<p>I have been doing a lot of research about this school. I just recently took a visit, and it's my first choice at the moment, however I found a site, Students Review, the other day and I was taken aback. I just searched "University of Pittsburgh ratings" in Google.</p>
<p>The stat was that 54% of the students would choose not to return to UP? I have really liked what I've seen of this school, and read a lot of posts on this forum, and everyone seems to truly like it here. This is one if not the worst rating of all the schools I'm looking at (In terms of students liking it). Is there a reason for this? I realize that there will always be the people who are unlucky and have some bad experiences, or are not city people, but when 54% say they would not want to go back... that seems terrible. Most complaints come from lack of security around campus, that it's overcrowded, and that the educational quality is poor. I know Pitt has its weaknesses, but do these people not realize it's in the city? And I think I'm right that the education you get depends on what you take. Pitt has some great classes and some not so great ones.</p>
<pre><code>I don't mean to scare anyone else from going to Pitt. Everything else, to me, seems phenomenal. It's just a little surprising after reading everything here.
</code></pre>
<p>*On a side note, am I OK to post things about Students Review here? If not I apologize. It censors my link when I try to post it.</p>
<p>When my daughter was applying I believe that I was taken aback by that site and those negative comments about PITT. All I can say is that my daughter just returned quite happily for her sophomore year. She thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated living in the honors dorm (Forbes) and is off to a good start in upper class honors living. She loves the city living, the options, the transportation, etc. For a large public institution their freshmen retention rate was recently stated as 90% (?). That says a great deal.</p>
<p>Thanks Bluejay. I guess I will just ignore the site for the most part. If the retention rate really is ~90% then that's good enough for me. When I went to visit I really liked everything, and I guess that's what matters. You said your daughter liked the honors dorm housing? If I get into the honors college I plan on living in Forbes Hall as well.</p>
<p>My daughter is also very happy at Pitt and is also a sophomore. She lived in Tower B last year and loved it. This year she chose a single in Tower C. The room is very cute, and I was surprised how nice it is. (You should keep an open mind about housing at Pitt, because there isn't room in Forbes for all the kids who want to live there.) She enjoyed all her classes last year and worked hard. I think she would recommend Pitt to anyone who wants a large college experience with an urban flavor.</p>
<p>We just dropped off our son at Pitt. He chose to live on the SPACE floor in Tower A rather than the honors dorm at Forbes. Yes, the honors dorm is very nice per my son but he is satisfied with his accomodations and has made many friends there already. Move in was quite smooth except the wait for the elevator going up and down but it was expected with all the students moving in. How do they handle move-out at the end of year?</p>
<p>Yeah I do not think I would mind living in towers, either would be a great experience I think. Forbes I guess is nicer but the towers are more towards the center of the campus. Thanks for the advice, and yes a large setting is what I'm looking for.. Coming from the suburbs though it's really hard to know for sure I would enjoy it.</p>
<p>MTnest, move-out is easier because people tend to go whenever their finals are over, which spans an entire week. You just turn in your key and go.</p>
<p>Well I just revisited the website. It seems the reviews must be somewhat skewed. At University of Pittsburgh, the safety is rated as a 6.8/10, whereas Carnegie Mellon is rated at 8.2. With these schools being so close it's hard to believe there is such a large drop off.</p>
<p>My daughter feels safe at Pitt, but like anywhere, you have to be sensible. I was walking around Pitt at night after we dropped her off in August, and I must say the streets were pretty dark. We're from NYC, so I'm used to an urban environment. But even in NYC the lighting is better. So if you go out at night try to stay in a group. The bus system is good, and in addition to the city buses, Pitt has shuttles of its own. There is also a service you can call if you get stuck anywhere and Pitt security will pick you up. My daughter hasn't used it (that I know of) so I can't tell you too much about it, but maybe someone else can.</p>
<p>My D is a sophomore who chose to live in the towers last year over honors housing. She wanted to be where the majority of the freshmen were and she was very happy there! This year she and her roommate chose housing up on the hill for something different. She LOVES Pitt and feels safe there but is smart about walking around at night. You walk in groups and use the shuttle service. I knew she made the right choice when she couldn't wait to go back this fall. She said she can't imagine not being in the city with so much to do and so many people around.</p>