Hi! I’m a freshman going into my second semester at Pitt. I’m a math major, studio arts minor, and I would love to provide advice to any prospective students!
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Hi @theBravenclaw ! I’m a high school student who has recently been accepted and has committed to Pitt. About a month ago, I received an email detailing the electronic services offered by the IT department and they said that new students eventually get access to their own accounts. I’ve heard that you eventually get an email with the activation information inside. I was just wondering when in your senior year of high school you first get access to your student account. I wasn’t sure if it was around the same time that the PittStart info came out or not. Thanks!
Hi, thanks for the question. I personally got access to my student account/activation info in October, most likely because I applied very early. I didn’t really do much with my account until the summer, when I signed up for classes. Hope that helped!
@theBravenclaw any advice on dorm choice? I am OOS and concerned about the high percentage of in state students. Any recommendations for things an OOS student can do to aclimate? Any other general tips/ recommendations? Thanks
@theBravenclaw Another oos student here. Is it hard for oos students to make friends? Are the students cliquey? I am also concerned about the weather, I understand that it’s subjective, but it the winter too cold and dreary? Thank you
@Ctstudent18 and @pct3 - As a parent of a generally introverted OOS freshman, I had concerns about my son making friends. Fortunately, my concerns were unfounded! PittStart was a great opportunity to get acclimated to school and make a lot of friends in his dorm. He is at Nordenberg and his roommates and floormates get along very well and socialize outside of the dorm. I’m sure @theBravenclaw can share more on dorms - but my son is truly thriving at Pitt, both academically and socially.
I’ll chime in here too since the OP is no doubt busy with the first round of tests!!
My daughter is OOS and in her suite of 8 girls, there are NO in-state girls. She is a bit on the quieter side, is not wild and crazy and isn’t one to need to surround herself with a huge pack of friends. Even with all that she has had no trouble making a mix of friends: she has a few friends who are from Pittsburgh, many from out of state and a few from "IDK mom, somewhere “outside of Philly” which seems to be the magical region where a lot of Pitt kids are from lol.
Pitt makes a huge effort with a week of orientation activities to really build a freshman community and I think it pays off for most kids.
@Ctstudent18 and @pct3 I’m sorry this reply is so late! I’m OOS and I had no problems making friends. All you have to do is join clubs and societies you’re interested in, get friendly with people on your floor, go to lots of events, etc. College is generally less cliquey than HS (in my experience) so everyone will be looking to make new connections! As for the weather, it gets super cold in the winter (which I prefer), but nothing a coat and boots can’t handle!
Sorry again that this is so late! I hope this experience is going well for you both!
@theBravenclaw
Would you be able to give me an idea of my son’s chances of admissions compared to maybe yourself and:or friends . He just visited there this past week and of the four schools he’s visited , Pitt is his favorite . He has a 4.1 weighted gpa , about a 3.7
Unweighted . Only has a 1220
Sat score but is taking next month again . Hope to break 1300. He wants to go into fbi and is thinking of majoring in psychology ( this could
Change ).
He has 4 Ap classes this year with one ib and will have 3 Ap next year with one ib. He has mostly been an a/b student with one c this year from Ap calculus . We are out of state. He has been involved in several extra curricular activities with a couple of leadership roles . Any input would be great . We hear it’s a target school with his current dad
And could be a safety if he gets over 1300 on sat. Thanks for your help . If this is his first choice , I want to encourage him to do all he can to get In !
@Senior_1999 I would encourage your son to do Collegeboard SAT practice tests this spring/summer (free online) to raise his score. There is a June and August test date for SAT.
He should apply to Pitt early. He could submit app with his existing SAT scores and the June score, but could put on the app that he is retaking in August.
IUP has a good criminology department as well, you could visit there this summer. If his scores improve he could apply to Cook honors college there and he would most likely get some merit.
Apply early there too.
@mommdc thanks for your input . He is taking sat next month and doing some khan academy sat which helped him last time . And maybe have him take June sat as well . I m definitely going to have him apply by September . I know applying early makes a difference .
Do you see it as a target if his scores stay the same ? More likely a
Safety if he goes over 1300? Thanks !
Well, I think 1200 would be a minimum, but it might depend on the school or major applied to as well.
It definitely improves chances to have a higher score.
Pitt’s Common Data Set from 2017/18 (on page 9) shows that 62% of freshmen had a 600-699 SAT EBRW and 53% of freshmen had a 600-699 SAT math score.
It also says that 81% of freshmen had a 3.75 or higher GPA.
http://pre.ir.pitt.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Pittsburgh-Campus-CDS_2017-2018.pdf
If he had a C in AP Calculus, then he should maybe take AP Stats in senior year. If he does well in it and gets a score of 4 or 5 on the AP Stats exam, he might get course credit for it.
I think if he gets SAT over 1300 he should hopefully get admitted.
It’s not a safety unless he is guaranteed to be admitted (might depend on major/school), and it’s affordable.
He would not get merit most likely and for OOS the costs are higher.
Hi there! I am curious about requirements/recommendations for laptop requirements. My D was admitted into Swanson and is heading there this fall, and we are beginning to look into laptops to buy.
@pittpanther1654 mine is just finishing her first year in engineering. She was ultimately told by many students to get a laptop with the OS she was accustomed to using. She purchased a MacBook Pro and has had no problems. I asked her just a few days ago if she was still happy with her decision and she said yes. She said there was one program that was just easier to use on the computers in the engineering building but it wasn’t a big deal at all.
Best of luck to your daughter next year!
Has anyone has any experience with the Health Sciences LLC? I have heard this LLC is often assigned to live in a floor of one of the Towers. Besides that, does anyone have any insight about the strength of this LLC? Thanks.
Hello! Does anyone know when we hear about PittFund$Me scholarships? Or how difficult they are to get?
hi @theBravenclaw thanks for offering to answer questions. Can you talk a little bit about the studio art facilities and opportunities, as compared to other places you may have visited? I know it’s a minor not a major but I am guessing you have some good insights.
hey @thingamajig I have a little bit of insight! I’ll be honest - the studio art facilities aren’t as state-of-the-art at Pitt as at other universities I have visited, which is a bit of a downside for me. The professors and instructors are great (there are lots of opportunities to connect with them and learn new techniques), the art department building is really nice (if a bit smaller than I would like), and there are definitely programs to enhance your collegiate creative experience (like the Wyoming Field Study). However, I think certain universities spend more money on their art departments than at Pitt, which is more of a research institution. There isn’t even a kiln to fire clay at Pitt, which shocked me when I first came! However, there definitely is an artistic presence and plenty of creative opportunities on campus, you just have to commit to finding them. Hope that helped!
I was wondering if I would get in.
Here are my stats (I’m a junior by the way):
- Unweighted GPA-3.79 (Weighted is 4.3)
- ACT is 34
- I took 8 AP courses and planning to take 6 more next year.
- I won in my category at the County Science Fair and honorable mention at the State Science Fair.
- I am on the school’s Debate Team. I placed 3rd in Public Forum Regional Tournament when I was a frehsman and qualified for Regional Final 2018 (couldn’t go because partner had already made prior plans). I just now became Treasurer of the team and one of the team captains.
- I am on the school’s Academic Team. We placed 6th at a Regionals Tournament in 2016. I am in line to become the captain next year. I also in the middle of rebuilding our team because most of our team members were seniors who graduated.
- Member of the National Honor Society, Pre-Professional Health Honor Society, and French Honor Society.