Pitt FAQs

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pittsburgh
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<p>Hello, this is a very broad question that might not have a right answer but i’ll put it out there just in case.</p>

<p>I am a rising senior w/ a campus visit scheduled for this Friday…the 16th. My college consultant has encouraged me to sign up for an interview as well. It will be my first college interview. Did you do one when you applied? And is there anything specific you may recommend bringing up? I understand some interviews are evaluative and some informational so i want to have lots of questions ready incase it’s me that’s expected to do all the asking and talking.</p>

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<p>There is no need to interview at Pitt unless you want to. According to the common set, interviews are not considered in the admission process. So, its really up to you if you want the opportunity to meet an admissions counselor and asks questions. <a href=“http://www.ir.pitt.edu/cds/documents/CDS2010-11PittsburghCampus.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ir.pitt.edu/cds/documents/CDS2010-11PittsburghCampus.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>When my daughter visited campus for the first time, she met with faculty in both of the departments that were of interest to her. It was quite helpful for her.</p>

244

<p>I sent my son a package to his dorm and UPS redirected it to </p>

<p>305 College of Fine Arts
Pittsburgh, PA 15213</p>

<p>Any idea where that is? He doesn;t know and is going to look into it.</p>

245

<p>Seems to me to be part of Carnegie Mellon!</p>

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<p>I didn’t do an interview at Pitt, but I did an Alumni interview for CMU. It was a bit different and very relaxed. We met at a coffee shop and just talked about my interests, what I wanted to study, what the alumnus had studied at CMU, etc. It helped that he was pretty young and easy to talk to. </p>

<p>Campus interviews are a bit more formal. Definitely dress up in business casual or a suit for the interview. It could be serious (administrative type person) or more casual (current student or alumni), I really don’t know. Go in with an open mind, most likely they will ask questions like why you want to go. What you want to study, etc. Be prepared with at least 2-3 questions of your own to ask at the end.</p>

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<p>Oh my goodness! How did you label the packages? It’s always really REALLY important to include the line “University of Pittsburgh” (I always had my mom/friends do it). That is:</p>

<p>Awesome Opossum
Room 111 Tower B
University of Pittsburgh
3990 Fifth Ave
Pittsburgh Pa, 15213</p>

<p>I say include the University line because it’s important for the UPS/USPS/FedEx to know that your package is going to a university so it can enter the university mailing system first.</p>

<p>Hopefully your son figures out what happened to his package.</p>

<p>Random side note, here is the link for all campus mailing addresses: [Pitt</a> Mailing Services - Parent’s Mailing Information](<a href=“http://www.pts.pitt.edu/mailserv/mailing/15213.html]Pitt”>http://www.pts.pitt.edu/mailserv/mailing/15213.html)</p>

<p>All you have to do is add your child’s room number in front of the hall name, address like you saw above, and it <em>should</em> get there!</p>

248

<p>Hi AwesomeOpposum again! I kind of sensed that this would happen, but I thought it would have been better for me to post just in case. Regarding CMU, my mother works there so if I get in, I go for free. In addition, I practically grew up and fell in love with the atmosphere there. I might major in biology, biochemistry, or something with bio-/chem- in it. I’m also entertaining the idea of perhaps a minor in something to do with the violin.</p>

249

<p>Hi AwesomeOpposum, </p>

<p>I wanted to get some feedback on Admissions at Pitt. I applied as a Transfer student for spring 2012 in the middle of August, the admissions people were waiting on some of my transcripts and stuff but I’m so freaked out about whats going to happen! I really want to go to this school but as far as I have researched it seems a bit tough. I applied in Arts and Sciences for Neuroscience/ Premedical, wrote an average essay, send in 2 recommendations (1 from a professor, and 1 from a PhD doctor at my Internship) </p>

<p>I have a 3.04 GPA at my home university but I’m also taking some classes at a CC as a visiting student this fall and took one class over summer just b/c it saves me the money and commute. I’m a Sophomore and current have 25 credits, however this fall I’m taking 15 credits so that will total up to 40 credits by Spring. </p>

<p>I didn’t do so great in High school but I have many extracurricular activities, which I still am involved in volunteering at NIH/ summer internships, clubs and all. Overall I have been doing Average even though I’m trying my best but I’m scared about my High school grades affecting my decision.</p>

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<p>For college transfers, they really only look at your college GPA/how you’ve been doing in college thus far.</p>

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<p>The only thing I can think of is that this seems a BIT low for a pre-med/neuro student. I don’t want to be a downer, but you realize most of the pre-med students here remain incredibly competitive, and generally keep their GPAs at 3.5+</p>

<p>I’m not really that informed with transfers, so I can’t help much beyond that, but good luck!</p>

251

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<p>I guess that makes sense, then. But don’t completely discredit applying to Pitt. Even if you didn’t get guaranteed med, it’s still a phenomenal pre-med school (definitely better than CMU in that regard) and since you’re such a strong applicant I’m sure you’d receive merit aid. Just a thought :)</p>

252

<p>Typically during second semester, when are mid-terms held? Is it always the week before Spring Break, which is March 4-11 this coming year? Or does it vary by class/professor? Thx.</p>

253

<p>Hi AwesomeOpposum, </p>

<p>Thanks for the feedback, I was just thinking I read a lot of reviews and should I change my major at PITT before they start to decide on my application? Like make it undecided? or biology instead? then later on in the semester I can change my major maybe, what do you think, should I consider doing that?</p>

