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<p>Depends on the professor and the class. I think regular chem had a special notebook they bought with the chem lab worksheets already in them. Honors chem had to buy a different special notebook that had carbon copy paper for every page. Either way, I think the labs always require a specific notebook from the bookstore.</p>
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<p>I guess I’ve always been to the nice suburbs (nice, but utterly boring) of Philly every time I’ve gone! </p>
<p>Pittsburgh, especially the Oakland area, in short is awesome. It’s pretty clean (you’ve got your normal “dirtiness” from like a few pieces of trash here and there, definitely a bit more noticeable on weekends, but nothing terrible) and there’s definitely no belching of smoke :)</p>
<p>In fact, the Cathedral and Heinz were just cleaned up a few years ago and are now pretty shiny and stone colored (instead of black) again! Also, I’ve always found the people in Pittsburgh to be the friendliest/nicest people I know. I think, compared to NoVa where I’m from, they’re definitely more laid back and less-intense. And they love their sports, haha.</p>
<p>I guess that’s my best generalization of the kind you want: nice, friendly people. Pretty clean city and suburbs (Shadyside and Squirrel Hill for instance are quite nice, the only semi dirty area would be South Oakland and maybe the South Side bar area).</p>
<p>Also sorry for the multi-day delay everyone-- I just moved back to Pitt!</p>
<p>Hope you have an AWESOME senior year :)</p>
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<p>Thank you! Pun appreciated!! ;)</p>
<p>Was that comment necessary MTnest?</p>
<p>Hmmm…yes it was! I would wish you an AWESOME senior year but you have another semester to go :)</p>
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<p>Haters gonna hate. MTnest loves me more :D</p>
<p>Where would you recommend getting a haircut (guys) on or near campus?</p>
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<p>One of my friend’s LOVES Enrico’s on Fifth Ave: [Enrico’s</a> Hair Cutting For Men](<a href=“http://www.enricoshaircuttingformen.com/]Enrico’s”>http://www.enricoshaircuttingformen.com/)</p>
<p>There’s also SuperCuts on Forbes Ave:
3611 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3406
(412) 682-4440</p>
<p>And a lot of people like Puccini’s on Atwood Street:
237 Atwood St
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(412) 621-2087</p>
<p>I heard that all undergrad engineering students live in Forbes Hall. Is that true? Given the choice as an incoming freshman engineer, I would prefer living in the towers instead of Forbes.</p>
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<p>No. Forbes Hall is the new “SPACE” floors (which used to be 4 floors of Towers). Engineers can choose to live here with their fellow classmates in a freshman Living Learning Community by filling out a separate application. You are more than welcome to live somewhere else too. However, I strongly recommend LLCs as a place of residence: it’s easier to find friends in your class, hold study parties and meet people in your major. It’s also generally a lot nicer and in my opinion, more academically focused that other locations. Also, the kids who were on SPACE floors my freshman year (aka Engineering living floors) were the most social/friendly/outgoing engineers I knew, and those are the people I’m still friends with.</p>
<p>Just some thoughts for you. But as a conclusion, no, Forbes living is not required. :)</p>
<p>Thank you! Yes, I suspect that living with fellow engineers would be beneficial academically. The reason why I said towers was because I thought I would be able to meet more people living there and be a bigger part of the social scene happening. Do you think that living in Forbes restricts a student from meeting more people?</p>
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<p>Definitely not. I met a lot of people through my core classes for Engineering who weren’t engineers (since Science majors/A&S students also take physics, chem, and calc). It was a lot of fun and the big lounge spaces/common areas at Forbes actually was super inviting for non-Forbsians, meaning a lot of people came over to Forbes to hang out.</p>
<p>Never made it to summer visit at Pitt but we are enrolled in the “Picture Yourself at Pitt” weekend 11/12. No school here on Friday 11/11 so we are planning on driving in from Chicago late Thursday. Friday afternoon to see the Honors College at 1 and the Study Abroad office at 2 (may have the order of those mixed up). Saturday is the day-long thing.</p>
<p>1) Should we also go to the info session/campus tour on Friday morning?
