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<p>No problem! That’s what I’m here for :)</p>
<p>Hello AwesomeOpposum, I’m a rising senior from Virginia who for some reason is quite interested in Pitt (main campus). I’m a hopeful premed, and I’ve heard that Pitt has a top 20 med school, plus a program where people can apply to it at the end of sophomore year. First off, can you chance me for admission? I plan on applying very early, as in end of September.</p>
<p>4.0 UW GPA/4.4 W GPA (6 APs, 4 APs in senior year)
34 ACT
Ranked in top 1% of my public HS (approx. 500 students)
ECs: Not a great many, I basically committed quite a lot to my school’s Scholastic Bowl team (plan on writing my essay about it). I’ve done it all 3 years of high school, and became captain of the team junior year. We did win the district tournament this year and were runners up last year. Also have about 180 hours of volunteering at a hospital/nursing home, plus I was a member of the varsity tennis team junior year.
Awards: Daughters of the American Revolution Award for Excellence in American History, Nat’l Merit Commended, Virginian Pilot Scholastic Achievement Award, AP Scholar with Distinction, numerous school subject awards</p>
<p>Secondly, what do you think are my chances for receiving the Chancellor’s Scholarship, or at least the Chancellor’s nominee one? Do you happen to know how I compare to past recipients? Also, is Pitt challenging academically, and does it have a good program in the sciences? Anything you can speak for about Honors College (opportunities, benefits, etc.)? Do you happen to know if I’m right in believing that Pitt’s med school is pretty good? I also know that Pittsburgh has been historically pretty successful in football and basketball. Does the student body rally around them during the season? I know its quite a lot of questions, but Pitt only recently came up in my choices and to my surprise, looking at the potential scholarships plus its excellent med school surged it to the top of my list. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.</p>
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<p>Based on your GPA/ACT combination, I’d say you have a really good chance of getting in academically, since you already meet the Honor’ College requirements.</p>
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<p>I really hate to say it, but I’m gonna go with “possible but not probable”. Here’s why: </p>
<p>1- You’re applying as a pre-med student. In my experience with Chancellor’s scholars (and keep in mind there are only about 10-12 a year) the UHC wants to look for a very DIVERSE group of students. That is: premeds, engineers, arts, humanities, philosophy, you get the drift, in terms of majors that they accept. My year they accepted ONE engineering student (who ended up dropping out of engineering a semester in!) so that was a bit frustrating for the rest of us. But what can you do?
2- You mentioned not having a lot of ECs. From what I know of the Chancellor’s kids, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the UHC wants to invest in kids that want to give back to Pitt/the UHC. A lot of my Chancellor’s friends did multiple activites, just for the UHC alone, on top of other activities. A good way for them to garner if that is likely for you is to see how many ECs you did, and well, in high school. (Not saying you don’t have 3 great ECs, but only one is about “giving back” which is volunteering, and only one is academic, which is the scholastic bowl one.)
