<p>Alright...I've been attempting to decide between the two for almost a good month by now and I'm getting nowhere. As some background: my interests lie in political science (political theory), economics, and philosophy, though I've recently taken a liking for Computer Science (teaching myself java and C++ and the like but I doubt that I'd major/minor in comp sci - who knows though). I'm fairly certain that I will major in philosophy and am not wholly sure of what I'll do with the others (I was going to go for a triple major, but ehh). </p>
<p>I'm honestly at a stand still. Both offer everything that I could desire in a university (though Pitt's Model UN club doesn't do much besides host a pretty crappy conference (at least, it's been crappy when I have participated in it) while BU's Model UN club actually is somewhat active - that's the impression I get from their respective web sites, at least. However, Pitt's debating club is more, I guess, 'comprehensive' than BU's). In terms of student organizations, from what I have derived (and that obviously is a lot more than what I've said here), BU slightly edges out Pitt, but not enough so that it could be a deciding factor in my decision. </p>
<p>Anyways, I could see myself at either institution, and I honestly don't know which one to pick...if anyone can give me any suggestions on how to pick between the two, that would be lovely.</p>
<p>Also, money is not a concern.</p>
<p>Pitt’s philosophy department has generally regarded as one of the top deparments in the country for the last 30 years or so and their history and philosophy of science is universally regarded as number 1.</p>
<p>Philosophical Gourmet Report has Pitt at number 4 overall in philosophy right now. BU is #48.</p>
<p>The William Pitt Debating Union at Pitt is very well regarded. It has qualified for the National Debate Tournament 41 times and was the 1981 national champion. BU’s debating team has participated in the national debating tournament only four times total, the last year being 1975. Sorry, I don’t know much about the Model UNs.</p>
<p>Which setting did you like better? Pitt probably has more school pride due to it fielding major football and basketball teams if you like that aspect of it. Public transportation is free in Pittsburgh if you are a Pitt student, and many of the museums are also free (some of the major ones are adjacent to campus).</p>
<p>-Yes, but that is for graduate school rankings and I’m not sure how exactly that correlates to the quality of the undergraduate program.</p>
<p>-The museums, I’ve seen WAY too much and, yea, that isn’t going to factor into my decision. </p>
<p>-To be honest, I don’t know which setting I liked better. I loved both of them.</p>
<p>Well, typically the same faculty is teaching both undergrads and grads, especially in a humanities department. If you have an interest in actually working with faculty, in an undergraduate research type of setting, faculty quality could factor in as well. The humanities wasn’t my background, as I was in the sciences, but I know undergrads that have done undergrad research/independent study it in the humanities. Perhaps you should contact someone in the Philosophy or Political Science departments and talk to them about such possibilities if you are interested. Undergrad research gets a lot of emphasis at Pitt (see <a href=“http://www.undergradresearch.pitt.edu/[/url]”>http://www.undergradresearch.pitt.edu/</a>). Anyway, undergrad rankings in Philosophy (and many disciplines) simply don’t exist, so the grad rankings are usually all there is to go by, but they are a reflection of the general prestige and faculty quality of a department, if not undergraduate training.</p>
<p>BTW, here is a link to a student at Pitt that had similar interests that you have and did undergrad research. (<a href=“http://www.undergradresearch.pitt.edu/research-profiles/Mike.pdf[/url]”>http://www.undergradresearch.pitt.edu/research-profiles/Mike.pdf</a>) Perhaps you could even try to contact him about his experiences.</p>
<p>Also, here is a list of clubs at Pitt, since you seem to be interested in them ([Student</a> Government Board](<a href=“http://www.pitt.edu/~sgb/allgroups.htm]Student”>http://www.pitt.edu/~sgb/allgroups.htm))</p>
<p>If you are interested in pursuing academic awards, like Rhodes and Marshall scholarships, Pitt’s honors college has been very prolific in helping students prepare for and obtain those awards (e.g. 3 Rhodes scholars in the last five years including this year).</p>
<p>Personally, I loved being able to run over the Carnegie Museums across from the Cathedral of Learning on a whim. I just thought it was a cool setting with them there, and having Schenley Park right there as well, and I loved studying in the Cathedral.</p>
<p>Thanks for those links!</p>
<p>The problem with the undergraduate research part is that my main interest in philosophy is moral and political philosophy; a subtopic of philosophy that only one professor in the philosophy department has an interest in (unless Otsuka comes to Pitt, then there would be two). At BU, there are six professors with interests in moral philosophy and four with interests in political philosophy.</p>
<p>I’m interested in the Rhodes Scholarship, but, of course, things could change over the years so I’m not going to put much weight on that factor.</p>
