<p>Hey, if you don’t mind me jumping in with some info about the orchestra (since a few people are asking):</p>
<p>Orchestra meets Wednesday nights throughout both fall and spring semesters, as well as non-mandatory Monday nights before concerts. We typically have about 3-4 concerts per semester, also on Wednesday nights. The orchestra is made up of all majors (very few people are actually majoring solely in music). It’s a very laid-back experience and good if you were into band/orch in high school and want to keep playing. Auditions take place at the beginning of the semester–there will be sign-up sheets posted inside the music building.</p>
<p>melox93–Wind players do not usually get as much play time as the strings. This is because the conductor takes in more wind players than he needs (especially for flute/clarinet/oboe), and then rotates them so that everybody gets a few songs to play. I personally don’t mind this arrangement because it’s less music for me to practice. I’m a clarinet player and I love being in the orchestra. We’re not particularly good (our concerts are hit or miss), but we have fun. Feel free to message me if you have any more questions about orchestra!</p>
<p>@Clarinetz</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification 
So glad to get some more details from someone (other than my random guessing)</p>
<p>@melox93 </p>
<p>And I forgot to mention (not wanting to sound superior :P) but the Band is pretty darn good! We had a really experienced band last year (lots of returning people/few freshman I guess) and the director said the concert we performed sounded great. (So, really, you get two options- Orchestra for a lighter load all year, or Band for a heavier load half the year).</p>
<p>@AwesomeOpossum @Clarinetz Wow thanks for all the information about the Band! It sounds like fun, I would love to do it! (hopefully I get accepted) haha. It’s nice to be able to talk to Pitt students already experienced with this! I was thinking about sending a musical recording along with my application. Do either of you have any tips for the recording? Such as how long it should be? Also what do you think they are looking for when they hear musical recordings? Thanks so much! :)</p>
<p>Sent from my M860 using CC App</p>
<p>@melox93</p>
<p>If you’re considering band, I would recommend contacting Jack Anderson directly to set up an in-person audition. (Most people I know did it the day/days they went up for their PittStart (the session where you sign up for your classes) in the summer). If you can’t do that, I would still contact and ask what he would most like to hear or look for from you. Like I said, he’s really friendly, so no worries about asking him directly!</p>
<p>I have some parental logistic questions about marching band - my ds will be going to a late Pittstart session (mid-July) so he contacted Jack Anderson but hasn’t heard back about auditioning. So, basically I understand that you come to Pitt for band camp at another satellite campus about a week before orientation. When are you technically able to move into your permanent dorm - before or after band camp? We are from OOS so logistics are concerning!</p>
<p>@Amandakayak</p>
<p>A few questions</p>
<p>1.) How long ago did your S contact Jack?
2.) Has he tried calling?</p>
<p>I ask because, in my experience, Jack always took at least a few days to get back to my by email, and this was in the off season with no marching band to worry about! If your S doesn’t hear back in 1 week or so, try a follow-up email and/or calling to get through.</p>
<p>As for moving in- Your S will move into his dorm, completely, before the start of band camp. I’m not sure if this happens the day before or the day of, I will contact my friend (this year’s Drum Major) and ask him specifics. From what I can remember, students moved in early, left all their stuff in their room except what they needed for Band Camp, and then travelled to the Band Camp location with the band for the week. They come back in time for orientation for the freshman (I think by Wednesday or Thursday?).</p>
<p>Thanks - he emailed probably 2 wks ago or so. he just left him a message per your suggestion. I’d bet someone needs a vacation and this would be the time for it! I just want to make sure we get this arranged - a primary criteria for choosing Pitt was on the strength of its marching band! That will be great to be all moved in before the rush.</p>
<p>@Amandakayak</p>
<p>Moving in early is a definite PLUS for an OOS student (I myself moved in early and LOVED it). Also, I hope your S really enjoys the Marching Band, I’m not sure he knows, but they are celebrating their 100th year (!) this year, and apparently the festivities and performances are going to be spectacular. It’s really a fantastic tradition to become a part of! :)</p>
<p>How did you get the endowed scholarship fund? Is it something that is offered every year to certain people?</p>
<p>@Aq72748</p>
<p>It’s not something you can apply for. The way I got mine was a bit interesting-- the student who had it before me decided to switch majors. Unfortunately the scholarship was attached to the major they previously had (and the one I’m in), so when they switched, they were no longer allowed to be endowed. The advisor in charge of scholarships recommended me as the next person to recieve it, based on my academic standing and previous scholarships/work. So, they took away my old one and gave me the endowed fund instead.</p>
<p>A lot of my friends, though, had endowed funds from the start. The major thing for engineering, I think, is applying to Pitt early (I think most applied in September/October), having a really strong academic application, and knowing what you want to major in (and actually sticking with it). Most of the funds are related by majors (because they’re alumni!) so that’s my knowledge of it…</p>
<p>Hey—
I was just wondering about the whole cross registration program with other schools such as Chatham University…I’ve been told it’s possible to cross register for classes, but is it at all possible for a student to take a major at each school? Just wondering Thanks!</p>
