Same here. My kid has 35 ACT with 4.5+ GPA. Good Merit but no honors. Yield Protection, maybe?
Keep in mind that students can apply to honors as freshman and get in the next year if they’ve done very well. What is yield protection?
Honors admission this year doesn’t seem to be stat focused. It seems to be focused on building a true community of engaged community minded kids. Our parents page has had some discussion about this and some parents whose kids work closely with the new HC dean have chimed in on this topic. It’s not just a “smart kid” thing and it’s not just kids who show up at the local homeless shelter. The kids selected somehow managed to convey they had unique interests and academic engagement that they are using to give back to the community and press for forward change within that community.
It’s a shame people are letting this dampen the excitement of attending Pitt. You can have an amazing Pitt experience without honors.
There really isn’t much to gain by being in honors other than the housing and some wouldn’t want that anyway. My understanding is that everyone qualified can take honors classes. It definitely is a bit disappointing for high stats kids who get rejected and I’m not sure that Pitt really thought this through as it might cause them to lose some of these students, but my reading of the tea leaves is that because they do now require all honors kids to live in the honors dorm, Pitt might have been looking for a diverse group of students (majors, hometowns, demographics, etc.) to form that community. My daughter also got rejected from honors and definitely had her ego bruised by it, but after some research it really doesn’t seem to make much of a difference and I think she would be better off living in the engineering llc anyway.
My D was accepted to Honors last year (is current freshman). She did NOT want to live in Sutherland, and now that is mandatory. I agree with the previous posts speculating as to Pitt wanting to create more of a community, and it makes sense. My girl has gone to some lectures, and got a volunteer research position through the Honors College, but that’s it. I think Pitt is trying to change that.
From how I understand it, as long as any student has the gpa required to take honors classes, they can. (I don’t recal what that gpa is).
@carachel2 , who is the new Honors Dean? Thanks.
@Winky1 I have no idea. My kid is not one of those hanging out with the new dean! :)) .
I’ve heard he is great though and I agree with the above assessment from @pittsburghscribe — they are trying to build a community. Not that it’s the same as an Ivy League school whose admissions process is focused on building a community, but maybe kind of similar.
I actually heard from a parent whose student got significant merit from Pitt but no honors admission and that student is now considering a school where they and the family will most likely have to assume a considerable debt load. That’s just crazy to me. I mean if you have the budget for another school then great. But to take out tens of thousands in private loans just because you are sore about an honors decision? Ridiculous.
@Winky1 Just curious, why did your daughter not want to live in Sutherland? Was it the location on campus? Thanks.
Is Sutherland the one way up the hill with the athletic dorms?
Well, Pitt's honors website states this (below). So it is no surprise the students with high stats take it as a slight that they did not get accepted.
About the Honors College
Pitt Honors blends the scholarly advantages of a major research university with the personalized attention, rigor, and commitment of an academically demanding small college. We give students the opportunity, incentives, and recognition to achieve at the highest levels.
@carachel2 , hahaha, I figured you would know who the new Honors Dean is because I didn’t even know there was a new one!!!
@divol19 , Yes, last year, she did not want to live on the upper campus. She wanted to live in Nordenberg, and she got it, but her choices were Nordenberg double, then triple, then Tower B!! She really, really wanted that central campus location (even though Sutherland would have been a nicer dorm to live in than Tower B). And it has the Honors perks, like an Honors Mentor assigned to you, and all of the programming is given to you on a silver platter. Oh well, she is surviving and thriving.
That said, this year, she made plans to live on campus again with 3 other friends in a quad. Last week it was their turn to pick in the lottery. The only dorm with quads left was Irvis Hall (formerly Pennsylvania Hall). And it’s on upper campus!!! She didn’t feel badly, though, because it was the only option for them to live together. After looking it up, we both agree it’s a lot like Nordenberg. Very nice and newer with spectacular view of lower campus. I told her that next year she is either going to be an Expert Pitt Shuttle Rider or in the best shape of her life, lol.
Incidentally, we found out that the Honors LLC and the Health Sciences LLC for upper class students are assigned to live in Irvis Hall.
Pitt is the furthest college our daughter applied too. She was accepted into the Swanson School of Engineering, class of 2023. She has not made her decision yet. She really wants to visit, we are setting up a personalized one for the end of March. With a merit scholarship and the Panther Pride grant, the cost is getting down to in-state levels, which is great. We are from CA, and she has been accepted at several, top of the list is Texas A&M, University of Utah, and Embry-Riddle in AZ. She would like to study out-of-state.
