Depending on major Pitt can be a great school. Anything health care related Pitt is top notch. Major medical center right on the campus. Engineering is also very good. Pitt is an urban campus but does have its own discreet campus. It has become harder to get into over the years and is no longer a commuter school or even regional university I think it is now a national university. That said with the relatively low (35K) in state cost of attendance there a lot of PA kids that go there.
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are there majors that you think would not be that good at Pitt? Like for the non-STEM/health kid?
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Thank you! He plans to pursue a BS in psychology with end goal PhD in clinical psych. The research opportunities are appealing. Might minor or double major in Spanish. This is one school Iām not sure heāll qualify for the honors program, itās quite competitive. He has a 1450 SAT/4.0 GPA but average stats for the honors program might be higher. Iām also not sure theyāll be generous enough with merit to meet our budget goals, but he will likely apply and give it a shot.
My son is registered for a 4 hour essay workshop on August 10th but heās trying to do a draft ahead of that so he can work on editing, finalizing it during the class 
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Curious how many parents here have gotten to read their kidsā essays? We hired a college counselor early on, so I didnāt have to be the one nagging lol. My 2023 likes them a lot (thereās a partner that deals with the essays) She told me she finished all revisions of her main essay, proofread etc. but wonāt let me read it.
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Oh yeah.
Read, edit, suggest, revise, read, edit, suggest, revise.
On. And. On.
Itās not so bad. He doesnāt have a ton of essays - there are some, but heās being pretty good about doing a little bit each day.
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Iāve helped my daughter with hers, mostly because I donāt think her English teacher did a great job with editing. I didnāt let my parents read my main essay though, just my English teacher.
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Good question but think it heavily depends on the kid. My oldest son let me read and comment. He also took comments and advice from the college counselor. My middle d did not let anyone read hers - not me, not the college counselor even though the school ārequiresā college counselor review. I think s23 will let me read but likely when he views it as final and wonāt take my comments. He will work with his teacher and college counselor on it so I am not too worried. He is also an excellent writer. He does kick ideas around with me about the supplemental essays.
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Iām pretty sure Iāll get to read mine, but I plan to only give reactions relating to readability, not content or voice.
Essays are such a tiny, tiny component of the admissions package (a zero percent component, many places) that effort could better be directed elsewhere, I figure.
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My daughter recently told me she doesnāt want me to read her essays. My husband and I were quite surprised about it at first tried to pressure her and she would not budge. She did work with a private college counselor who told us (without details) that her essays written so far are very strong. Her English teacher did read her common app essay and also provided feedback and gave her a great grade.
I have not completely decided how to handle the situation. I am going to try one more time to convince her to let me read the essays providing only light proofreading. If she says no, I think I will just respect her decisionā¦ but itās tough as a parent when you have a good relationship with your child but they think they know ābetterā than you.
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Older two let us read and offer high level suggestions and note typos. Youngest doesnāt show us anything, ever ā has never had us proofread any work he has ever done. Every kid is different.
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My D didnāt let me read her essay until after it was already submitted. But, she had good feedback from her GC and her AP English teacher. I figured that they were better editors anyway.
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Today we toured Willamette and they said essays were perhaps the most important part of the process. 70% of their admits last year did not submit SAT scores (test optional). Not disagreeing with you, just thought it was interesting.
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@SoCalDriver Oh yeah, Iāve read S23ās essays and made edits and suggestions to conform with his applicant narrative. Itās always his voice though. Once weāre done workshopping them, weāll have a friend who does essay consulting on the side review them. I used the same process with my older kids and it worked out well.
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Read 100% of everything. They understand that if Iām footing the entire bill for college then sharing information regarding applications, majors, grades, scheduling, and study abroad is their required contribution. Ultimate decisions rest with them, but before final decisions are made we are going through the process of having a substantive conversation and they need to clearly articulate sound rationale for decisions. Kids didnāt really push back when I explained that If Iām putting up $150k+ not fair to have any secrets.
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For non-stem, Pitt has an incredible Philosophy Department
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Is UM Michigan?
UF is excellent. We were there not long ago.
Good to know Miami in Ohio keeps tuition the same all four years!
GWU raises them every year so that wasnāt doable for us. Not applying.
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Iām sorry about the curve ball and hopeful that, with an explanation provided, schools will be understanding.
Western Michigan is a solid school in a good and thriving town.
Michigan State is good and LOTS of snow. Lots!!
As I write this, I canāt see your original post. Is UMASS Boston on it? Big - city - snow
We share your concern about Ohio. Maybe it will be easier this year to get into Case Western for some!
If she wanted small, Iād suggest Muhlenberg, because it seems nurturing. But those are too small for what she wants.
I keep hearing good things about West Virginia U and U of South Carolina, but they may have the same issues as Ohio.
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Sometimes.
I wonāt shop, vacation, or even buy gas in South Carolina.
Rarely eat fast food so thatās easy. Chipotle. Maybe they are evil, too. I dunno.
I donāt shop at Walmart. The only 3 times I ever set foot inside is when there was no other store for miles.
I care where my money goes. Avoiding Walmart and fast food isnāt hard for me. And Walmart smells bad. Sorry to all who love Walmart! 
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