Pitt FAQs

<p>It’s interesting that you mention Google only hires CMU grads, because during an info session at Pitt they mentioned Google and I got the impression Google moved to town because of Pittsburgh’s supercomputer. Perhaps they meant the city and not the school’s computer? I definitely thought Google internships were available to students.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>They most probably either meant the city or CMU (they were originally located in a building on CMU’s campus).</p>

<p>I’m going to try and dig up the article or discussion I found where someone asked Google about how they hire for the Pittsburgh office, and one of the requirements was a degree from CMU. Thus the not hiring Pitt students part.</p>

<p>I have visited Pitt and loved it. 2 friends of mine that graduated this summer are currently at Pitt and they gave me a tour. Right now, it’s my first choice, assuming I get decent financial aid. Here is my thread, you can either reply here, or on my thread.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1389144-chances-pitt.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1389144-chances-pitt.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>There is only one supercomputing center in Pittsburgh. Since its inception in 1986, the [Pittsburgh</a> Supercomputing Center](<a href=“http://www.psc.edu/]Pittsburgh”>http://www.psc.edu/) is a joint project of Pitt, Carnegie Mellon, and Westinghouse Electric.</p>

<p>How does rolling admission work? I have not encountered another school that does admissions this way. How long is the turnover for a reply? Am I correct that there is no such thing as a “deferral”? Thank you.</p>

<p>Looking at last year’s accepted student thread, acceptances started coming in between October 8 and 15. While “deferred” might not be the term Pitt uses, it is possible that they would request 1st semester grades in which case the decision would be deferred until January. (Some students in that position on these threads seem to have gotten earlier results sending 1st quarter grades and other supplemental information.)</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>It means that there is no deadline for turning in your application. You can submit it anytime from the summer before your senior year up until about March of your senior year with no penalty. There are some other deadlines-- like January 15 for scholarships. The turnaround depends. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Like Quakerstake said, they don’t start sending out acceptances until early October (for everyone who submitted before then) so earlier applicants could wait a while. It also depends on the strength of an application-- a very strong application will probably hear back sooner (I had a 2 week turnaround when I applied).</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Similar to quakerstake-- I don’t think deferral is the right word (that’s generally used by someone who got into college and “defers” a year to pursue another activity before matriculating). Pitt can sometimes tell an applicant that they are on the fence and would like additional info (like your first quarter or semester grades) to help them decide. To avoid this, send a strong and complete application-- your transcript, letters of rec, an essay, and a resume of your EC activities. That should help them decide.</p>

<p>Hi Can you please tell me what is avg. class size in Engineering? Percent of classes taught by TAs? Are profs available to students outside of class (realistically, not just “official office hours”)? Are advisors helpful? Thanks for helping.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>It depends. The starting class (i.e. matriculation) at Pitt is generally around 400…but maybe turns into 300 by the end of the first or second year.</p>

<p>Because everyone has the same first year schedules, your classes can be big. Chem, Physics, and Calc can be anywhere from 100-300+ students. Engineering is around 50-70 students. Your electives will probably be much smaller (mine were always capped around 25).</p>

<p>As you go up in years (sophomore, junior) after you have declared your major, the classes get smaller. The biggest ones are probably the Mechanical classes (can still be around 70-80 students), Chemical Engineering (70-80) and Bio Engineering (70-80) for the core classes. Your electives both inside and outside of engineering will be very small. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Classes, at least in engineering, are NOT taught by TAs. You might have a TA oversee your lab or run recitation sessions (aka ask any questions about material, get help on homework, etc.). In A&S you might have a graduate student teaching a class as opposed to a full-fledged professor, but those were actually some of my best classes (I had Calc 3 and a theater class taught by grad students. Both were great).</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Well first of all, the whole point of OH is a guaranteed time that you can go to your professor’s office and talk to him/her. However, if OH don’t fit in your schedule or you have an urgent question, etc. professor really are accessible. I generally email my professors asking a question and tell them what times I am free to meet. They’ll pick one and say “stop by then” or if the question is simple enough, just answer it over email. You can also talk to them before or after class if there is time.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>In my opinion, no. I figured out what classes I had to take on my own, came up with all my schedules on my own, and only saw my advisor once to get permission to sign up for class. HOWEVER, when I was considering studying abroad they were very helpful in that regard for what I could and couldn’t get credit for. But as for knowing what classes to take, you should figure that out on your own using the department website and check lists they have (they generally even break it down semester by semester for you).</p>

<p>Awesome: aren’t the first year classes smaller if you take honors sections of calc,physics and/or chem?</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>They are. I think the calc classes were around 40-50 students maybe (I’d have to ask my old roommate who took them). When I took UHC Physics and Chem they were around 85 people and 120 people respectively. Second semester, UHC Chem was about 60 people instead (physics was the same). I think they’re around 60-70 students each now, but I don’t know.</p>

<p>Hey, so i got my acceptance letter the other day. I indicated pre-med on my application, can i change that without any problems? thanks!</p>

<p>are the UHC classes significantly harder than non UHC classes?</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Yes. Pre-med isn’t a major, it’s a track. You just won’t take any pre-med classes (Calc, Physics, Bio, Chem, OChem) that aren’t relevant to your major. Anyone in any major can be pre-med.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Yes. They are generally faster pace, deeper material, and more theoretical. They are more difficult than AP courses in high school (to give you a comparison, AP courses are somewhat similar to the regular level of the courses at Pitt).</p>

<p>ok thanks, i applied last night, how long does it usually take to get the email with the info to log on to the website (to see if they received my transcript, sat, ect.)</p>

<p>I’m wondering if you can fulfill Gen Eds with required courses in your major. For example, if I were a Biology major, could BIOSC 0150 cover one of the Natural Sciences general education requirements? Basically, does Pitt allow you to “overlap” major and gen ed requirements? </p>

<p>This will determine whether I pay for a dual enrollment class I’m currently taking in high school.</p>

<p>I know that my daughter tries to get double credit (major, certificate requirements, and gen Ed) on a regular basis. This may depend on your major, however.</p>

<p>Definitely! If you are a biology major, you do not have to worry about the natural science requirement since it will be covered in your major.</p>

<p>You can definitely overlap major and gen ed classes. But just FYI, you can’t have a class count for more than one gen ed category (except for one W requirement and the IFN requirement). So if you took a “History of Art” class, it can only count for your history or your art requirement.</p>