Pitt FAQs

So are beds in the residence halls at Pitt all XL twin? That means they are about 2 inches longer than reg twin? Oh my I thought they were reg twin and if you wanted XL you had to request it. I already bought sheets and a mattress pad so I guess they won’t fit now.

Honestly I don’t remember but I recall buying Twin XL sheets for my bedding. When you search online it says “twin sized bed” but the UP Johnstown (admittedly different from Oakland) specifically says their beds are Twin XL.

If you’re concerned, I would call PC directly and ask them what the bed size is.

Thanks, @AwesomeOpossum, I will do that when she gets her room assignment.

My son just received his “what to bring” letter in the mail today. It specifically states that all beds are XL and that regular twin sheets do not fit on the beds there.

My older son also bought an “egg crate” mattress pad to help give him a little more comfort since the mattresses are very thin and covered in plastic. It helped to also hold the sheets on the bed. Otherwise they are slide all over.

Ah! So glad I’m not going crazy! Everyone please note you will want Twin XL sheets that fit on your bed! And I will again emphasize that mattress toppers are amazing additions to creating a comfortable bed to sleep in.

Thanks for the tips! I’m so glad I found this out now.

When we received the financial aid award letter, it said my D should go to the online student account and accept or deny any aid. When does this have to be done by? My D applied for several local scholarships and won’t know until June how much she might be awarded. So we won’t know until then if we will need loans. The only federal aid we were awarded were direct loans and we received a small PA grant, since she also has a full tuition scholarship.

I’m not sure if this varies student-to-student or not so your best bet would be to call OAFA and ask them directly when the deadline is.

@mommdc, You are absolutely welcome to call Financial Aid with this kind of question. I know that you will want to accept sooner rather than later, but they can advise you further about how much time they need to process the aid you accept/decline. They would be happy to chat with you about your unique situation and give you the best advice: 412-624-7488.

-A Pitt Admissions Staffer

Thanks so much everyone. We will give the FA office a call.

@hailtopitt1787
I had a quick question about recommendation letters. If we waived our right to read the recommendation letters sent to Pitt, does that mean the teacher that sent in our letter is not permitted to show it to us? We had a project for school requiring recommendations and I did not know if I was allowed to ask my teacher for the letter that he sent to Pitt since I waived my right to read it in the admission process.

@chelsey123, That is for you and the teacher to decide. It is up to them whether they would like to share it with you.

-A Pitt Admissions Staffer

My daughter asked a new teacher from senior year for the recommendation letter, since the other ones were written at the end of junior year.

@hailtopitt1787
I thought if we waived our right to read the recommendation that we were never allowed to read it. I just wanted to make sure that I was permitted to see it by Pitt before I asked him. Does waiving your right to read it just mean that Pitt is not permitted to disclose the letter to the student?

I don’t know. The recommendation letters for admission my daughter didn’t see because the teachers either sent them to the school directly or they were given to the guidance counselor in a sealed envelope and she sent it.
My daughter had some other recommendations written for scholarship applications and those she could see.
So if you are not sure, then maybe get someone to write another letter for this specific purpose or ask your guidance counselor to.

@Chelsey123, Yes, Pitt will not turn the letter over to you if you waived your right to see it. It is up to whoever wrote the recommendation whether they would want to share their copy of the letter with you.

-A Pitt Admissions Staffer

@hailtopitt1787
Okay so as long as he willingly gives me a copy of it, Pitt doesn’t mind the student reading it even though they waived their right?

@Chelsey123, As I said before, it is up to the recommender whether they feel comfortable sharing that letter if they have their own copy. You should just have a conversation with them about it.

Best,
A Pitt Admissions Staffer

@hailtopitt1787
He said that he would be willing to share it with me already. I just wanted to make sure that seeing it didn’t violate waiving my right to view the recommendation. Thanks for clarifying this.

Got an email from housing that kid can find a roommate via the FB app RoomSync.
Wondering again if I should urge D to get a FB account for stuff like this.