OOS Student from California
WGPA: 3.83 UWGPA: 3.61
ACT: 31 (25/30/35/32/8)
Intended Major: Pre- Athletic Training
EC’s: Model UN, Varsity Tennis, Assistant Tennis Coach Volunteer Work, ASB Site Council Rep. NHS/CSF
11 AP’s and 3 Honors
I have a compelling story worth writing about in one of the optional pittsburgh essays, but I already wrote about it in the common app essay. I know I am a fringe applicant for the main campus, but I don’t know what to write about?
Please Chance Me!
I don’t think you’ll have any issue getting into main campus to be honest!
Also, if you’re unsure what to write about, I can give a couple ideas.
For the diversity & inclusion essay, it should be pretty easy if you’re a minority, LGBTQ, a woman in STEM, etc. Otherwise, you can still write about some aspect of your identity that is unique, inclusive, or ties in to a specific organization at Pitt. That identity could be where you were raised (maybe a rural area), a hardship like Crohn’s disease, a hobby, being bilingual, or being lower class.
For the new product essay, I personally wrote about building a bridge over a busy side road to decrease traffic and save lives! The main point of this essay is to pick a problem, and write about its solution. Just try to stay away from things like world hunger, world peace, etc. You are usually meant to think small for this essay, but if you have a niche idea, thinking big could be great. Pitt’s goal for this essay is to see your creativity, problem solving, and uniqueness.
For the essay about “Why Pitt”, I think it’s best to look into specific clubs you want to join, professors you want to be taught by, and specific academic programs, but you could even just write about a general fondness for the school (but provide evidence and reasoning for why you’re fond of it).
I don’t have much to say about the other essay, as it is just writing about an extracurricular.
Also, if you don’t want to sound repetitive, you technically don’t have to submit your Common App essay to Pitt. My admissions counselor told me that you should submit the essay if you’re applying test optional (which I assume you aren’t). She also said it won’t hurt to submit it, but maybe in your case you could consider not submitting it because it would just be repetitive.
Good luck! H2P!
PS: If you’re in the running for a university merit scholarship or diversity merit scholarship, it’s best to apply earlier and by December 1st at the latest for maximum consideration.
@SDSUHopefulClassof2025 I do not believe Pitt reviews the common app essay so there is no need to stress regarding overlap, they won’t see the CA essay.
Your stats look great.
Good Luck!
@fanoffriends In the admissions webinar yesterday they said they do review the Common App essay.
Is it better to apply via the common app or the pittsburgh app?
In the past, they never looked at common app essay or list of extracurricular activities, only their SAQs. So you had to incorporate your activities into your essays.
This year, with test optional, they said they will look at the personal essay and also letters of recommendation and your resume if you email those to them.
But, if you have test scores, there is no reason to do that. So you really don’t have any other topic to talk about, just don’t opt in to share your common app essay with Pitt when you submit. Then you can use the topic for Pitt’s SAQ.