Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone apply blindly to a school when you could easily have visited? I realize it’s rolling admission, but why couldn’t you do a day trip trip there and take a tour?

Because not everyone has the luxury of time or money to visit every school they apply to.

Back in the olden days, we visited some schools after they accepted not before applying. Seems sensible and economical to me.

Still like this. Because a lot of kids apply to many schools, they feasibly can only visit a certain number before applying to them. Once they are accepted, then visit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone apply blindly to a school when you could easily have visited? I realize it’s rolling admission, but why couldn’t you do a day trip trip there and take a tour?

Because not everyone has the luxury of time or money to visit every school they apply to.

Back in the olden days, we visited some schools after they accepted not before applying. Seems sensible and economical to me.

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone comment if there are green spaces/lawns on campus where kids can play soccer or throw a Frisbee? NYU is a no go for my DS because of the lack of outdoor rec space.

Yes, there is some space between the Cathedral of Learning and Heinz Chapel. More space in front of Soldiers and Sailors Museum (both maybe more picnics and hacky sacks than full-on soccer?). And Schenley Plaza connects into Schenley Park, with huge swaths of green space. If you look at Google Maps, the area bordered by Carnegie Museum, Frick Fine Arts Center (a campus building), Posvar academic building, and the Cathedral of Learning is technically Schenley Plaza, but feels like the campus of Pitt.

Can anyone comment if there are green spaces/lawns on campus where kids can play soccer or throw a Frisbee? NYU is a no go for my DS because of the lack of outdoor rec space.

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone apply blindly to a school when you could easily have visited? I realize it’s rolling admission, but why couldn’t you do a day trip trip there and take a tour?

Because not everyone has the luxury of time or money to visit every school they apply to.

The professors spoke with accents which made it challenging to understand what they were saying.

Our son graduated from Pitt last year, business major, honors college student who has 5 good friends also business majors, all happily employed (3 stayed in Pittsburgh, the other 2 are in their home states, of the 3, one works in an office, one is fully remote, and one is hybrid).

The boys all got a great education, enjoyed sports (football more during the Kenny Pickett era, now it's just frustrating), basketball has been up and down, but soccer and volleyball teams are fantastic. There are shuttles for the the students to Acrisure Stadium, but it's never full like for the Steelers games. But the Oakland Zoo (the student section) is always packed, and crazy-fun - we used to see our student on TV at the games. You don't have to go Greek, because you are in a city with tons of things to do, but it's there if you want it. Bars, restaurants, museums, theaters, pro sports (Steelers, Penguins, Pirates) are all there, and easily accessible and affordable for students. The busses are also free for students (mine used them to get to their internship).

In other words, out honors college Pitt kid got a great education, made good friends, is fully employed and supporting himself, and is happy. And really, that's what we want for him.

Why would anyone apply blindly to a school when you could easily have visited? I realize it’s rolling admission, but why couldn’t you do a day trip trip there and take a tour?

A question about ethnicity.i have been looking at the instagram page for Pitt for class of 2030 and it’s predominantly white (PWI). My DC is Indian and we are curious the population of undergraduates that are south Asian? Can anyone provide insight? TIA.

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!

lol can't make it up. "T20"

My kid is a first-year at Pitt and is meh on it so far. They had visited but feel like the area, including the off-campus housing they're looking at for next year is quite run down and the city is not very attractive. They regret not picking their other top choice which has a more traditional campus but was in the middle of nowhere. DC thought they wanted a city.

They are satisfied with their classes and professors and have made some friends. There are a lot of available clubs and the new gym facility is amazing. The food, as others have mentioned, is not a high point. Not sure if this year's big incoming class (4.5% increase) is the new normal.

I would agree that it seems like the student body is full of good, down-to-earth kids. I didn't think the school did very much to facilitate getting to know people or building community during their welcome week. The only thing the floor did was walk to orientation together and in many of the dorms, there are no longer lounges because of the overcrowding.

My kid goes to Pitt, and like everyone here, LOVES it. She's in the honors college and it's great - good opportunities, nice dorm.

Echoing the posters who said its full of nice, humble, good kids. What a fantastic vibe this school has. It is just so upbeat.

Pittsburgh is amazing - so many wonderful areas to explore, and then Oakland (the area where Pitt is) has it's own vibe. It's just brimming with college students, little restaurants, dive bars, etc. I was surprised how charming the campus is. It's not old school traditional school charming, but the buildings are really old and lovely even though it's in a city. It's really got it's own campus vibe that doesn't FEEL so city-ish when you're there. Excellent research opportunities (especially in the biological / medical sciences).

Like someone else said, I just can't say enough good things about it. And you'll hear that over and over on this board. Lots of Pitt love. That made me pay attention when my kid was looking, and I'm glad it did because now it's my kid who is so happy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in PA, and it's an enormously popular choice at our good suburban public high school. They get a lot of our students who are probably between the top 10% and 20%.

I've honestly never heard any negatives about it, and I know kids from many different majors. I think it would be absolutely fine for networking -- it's only getting more popular. Certainly great internship opportunities while you're there.

Our suburban Pittsburgh high school sends all sorts of kids there. Some are very very smart (Ivy smart). The really smart kids usually have parents who work there. Our district has lots of Pitt professors. Even doctors (if they are med school faculty) get a discount. The kids that go there are definitely different than the kids that go to Penn State. There are also a lot of kids who transfer to Pitt when they weren't' happy freshman year. at another school. All of the kids, including my son, love it.

Also live in a suburb of Pittsburgh and agree with the pp. My dd did not apply senior year bc she wanted a different type of school. Once she was there, though, she realized her school lacked some things that were important to her. Pitt checked all the boxes and she transferred during sophomore year. Had a fabulous experience.

Sadly, relative was raped there. This was at night by a guy with a gun.

My kid goes, loves it, and will graduate this year. Nice kids, approachable professors and opportunities to do research are among the reasons. Plus Pittsburgh is a fun city, and the kids get free admission and bus fare just about everywhere.