<p>I've been seeing on this forum that some people don't like the campus and other really love it. Can you tell me what you loved or hated about the campus?</p>
<p>Good: The Cathedral of Learning is fabulous. You can go anywhere by bus if you want to get into the city or to the mall. It seems as though the classroom buildings are fairly close together. The museums, conservatory, ice rink, coffee shops, and restaurants are all within walking distance. Everyone is really friendly.</p>
<p>Bad: You have to be careful crossing the street, and when you are driving, you need to stay out of the bus lanes (it’s really scary in the bus lane–thank goodness I have out-of-state plates). There is not really a central campus area that you might see at many colleges and universities.</p>
<p>It probably comes down to whether you are interested in more of a city or rural setting. DD wanted city and loves it. Her mother (me) was happy to let her go to a city, but was thrilled when she chose the smaller (and safer) city of the three she considered–the others were Chicago and Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>bump char10</p>
<p>i love the cathedral of learning b/c it seemed like hogwarts!!!</p>
<p>like MD mom said, its all about preference. I got a full ride to Upitt honors but i don’t think ill take it b/c of the campus. i really don’t want the city school b/c its just not me and im not comfortable there and i really want a campus-y school instead. Thats why im not really favoring pitt. But if you love the city i can see how people can love the school. since im not a city kind of guy, im gonna stray away from the school and say i don’t like the campus. the school itself is great, but im not a huge fan of the city campus. i like the traditional campus instead</p>
<p>if you like the city, you’ll love it there. if you don’t like cities, then you might have a problem</p>
<p>jgirl, have you visited?</p>
<p>i’m going on monday</p>
<p>i visited it but it did not wow me</p>
<p>It is just a very “concrete” campus. Not much green at all, definitely not your classic “movie” campus. No question the people that refer to the convenience to museum, shops, and other amenities are absolutely correct. But as a campus, it is ugly.</p>
<p>It was my favorite campus of all the ones I had been on and part of the reason i choose the school. Idk it may not be as campusy as some schools but its not like NYU either. There are definitely streets and there are for sure a bunch of blocks you can walk down in which like 90% of the people around you go to or work for pitt. The university basically dominates a large part of oakland.</p>
<p>There is a ton of cheap food and it is really busy and exciting. It can be kind of noisy but it is easy to get used to that. The buildings are really nice and i think it is an attractive campus. Definitely not an ivy look though.</p>
<p>Just my thoughts. What you like/dislike campus wise is very personal but i don’t think it is fair to say we don’t have a campus just because the school is urban. It just isn’t quite so well defined BUT you will know it when you are campus and feel like you are on campus.</p>
<p>Cutting Edge described it very well. There are certainly more beautiful campuses, but Pitt’s is lively and very walkable. My daughter didn’t like Boston University because the campus didn’t have a cohesive feeling, but she like Pitt’s a lot. Also, the trip reports on CC are good and might serve as good preparation before your visit.</p>
<p>The campus may not be for you, but it is not ugly by any reasonable standard. Everyone will tell you to visit the campus and decide for yourself. Check out this tour which was generated by CrazyPaco of the pantherlair for our Big Ten friends.</p>
<p>Link: [Pantherlair.com</a> - Message Boards](<a href=“http://pittsburgh.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=683&tid=139382896&mid=139382896&sid=996&style=2]Pantherlair.com”>http://pittsburgh.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=683&tid=139382896&mid=139382896&sid=996&style=2)</p>
<p>Well, you are right of course that ugly, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. I am not sure there is a “reasonable standard” for these sorts of things. But it seems significant to me that the first shots in that link are the football stadium in downtown Pittsburgh, not on campus. I mean it says that it is Heinz Field, I am not accusing them of being misleading per se. But that is not the campus. And there are some other shots that are part of the city, not actually Pitt.</p>
<p>There just isn’t much real campus, which others here corroberate. There are a lot of buildings, some of which are extremely nice. I don’t disagree with that at all. And I should say I have zero against Pitt. I think it is a very very good school. And I lived in Pittsburgh for 10 years and liked it very much (the weather not so much, lol). Just not a great campus, IMO, but it does have some very nice things about it.</p>
<p>Make sure you visit the ENTIRE campus… most of these responses are speaking of the campus directly on Forbes and 5th avenues. that is not even close to the entire campus of Pitt.</p>
<p>Make sure you visit Upper Campus (i.e. the hill) where the Pete, the Perch, Sutherland, Panther Hall, PA Hall, the frats, School of Medicine, athletic fields, UPMC related buildings, and a few academic buildings are located. It is more of a “campus-y” feeling with much fewer roads, much quieter, and buildings spaced out much more. </p>
<p>As for “green” spots of Pitt i definitely suggest visiting… the Cathedral Lawn (it’s huge), Schenley Plaza, Schenley Park, Soldiers and Sailors (you’ll see people laying out, frisbee etc. here), The WP Union, Bouquet Gardens, The Pete Lawn, and the Frick Fine Arts Building. It is the complete opposite of Carnegie Mellon (which is very secluded) but Pitt will make you feel like your in college and yet part of the everyday hustle and bustle of the real world. </p>
<p>explore the entire campus… that is my advice. the tours do not cover close to the entire campus of Pitt as that would require too much walking and time. i visited during the summer, and my dad and I walked the entire campus and i loved it.</p>
<p>here’s a brief summary… lower campus is the most urban part of the campus (which is what many people see) but definitely has that “college” feel with plenty of green. you’ll know you’re at Pitt when on lower campus because most people walking around are either students or university related affiliates. mid-campus consists primarily of academic buildings that are very close together (no need for a bus like at PSU), and upper campus which consists of very nice dorms, dining, athletics, medicine. not to mention you will have the entire city of Pittsburgh at your fingertips. </p>
<p>The only drawbacks I feel Pitt has (as a campus) are its weather (cloudy, cold winter days) and having to cross Fifth and Forbes. The Towers are love hate as they aren’t too pretty on the outside, but if you live there freshmen year you’ll definitely enjoy its location and the tons of freshmen you’ll meet. </p>
<p>but really… visit during the summer because you know when its below freezing the last thing you want to do is walk in the cold and snow… it just makes more sense haha</p>
<p>jgirl, how was your visit?</p>
<p>it was okay. When I went, there was sooo much snow and it began to snow, too. So, I couldn’t really grasp what the campus looked like. I was expecting to hate it because the other campuses that I had been on where more campusy and had alot more land. But, I liked that since its a city, it still feels really busy. Its a perfect fit for a person that would like to live in a city but still wants that close knit campus feel.</p>