Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Maryland campus/quad looks nice. Then you realize you are living in the absolute strip mall fast food dump that is College Park. Pitt by a mile for overall experience.
+!
We visited Pitt in 2019, and the school exceeded our expectations. The surrounding area was pretty decent, and we liked the school's feel.
The buildings of UMDCP look nice in isolation, but when the entire school and community is considered as a whole, it's pretty terrible. The surrounding town is ugly and seems to make its money with a parking police strike force that attempts to ticket you when your car stops for more than 10 seconds!
good luck with preference of looks over contends.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Maryland campus/quad looks nice. Then you realize you are living in the absolute strip mall fast food dump that is College Park. Pitt by a mile for overall experience.
+!
We visited Pitt in 2019, and the school exceeded our expectations. The surrounding area was pretty decent, and we liked the school's feel.
The buildings of UMDCP look nice in isolation, but when the entire school and community is considered as a whole, it's pretty terrible. The surrounding town is ugly and seems to make its money with a parking police strike force that attempts to ticket you when your car stops for more than 10 seconds!
Anonymous wrote:Maryland campus/quad looks nice. Then you realize you are living in the absolute strip mall fast food dump that is College Park. Pitt by a mile for overall experience.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My child was admitted to both last year (honors programs with merit aid in both cases). I thought he would like Pitt because of the location- it feels like a college town. He just did not like it. I am not sure why - if I had to guess, the emphasis on school spirit/sports at the accepted students presentation might have turned him off. Otoh he came back from the UMD accepted students day full of enthusiasm. I can’t tell if the OP’s child is trying to decide between the two but I hope your child has an opportunity to get a feel for both places so they can get a sense of whether it would be a good fit. They are both good schools.
Pitt fells like a college town? I never thought I would hear someone say that.
I suspect PP has never been to Pitt.
Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the love for Pitt here. I'm a Pennsylvania native, and my parents used to use the prospect of Pitt as a threat: "If you don't find a way to get that A, you'll end up at Pitt" and "We can't afford to pay for the schools you want to attend, so if you don't pull off that scholarship, you'll end up at Pitt." My friends' parents said similar things.
And indeed, the kids who ended up at Pitt (my brothers included) were not stupid, but were not exactly academic powerhouses. It's a school for high average kids who don't want to or can't get the grades for a truly excellent school. Sure, it's improved a bit, but it isn't a great school by any means.
Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the love for Pitt here. I'm a Pennsylvania native, and my parents used to use the prospect of Pitt as a threat: "If you don't find a way to get that A, you'll end up at Pitt" and "We can't afford to pay for the schools you want to attend, so if you don't pull off that scholarship, you'll end up at Pitt." My friends' parents said similar things.
And indeed, the kids who ended up at Pitt (my brothers included) were not stupid, but were not exactly academic powerhouses. It's a school for high average kids who don't want to or can't get the grades for a truly excellent school. Sure, it's improved a bit, but it isn't a great school by any means.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My child was admitted to both last year (honors programs with merit aid in both cases). I thought he would like Pitt because of the location- it feels like a college town. He just did not like it. I am not sure why - if I had to guess, the emphasis on school spirit/sports at the accepted students presentation might have turned him off. Otoh he came back from the UMD accepted students day full of enthusiasm. I can’t tell if the OP’s child is trying to decide between the two but I hope your child has an opportunity to get a feel for both places so they can get a sense of whether it would be a good fit. They are both good schools.
Pitt fells like a college town? I never thought I would hear someone say that.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My child was admitted to both last year (honors programs with merit aid in both cases). I thought he would like Pitt because of the location- it feels like a college town. He just did not like it. I am not sure why - if I had to guess, the emphasis on school spirit/sports at the accepted students presentation might have turned him off. Otoh he came back from the UMD accepted students day full of enthusiasm. I can’t tell if the OP’s child is trying to decide between the two but I hope your child has an opportunity to get a feel for both places so they can get a sense of whether it would be a good fit. They are both good schools.
Pitt fells like a college town? I never thought I would hear someone say that.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Oakland > College Park
Nice try.
Inside the beltway of the worlds most powerful city vs ... to don’t want to be mean....
Anonymous wrote:My child was admitted to both last year (honors programs with merit aid in both cases). I thought he would like Pitt because of the location- it feels like a college town. He just did not like it. I am not sure why - if I had to guess, the emphasis on school spirit/sports at the accepted students presentation might have turned him off. Otoh he came back from the UMD accepted students day full of enthusiasm. I can’t tell if the OP’s child is trying to decide between the two but I hope your child has an opportunity to get a feel for both places so they can get a sense of whether it would be a good fit. They are both good schools.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Oakland > College Park
If you like an urban campus, there’s no contest here. Oakland wins.