3- You’re from Virginia. Again hate to say it, but UHC wants Chancellor’s from EVERYWHERE: Colorado, South Carolina, Wisconsin, they want a diverse group of students. There are a lot of kids (surprisingly) that apply from the NoVa/Va area in general. So there are a lot more applicants to sift through.</p>
<p>That’s why I say possible but not probable. It’s likely you’ll get an invitation to apply. Which involves an essay and two teacher recs (and you only get 2 or 3 weeks to fill it out and mail it back). But as for going in for an interview and getting it…? That all depends on the UHC and the other applicants, who will be just as good as you academically and just as involved too.</p>
<p>I split my response into two posts. Continuing…</p>
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<p>Pitt is challenging, definitely by sophomore year, and it can be freshman year depending on the classes you take (hard science vs. humanities, honors vs. regular). It has an EXCELLENT program for the sciences, particularly the ones related to pre-med (Neuro, Bio, Chem, BioMed Engineering). </p>
<p>Honors College is an amazing, great opportunity for those who choose to take it. It provides an awesome community for support, help, and just fun in general. I lived in the housing UHC provided for all of my 3 years on campus, and would do it again in a heart beat. The community is so nice, fun, and DIVERSE (which I especially enjoyed since Pitt as a school is NOT diverse in my opinion). The classes are absolutely more challenging and in depth than ANYTHING I ever saw or learned in high school (and I went to a really, really good/academically challenging HS and took a lot of APs). The professors are so willing to talk to you and get to know you, just like the UHC staff. Plus, the classes are a LOT smaller (i.e. 120 for Honors Chem 1 instead of a 300-400 person class, etc.) They also host a lot of clubs (book clubs, pizza and plays, literary magazine, one of the acapella groups is sponsored by them, MESS (Movies on Friday nights with snacks and discussion) etc.) I could go on, but basically the UHC is amazing.</p>
<p>It isn’t like a traditional “college” inside of Pitt though. It’s not like someone in the UHC takes only UHC classes in a separate building or anything, it’s more a community that you join/become a part of.</p>
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<p>Very good med school, pharm school, nursing, etc. Also not bad for law or engineering grad (awesome research facilities), or even humanities grad (I think Anthropology and Philosophy are top ranked nationally?).</p>
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<p>ABSOLUTELY. That’s not to say that if you don’t like football/basketball you will feel left out. Just expect to see a LOT more school spirit on those days (I’ve actually only been to 1 basketball game…ever, but I go to almost every home football game. They’re both a LOT of fun to attend!).</p>
<p>You asked a bunch of great questions, so keep 'em coming! :)</p>
<p>ipepper- you may be interested in Pitt’s medical school guarantee</p>
<p>[University</a> of Pittsburgh: Undergraduate Admissions & Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.oafa.pitt.edu/guarantee.aspx]University”>http://www.oafa.pitt.edu/guarantee.aspx)</p>
<p>School of Medicine Guarantee
Indicate Pre-Medicine or Bioengineering on admissions application. Your completed application and supporting credentials must be received on or before December 1.
To compete for the medical school guarantee, applicants must meet the initial eligibility requirements of earning the highest grade point average available in their high school in the context of a curriculum showing the greatest academic rigor possible and earning a minimum SAT I score of 1450 (combined Critical Reading and Math) or 33 ACT.
Students meeting these criteria will receive initial notification of their eligibility to apply for the guarantee program by the undergraduate Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, and then be asked by the School of Medicine via e-mail to submit additional information in support of their candidacy. Students selected on the basis of their submissions will subsequently be invited for an interview in the School of Medicine. Interviews take place in March.
The choice of final candidates is contingent upon this interview in combination with other factors. Historically, an average of 8-10 students from the entering undergraduate class are chosen each year for the School of Medicine guarantee. The MCAT will not be required.
Students offered the guarantee must complete an undergraduate degree at Pitt within four years, complete the prerequisite course work, maintain a cumulative science and quality point average of at least 3.75, and engage in undergraduate research and extracurricular activities that provide greater knowledge of the science and practice of medicine.
