Hi! I got into Pitt and the Temple Honors Program and am conflicted on which school to choose. I’m still waiting to hear back about Pitt honors but I don’t think my essay was very strong so it is unlikely. I’m in state but Pitt is only giving me $2k a year whereas I received the President’s Scholar Award from Temple which is full tuition and I can apply for one $4k summer stipend for research, study aboard, internships, or other academic activities. I want to go to medical school so I know saving money in undergrad is super important. However, I still really prefer Pitt and wasn’t really considering Temple that much until receiving the scholarship. I’m now very conflicted about it so any advice about Pitt vs Temple would be greatly appreciated.
So Pitt is about $19K and let’s say another $1K in fees. Then take off $2K so about $18k a year.
So Temple is free.
So assuming other costs are similar - i.e. room and board - that’s $72K. That’s a lot of money for your family, a lot of stress, etc. btw - that’s the save - you’re still spending at Temple…just not on tuition.
So - Pitt is wonderful I’m sure - but every day people post stories about going to their dream school and wanting to transfer out - maybe have a bad roomie or bad profs.
I believe there are dozens, even more colleges - where people can be happy at. You didn’t apply to them or don’t go to them - but they’re out there - whether it’s Kansas or Florida State or U of Denver, etc. No I’m not saying apply - i’m just saying - there are so many places one can be happy.
So why not Temple?
To me, it’s a no brainer - if they want you that much. The value is too good and you’ll take the same pre-med pre-reqs.
On the flip side, if money is no object and your parents have the extra $72K - and it’s all good - then go to Pitt.
But that $72K can buy a few cars or a housing down payment - and over time it would likely grow…
so it up to you - and ultimately you will be somewhere for four years and want that to be a happy place for you.
good luck.
Congrats on great options!
Have you visited both schools? Done a deep dive into the websites to learn about the department you want to major in and its professors?
Maybe spend some time going to admitted student days at each school and/or visiting social media groups for admitted students. See if it helps you learn to love Temple more or convinces you that Pitt really is worth the cost. If you would have to take out loans to attend Pitt, that is almost enough reason alone to pick Temple. You will thank yourself in ten years if you don’t have that debt.
Temple has a reputation for being very diverse so I think there is a very good chance you’d find your people there.
Good luck!
You have received very good advice so I would just echo that. I would recommend going to admitted students days and/or spending some time on each campus. Both are urban schools with very different feels.
My daughter toured both as an intended nursing major. She has yet to hear back from Temple. Both are strong in the Health Sciences abs you can’t go wrong with either choice.
My son was accepted to both Pitt and Temple and liked both a lot. He chose Pitt. Now we did not have the $ discrepancy that you do so it wasn’t really the same decision, but we were just talking about this over Christmas break and we feel like he dodged a bullet.
I assume you have visited Temple and seen the neighborhood around it. It’s really dangerous. A Temple student was murdered coming back to campus after Thanksgiving right in front of his apartment as he was unloading his car. My son knows people who have been held up at gunpoint right off campus. I am so glad he is not at Temple.
$72k is a lot of money (if that’s what difference is) and I don’t know if that is significant for your family or not, but you really should read up on the crime problems they are having at Temple before you decide.
Lordy, go with the full-ride and spend the money on med school. Also, if you are basing it on acceptance to Pitt Honors, don’t! My S19 is a member and a pre-med and the Honors program is seriously sub-par. Please see some of my posts on the Pitt 2026 thread.
My S19 went to Pitt because his scholarship was too good to pass up after being waitlisted at Harvard and Columbia. He could have gone to a couple of out-of-state schools but that made ZERO sense when Pitt was in-state for us.
Also, go with the school who really LOVES you! It sounds like Temple is a that school!
The same crime is in and around Oakland as well!
Life-long resident here.
