<p>By Towers I assume you mean Market Central.</p>
<p>Quick Run down:</p>
<p>There are a bunch of different serving stations inside of MC. Basically you swipe once, go in and eat to your heart/stomach’s delight and leave. The stations consist of:</p>
<p>Pasta Place: Get a custom made pasta (choose your veggies, meats and sauce) Pizza: A bunch of pizzas made and you just walk up and take what you want The Diner: Typical diner fare, think burgers, sandwichs, fries, sometimes grilled cheese and soup, there’s a burger topping bar, and on M-F (maybe S/Sun too) they have a “fixed plate” dinner you grab where they plate out say, meat loaf and mashed potatoes. The Asian Grill: You pile up a bowl of your veggies, they grill it up with your choice of meat and rice, and then you top it with the sauce you want The Vegan Place: They have a different set of food each time, sometimes it’s rice and fish, sometimes a quesadilla The Sandwich/Wrap/Soup place: Have someone make you a cold-cut sandwich/wrap of your choice. Also two kids of soups here Magellans: Only M-Th, they have a different kind of “international meal” each day. The wings are increidble when they get them.</p>
<p>There’s also baked foods/breads/bagels, cereal, waffle makers, and a bunch of soda/drink stations all over the place.</p>
<p>The food isn’t bad, but it gets tiring to eat the same thing after a while. I suggest starting off with a low swipes, high dining dollars meal plan. The dining dollars can be used at many locations on campus (Quick Zone (like a grocery store), Cathedral Cafe, Schenley Cafe, Einstein Bros, etc.) whereas swipes are just for Market Central and The Perch at Sutherland.</p>
<p>So, your daughter will be a senior this upcoming year? I’m assuming then, that she knows what schools she wants to apply to/go to? I wouldn’t consider it early to start touring campuses (I started junior year after I took my SATs).</p>
<p>Anyways, classes begin Monday August 29. We got a holiday for Labor Day (Monday September 5) and Fall Break (Monday, October 10). Term runs until the last day of finals (Saturday December 17).</p>
<p>Don’t make a trip a football weekend, the campus is more crowded than usual, a lot of students are out and about for games, and it’s generally just a bit too busy to be able to take a nice tour. (Football weekends: September 3, September 10, September 24, September 29, October 15, October 26 (Homecoming: AVOID), November 5, December 3). An early October tour may be best, or a late November if you want to come before application season really starts.</p>
<p>Out of State kids do really well with merit money if they:</p>
<p>A- apply early (before October/November) and
B- have really good stats (GPA, SAT) and extras (essay and/or teacher recs)</p>
<p>Most out of State kids I know with these two qualifications got full tuition if they applied early and half tuition if they applied later (end of December/early January).</p>
<p>PittStart is the summer session where enrolled freshman come to Pitt to sign up for classes and learn a bit about the campus they are coming to. They do some bonding activities with other students, meet new kids, get a tour, and get to talk to PathFinders/current students in their major or department.</p>
<p>My D and her friend attended Ready Set Pitt last summer and it really sold them on Pitt and the city. Try to plan a few days so you can enjoy the sights of Pittsburgh! If you attend Ready,Set Pitt!, Pitt waives your application fee. Since you are interested in merit money, as the poster above said, its very important to apply early. You should try to get the application and all supporting materials (essay, teacher recs, activity resume, SAT scores, transcript) completed before Oct.1.</p>
<p>When the Steelers are in town, the hotels are harder to book as well. If you are planning a weekend visit, you may want to look at that schedule.</p>
<p>THANK YOU for that info about Ready-Set-Pitt. My husband and I are going to be on vacation from 8/6 to 8/11 (our 20th anniversary) so we’d have to do the 8/13 and really race to get to it, but it sounds awesome, especially if it helps sell the kids on the city. I’m going right now to check and see if there’s space.</p>
<p>That’ll be a good time too, because it’s before the students are allowed to move back onto campus, so it won’t feel as crowded/you’ll be able to explore a bit more. Just be prepared for crazy weather (extreme heat/humidity, random rain storms). Pittsburgh weather is bizarre! :)</p>
<p>Sure! The room is not large, but it’s certainly bigger than 32 inches. I think a flatscreen is easier to fit in a small space than a traditional (deep) TV.</p>
<p>I understand the concept of Panther Funds, but am wondering how the Panther Card “knows” if my son wants to use his Panther Card to pay for something out of his Panther Funds, or use his PNC debit account which is linked to his Panther Card. For obvious purchases such as laundry, I know that swiping his card would take the money out of Panther Funds, but what if he uses his Panther Card at a vendor which accepts both Panther Funds and regular debit card purchases, but he wants the money to come out of his PNC debit account. My plan was to load just enough in Panther Funds to cover purchases which only accept these funds (laundry, photocopying, etc.), and then to have him use his linked PNC debit account to pay for everything else except large purchases (books, travel, etc.) which I want him to put on a credit card we gave him since we accrue points. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Not if you use it as a credit card (although it’s not a revolving credit card). For example, if he swipes his Panther Card at a vending machine on campus, is it going to ask for his PIN or just take the purchase out of his Panther Funds?</p>
<p>We didn’t link son’s Panther Card to his PNC account so he has a separate PNC card. We thought it would be easier to keep them separate. I would be interested in how this is handle with the purchases.</p>
<p>MTnest: We did the same thing as you - our daughter has two separate cards (ID card with Panther Funds and PNC debit card). I would also be interested in how this works. We still have the option to link the cards if that turns out to be easier.</p>
<p>I think it has worked out very well for the past three years keeping the two accounts separate. He uses his PNC account for direct deposit for work and will probably keep the account unless he ends up in an area that doesn’t have a PNC bank. And there won’t be an issue once he graduates Don’t have to get a card from PNC because he has one already. My other thought was if you lose your Panther Card – do you have to go back to PNC to link it to the new ID card??</p>
<p>Maybe it is my generation but I am extremely leery of linking everything to one card.</p>
<p>My understanding is that the PNC link only allows the Panther Card to retrieve cash from your PNC account from an ATM – the PNC-linked Panther Card does not function as a PNC debit card. (You still need the separate PNC debit card.)</p>
<p>Every time you want to use the Panther Funds somewhere other than the laundry, the cashier has to ask you if you want to use it in that way. It’s because the way the card is swiped has to be recorded by the machine. </p>
<p>Example: Say I want to eat at Quickzone and pay using Panther Funds on my Pitt ID. The cashier has to ask how I’m paying when I hand my card over (or I can just say “please use Panther Funds”). That way she/he knows to push the Panther Card button on their machine before swiping. </p>
<p>Hopefully that helps. Sorry I’ve been gone all weekend!</p>
Don’t have to get a card from PNC because he has one already. My other thought was if you lose your Panther Card – do you have to go back to PNC to link it to the new ID card??</p>