<p>Hey everyone! I hope you're all keeping your confidence during this stressful period. I'm a film major and a second-semester freshman. If you have any questions about food, housing, academics, Greek life, etc. feel free to ask!</p>
<p>I'll be very honest and as thorough as I can in my answers!</p>
<p>"What's the best dorm to pick in the housing?"</p>
<p>Well that all depends on what you want. For a freshman, I'd go with the Litchfield Towers because that's where many of the freshman, the campus post office and main dining hall are. It's also located near all the major buildings on campus like the Cathedral, the Union and Hillman Library.</p>
<p>Sutherland is up on the hill, so you'll either have to walk a little or take a shuttle to get there. I don't recommend it unless you play sports, because it's close to the athletic facilities but far from everything else. </p>
<p>"What are the honor events like? Over-sold? Good?"</p>
<p>If you mean the events in the Honors college, I'm not in that so I'm not really sure, but I know that they have their own special trips, seminars and classes they can take that make Pitt feel like a smaller college.</p>
<p>"What's the biggest problem you've had with the school in general?"</p>
<p>Class scheduling. It can be tough when you have a Lecture and a Recitation for one class to fit in with everything else, especially if things are offered at the same time or filling up quickly. My advice would be to pick out your classes early so you know what you're doing when it comes time to register. Other than that, everything here is really good.</p>
<p>I'm a second semester freshman engineer (I plan to do BioE, but I have some knowledge of the other areas of engineering as well). The engineering school works a little differently than the school of arts & sciences, so if anyone has any questions regarding engineering, I'm here as well :)</p>
<p>"Hey, if you could do it over again, would you go to pitt? What are your best experiences so far?"</p>
<p>Yes, I love Pitt. So far I've enjoyed being in the city, meeting cool people and having classes where people are active in discussions instead of just sitting there. Pitt has great opportunities, clubs and events. It's nice to have a big school that feels small when you find your niche. Oh, and having great sports teams is a huge plus. We're right in the middle of Steelers pandemonium so it gets SO crazy in Super Bowl season. Football and basketball are very popular here too and always make for great events.</p>
<p>"What's the film major like so far?"</p>
<p>So far, the film major has been pretty good. My Film History professor, Dr. Morgan, is very knowledgeable and intelligent. My recitation TA is amazing too. The department really knows what they're doing and most film students are very into the material. My only issue is that if you want to take film production courses, you have to take them at Pittsburgh Filmmakers up the road, and you can only take one a semester. That being said, I'm learning a lot from this one intro class and it's really opening up my mind to different types of films from other countries and time periods (I mainly watch contemporary). There's a small group on campus called Pitt in Hollywood that helps get people in the business to come and give lectures and speeches. It's also cool being one of the "only" film majors, as it's one of the smallest majors at the school. I always get excited when I meet another film student! Unlike USC or NYU, you don't get a ton of hands-on experience but you also don't have to worry about cut-throat competition in a place where "everyone wants to be a filmmaker". Though people have filmed a decent amount in Pittsburgh and continue to.</p>
<p>I was reading in a college book that Pitt has a web site run by students that lists all the parties and happenings going on. I had never heard of that before, and I was wondering what the site is. Do you know?</p>
<p>Thanks so much for offering to answer questions. My daughter will be attending Pitt next Fall. We just got back for the accepted students session yesterday.</p>
<p>Do you have a suggestion for a meal plan? </p>
<p>Also, glad to hear you enjoy your film studies major, may daughter is interested in that major along with communications.</p>
<p>Do you know anything about the Chorale groups on campus? That was one area of the visit that I don’t think we where able to get a lot of info. Student clubs etc… We may have just missed it.</p>
<p>LurkNessMonster, I know exactly what you’re talking about, but I’ve never come across the website myself. I do know that it is fairly easy to find out who is doing what through facebook, word of mouth or just simply hanging out with people who party.</p>
<p>Propsmom, congratulations on your daughter’s acceptance! Meal plans can be tricky, but it all depends on where she is living, where she prefers to eat and how much she will be eating. </p>
<p>Personally, I went with more dining dollars than dining passes because they count at our mini-grocery store Quick Zone, at coffee carts, the cafe, etc. whereas passes just count in Market Central or Sutherland’s dining hall. If you run out of passes, you can always buy more in groups of 50, but this usually isn’t a problem for most students. If your daughter lives in the Towers, for example, having a good number of passes might be a good idea because of the convenience. It is always good to have plenty of dining dollars in addition because they really do help. I’d go for plan C or D, unless she thinks she won’t be eating much at Market or Sutherland. You can always change it later.</p>
<p>I know that the Heinz Chapel Choir goes on tour to Europe every other year and offers Singing Valentines to raise money during Valentine’s Day weekend. The music department is great here, and there are plenty of other a capella groups (including an all-female group called Sounds of Pleasure that’s superb) to get involved in as well that are a lot of fun. There’s also a Women’s Choral Ensemble and a few others.</p>