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<p>Not everyone agrees with you on this one. My daughter didn’t apply to CMU though she certainly would have been in the top quartile of applicants. CMU doesn’t appeal to everyone.</p>
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<p>Exactly. I personally picked Pitt over CMU and have never regretted that choice.</p>
<p>Pitt could be a top school, because I don’t want to graduate college with a large amount of debt and from videos I’ve seen, the campus is aesthetically pleasing. Not because it is the best school that I can get into. I can go to better schools, which aren’t 6 hours away from my house, but happen to be 2.5x more expensive… I try to weigh the pros and cons, to figure out the best decision for me.</p>
<p>Anyway, thanks for answering my question. Even though whether or not I could easily take classes at CMU wasn’t a large factor in my college searches, it was somewhat of a factor. Its really sickening that Pitt would say that I could take classes at surrounding Universities, and fail to mention that it is basically impossible due to distance and scheduling conflicts.</p>
<p>Also another reason I’m considering Pitt is because I want to do a lot of research, and it is one of the top public research institutes in the US. So I suppose this brings me to another question, what are the research opportunities like? And can you elaborate upon conducting research at Pitt.</p>
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<p>Consortiums are common across the country. My guess is that none of them make it easy. The idea is that you could take a class or two, but certainly not a large number of classes. It is designed to let you explore something that your home university doesn’t offer. </p>
<p>CMU is about a block or two away from Pitt down Forbes Avenue. Perhaps some buildings are a mile or two, but it seems much closer than that to me.</p>
<p>Research opportunities are abundant for motivated students. My daughter worked for a while in the physics department and may do undergraduate research in the math department this summer. She is currently in her third year.</p>
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<p>I apologize for making this statement and not specifying, “academically better” (its top 20 in the nation consistently, that’s what I’m basing this claim off of). I couldn’t see myself at a school like CMU full time. I haven’t visited CMU because it is 6 hours away from my house, but I have visited schools of its caliber, and the people there just seem really full of themselves. That’s not me. I don’t like people who are just so into themselves, that it becomes obnoxious. I went on a tour at MIT and UMass (I apologize if I’m wrong, all the Massachusetts schools in 3 days was a blur, but they were of CMU’s academic caliber) and holy crap those tour guides were arrogant. In an overall sense, I would have to agree Pitt is probably a better school.</p>
<p>***Just to make it clear, its not to say that very genuine people don’t exist at these universities, but from my experience, and talking to my friends about their experiences, the consensus is that many of the people are very standoff-ish and arrogant.</p>
<p>I know Pitt and CMU have several joint centers and projects in which students from both schools participate, each school bringing it’s strength to the table. You may want to check with the CS department about that.</p>
<p>You have a point about campus culture - the two campuses have a different feel and you have to visit them to find out for yourself, beyond what you get from the tour guides. My S wondered off a couple of times just to talk to students and even a prfoessor or two. That also helped.</p>
<p>I won’t enter the Pitt vs. CMU debate except to note that the campuses are adjacent; it’s not technically accurate to say that they are a mile or two apart. In fact, as a Pitt student, my daughter had classes for one of her courses in a building that was officially CMU. However, getting from the far end of one campus to the far end of the other might take a while. Just look at Google maps.</p>
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<p>Definitely over a mile from where I was freshman year (Forbes Hall). And that is a miserable mile to walk (partially uphill, not very steep hill, but all the same) in the winter when it’s like 20 degrees outside.</p>
<p>I’m just putting it out there as a warning. It seems awesome to take CMU classes, but make sure you’re taking everything into account.</p>
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<p>Research is actually pretty easy (in my opinion) to get into. I had friends start researching in labs as freshman, continue it into the summer (getting paid) and then continue on throughout the years, eventually getting an awesome med school rec.</p>
