Thoughts on Pitt?

[Anonymous]

DS LOVED Pitt. DD wouldn’t get out of the car (she chose a “sunny & beautiful” college). You need to see it to feel the vibe! As parents, we were also very happy with Pitt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Maybe put another way, does the campus have a quiet, calm, separate young adult community feel? Or is it physically more integrated into larger Pittsburgh (including traffic, businesses, adults not affiliated with the university etc.)? Our kid is not itching for a city experience at this stage of his life. Finds it over-stimulating!

Pitt is in the Oakland neighborhood. It is neither calm nor quiet. But most of the people that are there are affiliated with Pitt. It will be obvious that a college nearby.

[Anonymous]

My senior just applied. The thing I like about Pitt is that there is not a dominating culture. It seems like there’s something there for everyone. If you want to find the Greek/party scene, it’s there but by no means dominates. There’s also crunchy kids in the ski / outdoors club (Eastern skiing about an hour away), an artsy contingent that likes the city school vibe, and on and on.

It’s in the city, but not a downtown area. Pitt borders a somewhat affluent neighborhood. Lots of startups etc. The Oakland/Shadyside area (where Pitt is) is to Pittsburgh what Cambridge is to Boston.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s hugely popular with our (non-NYC) NY public school. The kids who go there love it!

They tend to be really bright and balanced kids. The ones who take honors and some AP classes but aren’t competing on the uber-rigorous track. Many get some merit aid, which helps OOS. And they live the school spirit.

We’re considering it for DS next year and will likely go visit. In the meantime, we’ve heard mixed things about how “city” it feels.

Maybe put another way, does the campus have a quiet, calm, separate young adult community feel? Or is it physically more integrated into larger Pittsburgh (including traffic, businesses, adults not affiliated with the university etc.)? Our kid is not itching for a city experience at this stage of his life. Finds it over-stimulating!

I have family who live near campus so know the area quite well. It is its own neighborhood - a few miles from "downtown" Pittsburgh where the tall buildings and business are. It doesn't have the ideal college town feel of an Ann Arbor or Chapel Hill, but there is an area with stores, restaurants, etc. It is adjacent to a gigantic park. I'm not sure where kids go for bars but that has never really been on my radar. They seem to constantly be building new housing as historically it was more of a commuter school. And the hospital (which is right there) is constantly building as well. So there is a lot of construction but it doesn't seem to bother much.

It is also immediately next to Carnegie Mellon which strengthens the "college town" feel. Football games are where the Steelers play which is unfortunately not on campus, but not too far away - I think they have shuttles which could probably get there in 10 minutes with no traffic. Basketball is on campus. There is a public bus from campus to the airport - it is a pretty long ride (40 minutes or so) but still pretty easy, especially not at rush hour. Pittsburgh rush hour is not DC or NYC but it is not trivial.

DP here and I would cosign this and add a couple other notes:

1) There are some bars and hang outs in Oakland where students go, but a big draw for going out is Southside Flats, a neighborhood across the river south of campus/Oakland. Southside Flats is a draw for all kinds of young people, not just students, and there's a lot to do there (tons of bars and restaurants but also recreational stuff like bowling and gyms and other activities). I think the development of SF has helped keep Oakland more neighborhood and focused on the University because it's adjacent to but not in an area with a ton of businesses and development.

2) To compare it to DC universities, I would compare it to Catholic (in and adjacent to Brookland and commercial districts, but still it's own campus) as opposed to GW (which is fully integrated into Foggy Bottom with no real distinction between campus and city). And yes, the proximity of Carnegie-Mellon gives it kind of a "university district" feel where there are just lots of students and staff around and it doesn't feel like a city neighborhood that just happens to have a college campus in it. The neighborhood is dominated by the university.

3) One caveat here is that they've had a bit of a housing crunch recently and as they solve that, it could impact the experience of students depending on where their housing is. Some of the new housing might not feel as much like it is "on campus." But I don't know enough about it to speak authoritatively, I'm just flagging the issue for anyone applying to explore and make sure they are happy with. Freshman year dorm experiences can be very make or break for students who are sensitive to their physical setting, so I'd want to have a very good idea of where your child would be living and if it will feel good to him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loved it when we visited from the DC area. Would have been happy if our child would have chosen it over his T20. Just good vibes!

Never change, DCUM. Never change.

The point is that Pitt is a great and smart choice! You may have heard (/s) that people around here sometimes pay attention to ranking and more talked about schools to their own detriment. If that matters to you and you have the choice, still go to Pitt. Don't fall for the ranking pressure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loved it when we visited from the DC area. Would have been happy if our child would have chosen it over his T20. Just good vibes!

Never change, DCUM. Never change.

The point is that Pitt is a great and smart choice! You may have heard (/s) that people around here sometimes pay attention to ranking and more talked about schools to their own detriment. If that matters to you and you have the choice, still go to Pitt. Don't fall for the ranking pressure.

DP. Agree. The point is that Pitt is the sort of school that kids who have Ivies in the mix often include on their list for balance. And they are super psyched about it and would be happy to attend. Pitt’s really got a lot going for it and has truly risen organically.

