<p>I’m going to be an entering freshman at Pitt and was accepted into UHC, but I elected to dorm in Towers. I personally just like how Towers is in the middle of things, and all of the facilities (gym, dining, etc.) are right in the building. I didn’t find the Honors dorms to sound at all pretentious to me (though I do find it a bit odd that you have to apply for them…) but I wanted the chance to meet a diverse group of new people. Right now my main group of friends are all the smart girls in my AP classes. And even though I love them all to death, it can be a bit stifling sometimes (and sometimes they’re so crazy about school that I want to punch them, haha). I just don’t want to miss out on friendships with different types of people, because that’s sort of what happened in high school. This is not to say that all the Honors kids at Pitt will be like my friends, because trust me, I know that’s not at all true. I just sort of want a different experience in college, you know?</p>
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Actually, students are condemned if they don’t socialize enough within the honors group and if they don’t participate in events, no matter how lame. The punishment is not being allowed in honors housing the next year. Don’t want to go to the cross-dressing party? Want to have friends in other areas? Well, no honors housing for you! It’s probably not all bad, but be aware that how much you interact in the planned “events” is more important to your housing availability than your grades, research, talent, volunteerism, etc. (It is sort of frat-like in that respect.) Whatever great stuff you do on your own does not count if you don’t “share” it with the HC residents.</p>
<p>But to each his own. I still stand by my statement that Pitt should guarantee honors housing for all four years in order to provide a tangible benefit for students they hope to attract. Pitt will never tell you that you are in the honors college, but may not have housing after the first year based on your party-proficiency.</p>
<p>Students who qualify for the honors college have to live somewhere anyway. Why would Pitt intentionally limit the availability of the housing? What would it hurt to designate a few more honors housing areas?</p>
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<p>lkf: I think you mentioned earlier you were in honors housing a while back? This isn’t really the case anymore (since I was just in Forbes this past year). Going to Forbes Events (either hosted by RSA/RAs/UHC) are encouraged, but not mandatory. When you agreed to be part of the honors housing you said you would be part of a community. PART of being the community is participating in activities, but it’s not the ONLY way to be involved. </p>
<p>Plenty of people who are in Forbes-Craig next year were from outside of Forbes Hall and didn’t really participate in UHC activities, or even people in Forbes who didn’t really do activities. </p>
<p>I do wish, however, that there was 4 year Honors Housing. It would make my life so much nicer :)</p>
<p>Not me, but my son was in honors housing a few years ago. While it may not be the case anymore, those in charge had a very narrow view of what made a person “honors-housing-worthy” (and at that time, it was not PittArts participation, academics and research, community volunteerism, fine arts talent, participation in honor societies, etc.) And at that time, you had to go with the flow of events that were scheduled by the UHC. Heck, they even let some kids into honors housing who did not meet the criteria because, I assume, they were fun or friends of other students there. It seemed that the very things they looked for in the way of “unique-ness” for UHC and scholarships actually worked against you for housing. Perhaps part of the problem was the large shortage of housing relative to the demand at that time. It could be different now.</p>
<p>Just curious, when Pitt tries to sell UHC to incoming freshmen, do they tell you that you have to compete for honors housing?</p>
<p>I also have a related comment on advising. A few years back, the advising for the HC was a bit vague, imo. I guess it was available, but students had to seek it out. It if were not for the excellent advising from the engineering school, I don’t think my son would have had any advising at all (ie, nobody from UHC ever initiated contact with him.) Again, maybe it is different now.</p>
<p>If Pitt hopes to compete with schools like Schreyer Honors College at Penn State (and even honors programs at smaller LACs), I hope that they learn from successful programs and offer the top-notch services that these students deserve. Students need 4 years of guaranteed honors housing, preferred registration, assistance with finding research, internships and scholarships, some recognition on diploma or graduation, and a nurturing rather than competitive environment. Just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>I agree 100%! I have to say, though, that my daughter has been very happy with her Pitt experience so far, in spite of not getting into honors housing and taking only one Honors College course to date! (The honors course was much, much harder than the regular section.)</p>
<p>The regular Pitt advising has been phenomenal too.</p>
<p>Although son is “part” of the UHC and took two honors courses, he chose to live in the Towers and didn’t regret it at all. I don’t believe he had any advising from the honors college and he didn’t get any invites to the “honors” activities either. The engineering advising was GREAT. We were impressed with them at PittStart and they continued to impress us throughout the year. He is looking forward to his sophomore year at Pitt!</p>
<p>If I’m not mistaken there was a link on the honors college page to sighn up to receive e-mails about events. Maybe that has changed also.</p>
<p>lkf725…Not sure what you are asking about competing for honors housing, but the freshman literature did say that honors housing was not guaranteed and an essay was required for those who wanted to be considered. I think they start poring through the applications next week. My daughter opted for the global community instead, which required an essay, but is handled by more of a first come-first served basis, and she received a very quick response.</p>
<p>My daughter just finished her freshman year at Pitt and at Forbes. She really had nothing but good things to say about Forbes. (Of course, her huge room allowed to accumulate way too much stuff during the school year - that was a real joy packing up and bringing home!) I do wish that Pitt did guarantee three (or ideally four years) of honors housing as well. Still, she and her roommate along with three friends (two of whom were not in Forbes) have chosen to move to a learning community next year instead of going to the Forbes-Craig apartments. (I suspect the fact that the LLC is in Pennsylvania Hall - the newest dorm on campus had something to do with their decision to go up there!) My daughter did indicate that the word was that the Forbes-Craig were kind of small and non-airconditioned. She got spoiled by the Forbes HVAC system. </p>
<p>As for the pretentiousness of the honors dorm - she and her roommate had to escape to various science libraries to study since the honors kids were constantly visiting and socializing at Forbes. The couple of times I visited her during the year, I was very surprised by how open the kids and their rooms were. It seemed like as long as you were in your room, you kept your door open. That was a far cry from my days in the dark ages in a college dorm.</p>
<p>MD Mom, you answered my question. Apparently Pitt is forthright in telling hs students that honors housing is a competition and not guaranteed. It is good that students and parents know what to expect.</p>
<p>It seems as though honors housing is constantly changing, so if enough people ask for three and four-year guarantees, perhaps they will start that if space allows.</p>
<p>With the economy, some of these state schools’ honors programs will only grow and when other schools guarantee what students want, it may be offered. I mentioned to someone in the honors office that getting honors’ housing might be a reason a student would select Pitt and finding out in May is too late. He looked truly surprised at my comment.</p>