But it’s so far! I’m trying not to stress but she is the second of four kiddos and our youngest has a disability.
Anyhow I’m super proud of her achievements but a little concerned about the unknown.
I’m looking at all of the schools other than drivable AZ schools (Utah is a 10 hour drive so not horrible) and I’m starting to stress about logistics, summer stuff, new student conferences, band camp, move in. I don’t have help (just my husband and myself) and our youngest two are 15 and 10. We do not have family nearby so we have no help. Anyhow this is just a vent- sorry!!! Now that things are getting down to the wire I’m getting nervous about having a kid studying OOS.
@rockmom21 is she a full admit to engineering at TAMU or one of their offshoot locations (Blinn, CC, etc…I’ve lost track of how many they have?).
I don’t know anything anything about Utah or Embry-Riddle but unless your daughter is a straight admit to TAMU I would really re-consider that plan. Make no mistake, TAMU is trying to pack them in like sardines. She is just another number to them. She will need what…a 3.5 to get into her major?
At Pitt your daughter is guaranteed her major of choice. No applying. No competing. She’s in, and she can choose her major. Our daughter passed up a full engineering admission to TAMU and University of Texas. Heck I’m an Aggie and I was totally turned off by the engineering admissions process there. I have a die hard Aggie family member (seriously, has season tickets, the bumper sticker and the whole 9 yards) who has two engineering students. Neither one of them attends TAMU for the same reason. I walked away from the engineering tour that day vowing that I wouldn’t give them my $$. Seriously not impressed with their money grubbing plan with all the “engineering academies” they have flung all over the state. I know that sounds bitter and I don’t mean it to…we were just super frustrated and disappointed. Fortunately D didn’t want to go there anyway and we quickly realized a small town with a big football scene was a horrible match for her.
If she is direct admit to her engineering major at Embry or Utah you should really keep them on the table as well. First year engineering can be brutal and the odds of that 3.5 GPA are iffy.
@rockmom21 breathe!
She will need bedding, a few towels, clothes.
They take them on a shopping trip to Target during orientation week usually.
If she arrives early for band, move-in will be less hectic and she will make friends right away.
You can bring other things if you visit on parents weekend, or Amazon prime student works great for things they might want later.
They get free Pittsburgh bus pass and can go shopping with friends for cold weather gear.
@carachel2 thank you for your candor.
Yes, I hear you on the large size of the engineering program at TAM.
She did get into an Engineering Academy, Blinn, not direct CStat but will live on campus and do dual enrollment.
A little clunky but the OOS costs will be low for years 1&2.
Actually when we looked at all four years it would be about the same for both Pitt and TAM.
The big savings would be if she stayed in state or attended schools in AZ or UT.
I am glad she will visit Pitt… I’ll let you know how it goes!!!
@mommdc yes!!! I need to BREATHE…
Thank you for the info and encouragement.
Step by step!!!
@rockmom21 I DO get you about how stressful these decisions are. Distance is hard and I’m not going to lie, we are two years in doing the OOS college thing and it can be hard at times. They learn super quick how to be independent, deal with illness, deal with disappointment and how to be persistent.
You can fly to move in and pick up her stuff at that time. There is a bus that goes to Target during orientation week but it historically fills up quickly so a lot of students just Uber there or take the regular bus.
Definitely arriving early for band will help with the hectic pace of move-in.
If she is after the intense school spirit of a traditional campus, Pitt may not be a good fit. It’s good you are visiting. Feel free to message me any questions. I promise not to go on my anti-TAMU rant again lol.
My buttons changed!!
When? Last night? Or during the day? Congrats!!!
@cararachael2 Thank you for sharing your knowledge. My daughter is very interested in Pitt for bioengineering. She has narrowed her choices down to Bucknell, RPI, UMass and Pitt. We are from MA. I’m trying to help her with the decision making process.
@carachel2 no worries at all about the Anti-Tamu sentiments: I really appreciate your candor as it is so helpful.
I think I’m just concerned about the distance.
But as I continue reflecting on my daughter and where she will best fit in, I’m excited to take her to Pitt and see if it will be the right fit!