<p>In terms of Engineering, I was part of a research group (for a short while, the machine I was supposed to use broke) as a sophomore in the fall. The easiest way to get involved is to just look up what kind of research professors are doing, and then contact the ones that interest you and ask if there’s any way you can become involved. Most professors will probably be incredibly receptive, as they love extra help. Depending on the department and research, there is a possibility you could get paid too.</p>
<p>I’m guessing you’re talking about CS research? I don’t know much about that, per se, but I’d just suggest what I said above: contacting people who seem to be doing interesting things.</p>
<p>As a note: I would at least wait until spring of freshman year to start research. You want to give yourself enough time to acclimate to the school, get a few classes under your belt, and kind of feel your way around. There’s no point in overwhelming yourself first semester with the research and having to back out last second.</p>
<p>AwesomeOpossum, can you answer anything about co-ops for an engineering student? In particular, the NSA? Is it hard to get accepted into these opportunities? Thanks. (an interested PITT mom)</p>
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<p>Co-Ops are pretty popular among the engineering students. I’d say a good number go through at LEAST one rotation, although a lot of students don’t finish all three rotations for various reasons. Most companies are very easy to get a co-op with (I’m always getting bombarded with emails throughout the year with “XYZ company seeking co-ops! Send your resume in!”). </p>
<p>With that said, NSA co-ops are very, VERY difficult to get. Not only that, but they take a VERY, VERY, VERY long time to start, once you’ve applied. The security clearance alone can take 6-9months up to a year to get done. Plus if you apply, your application can sit for up to a year before it’s needed. That’s two years right there.</p>
<p>On top of the time, it’s highly competitive. You need a STELLAR (I’d say 3.5+) GPA to even be considered. And then you need a major that they want. </p>
<p>Anyways, conclusion is: Anyone with around a 2.75+ will get a co-op, I’d say the 3.0+ are almost guaranteed at least one, and about 3.5+ will get the great ones. NSA co-ops are hard to impossible to get.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply awesome. My son says that based on his transcripts, the recruiter from NSA is giving him the impression that basically it is a done deal, and that he will start co-oping with them next May. He still has to go through with the background check,polygraph, and psychological testing. He is supposed to have a private 20 minute phone interview sometime in the near future. He is a sophmore computer engineering major. I just hope that he is not dissapointed, and knows how the actual process works.</p>
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<p>I sure hope so! The situation I know of, the person interviewed in the summer, and it took a full year to begin (from about July until the following May). Good luck to your son!</p>
<p>AwesomeOpossum, i was wondering how competitive UPitt is compared to other schools? I plan on doing premed, and I know that at other public schools, this can get quite cutthroat, so I was just wondering if you knew about the atmosphere at Upitt. thanks!</p>
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<p>Since Pitt is such a popular/good pre-med school, there are a LOT of pre-med students here. However, I don’t think that the atmosphere of pre-med is really cutthroat to my knowledge (especially not in the Honors College). People are very friendly and willing to help with labs, homework, or getting together to study in general. On top of that, the students seem to be supportive of each other, offering good advice and tips for things like research and volunteering. I’d say overall, although the students work very VERY hard to get good grades and do good work, to each other they are nice and helpful.</p>
<p>Thanks!! Sounds like my kind of place :)</p>
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<p>Awesome! I hope you end up coming here 
It really is a wonderful place to be!</p>
<p>Hello!</p>
<p>I have been accepted to Pitts main campus and I was just curious of your overall feelings about the campus in general. I am coming from Minnesota so its a HUGE move from my comfort zone! I was looking into criminal justice or law so I was wondering if you had any friends in the program and how they liked it. I was also wondering about freshman living. I was thinking about living in the towers. I like the idea of tower C having single dorms and will probably request C first and A second. Any feedback on these towers? sorry if you have already answered these questions! You can direct me to one of your answers if you don’t feel like retyping everything :)</p>
<p>I’ll let Awesome and others answer most of your questions, but are you aware that Pitt does not have a criminal justice program at their main campus? Nor is law a major. Of course one can always go to graduate school in these areas from a different major.</p>
<p>could I get a degree in say, anthropology, and go to law school with it?</p>