<p>As for your last paragraph, I would agree with that; however, the same (and more) could be said of what can be done at BU. </p>
<p>Thanks for the help! It really is appreciated.</p>
<p>You seem to be on top of things. If you haven’t already, perhaps you should email of these professors whose work you are interested in, explain your situation and interests, and see if they can give you any feedback or even converse about the possibilities of working with them once you matriculate to BU or Pitt.</p>
<p>Wow, my memory was playing games on me. There are actually quite a few professors in the department that focus in moral philosophy. However, there is only one professor who specializes in political philosophy (that’s what I was remembering correctly). Should I simply ask him if the fact that he’s the only professor who has a declared interest in political philosophy will hamper my ability to get research experience in the field?</p>
<p>Yeah, I think that is a great question to ask and, in general, it is just a great idea to start making connections. Who knows, the professor could be a jerk, or may just not have time or interest in undergrads, or may be super excited to engage an undergrad who is interested in his field. In any scenario, you’ll probably find out something interesting. Just introduce yourself and explain the reason for contacting him, but make it concise because these are busy guys. You also could email other people in the department just to get a feel, even if they aren’t exactly in your area of interest.</p>
<p>Wait…there are more activities available than the one’s stated on that page right? I can’t see the debate team on there (or are they not supposed to be on there…?).</p>
<p>yes, there are more activities. Those are student clubs that are officially registered through the student government and receive student government funds. Anyone can start any club though and apply for that status, as long as the meet some minimum requirement of being a club.</p>
<p>Here’s the debate home page:
[The</a> William Pitt Debating Union](<a href=“http://www.comm.pitt.edu/debate/index.html]The”>http://www.comm.pitt.edu/debate/index.html)</p>
<p>The debate team I guess is a program of the college of arts & sciences rather than a student run and organized club.</p>
<p>Do you know any place where I could find a consolidated list of all the potential activities that I could participate in?</p>
<p>Other the the student government list, I don’t know of one. There may be programs across the campuses of CMU, Pitt, and Carlow too, which are all right next to each other. The most prominent student ones on Pitt’s campus are probably the ones listed by SGB. Is there something specifically you are looking for?</p>
<p>[Student</a> Organization Resource Center](<a href=“http://www.sorc.pitt.edu/]Student”>http://www.sorc.pitt.edu/)</p>
<p>Under Student Organizations, click on Organization Directory to access the database.</p>
<p>Thanks for the link. Dammit…I can’t decide >_>!</p>
<p>Well, as a Pitt alumni, for the rest of your life you’ll get to cheer for the football and basketball teams when they play on national tv no matter where you end up living.</p>
<p>Pitt also probably has a larger alumni network and more regional clubs. [Pitt</a> Alumni Association](<a href=“http://www.alumni.pitt.edu/groups/?t=clubs]Pitt”>http://www.alumni.pitt.edu/groups/?t=clubs)</p>
<p>And you can get $3 Pitt t-shirts in the on-campus clothing store. Always a plus!</p>
<p>As well as the largest serving of greasy french fries in America. Perhaps not a plus, but there is also fantastic homemade-style ice cream at Dave & Andy’s, great breakfasts at Pamela’s (which has been brought in to cater at the white house), and Primanti’s sandwiches.</p>
<p>And you can brag about having the tallest educational building in the Western hemisphere. Size matters! [YouTube</a> - Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjOdkFw0BX4]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjOdkFw0BX4)</p>
<p>or 1787.</p>
<p>Here are some other links about student life at Pitt for you to browse:
[Pitt</a> Program Council Home](<a href=“http://www.pitt.edu/~ppc/]Pitt”>Pitt Program Council)
[Oakland</a> Business Improvement District](<a href=“Deltaslot88: Situs Judi Slot Gacor Daftar Slot88 online Deposit Dana Pulsa”>http://www.onlyinoakland.org/)
[Cool</a> Pittsburgh - Come to Learn, Come to Live](<a href=“http://www.coolpgh.pitt.edu/]Cool”>http://www.coolpgh.pitt.edu/)
[First</a> Year Experience | University of Pittsburgh](<a href=“http://www.fye.pitt.edu/]First”>http://www.fye.pitt.edu/)
[Pittsburgh</a> Hotels, Attractions & Vacation Packages : Pittsburgh PA CVB](<a href=“http://www.visitpittsburgh.com/]Pittsburgh”>http://www.visitpittsburgh.com/)
[THE</a> ORIGINAL MAGAZINE](<a href=“HugeDomains.com”>http://www.originalmag.com/)</p>
<p>I was leaning towards Pitt until maybe two hours ago. Now, I’m leaning towards BU (and I have to make a decision by tomorrow). I have a feeling that I’m going to flip a coin in the end. Also, that Pitt professor never responded to my e-mail. Woe…</p>
<p>Professors are busy people. Sometimes it takes a couple days for them to respond. Sometimes they are out of town at meetings or speaking engagements. Anyway, pick the one where you’ll think you’ll be happiest for four years. If you do that, you’ll pick the right one. Either choice is a great school, so don’t stress too much about it.</p>