For information about admission to the School of Medicine go to [Admissions</a> & Financial Aid | University of Pittsburgh](<a href=“http://www.medadmissions.pitt.edu%5DAdmissions”>http://www.medadmissions.pitt.edu).</p>
<p>On the Chancellor’s Scholarship chances, remember that this year there is a new honors college dean, so who knows what they will be looking for this year. It surely will be some type of transition. DD’s apartment mate this year was a Chancellor Scholar and she was from Pittsburgh and majoring in women’s studies along with a couple other things.</p>
<p>Lots of people get nominated to apply–few are selected.</p>
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<p>Luckily Dr. Striker was a very good friend of Docs. Plus, Doc passed away over a year ago, so last year’s UHC students were mostly picked without his input anyway. Since most of the UHC staff is the same, my guess is the way students are picked and the kind of students picked will remain the same.</p>
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<p>Exactly!</p>
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<p>This is something to look into, but in my opinion just as hard, if not harder, to get into than being a Chancellor’s Scholar. 3 of the guaranteed med students from my year lived in my freshman dorm (I am still really good friends with 2 of the 3). They’re REALLY picky about who they choose: I think they always try for 50% male, 50% female, mix of in-state and out-of-state, as well as a LOT of races (Caucasian, Asian, East Indian, African American, Hispanic, etc.). Well worth looking into, but like I’ve been saying, don’t bank on any of these big scholarships/etc. (Plus, it is INCREDIBLY difficult to maintain a 3.75 GPA for every semester of college, especially when taking UHC courses or difficult upper level classes, and especially in hard sciences).</p>
<p>Wow, definitely the most informative reply about a specific inquiry I’ve got on this site! Literally everything was answered in depth, you’ve already garnered even more interest by me for Pitt hahah. Good to know that Honors College and med school are great programs. And as for the Chancellor’s program, I realize it looks pretty cutthroat, but its definitely something to consider within my bounds. And I didn’t know about the guaranteed med school acceptance for freshman, definitely will look into that as well. I do have a few more inquiries if you don’t mind:</p>
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<li><p>As for the ECs: I know its not a huge list, but do you think they may look upon the fact that I devoted quite a lot of time to scholastic bowl and became passionate about it favorably? Same deal for tennis as well, once I picked it up. I literally practiced every day before the season, and had excellent success considering the high spot on the team I was placed. I do plan on conveying just these two in my essay (or maybe even just one of them), hopefully in a manner beyond the typical presentation of the college essay boasting about all the achievements. I have heard that sometimes, a few ECs that you were truly involved in and loved can be even better than doing a lot of them but having less of a role.</p></li>
<li><p>When you say possible not probable, are you referring to the big Chancellor’s scholarship, or the smaller nominee ones as well?</p></li>
<li><p>Do you know for sure that Virginia has a lot of applicants? None of the senior class from my high school (pretty good academically) even applied to Pitt, most people from Virginia seem to go for in-state options like UVA or the big-league privates. From the people I’ve talked to, they don’t see the point of paying out-of-state tuition for any out of state public when they have a great one in-state.</p></li>
<li><p>Do you know anything about University Academic scholarships, which range up to full tuition according to the site and are automatically awarded to select students if you apply by January? Also just wondering, but are you in-state of out-of-state, and are you on any kind of scholarship?</p></li>
<li><p>Suppose I don’t end up with any merit aid, but get into Honors College and still want to go to Pitt over something like UVA (personally, UVA is at the bottom of my list, really don’t wanna go there). Is there any way I can justify going to Pitt on out of state tuition over UVA instate to my parents?</p></li>
<li><p>If I’ve been told by English teachers that I’m a great essay writer, could that help my scholarship chances if I apply that skill?</p></li>
<li><p>Onto a lighter topic…how’s the weather? Hahaha, I know it’s cold, I’ve visited Pennsylvania around Christmastime. Does it ever become cold to the point you might get frostbite? How often do you see snow?</p></li>
<li><p>Finally…I don’t know if you are a guy or girl, but I’m a guy and I’m sure either way you could answer how the girls are here (appearance and personality-wise). And the guys too…but only the personality part for them hahah.</p></li>
