<p>just to let other ppl who have already posted and might post, i have taken a guided tour by the pitt pathfinders and it wasn’t as thorough as i’d like. Don’t get me wrong, i won’t cry if i have to go because itll be a good learning experience but i just kinda grew up expecting the traditional campus. I understand ppl would snatch this scholarship if they had the chance and i know that graduating with no debt is VERY important but i don’t wanna go through 4 years of college completely miserable. And it may be a completely off misconception that i have of pitt but i cannot envision myself in it. I think i definitely have to take the 9 hour car ride again to visit it before i make a final decision so i can maybe clear up some doubts that i have. maybe if i see it again ill fall in love and end up going! It might be a great experience for me to go but i have no clue yet haha. I think LurkNessMonster said it right when he/she said that i have to wait until april 1st. I appreciate all that everyone has said very greatly and i want to thank you guys for it! i would also like to hand out a thank you for anyone else that might post something. It really means a lot to know ppl care!</p>
<p>OP–If you fly Southwest, it will be a quicker trip for you! My daughter is in her first year at Pitt and did want an urban setting. When she got her scholarship letter, she thrust it into the air and said: “If Chicago doesn’t give me any money, I’m going to Pitt.” That was without visiting campus. I told her that she should at least visit, which she did.</p>
<p>I 'm not here to convince you that you should go to Pitt because I like the fact that everyone I have encountered loves it there and I want my daughter to be in that environment. I will say, however, that every person (cab drivers, hotel workers, clerks at the U) I have met in my five or six visits to Pittsburgh has been very friendly, and I appreciate that. From the way people treat you, it isn’t like a city. There probably is more concrete than UNC or some of the other large universities, but there are so many things to do that I don’t think most students miss the grassy spots. Just my two cents. I am with Lurkness–wait so that you can make an informed decision.</p>
<p>Congrats on the full ride!</p>
<p>You’ll definitely have to deal with sidewalks and crosswalks at Pitt, but Oakland gives off a distinctly “college” vibe. It’s not in the downtown area of the city. Instead, it feels like it’s in its own little corner (to me, anyways), though the rest of the city is easily accessible via buses (free for Pitt students). Also, I rarely see taxis.</p>
<p>I’ve taken all required pre-med courses, and excepting one or two courses, most of my classes typically had ~150 students. I’ve found that all of my professors have been very accessible and approachable, regardless of the class size.</p>
<p>I would definitely recommend a visit.</p>
<p>I’m a freshman at Pitt, from suburban ohio, and i heartily second what divel says about the buses and that oakland feels like “its own little corner.” You can’t forget that you’re in the city, but i’ve never worried for my safety, not once.</p>
<p>BUT… i have a little note about honors classes here. I’m an engineer in the honors program, and last semester i took honors calc (I & II combined into one semester), chem and programming. The calc class was NOTHING except PROOFS. It was very nonreal, non-useful, especially for a class full of engineers. I dearly wish somebody had told me that before i registered. And my chem class, 0960, started off with over seventy kids. About ten dropped before add/drop was over, and at least ten more withdrew later. At the end of the semester, there were 50 of us left, and only 18 decided to take honors this (spring) semester. Why? Though it was billed as “general chemisty” class, it was clearly a “physical chemistry” class- P-chem is one of the most difficult and confusing chem classes one can take, according to my chem-grad-student-TA, and yet we were learning things that chem majors don’t learn until their junior year. </p>
<p>So yeah, don’t just read the course descriptions, try to ask students who have had the class recently (or do ratemyprofessor.com haha). Best of luck with your decision!! Oh, and if you come to pitt, you can cross register (for free!) and take classes at carnegie mellon, which has a gorgeous campus all in a rectangle around a campus green! It’s beautiful, so if you land in pgh, don’t be disappointed at all.</p>