I just committed to the University of Pittsburgh recently! (Woo!!) I’m excited to go but I’m worried about diversity. As an Asian-American student coming from an area with plenty of Asians, I wonder how Pittsburgh would compare. I know I’ll have a group of diverse friends but it would be nice to have a friend that shares that cultural connection!
Thank you for your time
I think the city of Pittsburgh itself is as diverse as any average major city. The university is mostly white, as are many PA schools. (I’ve heard Pennsylvania described as “Pittsburgh and Philly with Kentucky in between,” and the majority of people going to schools like Pitt and Penn State are in-state residents.) However! According to the chart I linked above, Asian is the next-largest group. I don’t think you’ll have too much trouble finding friends of whichever race you want. Good luck!!
To be honest, it will be a culture shock. I came from an area that was extremely diverse (DC Metro) and a high school that was diverse to Pitt, which was 80% Caucasian when I matriculated. Personally, being in the engineering school helped a lot because it was more diverse than Pitt as a whole. My freshman year I joined my cultural club (then named Indian Student Association) to help with homesickness and to be surrounded by people from a similar background. You should check and see if there is one for your culture.
After a while though, you just get used to it. My sister came to visit one time for a football game and whispered to me that we were the only two non-white people on our bus to Heinz Field. I hadn’t even registered that. After a while, you don’t feel it. And the diversity of Oakland itself (especially the restaurants) help where Pitt is lacking.
@AwesomeOpossum I’m also from the DC Metro area (VA representing)! Do you know if there is a cultural club for Chinese or Vietnamese students? Thank you so much! Haha I hope I can get past the culture shock part too
Yes! There are 3 Chinese groups at Pitt:
1.) Chinese Bible Study Fellowship (religious)
2.) Chinese Students and Scholars Association (ethnic/cultural)
3.) Dynamic Support Association for Chinese Students (ethnic/cultural)
There is also a Vietnamese Student Association at Pitt (although the website hasn’t been updated recently)