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<p>Once again, it’s great that you’re doing this, more school threads should have something like this!</p>
<p>Are you from Northern Virginia, ipepper? I think AwesomeOpossum is referring to there being lots of NOVA applicants (they are everywhere). My daughter is at Pitt and as you can tell from my name, we are in Maryland. There are lots of Maryland kids everywhere too, which can be a bit of a disadvantage. Having said that, in letters that my daughter received, it was noted that they were looking for kids from good schools who had taken rigorous academic programs, which probably describes you. </p>
<p>The way the Pitt process works (or worked three years ago) is that you apply and if you want to be considered for honors, you write an essay. Because Pitt has rolling admissions, you will most likely get an acceptance letter two to three weeks after you apply as long as it is after October 1 when the first acceptances start to roll out. A few weeks (maybe as early as two) later, you may get a scholarship (my daughter has an honors scholarship, which I think is what you are calling the nominee scholarship, a term I have not heard except on this forum) letter. And after that, if they are going to invite you to apply for the Chancellor’s Scholarship, you will get that letter. The time the Chancellor’s invite comes is just about the time most high school seniors have had it with the whole application process and decide that full tuition is good enough. Others fill it in. Some time later a few (about 100) are invited to interview and ten to twelve are selected. This process seems to be getting more and more competitive each year, so it is really hard to predict who will be selected.</p>
<p>I will let Awesome address your other questions, but you should not get frostbite unless you sleep outside.</p>
<p>@MD Mom: no, I’m from Virginia Beach, about as south as you can get in VA. The elite applicants here apply to UVA or Ivies/other top privates as their top choice, I have yet to see someone here go for even University of Maryland as an out of state public choice if they have good stats. And by nominee scholarship, I mean the lesser scholarship awarded to the Chancellor’s finalists invited to interview, but not making the final cut. I think your daughter may have received a University Academic Scholarship perhaps? I’ll see what Awesome says about those. I do plan on applying before October 1st actually, so would I see my admission result two to three weeks after that date? Thanks for the info though, and its good to know about the low chance for frostbite :)</p>
<p>I am not the expert on scholarships; however, it seems as though for OOS there are full tuition and $10,000 scholarships. The engineering college also has scholarships that are awarded in addition to the other ones. When my daughter applied, she heard very quickly about the scholarship she was offered.</p>
<p>I think that it will be an advantage for you to not be from NOVA. Good luck with the process. I also have a high school senior, and guess where he wants to go to school? Virginia!</p>
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<p>Oh very true, I’m just talking about ECs that I think <em>Chancellor’s Scholars</em> would be into. It’s a weird thing to say, but a Chancellor’s Scholar is almost like a student ambassador for the UHC. They are the faces of the UHC, and the UHC wants them to be the best/biggest/whatever. In terms of regular admission, a few passion ECs are <em>definitely</em> the way to go!</p>
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<p>Possible to get a letter inviting you to apply. Not probable you will get it (I’m saying that from a statistics point of view, consider the number of applicants vs. the number of spots).</p>
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<p>I’d agree with MD Mom that NoVa tends to have more applicants in general (I mean, we are more populous in general too) but the girl who lived across the hall from me was actually from VA Beach! In terms of states that send kids, I think VA is higher up than, say, Georgia or Florida or mid-west states (minus like, Ohio). That’s all.</p>
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<p>I got half-tuition initially from the UHC (Pitt as a school doesn’t give academic scholarships, those are awarded (mostly) by UHC, or by the specific college/department you apply to). My half-tuition changed to full tuition part-way through my junior year (and switched from UHC-funded to private-endowment (aka alumni-funded)).</p>
<p>In terms of getting one, if you apply early which you say you are, I’d say 99% likely you’ll get at LEAST half-tuition, if not full.</p>
<p>Continuing with questions…</p>
