tell me about Pitt

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brothers went there for engineering. I guess it was a good enough school, and I am jealous of my student loan free brothers, but I wouldn't have been happy at Pitt. It had a gritty, almost ghetto feel that I didn't like.

But I went to an "Ivy" and was a bookish kid who hated the gregarious fratty types that seemed to swarm my brothers' dorms and the Pitt campus. I once overheard one of my college profs advising a student about where to apply for grad school, and he responded to the student's suggestion of Pitt by dismissing it as a "working class school in a place no one wants to go, but that's what makes it affordable." I concur, but didn't share this with my brothers.

My brothers have great careers now and both make a lot more money than I do, so presumably the engineering department is fine.

Lol, everyone should live in an urban environment at least once in their lives. Anyway, the engineering school is very good, great in fact.

Right. I also attended a school in an urban environment, but it was lovely and graceful, and I found Pitt super depressing in comparison. "Urban environment" does not have to mean ugly.

[Anonymous]

OP here...this thread is starting to depress me, but we will visit the school and see for ourselves.

[Anonymous]

Why are people comparing Pitt to Harvard? So, you found that the people at Harvard were from a higher socioeconomic background than the Pitt students? You don't say!

The more appropriate comparison is to Penn State, Temple, WVU, VaTech, UMD, etc. Basically, good -- but not elite -- big state schools.

[Anonymous]

Why would any educated person say "Ivy"?

My DS had his aha moment on tour at Pitt. The Cathedral of Learning is really cool. The kids have free city bus passes, lots of ethnicy places to eat in addition to the typical college food. Lots of diversity and real people. He loved his experience and was one of only 2 of his buddies with a real, major-related job at graduation. And it didn't cost a ton. It's not for everybody but he loved it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here...this thread is starting to depress me, but we will visit the school and see for ourselves.

Looks like there's one "Ivy" naysayer and lots of pro Pitt posts. I don't know how much more you want. Lots depends if your kid wants and Urban campus. My one DS loves Pitt and the other loves Purdue. Really different environments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here...this thread is starting to depress me, but we will visit the school and see for ourselves.

Most people I know were happy there. Ignore Ms. or Mr. Ivy. My husband went to a crap school and is doing better than my Ivy doctor sister. I was happy at Pitt. Its in the city but doesn't fully feel like the city. Its diverse enough for everyone to find something they like. Make sure to go to the O for french fries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brothers went there for engineering. I guess it was a good enough school, and I am jealous of my student loan free brothers, but I wouldn't have been happy at Pitt. It had a gritty, almost ghetto feel that I didn't like.

But I went to an "Ivy" and was a bookish kid who hated the gregarious fratty types that seemed to swarm my brothers' dorms and the Pitt campus. I once overheard one of my college profs advising a student about where to apply for grad school, and he responded to the student's suggestion of Pitt by dismissing it as a "working class school in a place no one wants to go, but that's what makes it affordable." I concur, but didn't share this with my brothers.

My brothers have great careers now and both make a lot more money than I do, so presumably the engineering department is fine.

Lol, everyone should live in an urban environment at least once in their lives. Anyway, the engineering school is very good, great in fact.

Right. I also attended a school in an urban environment, but it was lovely and graceful, and I found Pitt super depressing in comparison. "Urban environment" does not have to mean ugly.

I went to Pitt undergrad. and a school in Boston for graduate school. Both city schools. Much preferred Pitt campus and culture. It is urban but its not fully urban where it has a campus feel.

[Anonymous]

He is very attractive but seems like he would have been more fun before he went all yoga and mindfulness guru. I don't care for men who are sensitive. The recent GQ article made him look so lame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He is very attractive but seems like he would have been more fun before he went all yoga and mindfulness guru. I don't care for men who are sensitive. The recent GQ article made him look so lame.

I see what you did there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would any educated person say "Ivy"?

My DS had his aha moment on tour at Pitt. The Cathedral of Learning is really cool. The kids have free city bus passes, lots of ethnicy places to eat in addition to the typical college food. Lots of diversity and real people. He loved his experience and was one of only 2 of his buddies with a real, major-related job at graduation. And it didn't cost a ton. It's not for everybody but he loved it.

The Cathedral of Learning IS cool. It is also a very small part of the campus, the rest of which is hideous. And not all classes take place in the Cathedral, anyway. Some of the dorms are absolutely disgusting ("Towers", the thing built by a hospital so you can see the ambulance helicopter launchpad from some of the rooms, etc.).

Is having a few classes in the Cathedral going to make up for living in a gross dorm?

[Anonymous]

Not sure what OP is looking for - an urban school, good merit scholarship (but a full ride is extremely difficult to get one), good premed program, good engineering program...etc. It's a state school, a good one but nevertheless... So, don't expect SLAC or Ivy-like environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here...this thread is starting to depress me, but we will visit the school and see for ourselves.

Most people I know were happy there. Ignore Ms. or Mr. Ivy. My husband went to a crap school and is doing better than my Ivy doctor sister. I was happy at Pitt. Its in the city but doesn't fully feel like the city. Its diverse enough for everyone to find something they like. Make sure to go to the O for french fries.

You mean ignore Ms or Mr "Ivy". Which I'm convinced must have been an Ivy wannabe.

[Anonymous]

I'm from Pittsburgh and never considered Pitt for myself since it was the hometown university. (It was kind of like GMU would be to a Fairfax County kid.) I was shortsighted, for sure. My son toured Pitt and while he leant toward smaller schools overall he really loved what he saw of Pitt. It has a great reputation and draws in a lot of very bright kids from all over. Very strong in the sciences especially as Pittsburgh is a medical town.

Oakland is a very vibrant neighborhood but the campus still feels fairly contained. You can't beat the accessibility to the amenities of Pittsburgh and Pitt kids really have the run of the town. The sports scene is also outstanding if you have kids who love both collegiate and major league events.

We heard Pitt was generous with merit aid but that didn't turn out to be the case for my kid (high scores but just OK grades), and the OOS COA would have been more than we were comfortable with, so we went with an in state option.

I highly, highly recommend you take an official tour. We visited lots of colleges but the tour there was by far the best and I understand the guides keep to very high standards.

[Anonymous]

I went to Pitt for grad school and absolutely *loved* living in Pittsburgh.

[Anonymous]

[Up]

Anonymous

I'm from Pittsburgh and never considered Pitt for myself since it was the hometown university. (It was kind of like GMU would be to a Fairfax County kid.) I was shortsighted, for sure. My son toured Pitt and while he leant toward smaller schools overall he really loved what he saw of Pitt. It has a great reputation and draws in a lot of very bright kids from all over. Very strong in the sciences especially as Pittsburgh is a medical town.

Oakland is a very vibrant neighborhood but the campus still feels fairly contained. You can't beat the accessibility to the amenities of Pittsburgh and Pitt kids really have the run of the town. The sports scene is also outstanding if you have kids who love both collegiate and major league events.

We heard Pitt was generous with merit aid but that didn't turn out to be the case for my kid (high scores but just OK grades), and the OOS COA would have been more than we were comfortable with, so we went with an in state option.

I highly, highly recommend you take an official tour. We visited lots of colleges but the tour there was by far the best and I understand the guides keep to very high standards.

OP again. We will definitely go and see it. Thank you.