Pitt FAQs

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pittsburgh
1561

@Leyland‌ It seems like @amandakayak‌ did a great job covering your questions, but I’ll add my 2 cents as well

Excited. Generally enjoys class. Confused by the bus system (learn it as soon as you can though, it’s a blessing!). Joins a lot of clubs. Friendly. A Pitt freshman will be like any other freshman at college- new, confused, excited, willing to try new things. I will say that overall the Pitt campus and Pittsburgh in general is SUPER friendly so if you’re lost/stuck/confused don’t feel bad about reaching out and asking someone for help.

The same as for an IS freshman. A few people from nearby may go home, but a vast majority of students will stay on campus. What do they do? A variety of things- homework, clubs, go out around town (movies, shows in the cultural district, try a new restaurant, go shopping, check out the museums, hang out and play video games, etc.)

Definitely depends on the major. I had an easy freshman year because my intro college classes were less intense than my senior high school ones. However the information was more varied (physics, chemistry, math, programming) whereas by junior year I was in higher level classes, but much more focuses in my major so that studying for one class could directly affect studying for another class (i.e. material starts to overlap and/or rely on each other). I had more fun/an easier time learning in my classes for my major because that, specifically, is what I wanted to study and learn. But other people may feel differently.

No but there are majors that are always going to be much more work intensive (engineering, hard sciences, nursing, for example will always carry more work than an anthropology or English major might have).

Depends on where in the east. Traveling on I-76 across PA isn’t really bad (I’ve done the trip to/from Philly multiple times, excluding holidays it shouldn’t take more than 5-6 hours). If you go across the middle of the state (I-80) then the roads are smaller (2 lane highway) but I’ve NEVER seen traffic on that road ever. You are a bit more isolated in terms of rest stops and such (going through the countryside instead of major cities) but it’s pretty easy.

The biggest traffic is hitting the tunnels to get in/out of Pittsburgh around downtown and Squirrel Hill (I-376, Ft. Pitt Tunnels from Airport, I-279 bridge). Beyond that, traffic isn’t bad.

1562

Of the students who live in the freshmen Honors Housing dorm, about what percentage would you say are into partying / getting drunk?

1563

My freshman housing was probably half the size (in terms of population) that the current freshman housing is. With that said, I probably only knew of a handful of people that were VERY into drinking every weekend/getting drunk/going to parties. I had a handful of friends that went out occasionally and were never belligerent when they returned. Overall, I’d say something like 10-15% maybe? A lot of students, even if they occasionally drank, did not get raucously drunk a lot and still tried to be considerate (i.e. I can’t recall seeing a person who had partied on a non-weekend day, never recall seeing someone destroy property while drunk, etc.) During my freshman year I think I only knew of 1 major alcohol-related incident that occurred in the dorm.

1564

My son is going to be a sophomore and just found out that he got into Forbes Craig. He is not thrilled considering the problems that they are currently having with mice. The university said that they are addressing it but I wonder how long this problem has been going on. Is it a problem that has been plaguing this building repeatedly? It’s a lot of money to put out for a place that requires mousetraps set up everywhere. The lowest number any of his roommates and he have is 1350ish. Is it worth trying to find a triple elsewhere or is their number too high? Also, I read that it’s a very noisy building with a lot of unsavory types hanging around. Is it safe? Anything else you can tell me about living there? Thanks!!

1565

Wow. I had no idea that FC was having mice problems. The first year I lived there we had 0 issues with the building. The second year I was there (2010-2011) we had a few waterbug/cockroach problems the first 1-2 weeks of school, after which we never had issues again. The year after that (2011-2012) the building got all new furniture, so I didn’t think it was really having issues (in fact it seemed as it if might be up for better renovations soon). The mice thing, therefore, is totally new to me. I don’t know of anyone currently living there, so that may also be a part of why I was in the dark.

With a number that high you definitely won’t get another apartment style choice (i.e. you won’t get into Ruskin). You’re probably looking at a suite somewhere- most likely an older building like Bruce, Brackenridge, or McCormick.

Never heard of noise being an issue in FC ever. I mean on weekends you’d hear people playing music or having a party but only either in the stairwell (echoes) or just outside of their apartment door. It is Honors Housing so traditional housing issues with regards to noise, alcohol, etc. should be at a minimum. As for it’s location, it’s on campus at a very populous intersection (Forbes and Craig). The other buildings nearby? A whole street of awesome food choices (Craig Street), a church (next door to FC), and museums (The Carnegie Museum of Art is across the street from the front door). It’s also at the edge of CMU’s campus. Hardly unsafe. In fact, I’ve been out and about at all sorts of hours in that area and never felt uncomfortable.

I really like the freedom it provided since it was apartment style (i.e. full kitchen) but the ease of not having to worry about furniture, etc. Since it was UHC housing I never worried about who was wandering through the building, problems with things being stolen, etc. My two years there were awesome.

1566

Thanks, @AwesomeOposum! He currently lives in Bruce in the business LLC. Likes it but was hoping to move out of the quad because he feels that his life centers around a 2 block radius! He was originally hoping to move to Upper Campus but FC is what he ended up with. Is it too late to find off-campus housing. He was told that you really need to sign a contract in October for the following school year or pretty much everything is gone. Thoughts on that? Thanks so much for your thorough responses! They are always so helpful!

1567

@curiousinpa - my dd (rising jr) hasn’t found an apt yet and there are many property mgt companies that haven’t released their vacancies yet (my son - he’s graduating, wasn’t even asked by his landlord if they are renewing yet - he’s in Squirrel Hill) so I wouldn’t say it is too late at all! Check out Craigslist - you will see alot listed.