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<p>Seriously. This is EXACTLY what I had to deal with when it came to Pitt and my dad, haha. First off, don’t use this argument JUST yet, but you seem like such a good candidate for merit aid, that I’m sure SOMETHING would come your way (like I said, at least half-tuition). Were you to get a half-tuition scholarship, minimum, then the cost of attending Pitt would roughly equal the cost of attending UVA. That’s how I convinced my parents to let me go. Another thing is to just explain how HAPPY and MOTIVATED you will be at Pitt. Your parents want what is best for you, not just academically, but socially. There’s no point in going to UVA if you won’t thrive there.</p>
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<p>Well it certainly can’t hurt 
I used my CommonApp essay for my Pitt Essay, mainly because I didn’t want to write an additional essay. Make sure your essay says something about you-- it doesn’t have to be the generic “Why I want to go to Pitt” essay! Mine talked about my love for Harry Potter which morphed into a passion for reading in general. Probably a lot more fun to read than other essays I would think :)</p>
<p>And continuing…</p>
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<p>Once, freshman year, it was -26F outside. Classes weren’t cancelled. I lived across campus from my 9am class. Let’s just say the walk was NOT fun. But I survived. Another time, it was finals week in December. I was out studying until 2am and walked around in my sweatshirt, totally fine.</p>
<p>My point is the weather at Pittsburgh is bizarre. Some years it stays nice and warm up till January (hello fall 2009) and other years it snows in October (hello fall 2008). Best bet is to bring clothes you can LAYER. Long sleeved shirts, sweaters, light jackets, HEAVY jackets (you will WANT to bring a heavy jacket when you move in. Trust me.) Scarves, gloves, hats are a MUST, especially if it snows or is really cold/windy. Good snow shoes (sometimes the sidewalks don’t get cleaned for days). An umbrella and water-repellent rain coat also very good, especially for spring time.</p>
<p>Winter isn’t too bad, but I’m kind of a chipper person. It can be grey/cloudy all day with no sun, don’t be surprised. Also don’t be surprised when it turns to 45F in February and you break out the T-shirts (I actually called my mom when I did this my Freshman year because I thought it was so funny how much I had acclimated to the weather). Generally though:</p>
<p>August-mid October: Hot. Warm. Shorts/skirts okay
mid-October-mid November: Cooler, pants and light jackets
mid-November to mid February: REALLY COLD. Snow very likely. Dress for winter!
mid February to mid-March: Warmer, wet. Rainy.
Mid-March to end of April (aka end of semester): Warmer, can start getting to shorts/skirts/dresses kind of temperatures, depending. Can also still be very rainy.</p>
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<p>ATTENTION THREAD: AWESOMEOPOSSUM IS A GIRL!</p>
<p>There I said it. Apparently this has caused a lot of confusion for a LOT of people who couldn’t decide if I was a girl or guy. Regardless I can answer questions! :P</p>
<p>Okay, onto the subject of people:</p>
<p>Pitt has your normal crowd of college people, but it’s NOTHING like the bro-tastic atmosphere of UVA. Most people are pretty laid back. Pittsburgh itself is a traditionally blue-collar town, so the relaxed vibe definitely makes it’s way onto campus. I think 10% of Pitt is Greek, not a huge number, but I see the fratty boys/girls wandering around campus a lot. Other than that it’s a good mix of athletic people, academic people, anti social people, super-into-their-sports people, and everything in between.</p>
<p>As for girls: Well apparently we’re better than the CMU girls at least? Hah. But seriously, there’s almost a divide: I’ve noticed most girls fall into one category or the other (apologizes for over stereotyping)</p>
<p>Girl A: Super party girl. Dresses kinda like a skank and goes out 2-3 times a week. You see her walking into the dorm at 2am in her high heels with a box of pizza drunkenly going to her room</p>
<p>Girl B: Not Girl A. </p>
<p>Joke. Girl B is a bit more relaxed. She may go out, but also doesn’t mind staying in, going downtown to see a show, or grabbing a bite to eat somewhere around campus. Partying isn’t her life, but it isn’t excluded from her life either.</p>
<p>As for guys: I’ve almost never had an issue with guys on campus (maybe because I’m almost always with the engineering guys or hard sciences? Who knows). I’ve found them to be genuine, nice, smart, etc. I mean, sure, jerks exist, but I’ve yet to interact with them.</p>
<p>Overall: People are nice, friendly, and more relaxed (especially with clothing styles. I want to barf every time I see a girl with sweats and UGGs walking to class. REALLY?).</p>
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<p>Just wanted to say that this made me laugh. Hehehe.</p>
