Tell me about life at UPitt

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pittsburgh
1

<p>After being accepted I've been doing research and comparing my colleges. I've checked out some threads and youtube vids but I have some questions.</p>

<p>Is the Pitt campus at one location or is it spread out in the city?
Is there a college feel while in the city?
What are the freshman dorms like? (I'm not expecting suites or anything...)
Where do many students study? In the library, study centers, dorms?
What kind of academic help can I get? How are the TAs?
Is there wireless internet?
Can you tell me YOUR OPINIONS about the engineering programs?
How's the city like? Transportation? Buses?
How's life? Hahaha</p>

<p>Ya, it's a lot of questions but if you could answer a couple that would help! I'm going to visit Pitt in February so wish me luck. :D</p>

2

<p>I am a mom of a Pitt sophomore, but I can answer some of your questions.</p>

<p>Is the Pitt campus at one location or is it spread out in the city? The main campus is spread over several blocks in the suburb of Oakland.</p>

<p>Is there a college feel while in the city? There are a number of academic, administration, and dormitory buildings concentrated between Forbes and Fifth avenues, which gives a campus feel.</p>

<p>What are the freshman dorms like? (I’m not expecting suites or anything…) Freshman dorms include several dorm room styles including traditional two-person rooms and suites. Some freshmen end up in singles as well. There are also a number of learning communities (SPACE for engineering students) and an honors’ student dorm.</p>

<p>Where do many students study? In the library, study centers, dorms? My daughter studies mostly in the library. She has not had a quiet enough room either year for her to study.</p>

<p>What kind of academic help can I get? How are the TAs? Many courses offer recitation classes and my daughter has not had trouble with any TAs. She has taken many of the classes required for engineers (physics, mathematics, chemistry).</p>

<p>Is there wireless internet? Yes and the university offers LoJac (no idea how it’s spelled) for laptops and virus protection.</p>

<p>Can you tell me YOUR OPINIONS about the engineering programs? I know a very bright young man who chose Pitt over both Cornell and CMU for electrical engineering. Pitt students can take classes at CMU if space is available.</p>

<p>How’s the city like? Transportation? Buses? The students can ride the buses at no additional charge by showing a Pitt ID. The buses also run to the airport. The city of Pittsburgh is very student friendly and a Pitt ID will also get you lots of discounts and free entry to many of the museums.</p>

<p>How’s life? Hahaha I’ll let the students answer this one.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

3

<p>Mom of a junior here:</p>

<p>Is the Pitt campus at one location or is it spread out in the city?</p>

<p>MD Mom answered this one.</p>

<p>Is there a college feel while in the city?</p>

<p>Yes there is. We were surprised when we visited Pitt.</p>

<p>What are the freshman dorms like? (I’m not expecting suites or anything…)</p>

<p>Most students end up with standard dorms with two beds/two dressers/two desks but there is a variety of rooms/residence halls. I believe Sutherland has suites but it is up the hill.</p>

<p>Where do many students study? In the library, study centers, dorms?</p>

<p>DS spent his time in his room. He was in SPACE and was surrounded by engineering majors.</p>

<p>What kind of academic help can I get? How are the TAs?</p>

<p>They have tutoring if you need it. Have not heard of any complaints about the TAs.</p>

<p>Is there wireless internet?</p>

<p>MD Mom answered.</p>

<p>Can you tell me YOUR OPINIONS about the engineering programs?</p>

<p>We have been very pleased with the engineering department. The advisers are great! Lots of opportunities: co-ops and research. Last summer, DS worked in a research lab. He has also finished a co-op rotation. For this summer, he has been offered a job in a research lab already.</p>

<p>How’s the city like? Transportation? Buses?</p>

<p>Free with Pitt ID. </p>

<p>How’s life? </p>

<p>Well I would say DS is thoroughly enjoying his time at Pitt. He doesn’t regret choosing Pitt :)</p>

4

<p>wow thanks for the detailed info!</p>

<p>What are the names of the freshman residence buildings? I want to go research them.</p>

<p>Can someone tell me more about the SPACE living community? I can’t find much info about them.</p>