2) I’m hopeful my D will already be accepted by November (will be getting application in by September 15, her HS won’t let teachers send recommendations til after next week, no idea why), is there anything special you recommend for the visit if she HAS already been accepted?
3) My D has an excellent essay for her Common App submissions, wants to send it with her application to Pitt. If she does do that, will she need ANOTHER essay to apply for additional scholarship monies? Is she even ELIGIBLE for other scholarships being from OOS? It’s been a while since I looked at the website, just tell me if this is already answered there.
4) AO, did you also look into/apply at Carnegie Mellon? If so, how did you decide on Pitt? We thought we might take a tour of CMU on the Friday morning we’re in town if you say the tour/info session will be redundant in light of the Saturday program.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance, I really enjoy reading this thread and am very hopeful we all love Pitt!</p>
<p>Didn’t mean to sound cocky on the “being accepted by November” thing. I think my girl’s chances are pretty good (ACT 32, 34s with superscore), GPA 3.8uw, 4.4w She hasn’t been “Miss High School” in terms of involvement but has done a ton of service, NHS and a few other clubs, did some sports first 2 years but not greatly talented so no varsity for her! Her essay is about the 10 years she spent in a volunteer program, how she grew and gained leadership from that experience.</p>
<p>Anyway, don’t want to sound icky. She’s a pretty awesome kid IMO!</p>
<p>Awesome- can you tell me anything about sororities at Pitt? My freshman D just mentioned that she and her friend are thinking of rushing. Did you participate in rush or know friends who did? Do you have any feedback on the specific sororities at Pitt and what they are like?</p>
<p>Chi Omega
Theta Phi Alpha
Kappa Delta
Delta Phi Epsilon
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Epsilon Phi</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
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<p>Absolutely. The campus tour is what sealed the deal for me. So to speak.</p>
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<p>Visit the department or school she will most likely be studying. Engineering, Bio, etc. Talk to some professors or department heads. Get an idea of the curriculum, class rooms, facilities, etc. It’s something nice that I didn’t do before I got here. Luckily, the engineering building rocks.</p>
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<p>That’s exactly what I did (sent my Common App essay as supplemental). No you don’t need to send in another essay, I actually encourage AGAINST that (lengthy applications aren’t really good). She’s absolutely eligible with it and could receive the oft-mentioned $10k OOS scholarship!</p>
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<p>CMU was actually a first choice (THE first choice). I toured and the campus was “eh” for me. Also I couldn’t afford it. That made choosing Pitt a LOT easier, haha. But really, I also loved Pitt’s campus and atmosphere a lot more. Never regretted my decision, and I walk through CMU’s campus about 1x a week!</p>
<p>Hi AwesomeOpossum! I would like to ask for your input on my situation. Currently, my parents want me to apply to the Pitt GA program for med school, and I’m not against going for it myself (skipping the MCATs? Sign me up!). However, when I checked out the GA website, I noticed something that worried me. It says on the website that “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.” I got one B in Honors English in my first semester of freshman year and so my overall UW GPA is a 3.9. Does this automatically disqualify me from applying? I’m not sure about who to contact regarding this so I’m asking you for help. In case other stuff weigh into their decisions, here are some of my basic stats:</p>
<p>Overall GPA: 3.9 UW, 4.8 W
Ranking: School doesn’t rank but I’d estimate that I’m in the top 5% (out of ~400)
Classes:
Freshman (3.9UW): H. English 9, H. Chemistry, H. Algebra II, Spanish 2, Cisco 1 (first semester class; Cisco 2 was canceled due to lack of student interest) and TV Productions 1, Civics, History of Western Cultures, Dance, and Orchestra (in place of lunch; received no credits for doing so)
Sophomore (4.0UW): H. Advanced Pre Calc (highest level of pre calc above regular and honors), H. Biology, H. English 10, AP Chemistry, Gym, Spanish 3, World Cultures, and Orchestra during lunch
Junior (ongoing): H. Spanish 4, H. American Literature, APUSH, AP Calc BC, AP Biology, APES, and Orchestra during lunch
Classes that were not AP or Honors were not offered in higher levels so I had to take them as is.