Congrats to OP’s child on being admitted!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loved it when we visited from the DC area. Would have been happy if our child would have chosen it over his T20. Just good vibes!

Never change, DCUM. Never change.

The point is that Pitt is a great and smart choice! You may have heard (/s) that people around here sometimes pay attention to ranking and more talked about schools to their own detriment. If that matters to you and you have the choice, still go to Pitt. Don't fall for the ranking pressure.

DP. Agree. The point is that Pitt is the sort of school that kids who have Ivies in the mix often include on their list for balance. And they are super psyched about it and would be happy to attend. Pitt’s really got a lot going for it and has truly risen organically.

Congrats to OP’s child on being admitted!

Thank you! We're excited that she has an acceptance this early at a great school. We're looking forward to visiting it. It sounds like it has a lot going for it with a great mix of academics, social life, sports culture, and internship opportunities in a nice city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid got into Pitt (college of business) recently. It wasn't a school that she was seriously thinking about, partly because we don't know much about it unlike schools like Penn State, Ohio State, etc.
We're looking forward to visiting soon; it seems like a school that is loved by those who attend. If you have any experiences you can share, we would appreciate it. What do you and/or your kid like about it and what you don't. Any insights on the business school would be great too. Thanks

It is a school DS liked very much as did the rest of the family. If DS did not get into HYPSM, Pitt would have been among the top choices. This is a gem of a school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loved it when we visited from the DC area. Would have been happy if our child would have chosen it over his T20. Just good vibes!

Never change, DCUM. Never change.

The point is that Pitt is a great and smart choice! You may have heard (/s) that people around here sometimes pay attention to ranking and more talked about schools to their own detriment. If that matters to you and you have the choice, still go to Pitt. Don't fall for the ranking pressure.

Except your point is hollow. Your child did NOT choose Pitt and is instead attending a "T20." How do we know that? Oh, because you told us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loved it when we visited from the DC area. Would have been happy if our child would have chosen it over his T20. Just good vibes!

Never change, DCUM. Never change.

The point is that Pitt is a great and smart choice! You may have heard (/s) that people around here sometimes pay attention to ranking and more talked about schools to their own detriment. If that matters to you and you have the choice, still go to Pitt. Don't fall for the ranking pressure.

DP. Agree. The point is that Pitt is the sort of school that kids who have Ivies in the mix often include on their list for balance. And they are super psyched about it and would be happy to attend. Pitt’s really got a lot going for it and has truly risen organically.

Congrats to OP’s child on being admitted!

Thank you! We're excited that she has an acceptance this early at a great school. We're looking forward to visiting it. It sounds like it has a lot going for it with a great mix of academics, social life, sports culture, and internship opportunities in a nice city.

I highly suggest hanging out on/around campus as the day turns to night. It will give you an excellent idea of how things change on the streets and if your student will feel comfortable. While my dd loved what the school offered because she isn’t use to city life, it was a turn off. I loved it and wished I had considered it long ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loved it when we visited from the DC area. Would have been happy if our child would have chosen it over his T20. Just good vibes!

Never change, DCUM. Never change.

The point is that Pitt is a great and smart choice! You may have heard (/s) that people around here sometimes pay attention to ranking and more talked about schools to their own detriment. If that matters to you and you have the choice, still go to Pitt. Don't fall for the ranking pressure.

Except your point is hollow. Your child did NOT choose Pitt and is instead attending a "T20." How do we know that? Oh, because you told us.

Sigh. You are determined to miss the point made several times in different ways by different posters simply because it was compared positively to a T20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid got into Pitt (college of business) recently. It wasn't a school that she was seriously thinking about, partly because we don't know much about it unlike schools like Penn State, Ohio State, etc.
We're looking forward to visiting soon; it seems like a school that is loved by those who attend. If you have any experiences you can share, we would appreciate it. What do you and/or your kid like about it and what you don't. Any insights on the business school would be great too. Thanks

It is a school DS liked very much as did the rest of the family. If DS did not get into HYPSM, Pitt would have been among the top choices. This is a gem of a school.

And this helps OP with her question exactly how?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loved it when we visited from the DC area. Would have been happy if our child would have chosen it over his T20. Just good vibes!

Never change, DCUM. Never change.

The point is that Pitt is a great and smart choice! You may have heard (/s) that people around here sometimes pay attention to ranking and more talked about schools to their own detriment. If that matters to you and you have the choice, still go to Pitt. Don't fall for the ranking pressure.

Except your point is hollow. Your child did NOT choose Pitt and is instead attending a "T20." How do we know that? Oh, because you told us.

NP. I had the same thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great school! Great location, and lots to do for all types of kids. My DS attends and loves it there. New wellness center, refreshed library and other new spaces on campus. Feels like an urban private school. Should rise in rankings in years to come.

I like Pitt but not seeing some meteoric rise. Been consistently T75 school for at least the past 5 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great school! Great location, and lots to do for all types of kids. My DS attends and loves it there. New wellness center, refreshed library and other new spaces on campus. Feels like an urban private school. Should rise in rankings in years to come.

I like Pitt but not seeing some meteoric rise. Been consistently T75 school for at least the past 5 years.

The reason they have a housing crunch this year is because the yield went up. So yeah, it’s on the rise.