5

<p>Just to clarify, Oakland isn’t a suburb of the city. It is a neighborhood in the city, approximately two to three miles from downtown. Most of the city’s major bus routes pass right through campus so it easy and quick to get downtown (and as mentioned above, free). Oakland is the city’s cultural and education center. It is also the location of Carnegie-Mellon University, Carlow University, the city’s major art and science museums and library, Phipps Conservatory, and Schenley Park. Pitt itself is condensed into approximately 130 acres of Oakland (or roughly 10 blocks long and 4-8 blocks wide) and sits adjacent to CMU, the museums, and the park. The only major university academic facility that isn’t in this area is its Allegheny Observatory that sits on the north side of the city, but that isn’t something you’d frequent unless you are majoring in astronomy/physics and doing research there. There are some medical labs spread around other areas too, but most are in Oakland, or very close to Oakland.</p>

<p>In addition to the dorms and libraries, students also study in the [Cathedral</a> of Learning<a href=“e.g.%20the%20Commons%20Room”>/url</a>. Years ago, a good place I studied in was actually the UPMC-Presby hospital cafeteria in Scaife Hall (Med School) since it was quiet and they served food (at least the grill was open) all night. [url=&lt;a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alumni_Hall_(University_of_Pittsburgh)]Alumni”&gt;Alumni Hall (University of Pittsburgh) - Wikipedia]Alumni</a> Hall](<a href=“Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh - YouTube”>Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh - YouTube) is also a good place to study, and is usually not very crowed and quiet. It is actually pretty under rated as a study facility. The [student</a> union](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Pitt_Union]student”>William Pitt Union - Wikipedia) is used to study in too.</p>

<p>Freshman dorms include Litchfield Towers, Forbes Hall, Sutherland Hall, Lothrop Hall, and Holland Hall. (see <a href=“http://www.pc.pitt.edu/housing/options.html[/url]”>http://www.pc.pitt.edu/housing/options.html&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

6

<p>Here is more info on SPACE:</p>

<p>[SPACE:</a> School of Engineering: University of Pittsburgh](<a href=“PAE Home”>PAE Home)</p>

7

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<p>My D (a freshman) is enjoying it. She texted last night after the Steelers game, telling me about the celebration out in the street. Ended the text with “I love it here”.</p>

8

<p>“There are also a number of learning communities (SPACE for engineering students) and an honors’ student dorm.”</p>

<p>MD Mom, is there a seperate dorm for hornor student?</p>

9

<p>Forbes is the honors dorm and you can apply for it once you commit to Pitt.</p>

10

<p>Are the Forbes facilities better than other dorm? Are we gonna get chance to visit the dorm on the honor day?</p>

11

<p>My daughter lived in a learning community freshman year rather than Forbes (a mistake she soon learned). It seems as though the rooms are perhaps a bit bigger in Forbes and it may be a little quieter day to day. The whole dorm issue is so personal.</p>

<p>We did not do the honors day because of an emergency; however, I do not think people got to see the dorms. My daughter could not have cared less about the room set up, so seeing a dorm was not on her list. You can go to Pitt’s housing page and look at floor plans.</p>

<p>I would add that DD is in Forbes Craig (honors dorm for non freshmen) and she thinks it is noisy–both street noise and people walking down the street making noise late at night.</p>

12

<p>Thanks MD Mom, is the Forbes double occupancy? Is the Chancellor scholarship covers the Forbes dorm or only regular?</p>

13

<p>Forbes has doubles. I don’t know whether it has suites as well. Chancellor covers everything; I would guess those students mostly live in Forbes. Only about 10 scholarships are awarded each year.</p>

14

<p>Do the towers fill up fast? Are they strictly for freshman? They will be my first choice but I’m not sure if I will be attending next fall yet.</p>

15

<p>Towers A and B are freshman only. Tower C has freshman and everyone else.</p>

16

<p>I live in Forbes Hall (the honors dorm) and it was an amazing choice, at least for me. The rooms are MUCH bigger than Towers and most rooms share a half-bath with another room (showers are communal). It can be noisy, but with the door closed it’s no problem to study in the room. The absolute best part about it is that there a TON of students in the sciences and in engineering, so it’s easy to find people in your classes and to ask for help. Everyone’s pretty smart, but there’s a good mix of “partiers” and people who study most of the time or participate in other Pitt activities.</p>