@panic2017 --good to hear. Have you made a decision yet? 
@carachel2 Sadly no. Iâm still waiting on one more scholarship from another school before I can make a decision.
does anyone know when we start to enroll in classes?
Class registration is done at PittStart which is like a mini-orientation/advising 2-day set up multiple times from spring through summer. Once you commit, you should get information about choosing a PittStart to attend.
Last year my daughter registered for classes on-line before her Pitt Start session. I canât remember the exact timing, but there was info sent by email that included a link to online training about how to set up a schedule, gen ed requirements, and how to do the actual picking and choosing of classes in the registration system. She registered for all her classes before Pitt Start. Then she met her advisor there and they switched a few things around after talking but Iâm glad she did it ahead of time. I do think this may vary by which school you are in. My D is in Dietrich.
Hello, I have been casually reading this thread, and itâs great to see so much enthusiasm for Pitt! My daughter is currently a junior in high school and will be applying this summer. We live in a suburb of Pittsburgh. I am also an alum :). Is the general consensus that it is difficult for in-state students to get merit scholarships? And being in Pittsburgh would make that a bit worse, I would think. My son applied to Pitt for the fall of 2016 and was accepted into the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, but was offered 0 merit or financial aid other than his Stafford Loan. His ACT was a 32, unweighted gpa 3.8, weighted was 4.6 when he applied. High school doesnât rank, but itâs competitive. He is finishing his freshman year at OSU which was less for us financially than Pitt or Penn State! Perhaps merit scholarships are for very high, high achieving students (35+ for ACT, 1500+ for new SAT, 4.5+ weighted gpas)?? Would love to hear some opinions and general consensus.
@Winky1 - here is my take. My D18 will attend Pitt in the fall. Stats - 35 ACT, 4.0 UW, and something pretty high weighted. IB student. Top 2% of class. Reading a lot, it doesnât appear it is an in-state vs. OOS evaluation. There are a couple of common themes - 1. Engineering requires higher stats than A&S for equivalent level scholarships - presumably due to competition. 2 - All scholarships were harder to get in 2017 than previous years - I think because Pitt is attracting higher level kids.
For full tuition scholarship - you would have to have a 35 or above ACT it appears. You would need close to perfect grades and a very high ranking. National Merit doesnât matter, just stats.
In-state and OOS does matter for $ amount for partial tuition scholarships. I believe that is relatively proportional to the tuition cost. So OOS might get $10K and in-state might get $5K for similar stats, but only because how that affects cost to attend at the end of the day. Minimum ACT for any merit scholarship $ appears to be about a 33.
Do apply early and answer all the questions before end of September. They start looking at scholarships soon after that and having all the data in early is critical at Pitt. Some people confuse lack of scholarship for high quality applicants due to some profile issue, when really they applied for scholarships in January (too late for best opportunity).
Hope that helps. Good luck. OSU is a great school as well, so glad your son ended up with good options. Hope your D ends up at Pitt.
@1art1science , thank you so much. I do agree that early applications are so important for rolling admissions schools and for those early due dates for in-house merit consideration. My son got his in in Sept., and he did answer the short answer essays. My daughter will do the same. Weâll see how it goes. He is a bright student, but his scores werenât high enough it seems.
It can be tricky when a student doesnât want to go to school in their hometown. I am glad my daughter is more open to that possibility, as the university has so much to offer her. And it has improved in so many ways since I graduated. I was very impressed when we toured last summer - and I thought I was going to know everything about the place! The program was Ready, Set, Pitt. What a great day of information. My daughter went to every session and never asked to leave early.
Great school whether from Pittsburgh or not.
Yes, I do think it might be more difficult for a PA student to get the higher level merit scholarships, since they technically already get a $10k tuition discount (instate tuition versus OOS).
There are smaller amounts like $2,000, $5,000 that might be attainable.
But top scores, grades and class rank are needed to get merit consideration.
Last year I think minimum ACT needed was 33.
They do have a Stamps Leadership Scholarship and Nordenberg Leadership Scholarship for PA students only, that have a bit of a different focus (leadership/community service) and invitation for the Stamps used to be at around 1400 SAT I think.
But merit aid has become increasingly competitive at Pitt for all students, IS or OOS.
For what itâs worth, I know of a 35 ACT perfect GPA student who got $15k.
A 34 ACT 3.98 who got $15k.
A 34 ACT 3.99 who got $10k.
So⊠Itâs kind of all over the map.
Hi, I had compeleted my application on march 1st, but I havenât heard anything yet, the admissions is telling me that my application is still under review, does that mean I have been rejected?
@Z71696 did you check your student portal to see if you have an accept/decline option? Did you check your spam folder in your email?
@mommdc Yes I had check them everyday⊠:(( :(( :((
@Z71696, You should be receiving a decision very soon. Do check your spam folder, as mommdc suggested. If you were told that your application is under review, that does not mean you are rejected - it just means a decision has not been made/sent quite yet. I am not sure how long it has been since you heard from us that your application is under review, but I would recommend that you check back in with our office today if there is nothing in your email/mail: 412-624-7488.
Best of luck!
A Pitt Admissions Staffer
@hailtopitt1787 I heard this from the aid mission three weeks ago, and checked yesterday too, they are telling me the same, and said that the business school would take a bit longer. Hope I can get the decision next week. Thanks
@Z71696, Just stay in touch! Best of luck.
@hailtopitt1787 thanks
Hey guys! Iâm currently in the midst of figuring out my housing ordeal and had a quick question. My friend (who toured Pitt) said that she thought she heard Nordenberg Hall was invitation only, but I canât find any info confirming this? I just wanted to double check and see if any of you guys knew!
@collegehopeful71 Unless they have changed it from last year, any freshman can choose Nordenberg as one of their choices. My understanding is that it is very popular because it is new, so many people pick it. That means that many donât actually get it. My D and her roommate selected it as their first choice last year and they ended up in Tower B. The Towers arenât bad except for the elevators. Not all elevators go to all floors, and they seem to break down frequently.