<p>Hey, so I recently got my acceptance into Pitt, which I am very excited about, but I did not get into the honors college.
I have a 33 ACT, 1420/2220 SAT, and a 3.34uw/4.2w gpa at a competitive public school.(the difference from uw to w is so great because I have taken all honors, 9 APs and 4 college classes)
I thought getting into the honors college would be a stretch, so I was not surprised that I didn't get in...however my parents are upset that they didn't accept me.</p>
<p>They are threatening to stop me from going to Pitt unless I go Pitt honors so could I have some advice on how to get into it? I'm planning to retake the SAT in december and hopefully boost my math score so that superscored I could maybe have a 1520 SAT.</p>
<p>Also, I have an abundance of extracurriculars (4 leadership positions, 250+ volunteer hours, some state level wins) that I don't think Pitt would know about from my application. I also submitted two letters of rec which I also don't think that Pitt received in time because they were sent the day before I was accepted (It only took them 8 days from when I applied to when I was notified of acceptance). I also sent a very lackluster essay...looking back, probably should not of sent that at all...</p>
<p>Sorry for the lengthy post, but can I please get some advice from someone? Is there a way I can appeal to the honors college?</p>
<p>You still might be hearing from the honors college, so don’t give up hope yet. Your stats are definitely in range.</p>
<p>Aside from that, what is the appeal of the honor college for you and your parents? Anyone can take honors classes. You just have to be approved. Honors housing is the only real perk, and not every honors kid even wants that.</p>
<p>In regards to the housing, you can still apply for it even if you don’t eventually get into the honors college. A friend of my DS didn’t get an honors letter, but she applied for housing and got in and they both love it. Tell your parents not to make such a big deal about the honors college. It’s great if you want to take an honors course or two and you can certainly request approval to do that.</p>
<p>college 834- did you submit an essay with your application? I think that is needed to be considered for honors. If you did not, I would call admissions and ask if you can submit one now and be reconsidered for honors college. It is my understanding from reading the posts here that admission to the honors college is decided at the time of your acceptance, and does not come later, so you would have to ask for reconsideration. If you already submitted an essay, but not an activities resume, then you could submit that as well as your new SAT scores. In any event, a call to the admissions office would be your best first step.</p>
<p>Back in 2009, D2 received a letter stating that she had been admitted to UHC about three weeks AFTER her initial acceptance letter. (She probably did submit an essay with her initial application as well as a resume, but I can’t recall)</p>
<p>^^ Same with my daughter. She received acceptance to Pitt in early November and a few weeks later received the letter from UHC. I do not believe she submitted an essay. She didn’t even want to apply to Pitt at the time. Funny how now she tells me going to Pitt was the best decision she’s ever made!</p>
<p>I wonder if they changed the honors notification process because in 2011 and this year it seems like people received their acceptance to the honors program at the same time as they received their acceptance to the university. But- a call to the office of admissions should clear up any uncertainty!</p>
<p>OP, Pitt’s process is that as soon as they have your application, your transcript, and your test scores, it moves to committee for a decision. So you’re probably correct that they didn’t see the letters. We waited to send DS’ test scores until we knew that they’d received the supplemental information.</p>
<p>Don’t know about the timing of the honors notification process - we haven’t heard anything yet but are still hopeful.</p>
<p>To what purpose? Your superscore of your current SAT is already UHC-eligible (1400+ CR+M). Also, it could be that your GPA was somewhat low. <em>Technically</em> you have to be in the top 5% of your graduating class. I’ve heard from many people on CC that people have gotten in without that or maybe even with the 1400 CR+M.</p>
<p>I would wait a couple of weeks to see if you get your UHC letter. As many have said, the letter does not necessarily come with the decision.</p>
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<p>They changed the Honors Housing starting this year to almost double occupancy of what it used to be. I’m not sure if everyone who applies gets in, but you have a <em>much</em> better chance. It could also be that not enough applications to get in arrived in the first place, so non-UHC students could also live there if they wanted.</p>
<p>I am a little confused. My daughter got accepted to Pitt and the letter said she was eligible to participate in the UHC. 1 week later we received a letter saying she qualified to enroll automatically in HC courses. The letter went on to state that students who are “honors eligible” can take as many or as few of these courses (including zero). I mentioned this to a friend and they said to be careful because their neighbor was taking Honors courses at Pitt and living in the Honors residence section but was not in the UHC and her diploma would not be from the UHC (?) . We have not talked/visited with the UHC but I have read through the literature and after talking with my friend I am confused on what exactly my daughter got accepted to.</p>
<p>I don’t believe there is a diploma from UHC for anyone. You can graduate with honors with a certain GPA upon graduation and/or certain departments have honors degrees if you fulfill more stringent requirements than the minimum for that particular major. These requirements would be outlined on the department websites.
If your daughter is eligible to take honors courses and is eligible for housing, then she is in UHC. The main benefit would be the housing, as anyone can take honors courses with permission. The honors courses really are more challenging than the regular section and not all honors students choose to take them at every opportunity.</p>
<p>UHC doesn’t give diplomas past adding the BPhil to your diploma should you decide to pursue a BPhil. Being UHC eligible means you can sign up for UHC classes without permission and apply for UHC housing without permission.</p>
<p>murphy2 - being accepted to UHC is more like being accepted to participate as a member of a community. Yes, one perk is being eligible to take honors classes. Another is honors housing. But as many others have previously posted, taking honors classes isn’t limited to those in UHC - and some students in UHC don’t live in honors housing.</p>
<p>Truly, UHC is a community - and students can participate as much or as little as they wish. SHAC (Student Honors Activity Council) plays a key role in planning many UHC activities.</p>
<p>Thanks folks for the clarification. This is our first time going through the college application process and the first acceptance (I have 3 more daughters after this one…yikes). The next step is to attend a UHC Information Session which my daughter will be doing. Since we live in the Pittsburgh area I think my daughter wants to go to College away from home (understandable) but the UHC is of interest to her.</p>