<p>My son received his acceptance letter to Pitt today, and I believed he also had a very good shot at the honors program. His SAT is a 2170, or 1470 Cr + Math. He will have taken 7 AP courses by the end of 12th grade and currently has a 4.1 W GPA. His stats seem to be above average for those accepted to the honors program, and I was very surprised that his admissions letter made no mention of him being eligible to be in the honors program. Does that mean that he has no hope, or might they give out something later on? I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps the teacher recommendation letters might have played a role if he is indeed rejected from it, which I'm worried about since the 7 colleges he'll hear back in April all require teacher recs.</p>
<p>I also applied to Pitt and it tells you directly on the acceptance letter that you are eligible for Pitt honors. His stats seem good enough for honors, so I think you should contact them directly and see if they have a reason. Teachers don’t (at least in my school) write BAD letters of recommendation for college (usually they will just say they don’t feel comfortable writing one for you) so it may not be that.</p>
<p>My son has a lower stat than your son (1430 CR+M, 2100 SAT, 9 AP, similar GPA). We were hoping for the honors program too but he only received an acceptance letter as in your son’s case. It has been more than a month so we have given up hope for Pitt and focused on several other schools which he got pretty good merit scholarships. Would be curious on what you find out from Pitt.</p>
<p>Pitt’s honors college is a bit different than other universities. It is not a program as are some others. Students can take a few classes if they like and may live in the honors dorms.</p>
<p>My daughter is a graduating senior at Pitt. She received a full tuition scholarship and was honors-college eligible. I think she took three honors sections ( one chem and two physics). She wishes she had taken regular chemistry, but that is another story. She is not a slacker by any means, but did not pursue honors because she did not think it was worth it for her.</p>
<p>Additionally, ANYONE can lobby to take honors classes, if he/ she has an interest. My point, I guess, is that honors college designation does not make a lot of difference IMO. </p>
<p>My daughter also chose not to live in honors housing freshman year. I think the honors college designation makes the biggest difference for those who are majoring in the humanities or social sciences.</p>
<p>The real reason I am concerned is because if his stats are clearly good enough to get in to UHC, the only reason I can find for his potential rejection is his recommendation letters. He’s applying to several colleges which require teacher recs that we’ll hear from April, many of which are slight reaches or low matches, and I’m afraid the recs can be a major weakness.</p>
<p>I hope that you are wrong about the letters of recommendation. I think most teachers would refuse to write a letter rather than write a less than flattering one.</p>
<p>The note I like to make is that the honors college has a new dean. He started last year, but probably did not make a lot of immediate changes. This year, there are probably more changes.</p>
<p>The numbers do seem to go up each year. However, you might just give them a call and ask whether there is a cut-off this year. Is there a big difference in the weighted and unweighted GPAs? Are the APs the ones that are the last class in a series? For example, calc, history, physics.</p>
<p>Actually the cutoffs at Pitt for both full tuition and UHC keep getting higher and higher. For instance this year, the full tuition scholarship required a 1560 SAT ( M/CR) and top 3% of the class when in years past scores in the low 1500s or below would qualify (look at some old CC threads). I know that this was the cutoff because I called when my ds received an admission to UHC and a $5K scholarship , not the full tuition and was told that this was the cutoff. Whether it is the economy and people staying in state or just the bump of students applying, it has gotten much harder to get into UHC as well as full tuition merit money at Pitt.</p>
<p>I would suggest the 1560 SAT and top 3% is not a rule set in stone. It may apply to the majority of students but Pitt will adjust it if they really want a student (a hook or URM).</p>
<p>Students from different areas of the country and those who are in competitive schools taking a rigorous program may also fall below the cut-offs.</p>
<p>Same situation here. 1450/2240 SAT, 3.8 weighted GPA with lots of honors and APs, but was not invited to honors and have not heard anything regarding scholarships. </p>
<p>A friend from my school got into honors and his SAT was about 100 points lower than mine but his GPA was a little higher. We both applied with the pitt prestige app (so no recs/essays for both of us). The criteria for it seems pretty random.</p>