AP Scores: AP Chem (5), AP Chinese (5)
SAT I: Taking soon
SAT II: Chinese (800), Chemistry (800), Math II (700; will retake later in year), planning to take USH and maybe Biology E and/or M
Leadership: Homeroom Representative in Student Council (10th and running for it again this year), 1st Violin Principal in school orchestra, not sure if tutoring counts and I’m not very clear on what counts anyways
Sports: JV Rifle (9th and 10th), Varsity Rifle (11th and ongoing)
Extracurriculars (grade(s)): 130+ Hours at a lab (9th), other random community service including violin and dance performances (I help out where and whenever I can, but I’m not dedicated to one place), Violin (since 2nd and ongoing), Chinese Dancing (before 8th, 9th, 10th), Violin Tutoring (9th), 1st violin in PYSO (extremely competitive outside orchestra), and Science Club (10th and ongoing). I’m also looking into co-founding a business that sells art at anime conventions (partially for charity)
Awards: 1st place (and an iPad!) for designing and constructing the best costume for a somewhat competitive annual event in school (10th), 1st place in a regional science competition and 2nd at states (10th), and a sponsor award at a science fair (10th). I’ll be competing in the science competitions again with a stronger experiment and interesting results (cannot divulge specific details here because I’m hoping also to get it published after polishing)
Other Points of Interest: I was acknowledged in a paper at the lab I helped out in, and in summer 2011 I worked there again as an intern. In addition, I don’t know if this is of any value, but I went on tour this year with PYSO to Italy.</p>
<p>That pretty much sums up my high school life. I know I just practically posted a chancing post with that much information, but I need your help in seeing if applying to the GA program is still possible for me despite the screwup in my first semester of freshman year. I understand that you may not be familiar enough with the program to be certain, but please point me in the right direction or tell me who I should ask. I don’t want to neither spend time wishfully thinking that I could still get in if my GPA automatically disqualifies me nor waste time going through the application process after watching my senior friends tediously apply to many schools. Anyways, my dream school is CMU so I’m okay even if the answer turns out to be that I stand no chance at getting in due to my GPA. Thanks in advance for your input on my situation!</p>
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<p>This is probably the one thing that I have little-to-no knowledge of. I have a few (three?) vague friends (acquaintances really) in Pitt Sororities, so I really don’t know much. My roommate participated in rush for an Engineering sorority freshman year, I think, but she stopped after like 2 days because she didn’t really like it (but she’s also not the sorority type…at all). I dunno. It’s kind of on a person-by-person basis. All I can offer is that I think only like 10-15% of students are in Greek life, so if you do it, it’s great small group of people you get to know well, and if you don’t, you’re not alone.</p>
<p>Chewydog,</p>
<p>I just checked out the website myself, and it does seem to be that in order to be eligible, you need to have both a 1450+ SAT as well as a 4.0UW (or equivalent) for your high school GPA.</p>
<p>I have a few friends that are Guaranteed Med School whom I’ve known for 3 years now. One thing to point out is that the program is EXTREMELY competitive and only about 10 spots are given per year. Plus, I know you don’t state it, but the program tries to be as diverse as possible with the students they pick. That is, out of all the candidates I think they really strive for an equal number of male and female recipients, as well as multiple ethnicity/cultural backgrounds as they possibly can. </p>
<p>Based on what you’ve said, I don’t think you’re eligible unfortunately. While your curriculum was of high rigor, you didn’t maintain the 4.0UW GPA that they seem to require as a first cut.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, what would you study at CMU considering you’re a pre-med student? I’m just surprised, because CMU is well known for engineering, robotics, and their performing arts conservatory, but not really as much for the pre-med sciences (at least compared to Pitt, due to Pitt’s attachment with it’s med school).</p>