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<p>Just to expand on this further (and to perhaps give you some ammo of why one might choose Pitt over UVA), those are all excellent suggestions, but keep in mind that for pre-med, you need not be limited to just sciences. There are requirements you’ll need to take for med school, and you’ll need sufficient background for the MCATs, but you could major in English if you wanted to. That said, you’ll find that taking a course like Neuroanatomy (an example of something that isn’t a necessary prereq for apply to med school) will likely mean a much easier time for you when you actually take it during med school. My PhD is in Neuroscience from a different school, but the undergrad neuro classes that I had at Pitt resulted in my graduate level coursework being, essentially, a breezy review. And in some cases the Pitt classes were superior (even the non-honors versions). </p>
<p>Pitt has excellent biosciences, and honestly, I believe superior to what UVA has at both the undergrad and graduate levels in this area. The difference really lies in the research prowess of Pitt and its extreme focus and experience in getting its undergrads (particularly UHC undergrads) research experience, which is critical for any research-oriented field and certainly all biosciences are research-oriented fields. Pitt is #5 in the nation in National Institute of Health bioscience research funding. That is the standard by which universities are measured in how large, productive, and extensive their bio and health science components are because the NIH is, by far, the primary source of all bio and health science funding…and research applications to get that funding go through a highly competitively, peer-reviewed process where only 10%-20% of all applications are awarded depending on the field. UVA has about one fourth of the bio/health science research going on (by dollars) and is ranked somewhere in the mid-40s. It’s not just the research though, its also where it is taking place, and the bulk of it at Pitt is happening right on the undergrad campus because the flagships of the enormous medical center (including the third largest hospital by beds in the nation) is right where you’ll be taking classes. What this facilitates is allowing you to easily get involved in all the extra things that help to pad a med school application…the research, volunteering, physician shadowing…because all those things are within mere blocks of the Cathedral of Learning thus making it easy to schedule around your social and academic schedule (many schools’ med centers are not located with their undergraduate centers). UVA is an outstanding school, but there is just no way they can match these offerings and resources because of the size, scope and physical plant of Pitt’s health and bioscience research is just on a different scale.</p>
<p>I would also throw in, as far as things to undergrad curriculum, that Pitt has the number one [History</a> and Philosophy of Science](<a href=“http://www.hps.pitt.edu/undergraduate/]History”>Undergraduate | History and Philosophy of Science | University of Pittsburgh) department in the world (it’s overall philosophy is generally in the top 5 of the US). Many premeds students either get a double major or certificate in something like medical or bio ethics with their undergrad degree. But in general, yeah, Pitt is excellent in all things related to bio and health sciences, and by excellent, I mean generally one of the top in the nation in any particular field under that very large umbrella.</p>
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<p>Thanks so much for the indepth input! Good point on mentioning that just because you’re pre-med you don’t have to major in a hard science. My classmate is a Materials Science Engineer who happens to be pre-med. I also have a friend who is double majoring in Neuro and Psychology as a pre-med.</p>
<p>Thanks to Awesome Opposum and wgmcp as well for the detailed responses! and good luck to your son in applying to Virginia MDMom, both Pitt and UVA are great schools from what I’ve learned. I feel like there’s nothing more unanswered that I could possibly ask, but if I do I’ll know who to call. Looking at Pitt before I came to this thread, I thought of it as just another state school that I would apply to just as a financial safety. Now though, I’m quite impressed by what it has to offer…so much that I’m filling out my Pitt application as we speak, hahah. I guess if its rolling I ought to know by early October maybe? Regardless, I’ll be sure to let you know the results, since you’ve acted as an unofficial Pitt recruiter IMO.</p>
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<p>If you’re filling out now and everything gets complete by August 11, yes you’ll know by October! :D</p>
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<p>This makes me so, SO, SOOOOOOOOO happy! I feel like if I’ve convinced at least one person to take Pitt seriously, I’ve done a job well done here. Yay for you ipepper and I hope you get in and come!!!</p>
<p>You should feel accomplished! And I certainly hope to get in as well! Its unfortunate that I won’t see you on campus if I attend, but who knows, I plan on visiting sometime during the school year and I may always come across you. Do you have any grad school plans at Pitt?</p>