<p>The name "choices" isn't familiar to me, but when we went to Pittstart last summer, my daughter had to have selected ten classes of interest to her before she had a scheduling meeting with her advisor. She's a student in arts and sciences.</p>
<p>Any more advice for those who have not gone to PittStart yet? THANKS!</p>
<p>My daughter doesn't recall getting anything in the mail from Pitt regarding Choices, but maybe we overlooked it. She was able to access Choices from somewhere on campus, I'm not sure where. </p>
<p>First off, parents, try to stay in the Holiday Inn Select in Oakland if possible. It's right next to Alumni Hall, where most of the events take place. Super convenient! And a decent hotel. Ask for the Pitt rate. It is cheaper. Too bad the Holiday Inn is already booked solid for move-in in August.</p>
<p>Also, my daughter enjoyed staying overnight in the dorm, and I think it helped her get acclimated. She met quite a few of her fellow students on the barbecue/movie outing and had fun, so I would recommend that too.</p>
<p>In my opinion, PittStart was well organized, informative, and pretty interesting. There is always plenty of help available from the Freshman Peer Counselors, and they are unfailingly cheerful and pleasant. Don't hesitate to ask for help. And don't miss the sessions on advising, bill paying (for parents) and computing/networking. Regarding advising, each student gets a one hour and 15 minute private session with an adviser, where you'll hash out your schedule. I think that's a good block of time, and I'm glad Pitt provides that.</p>
<p>I also recommend the optional bus trip for parents. The bus first takes you to North Campus so you can see the Pete, then you get a tour of the city. You'll have about an hour and a half to eat dinner at Station Square, where there are several restaurants to choose from. Or if you prefer, you can walk across the road and ride the incline. There's a fantastic view from the top. Pittsburgh is really a very scenic city. For those of you still to attend PittStart, enjoy! PM me if you have any questions, or feel free to post them.</p>
<p>Thanks, LurkNess, for the information. We are looking forward to going back to Pittsburgh as we only visited once and that was after acceptance. </p>
<p>I like the amount of time devoted to the advising session. Some have mentioned going with a tentative idea of classes. Has anyone determined if there is a way to determine online which classes are already filled? How about honors sections? Any hints about their enrollment as of today?</p>
<p>Thanks again for sharing your input.</p>
<p>Bluejay, that was a mystery to me as well. Maybe someone else can enlighten us. Apparently there is something online called Choices 07, and Pitt students use that to browse the courses they may want to take. They pick about 10 possibilities, then they work with their adviser to actually select classes for September.</p>
<p>They can also use Pitt's online course catalog, but I don't have that URL handy. I can post it later.</p>
<p>My daughter ended up with no honors courses! They didn't fit into her schedule. So no honors housing or courses! Maybe next semester.</p>
<p>We just returned from Pittstart. My son went prepared with a list of 10 potential courses, his AP test results and his language placement test results from the on line testing. He met with his advisor and had no trouble scheduling the classes he wanted. We did learn something about honors courses at the open session with a senior advisor. She cautioned those of us that were still in high school mode of thinking. Honors classes should only be taken if the student is extremely interested in the subject and therefore ready and willing to do the extra work required. Honors classes are not weighted like in high school and to professional schools and graduate schools, which are GPA driven, an A in a standard course trumps a B+ in an honors course. First cut is GPA before anything else is normally considered.</p>
<p>I guess I knew this but mentioned it to my son to keep in mind when working with his advisor and scheduling courses. Sometimes I think we get trapped into thinking that honors means more than just a greater challenge.</p>
<p>wrestlersdad, we must have been at the same session! I know what you're saying, but I was hoping my daughter would take one honors course a semester. She came to Pitt specifically to be part of the honors community. If she's not in the housing, and not taking any honors courses, I don't see how she will meet honors kids unless she bumps into them at random. But it's her choice, not mine, and maybe something will strike her fancy next time. I see this first semester as one of getting acclimated and getting used to college. It's a big adjustment. Maybe it's best not to load up on academics. But of course the kids need to be challenged too. We'll soon see!</p>
<p>My son added more honors classes the second semester, as he was a little cautious about overloading himself the first semester. It's not a bad idea.</p>
<p>Seemed to me that the advisors relied pretty heavily on the placement exam scores, in our experience in Engineering, for helping to determine what level you should choose. I don't know if there are such exams for other schools. My D did end up with two honors courses but that was more through prof selection than the fact that they were honors. She is more comfortable learning from a better teacher even if the material is harder, if that makes sense.</p>
<p>We also stayed at the Holiday Inn, and it is very convenient. But, we didn't have even one session in Alumni Hall. So be prepared to walk!</p>
<p>kschmidt, there is an english, algebra and trig placement exam for those whose SAT scores didn't allow them exemption. </p>
<p>bluejay & Lurkness, I know when I went to PittStart the Honors English Comp. & Sociology of Aging were already filled, if this is of any help. I believe that if you go to my.pitt.edu>My Communities>Schedule of Classes>View Courses and Classes>Self Service>Class Search/Browse Catalog, you can look up specific classes and see if they are available. This was where my advisor went to help me pick out classes, but for several of them (chem, sociology i believe) he was able to override the class limit. so i don't know if it would do you much good to look...sorry if i'm confusing you.</p>
<p>oceangirl, thanks for the info. I know that you can override the class limit, as you said, if you have special permission. My daughter was able to get into a class that was officially closed, but she had to have the professor write her a note. But gosh, it's so early for sections to be filled already, isn't it? There are still many more sessions of PittStart ahead.</p>
<p>i know! i was at pittstart in early june, i couldn't believe those were already gone. i'm sure the more general subjects like bio, chem, physics, etc. will be open to pretty much anyone, but more specialized classes that maybe only have a section or two will get filled and that's it. i'm happy with my schedule though...i just wonder if i should be taking a fifth class. i have four, and i don't want to get overwhelmed. i guess i'll just wait to see how hard/easy they seem, since there will still be the add/drop period at the beginning of the semester.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.orientation.pitt.edu%5B/url%5D">http://www.orientation.pitt.edu</a></p>
<p>I hope it's fun!</p>
<p>Also, information about moving in:
<a href="http://www.pitt.edu/%7Earrival/movingin.html#topten%5B/url%5D">http://www.pitt.edu/~arrival/movingin.html#topten</a></p>
<p>We should be getting our packets in the mail shortly after July 12.</p>
<p>Thanks for the link to the orientation site, LurkNess. Questions for all who have been or will be going. What parent activities/events cannot be duplicated at PittStart, info from the website, or just on your own? How many nights do parents actually stay? I know it's important to be involved and informed but it appears that there are events for parents right up until Sat. Thanks for any ideas or thoughts.</p>