College student community at the time and that was sufficient. The ones I knew best were foreign language majors.

So back to OP's concerns. I had my own kid apply to Pitt Honors and he was accepted. I noticed in the e-mails for the admitted students that the Honors College advisor is offering limited appointment times to admitted students. If you are concerned about knowing more about what Pitt can do for your child, have your child book the offered appointment and bring his academic major plans and career goals to that session. And ask how Pitt and the Honors College can help. That would be a better way to make a final judgement.

You might also benefit from reviewing this resource, which I found out about from this site.

https://publicuniversityhonors.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HC isn’t its own program unless you want to do the special philosophy major. Otherwise, it’s an opportunity for nice dorms and a few honors classes that are actually open to most. It’s more like you get some perks. You really have to want to go to Pitt anyway- HC does not change the experience.

I think PP is confounding the special honors degree (B. Phil) that requires a thesis and can be for many majors (like a PhD - which is Doctor of Philosophy) with an actual major specifically in philosophy. A philosophy major receives a BA in Philosophy.

[Anonymous]

Honors college advisors are great (compared to the others who turnover often and aren't knowledgable), and early registration is good too (we have a kid there in the HC)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HC isn’t its own program unless you want to do the special philosophy major. Otherwise, it’s an opportunity for nice dorms and a few honors classes that are actually open to most. It’s more like you get some perks. You really have to want to go to Pitt anyway- HC does not change the experience.

I think PP is confounding the special honors degree (B. Phil) that requires a thesis and can be for many majors (like a PhD - which is Doctor of Philosophy) with an actual major specifically in philosophy. A philosophy major receives a BA in Philosophy.

B. Phil is actually one of the degree options from Pitt HC. Not a philosophy major. It's another bachelors that comes with the research/thesis/defense of research.