<p>don’t use a specific grad school to motivate you through college. you’ll feel very, very disappointed when you don’t get in. back in high school, i had a photograph i had taken of berkeley in my binder. didn’t get in, didn’t go, couldn’t be happier with the way things worked out for me. but i was initially disappointed. at the grad level, i wasn’t accepted to my top school, but i was accepted to the school i considered a very close second, and yet part of me still wishes i was going to my top choice even though i’ve since heard a handful of rumours that should make me very thankful that i’m not headed there in the fall.</p>
<p>anyway… pittsburgh’s a nice city. but rich and white and preppy it is most certainly not. the neighbourhoods are somewhat segregated, though, and there’s only a handful that are socially, economically, and racially mixed, so i imagine you could attend either pitt or CMU without seeing too many poor, non-white faces, if that’s what you’re after… for me, that’s the city’s biggest drawback, but whatever. despite the large percentage of lower-middle income inhabitants in the city, there is an inordinate amount of museums, concert halls, and art galleries. if rich and regimented is your idea of culture, there’s plenty of it in pittsburgh. also, there’s plenty of organic culture too, but i don’t think that’s what you’re looking for. pitt’s got a good basketball team if you need something to route for.</p>
<p>the university of miami isn’t actually in miami. it’s in coral gables. mixed income and very close proximity to a large haitian community. you’d need a car (or lots of cab fare) to get to the partying scenes, though i should caution you that grad students don’t have time to party and they definitely don’t have money to spend on cabs.</p>
<p>everyone else has told you about how your approach to thinking about grad school is wrong, and i concur. by the time you finish your BA, you’ll probably come around to viewing grad school more as an academic apprenticeship than as an extension of your undergrad years. in any case, if you’re serious about grad school, and not med school or law school, you can go ahead and drop the frats and student government junk. it’s small potatoes and totally meaningless to grad schools. i wouldn’t be surprised if frat affiliation carried some bias against it within many humanities/social sciences departments. if you want to stay politically engaged, look to joining local or state-wide political parties or volunteering within your community without the attached stigma of toga parties and student government popularity contests. spend what free time you have doing something genuinely productive (yes, i am suggesting that greek organizations are not productive).</p>