Sorry but I disagree. Sections of Oakland are run down and you do occasionally get harassed by panhandlers but it is far better than the area around Temple. The only murder at Pitt in the six years I’ve been paying attention(two kids) was a domestic violence situation where a students exboyfriend climbed through her apartment window and killed her. Random violence is not common in the area around Pitt. It is in the area around Temple.
I graduated from Temple. As a parent, I forbade my kids from applying to schools we couldn’t afford…and Temple.
If Pitt is affordable, I’d go there without hesitation.
Tuition is free…
My kid is looking at Pitt, so I’ve been researching crime. In no way is the area of Pitt comparable to the area around Temple .
The Temple campus itself is safe and the subway stops right on campus to other parts of Philly. In the Temple honors program, you are guaranteed on-campus housing all 4 years. The upper class housing options seem really great. I wouldn’t over-index on the crime concerns in the wider neighborhood, unless you plan to live in off campus housing in the blocks around the campus. Even students not in the honors program have other off-campus housing options—they may be more expensive or further, but they exist.
I wonder if students considering attending Columbia or Barnard face similar fear-mongering? 2 students have been murdered in the past few years there.
You call it “fear-mongering”. I call it not moving into a crime ridden neighborhood if you have other options.
Excellent points about honor housing, but don’t call it fear mongering. I’ve lived in Philly my entire life and know so many students who underestimated the crime in this city and around campus.
There is nothing wrong with being honest about it.
It is definitely a campus to visit in person.
And I think when a student is murdered on a sunny afternoon outside of his student housing, which despite reports was not off campus, it is a red flag.
My S20 pretty much had the same offer as you but for business. We liked Temple more than we thought we would but in the end he didn’t feel safe so no Temple.
Several of his classmates took similar offers. They’ve since transferred.
I disagree about Oakland. I’m a Pitt grad many years ago when the Hill was very bad. I had the same feeling about Temple when we visited two years ago. I don’t have that feeling today on Pitt’s campus.
If Pitt causes you to take loans then reconsider. Visit both and form your own opinion.
And @Leigh22 The neighborhoods very close to Pitt… including Homewood, the Hill District, South Side are very much filled with weekly fatal shootings/stabbings. Google this past weekend. There are also armed robberies in Oakland, recently at an ATM. It’s an open, urban campus, why is this surprising?
I CANNOT speak of Philadelphia as I do not live there.
Yes. Any urban campus you have to be aware. The bad areas around Temple are literally a block or two away. South Side and Homewood are much further away from Pitt.
I guess these neighborhoods are sort of close. Are they walking distance? It would be a long walk. I’m not sure how many students live in these areas. South Side is full of bars which is what leads to most of the violence there as I understand it. I know my son goes there sometimes to go to restaurants or shopping but it’s not like it’s right near campus. I haven’t even heard of the other two areas - I had to look them up on a map. I guess you could say that means I don’t know Pittsburgh as well as you (true), but I also think it means those neighborhoods don’t matter much to students.
My 20 year old didn’t even apply to Temple for grad school after visiting with dd25 (who was offered a nice scholarship). She’s a city girl, applied to NYU (spends a lot of time in Manhattan and loves it) and she’s currently driving to Boston to check out BU and NEU, also got into GWU - really wants to live and go to school in an urban setting. My daughters feel the homeless population seems to be more aggressive in Philadelphia, and felt unsafe right outside the Temple campus.
Between the two schools I can’t think of a single student who preferred Temple, and it’s generally for the reasons discussed above. Some have gone there. None have raved about it. Some wished they had chosen differently. Some were content and appreciated paying less.
Pitt is well loved.
We live between the two, so neither city has particular preference to most of our students.
There’s a reason Temple offers more money than Pitt does. It needs to attract students more than Pitt.
If you can afford it, I’d choose Pitt. If not, plenty of students graduate from Temple each year and some go on to med school, so it’s a viable option.
Pre-med students usually do the best where they are the happiest (location and major), so whichever way you decide, find things to like and embrace it.