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<p>Just an FYI for scholarships (and even UHC) it <em>really</em> helps to have an essay, as well as extra info (LOR and resume of activities) so that the committee can have a much better idea of the kind of person you are, how well you would fit in at Pitt, etc.</p>
<p>Nobody gets accepted into the Honors College per se. You just need to have a certain GPA to take the honors college courses without waiving in, and certain academic merits for honors housing, though it isn’t set in stone.</p>
<p>actually, you do get “accepted” into UHC. They will send you a packet of UHC info along with a letter congratualting you on your academic acheivements, inviting you to take honors classes and whatnot.</p>
<p>Yes, I do recall getting some packets, but the UHC is not like a Schreyers or some other exclusive honors program. Living in honors housing does tie you closer to the UHC, but anyone can take honors courses, and if I recall, honors housing is open to anyone who wants to apply (I know people in honors housing with <1400 Math + CR, the supposed benchmark). In the words of the dean, “there is no membership to the honors college.”</p>
<p>Sent from my Desire HD using CC</p>
<p>dppilotmets is right, even if you don’t get a letter “welcoming you” into the UHC, nothing is stopping you from being a full-fledged UHC-member anyway. You can get permission to take any UHC class you want (super easy to get permission) and if you want to live in UHC housing as an incoming freshman, just email the UHC and ask if it’s ok (very likely they’ll say yes as the UHC dorm is GINORMOUS and they didn’t turn away anyone who asked to apply last year).</p>
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<p>In hindsight I wish they would mention that on the pitt prestige app, and that still doesn’t explain why someone with a significantally lower SAT and slightly higher GPA got in over me when neither of us submitted supplemental info. But it’s whatever. I care more about scholarship money. Whenever we call and ask about it we get the same answer “we’ll let you know…later”. Maybe I should just submit my essay and recs.</p>
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<p>If you have some ready, you should absolutely submit them. It would also show Pitt how serious you are about going there (because you went above & beyond the minimum for an application). It certainly wouldn’t hurt</p>
<p>My son, a senior and chancellor’s scholar, is very active in the honors college. You don’t have to be invited or accepted and many kids who are not “honors” students live in the Honors dorms etc. It is not exclusive nor is it closed to students. In fact, the honors college (according to him) is open to all. It’s really more a self-selective group. </p>
<p>One of my son’s biggest complaints about the honors college is that in it’s quest to open the doors to everyone it has opened it’s doors to everyone! : )</p>
<p>If your test scores and GPA aren’t high enough to automatically qualify for enrollment in a honors course you just go talk to an honors advisor and get permission to enroll. Voila.</p>
<p>There are some competitive programs for honors caliber kids (summer fellowships, etc) and a couple seminars that are closed. Otherwise, everyone is welcome so don’t worry about it.</p>
<p>I remember that I didn’t actually find out that I had gotten into honors housing until I actually got to filling out the housing application. There might have been a message beforehand that I didn’t see, but I got a message for it through my my.pitt.edu email.</p>
<p>Anyway, I would definitely recommend living in honors housing. You get to meet awesome people and get to live in some of the best freshman dorms; sutherland hall is spacious and comfortable. I don’t know how good Nordy hall, a new freshman dorm being build this year, is going to be, but it’ll probably be hard for most kids to get into.</p>
<p>PS: Pick as low of a meal plan as possible. If you get a tier a plan, you will have more food than you could ever destroy your self-image with. I’m serious! Dining hall food is pure crap soaked in oil for your artery clogging pleasure. Dining dollars are your best option. They can be spent at einsteins’ bagels and other decent eating options.</p>
<p>I realize this is an old thread, but I was accepted into Pitt on January 6th and just received information saying that I was eligible for the honors college. My stats are strange, but I attended what is, arguably, one of the most rigorous boarding schools in my state. I only received a 1210 SAT (math +crit reading) and have a cumulative GPA of 3.5, but a 4.0 for the first semester of my senior year with 4 APs (my school is on a different scale and does not go above 4.0 even weighted). This alludes to the notion that the honors program makes exceptions. </p>