1568

Definitely not! Like @amandakayak‌ said, a lot of places haven’t even done their lease renewals yet (my apt. also in Squirrel Hill doesn’t require notification until the end of this month). I will suggest that he starts looking now, though, because a lot of places are starting to open up for an August lease (I would say Feb/March is a great starting point). I’d also suggest that he not limit himself to close to campus. Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, North Oakland all have loads of places within walking/bus distance.

1569

Thanks so much! I’ll let him know!!

1570

Thank you for your response about honors housing as it relates to partying. Do you know anything about the atmosphere / amount of partying in the new business honors dorm? Or anything else about Honors Business housing?

1571

Unfortunately I don’t. From what I remember of the various LLC’s though, they tend to be on the lower-end of the party-scale.

1572

What’s the most common transportation for students at Pitt? Is bus actually a convenient/realistic means or does pretty much everyone have their own car

1573

My kids use the Pitt shuttles around campus at times, walk alot and use the Pitt MTA buses (free to students). Having a car to get beyond Pittsburgh is a nice to have but not a must have and finding parking, paying for a parking spot, is an added cost/hassle.

1574

@leglariat, I agree with amandakayak. A car is nice but not necessary at all. My son will be a Sophomore next year and although he was originally hoping to take a car to school with him he just mentioned a few days ago that he absolutely doesn’t want one now. The public transportation systems are fabulous. He can get just about anywhere very easily and it’s free. The cost of having a car at school and the lack of available parking are the two biggest factors. He said that often students end up having to pay for parking in local garages because they can’t find parking elsewhere. That can add up quickly–especially if you’ve already paid for a parking permit.

1575

@leglariat‌, I work for Pitt, across the street from the Cathedral of Learning, and I live on the other side of the city. Taking a bus is still more convenient than driving. If you are living in/near Oakland, it’s even better. There are buses cycling through Oakland every few minutes heading downtown, to popular neighborhoods like Shadyside/Squirrel Hill/South Side, and even to the airport. Plus, as has been mentioned before, you get to ride fare-free with your student I.D. Parking can get expensive/difficult and free is hard to pass up, so many students and staff do choose to take the bus.

If you have other questions about life at Pitt, one of our Pitt Pathfinders (student tour guide) will be answering questions on Twitter from 6-8 p.m. She is taking over the @pittadmissions Twitter profile, so you can tweet at our handle and/or use #PittChat.

We also just formed a team of students who post on Twitter/Instagram about their day-to-day at Pitt, so feel free to follow them for more info:

@H2Palex – Communication and Rhetoric, Class of 2016.

@H2Panita – School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences candidate, Class of 2018.
@H2Pgina – Rehabilitation Science, Class of 2017.
@H2Pian – Pre-Med/Neuroscience, Class of 2018.
@H2Pmaddie – Marketing, Class of 2018.

@H2Pmichelle – Social Work, Class of 2016.
@H2Prebecca – English Writing, Class of 2015.
@H2Ptyler – Finance/Supply Chain Management, Class of 2017.

-A Pitt Admissions Staffer

1576

Like everyone has said, cars aren’t the biggest dealbreaker at Pitt. We are lucky to be able to use the public transportation system in Pittsburgh for free with our student IDs (for the most part this means using the city buses, which can get you close to anywhere from Oakland relatively easily). I’ve lived about 3-4 miles away from campus for the last 3 years and use the bus to get to and from campus every day.

A car is nice, but you have to either pay a small fee ($20) for public parking per year, plus deal with street parking/finding spots near you/etc or pay a premium to live somewhere that has a garage/private parking option. I only had a car my senior year of undergrad because I had moved off campus where parking was a little bit easier to deal with and wanted to be able to drive to the grocery store at odd hours (which was the main use of my car).

1577

@AwesomeOpossum‌ HELP! We have never been to Pittsburgh, and we are trying to book hotels for our long weekend visit, and even using all the travel dot.com sites and suggestions from UPitt, I can’t figure out what’s the best location and wouldn’t require us to walk across six lane highways. We will be there for three nights; we are driving and hoping to arrive on a Friday evening. We want to be close to campus because the tour starts really early the next morning. Is there anything within walking distance to campus as well as to interesting things we can walk to in the evening and on Sunday? We do not require luxury.

1578

@Leyland, I’m sure Awesomeopossum would know best to advise you, but a quick search for hotels near alumni hall came up with this.
https://www.google.com/search?redir_esc=&client=tablet-android-samsung&hl=en-US&safe=on&q=hotels%20near%20alumni%20hall&source=android-browser-type&qsubts=1424437602213&devloc=0#safe=active&hl=en-US&q=hotels+near+alumni+hall+pittsburgh

1579

@Leyland, the Wyndham Pittsburgh University Center is exactly next door to Alumni Hall, where you will be starting your tour. It is across the street from the Cathedral of Learning and very close to plenty of eating options on 5th and Forbes Avenue.

http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/pennsylvania/pittsburgh/wyndham-pittsburgh-university-center/hotel-overview?page=hotel-overview&hotel_id=47154&corporate_id=55418192&ref_id=WYNDHAMCORP

-A Pitt Admissions Staffer

1580

Another tip, if you ck “expressdeals” on Priceline - if they offer a 3-star in “University Center” - it will pull one of either Wyndham or Hilton Gardens - if it’s offering a pool - it’s likely that Wyndham which is a couple bldgs over from Alumni Hall where most weekend tour things begin (admissions/finaid is in that bldg). Also the Hyatt Place hotel in Southside is a very nice alternative - and although across the river, it is a quick mile to campus - no highways.