<p>My D got an acceptance letter on Thursday. She still can't calm down. I still have some reservations about college. It's on totally other side of PA which means that we'll get to see her twice, maybe tree times a semester, forget about winter. No way to really help her - this will be the very first time on her own. And financially - where, i guess, a middle class, so I may as well forget about getting any sort of scholarship, except perhaps, some Merit.
Any word of advise will be appreciated.</p>
<p>I can empthasize a bit. We live in NJ. My S just started Emory Univ. down in Atlanta. Quite a ways from NJ. We looked at other schools, UVa, GWU, and other local schools but he decided that that was the school he wanted. Overall, my wife, my son and I are very had with his decision. Great school, met a lot of nice kids there ( many from NY, NJ, Pa. and CT. ) and is doing great. Things are much different than when we went to college / grad school 30 years ago. With cell phones, texting, computers....at times, the distance between us is very small. Knowing that we can contact him on a moments notice or vice versa makes all the difference in the world. If the school feels right to you and your D, my suggestion would be not to let the distance stand in her way. And by all accounts, UPitt is a fine school. Enjoy your weekend. Marc</p>
<p>My D is a freshman - we live in Philadelphia area - so even though same state it's 4.5 hours away. This weekend is a three day weekend and many of my D's friends from both HS and college came home - but my D decided to stay on campus. She calls almost every day and shares a lot - we skype once a week or so as well - so I get to see her face. I won't sugarcoat it and say I don't miss her - I do - but we are so proud of her. She is really happy at Pitt. As the previous poster said - it's a lot easier to stay in touch now than it was in the dinosaur days when we were in college. I do know kids that go to school closer to home but keep in touch less than my D does. At break time Pitt does run buses from campus - not sure about a NJ stop - but they do go 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, King of Prussia, New York - so you could find a relatively easy way to get home at the breaks. Jet Blue and SouthWest have reasonable flights out of Pittsburgh as well. My D was considering another school in rural MD and while closer it would not have been easy to get home. Pitt is NOT the other side of the country and you can visit in a weekend if you want to - I would encourage your daughter to look at Pitt. My D is very happy with her decision and we are as well. I'm not sure what to tell you about financial aid -- but it seems from reading other posts there is a good deal of merit scholarship money available if you qualify (my D did not). Pitt was the least expensive choice for us as we are in state. Good luck - feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.</p>
<p>I lived with my parent when I went to school. And being from Philly I chose Temple. However Temple is not an idea for my D. She's afraid for the area near TU. I don't know much about Pitt. Hopefully it's quieter than Temple. We were there in the summer and she liked lower campus, we didn't go to the Upper Campus and my D liked it so did we, however Temple is also nice in the summer and especially during the day.
What about dorms in Pitt? I heard different opinions on CC about where is the better place to stay especially for somebody who's a freshman admitted in College of Business.
I'm sure if anybody can contribute they can do it here so everybody can read and gather some important info.
My older D is a senior in college and she lives on campus but a college in suburbs of Philly some 45 mins away. So Pitt would be totally different experience. Most kids from my younger D would like to go to PSU (their Main Campus is ranked much higher and might be tougher to get).</p>
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However Temple is not an idea for my D. She's afraid for the area near TU
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<p>LOLOLOLOLOL another person not attending because of the crime garbage, how shocking.</p>
<p>it's a legitimate reason not to go to Temple</p>
<p>My daughter is a sophomore at Pitt and she's had a great experience so far. The neighborhood is great for kids, with lots of places to eat. Carnegie Mellon is right next door, so it's like a college town. We're from New York City, so it's a seven-hour (at least) drive for us. We miss her a lot, but as a previous poster said, there's lots of ways to keep in touch these days. We Skyped her last night, and the whole family got to see her and vice versa. We are very close-knit, but she has really thrived and developed into her own person by being away at school.</p>
<p>Pitt is large but manageable. I think it's getting more popular, as a lot of state schools are. It offers a solid education at a fairly reasonable price. It's currently about 25 percent OOS. My daughter wanted an urban school that has a "real" campus. Pitt fits the bill. I can't speak about the business school, but I believe it has a good reputation. </p>
<p>About the dorms: Litchfield Towers offer the quintessential freshman experience. They're super convenient, and the main dining hall is right in the building. Laundry, postal services, everything, right there. Security is very tight, with guards at the entrances signing visitors in. This year my daughter opted for a single in Litchfield. I joked with her that she'll be the first Pitt student to spend all four years in Towers.</p>
<p>Congrats to your daughter!</p>
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it's a legitimate reason not to go to Temple
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<p>Maybe if you're used to your suburban bubble and are scared of black people...Welcome to the real world--there's black people there!</p>
<p>We just came back from Temple's Open House and much to my disappointment my D wasn't impress with neither business school presentation nor the new amazing building due to be open in Spring 2009 for Fox school of Business. I guess Pitt is her choice.</p>
<p>Both our new building and b-school are fantastic. Meh. Hope she likes it at Pitt then.</p>
<p>you're pretty ignorant for a college student to say some generalized stereotypical garbage like that. i've lived in the suburbs for 1 year and lived in North Philly for all my life. i grew up with blacks, latinos, asians, etc. and trust me when i say that i've had enough bad experiences happen to me in my life to want to go to a place where the crime rate is significantly lower. you're a fool for being so close-minded.</p>
<p>Let's concentrate here on Pitt. I'm sure there are lots of stories that that can be said about North Philly. I would rather find out more about Oakland area of Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>My D was also recently accepted to Pitt and we are planning to go up on 11/7. It's been a long time since I was in Pittsburgh, but the Oakland/Shadyside area is generally considered to be a safe and active environment. Where else is your daughter considering?</p>
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you're pretty ignorant for a college student to say some generalized stereotypical garbage like that. i've lived in the suburbs for 1 year and lived in North Philly for all my life. i grew up with blacks, latinos, asians, etc. and trust me when i say that i've had enough bad experiences happen to me in my life to want to go to a place where the crime rate is significantly lower. you're a fool for being so close-minded.
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<p>Really? I'm close minded? I wasn't talking about you. Do you know how many times I've heard people say they wouldn't go to Temple because of crime? Many. Guess what a lot of that insinuates? Black people. Is it wrong? Absolutely. Have I ever witnessed or been a victim of crime here? No. Do I walk around alone at night? Yes. </p>
<p>We're aware that North Philly isn't the nicest, safest place on earth, but that's steadily changing, and as it stands, Temple is extremely, extremely safe. If you don't have the common sense to 'survive' here, then by all means, go somewhere else. I just can't let people act as if my school is in the middle of some warzone...</p>
<p>For what it's worth, I have many friends at Pitt, and have absolutely no problem with school.</p>
<p>Also, jb12, poke around the Pitt section of College Confidential (maybe you've done this already). There's tons of good posts on there about all kinds of things.</p>
<p>I've looked around CC for info about Pittsburgh but won't turn down more even more helpful info. Perhaps, I've missed some threads about Pittsburgh or UPitt in particular.</p>
<p>In response to Oakland, i've been there to visit some friends of mine that both go to Pitt and have an apartment in South Oakland. Overall, it has a really nice feel to it. Alot of people argue that it looks really dirty around where the apartments are outside of campus but it's more of an old-town homey kind of feel, i really liked it. And as soon as you walk around the campus itself (mainly along Forbes Ave and streets up north) it's really nice and clean.</p>