<p>^^^^^Simple answer is No. You’re either a Pitt student or a Chatham student - not both.</p>
<p>If you are cross-registering, isimarie620, you will want to check the schedules. They are not exactly the same. It seems as though I have read some place that cross-registering is limited to one class per semester.</p>
<p>I also thought that it was limited to classes that were not offered at the home university. However, DD told me that students do take classes that they have trouble getting. For example, she knows someone who took physics at Carnegie Mellon because of a scheduling conflict at Pitt.</p>
<p>@isiemarie620</p>
<p>Like @MDMom said, it’s mostly a matter of what class you want to take and what you’re trying to take a Pitt. The way cross-registration works (and to my knowledge, it was only between Pitt and CMU, not sure about Chatam) is that Pitt couldn’t offer an equivalent course to the one you’re trying to take. You can also take no more than 1 class per semester at a different university (and I think a 4-credit limit on the class). Basically, there’s no way you could double major with one major at the other university. The idea behind enrolling at Pitt is that you’re getting your degree here. If you want to supplement it with a class or two that’s fine, but an entire major is not going to fly.</p>
<p>I haven’t heard of anyone being allowed to take a basic class, like physics, at another univeristy either. It must have been a pretty special case (for many extenuous reasons beyond a “scheduling conflict”, there are a LOT of times that physics is offered, I can’t believe that not a single one would fit into a freshman schedule). </p>
<p>So, to answer your question in brief: You can cross-register one class a semester (not fall freshman year) and no, you can’t double major between universities.</p>
<p>The co-op is more than just CMU-Pitt. </p>
<p>The physics class was probably not the freshman-level class, but I don’t know which class it was.</p>
<p>Cross-registration is a wonderful option, but it’s way overhyped. Two major points:
- The host school’s students have registration priority (i.e., you will be the last to register so if the course is filled, you’re not getting into the class) and,
- Your dean has to give permission for you to enroll in the first place. Basically, that means if your home school has the equivalent course, you cannot take it at the other institution. </p>
<p>The institutions that comprise the Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education consortium all participate in the PCHE Cross Registration Program. They are:
Carlow University
Carnegie Mellon University
Chatham University
Community College of Allegheny County
Duquesne University
La Roche Collge
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Point Park University
Robert Morris University
University of Pittsburgh</p>
<p>Having said that, many students do take advantage of this opportunity and it presents a much wider range of course offerings than any one school can offer. It’s a supplemental program - not your primary source of schooling. Don’t come into this expecting to get your degree from one school while paying tuition at another one.</p>
<p>Here’s a link to the website listing the guidelines for cross-registration (Remember, each school has their own interpretations of these guidelines!):
<a href=“http://76.12.104.172/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=9&id=36&Itemid=56[/url]”>http://76.12.104.172/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=9&id=36&Itemid=56</a></p>
<p>What kind of laptop would you recommend for engineering students? Do you know if they need any specifications to run certain programs? I was looking around on the School of Engineering site but couldn’t find any information.</p>
<p>How and/or why do people receive departmemtal scholarships?</p>
<p>@maybepremed123</p>
<p>Definitely get a PC laptop. I say this because (to my knowledge) the freshman engineering classes make you learn programming where some of the programs can only be installed on a PC (my Mac friends had to partition their harddrive, install Windows, then install the program, all for one class!). In later classes for me (Materials Science/Mechanical) we had other programs (like ProEngineer for instance) that only operated on PCs. Basically, it made life a lot easier to have one. However, if you have your heart set on a Mac, don’t let that deter you. Just know you’ll have to go through a bunch of extra steps to accomplish homework on your own time (if you don’t want to always be in a computer lab working on it).</p>
<p>@thenextbigthing</p>
<p>Since you have to announce what school (Engineering, Arts&Sciences, etc.) you are applying to when you apply, those schools will get your application and evaluate it. For Engineering, a relatively small school (about 400 people a class, and that diminishes over time) there can often be a lot of money to give out to applicants. It’s (in my opinion) probably easier to get money in engineering because so few people apply ever year and because we have a LOT of alumni who love to donate to the school to fund these scholarships.</p>
<p>In the case of Arts&Sciences, you don’t declare a major until Sophomore year. So, you don’t really have the advantage of a small department/alumni until then. Therefore, it would seem to me that it’s going to be a lot harder to get departmental funding coming into Pitt as a freshman in that case.</p>
<p>Either way, the school never told me the specifics of how I got my scholarship. All I did was apply to Pitt, and then 2 weeks after getting my acceptance letter, I got my scholarship letter which had the two scholarships in it (The one from the Honor’s College and the one from the Engineering School). There was never a separate application for them, so the only material they saw to evaluate whether or not I got the money was my actual application to the school.</p>
<p>As to why people get the money: I don’t know. I personally had a really strong application for Pitt, and I guess they realized it would be a good pull for me to go to their school (over CMU/Georgia Tech/etc.) if I had money.</p>