Hey guys I’ll be a freshman next year I was wondering if anyone had insight or experiences to share about the residential life. For instance, is the honors dorm worth the walk up the hill? Pros/cons of each dorm or the dorm you lived in? Sutherland, Nordenberg, Towers, Quad? Housing applications aren’t for a little while as far as I know, but any advice is well appreciated. Thanks!
My housing application is due May 4th, not to far ahead. I would check your housing packet that comes in the mail, because your due date is probably sooner than you think. Some are due today
@CLK2022 I just committed yesterday so I didn’t get anything yet lol… What were your housing preferences?
I’m a mom but I’ll chime in with what I know of the dorms. My D was in Tower B freshman year and up the hill in Irvis (aka Pennsylvania Hall) sophomore year. As for Towers, the buildings are older and so have some issues. She complained a lot about the elevators. But she really like the location and thought the food options were better. Up the hill, the buildings are newer and nicer. But the food options were more limited and she didn’t like walking up the hill all the time. She told me that she sometimes didn’t bother going to evening club meetings because she didn’t want to go down and up the hill again. I can’t tell you anything about Nordenberg as she never lived there.
I prefer any of the ones with AC. Forbes, Towers, Nordenberg, and Sutherland. Sutherland has nice rooms, but they are far away from almost everything.
the shuttle buses run up to Sutherland so that is always an option to the climb/workout. Sutherland isn’t far from everything - close to the Pete workout facilities and classes and PA and Panther Halls as well as the frats. Food options are limited to Perch but your meal plan is not assigned to a single hall - you can go anywhere.
My daughter just completed freshman year and lived in Sutherland. She liked the food options at the Perch, enjoyed having a dining hall right in the dorm and embraced that walk up the hill. There was certainly no Freshman 15 for sure! She had at least two evening meetings a week for club activities and just walked back up with friends or took the shuttle. I think she mentioned maybe twice that she skipped a meeting because it was snowing super hard and the shuttles weren’t running due to ice on the hill. But other than that it wasn’t a big deal.
It just goes to show that one option isn’t really better than another. Its just what you prefer.
Earlier this week, I was very uncomfortable with my girl not wanting the Honors LLC and that is primarily because she doesn’t want to live in Sutherland on upper campus. 3 separate parents on CC have reassured me that it’s not a big deal. Then, she has been branching out on the FB group and is meeting other young women who are also Honors College, and who also don’t want to live in Sutherland. Then, again, at school, a very bright, nice girl that I asked about also wants to try for Nordenberg and she’s in the Honors College. I also spoke with my cousin’s D who just graduated from nursing last week. She said she was not in the Nursing LLC because she wanted to live in Nordenberg. She did live in Nordenberg and then went off campus sophomore year.
My cousin’s kid said that with my girl’s major (neuroscience), there will be many clubs to join. She said be sure to do that early in the year at the activities fair (or whatever they call it). My D has insisted that she is going to be involved and also wants to participate in the Honors College programming. I have no reason not to trust her. She’s a stellar student who is involved.
Her housing contract is due tomorrow, so hoping she completes that online process tonight. She is still interested in the Health Sciences LLC and is not put off by probably having to live in the Towers for that one. I think she’d enjoy a lot of their activities. We’ll see what she winds up doing.
Best of luck to those also making housing decisions shortly.
Ok, here’s the update. Housing contract complete! Requested Nordenberg double, Nordenberg triple, then Tower A. Still considering Health Sciences LLC and has until June 1 to apply. Still getting to know 2 girls on FB she has met, and will figure out roommates soon too.
Chose Tier 2, 130 meals. We’ll see if she has to adjust either way.
Thanks for the info this week! Much appreciated.
How does it take to get the Pitt housing application after submitting the enrollment deposit?
I am thinking a couple of weeks @shortnuke .It’ll be a folder that says Panther Central with lots of papers in it.
@Winky1 Thanks! D will be starting in Swanson. I think she’s going to list the Engineering LLC in Forbes as her first choice and Towers as her second. Nordenberg sounds nice, but I don’t think it’s worth the extra $425 per semester (comparing rates for doubles).
I hear ya. @shortnuke.
I’m thinking Sutherland, Nordenberg, Tower B