<p>Are you sure the desks do not already have shelves? I know they did in Sutherland and the Towers.</p>
<p>They do in the other dorms but looking at the pictures and the videos for Lothrop, I don’t see anything over the desks.</p>
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<p>For some reason, any dorm that houses upperclassmen doesn’t put hutches on the desks and I don’t know why because they are AMAZING. You can probably get desk measurements if you call Panther Central.</p>
<p>Thanks! I will have my daughter give them a call. </p>
<p>Another question, I heard that you should not purchase your text books untill the first week of class, reason being that some teachers end up telling the students that they will not be using the books. I would think that you would need your text books the first week you go to class?</p>
<p>You can return any textbooks that are not going to be used. Obviously, you can save some money by buying textbooks online, but for the first semester, the convenience of buying at the bookstore is nice.</p>
<p>Plus, my daughter just got a bookstore job packing book orders for incoming students!</p>
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<p>You could use the textbook to read from, but since the add/drop period for classes is the first two weeks of term, the textbook is less relied on in the first two weeks. However, for a lot of basic classes (i.e. Chem, Calc, Bio, etc.) you absolutely NEED the textbook. Buying the textbook online is INFINITELY cheaper than getting them in the bookstore. I recommend emailing each professor that you will have for class and asking them if the textbook is required and should be purchased. Then go ahead and buy the books online to save money.</p>
<p>My daughter called Panther central and they said that the rooms in Lothrop should have a hutch above the desk and that if it is not on her room when she moves in, then she should give them a call.</p>
<p>I am really free on my tuesdays and thursdays and I’m only taking 4 classes. So I was considering throwing in another elective. The course is labeled special topics-Architecture and meets once a week for 2 and a half hours. Does anyone have experience first and foremost with one day a week classes? And even better, has anyone taken one of these ‘special topics’ courses? Any insight is appreciated!</p>
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<p>I’ve taken quite a few once a week classes. Except for 1 case, I really was not a fan of the format. You’re in class, generally later at night, for 2.5 hours NON STOP. You learn a weeks worth of material in one setting and you have homework based on that one class generally due the next class. By shoving a bunch of material at you in one sitting I felt that it could be harder for me to learn at times. Also, after getting used to shorter (50 minute) classes, it was hard for me to stay concentrated for the full 2.5 hours that the class went.</p>
<p>The one time I liked it was when I took a film class. Even though it was a “4 hour” class, most of the time was spent watching a movie and discussing it as a group. It wasn’t a traditional lecture format.</p>
<p>Got another question for you. I really like the Shadyside area, the only concern I have is the distance from the university. A couple of places I’m looking at are on the east side of Shadyside. Walking appears to be pretty far, so will the bus system be reliable enough where living there wouldn’t be a bad idea?</p>
<p>I’m enrolled in the Work Study program for this fall (incoming freshman), and I was wondering what some of the better jobs may be (pay per hour, enjoyable, etc)?</p>
<p>Also, I know work study jobs are like real jobs, you have to apply to each and interview…but are upperclassmen typically given preference?</p>
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<p>What cross streets are you looking at? There are 5 common Shadyside-Oakland buses: the 71A, 71B, 71C, 71D and the 75. If you live close enough to Fifth Ave (and anywhere at or before Highland) you will be able to catch the 71B/71D. If you live near Ellsworth you’ll catch the 75. The 71A and C go down Center avenue I believe. The 71B and 71D should be coming relatively regularly (like every 10-15 minutes) so I’d suggest living close enough to 5th Ave that you could catch a bus there.</p>
<p>But if you live anywhere near the Walnut street shopping or earlier, then Pitt is a doable 20-30 minute walk, depending how far into campus you go. Or a quick bike. A lot of graduate students live in Shadyside and take the bus, so it’s definitely a common area for students to live!</p>
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<p>If you are good with computers definitely work with ResCon (they go around doing house calls fixing computers etc.). They also get top choice in housing! Other good/easy jobs are working in the libraries and computer labs. Software licencing is pretty easy but there aren’t a lot of openings.</p>
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<p>I don’t know. Possibly for return jobs (i.e. if you worked there before they will let you come back instead of hiring someone new). I’ve never done WS so someone who has may want to add their comments.</p>
<p>Thanks, good to know. One is on the corner of Walnut and College ave(this one is owned by the university) and the other was located on S. Highland between Walnut and Ellisworth. </p>
<p>They both appear to be a litte farther then the Walnut street shopping. </p>
<p>Any feelings on Central Oakland? I didn’t really like South Oakland to much, but North Oakland seemed pretty nice. Is it more like North Oakland or South Oakland?</p>
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<p>They both appear to be a litte farther then the Walnut street shopping.
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<p>They are a bit farther away, but you’re a quick walk to Fifth or Ellsworth to grab a bus!</p>
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<p>I only knew a few people who lived in Central Oakland (right above IGA). It isn’t very common, and I think it’s an odd place to live personally (if you’re not in a dorm). South Oakland can be a pretty awful place to live, but you’re right, North Oakland is nice. Almost ALL of my friends lived in North Oakland in pretty nice apartments, the only thing is that it can be a little bit more expensive, so having a roommate helps reduce costs.</p>
<p>My daughter lives near the intersection of Craig and Centre in North Oakland. She is staying in the same building for the second year. She wanted to move a couple blocks closer to Shadyside to a bit nicer place that offered free parking because she now has a car, but her apartment-mate wanted to stay where they were.</p>
<p>As a parent, it is not a fabulous area, but there are lots of students around.</p>
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<p>Has she checked to see if her street qualifies for zone permit parking? It’s $21 for a year parking permit & Visitor dashboard permit. There are some streets that actually provide great, safe parking. I did street parking all of last year and never had an issue.</p>
<p>We had the street parking discussion yesterday. I just think it is nice when you come home at night to know that you have a spot right next to the building. Thank you, though.</p>
<p>Any opinions on Oak Hills in West Oakland? The reviews are so mixed, but it might be my only option.</p>
<p>I’ve also heard negative things about Oak Hills and decided against the west Oakland area. DS is in north oakland and haven’t had issues. His building has a garage and they charge a monthly fee for parking.</p>