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<p>It really depends on the class. One class held midterms the day before break, some were a week before, some a week after. It all depends on if your class is doing 2 or 3 exams before the final. Either way, you’ll know when it will be early on into second semester.</p>

255

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<p>It might be a good idea to change it, but then again you’re only applying after 1 year of college, right? So it might not be THAT big of a deal yet. Like I said, I don’t have the best knowledge about transfers, but try to play your numbers to your best interest.</p>

256

<p>Hi AwesomeOpposum-</p>

<p>Thank you for this great thread! I am working on my app to Pitt, and I had a few questions.</p>

<p>1) What are my chances for the Chancellor’s scholarship? I’m from Ohio, Indian, 34 ACT, 2240 SAT, Math II 720 and US 770, Nat’l Merit commended, 4.3 weighted gpa, top 5% of my class, good ecs and volunteer hours, and looking at the econ/stat major. Also, I plan on sending my full application by next week.</p>

<p>2) Aside from scholarships, how much financial aid does Pitt usually give?</p>

<p>3) Do you know how the econ/stat major is? Is it popular? Also, would you say it’s better to go that route or apply directly to the business program as an undergrad?</p>

<p>4) Does it hurt my chances for a scholarship if there are other people from my high school applying?</p>

<p>5) On a different note, what is the campus like? Is it really urban or does it have that lawns and brick buildings kind of feel? </p>

<p>Thank you so much!
-Runnergirlie19</p>

257

<p>Hi Awesome Opposum,</p>

<p>I read on one of your posts that you have a few friends who are pre-med/biology. Pitt has a reputation where we live that kids start out in the sciences then transfer or change majors. I’ve heard this from several people. Have you heard of this and do you know why ? Is Pitt one of those schools where it’s just impossible to get good grades (even with working super hard) ? Are your friends in the pre-med program happy ?</p>

<p>Thanks !!</p>

258

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<p>Good for getting an invitation to apply, but probably low for getting it. Remember a few hundred kids a year are invited to Honors College, of those, only 10-12 get Chancellors. Unfortnuately, you REALLY have to stick out in more ways than demographic and stats: Everyone has stellar stats, but you have to do something else. I’m talking crazy experiences, unusual home locations (Colorado, South Carolina, non-traditional Pitt students), less-popular majors (Women’s Studies, etc.)</p>

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<p>I’m confused…you mean work study and what not? I guess it depends. If you’re out of state and apply early, you have a great chance of getting a half-tuition or full tuition scholarship for the 4 years, which is awesome. Otherwise, the grants and loans can vary from a few thousand a year upwards.</p>

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<p>Don’t know much about it, my friends seem to like the classes. If you know you want to do business, definitely just apply into it right away, there’s no point in wasting time in another college at Pitt (A&S vs. Business school) when you could be taking relevant classes and connecting with peers and professors from the start.</p>

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<p>For Chancellors, yes. For general merit, not so much. But I wouldn’t really know, I was one of 2 people who applied from my school…</p>

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<p>It’s right in between. There are loads of awesome green spaces (Cathedral Lawn, Schenley Plaza, Soldiers and Sailors) but you’re walking down the street, using cross walks, etc. to get to class. Plus the campus isn’t a traditional “walled” campus. There are hospitals, shops, restaurants, etc. all scattered through Oakland which attract families, Pittsburghers and workers to the area. I think I have a much more in depth explanation somewhere further back, so try to find it for my sake of not repeating myself.</p>

259

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<p>Like people have said (I noticed your other thread), changing majors is a natural part of college, and it happens in all majors, Biology included. One of the big factors is also (like people said) that a lot of students feel pressured to declare or start out Biology for pre-med, but realize that isn’t necessary, so they switch to something else.</p>

<p>Biology, Chemistry, and I’d say the Basic Engineering courses are tailored to “weed out” students to an extent. They’re large, somewhat difficult classes (depending on your academic caliber and level of knowledge from high school) for students to take, but unfortunately are the basic freshman year classes. The professors don’t sugar coat the work, material, or exams for freshman. Many students who start at Pitt, especially in Biology/Chem/etc. just aren’t ready for this level of work and commitment. Unfortunately it tends to manifest itself in the students either doing really poorly, or dropping out of the class/major.</p>

<p>It’s not impossible to get good grades at Pitt. Granted, I’m in the honors college and so are a majority of my friends, but we all took multiple honors level classes (honors bio, chem, engineering, calc, etc.) and we all did well. I have friends in the regular classes who did fine too. What we did, though, was regularly attend class, do our work on time, pay attention, take notes, take the time to study, contact professors or TAs for help, and in general, manage ourselves and our classes well. Students who can’t prioritize their education or classes will naturally do bad. And they tend to also place blame elsewhere (hard teacher, hard class, lots of work) instead of admitting that they just aren’t a good student.</p>

<p>Pre-med isn’t a program, it’s a track. You take the classes that prepare you for the MCATs (Bio, Chem, OChem, Physics, Calc). My friends liked their classes for the most part (many did not like physics and calc, because they are less natural-science based and therefore not their strong suits), but all did relatively well.</p>

260

<p>Every university seems to do it differently. Does it include freshman year? If it takes weighted, how many classes are given the AP/honors bump?</p>