Where do you see on the portal?Can someone post the link?
Thank you! DS got in!
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My daughter’s application now says complete in the document center but still has nothing under accept or decline. Is that bad news?
@Winky1, based on your previous experience, how is Honors advantageous over regular college for pre-med?
My child was admitted to honors and plans to major in psychology.
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Yes!! Huge sampling bias on CC (hence the high number of kids in honors). I know two government majors in Honors this year.
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My daughter is a freshman in honors and the HUGE advantage is early registration for classes. In-demand classes go fast and it is a major plus to register before the general student body. Other than not it is not as big a difference as at other colleges, can do minimal if desired. Living in Sutherland with other Honors students has also been a great experience, they really support each other and have a strong sense of community.
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Is it definite that merit would already have been awarded? My kid was accepted into honors but hasn’t received anything about scholarships - is merit over? I was wondering whether, since the Chancellors invites aren’t out until today, they might be waiting to assign merit until today too.
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We attended admitted students day on Saturday and they were pretty clear that March 1 was the last day for merit. No one mentioned Chancellor, though.
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Okay, thanks! Did anyone’s student get admitted to honors and receive a merit award yesterday/today?
My son’s application says completed in one area and pending in another area. No accept or decline buttons in that section. It only says “No information at this time.” He applied on 9/7 since Pitt is likely his top choice and had heard the apply early recommendation on a campus visit there. He was asked for his mid year grades which for our high school wasn’t until early Feb unfortunately. If I am understanding it correctly, the complete means they now have his mid year grades but the pending is that his application is now under review but not honestly completely sure. Only letter in document center is the original one from back in October requesting his mid year grades. He waiting on this decision to be able to make his final determination between Pitt and a few other schools he’s been accepted at but still think Pitt is at top of the list for him. If I am being honest, I am not all that hopeful at this point since it’s now March but maybe.
D18 was accepted into Honors from the get-go. To her, she thought that Honors College = taking lots of honors classes, and why would I want to do that? School is hard enough (neuroscience major). Big mistake. You can take as little as 3, pretty sure, to have some sort of honors designation on your transcript. Or, you can knock yourself out with the B Phil.
Also, she chose not to live in Sutherland because of location on campus. She wanted Nordenberg and got it and was very happy there. Another strategic mistake, imo. If an honors kid lives in Sutherland, they are surrounded by other honors kids aka other like-minded kids academically who push each other, motivate each other, try new things together, etc. She was fine meeting her first friends at school in Nordenberg (who are still her roommates) and none of them had been accepted to the honors program. So, D18 therefore did not go out of her honors comfort zone and attend a whole lot of honors events.
As a parent, we need to let them define their journey and live their journey. I always told her what I thought was best, but honors wasn’t important enough to her to fully participate in it. That was her at that time in her 18-year-old life. However, it was through the Honor College newsletter that she found out about a research position, and she has been doing public health research with this professor since 2nd semester freshman year. She gets paid now with him, and he’s been a wonderful mentor. He also set her up with a different grad student for a different paid research position maybe 2 years ago. She has attended some honors college lectures, but never took an honors class because that was up to her. Like I said, it was not important to her and was not her desire. However, she missed the boat on honors community! That is what I wished for her. But to her, she didn’t miss anything, though. She made friends, was in a sorority, had her research and has a 3.85 and an auto admit into PA school at Pitt. Right now, she’s also considering a Master’s in Public Health instead. She has a certificate in History and Foundations of Medicine (something like that), a minor in chemistry and criminal justice. She studied abroad in London last summer in a program called Healthcare in a British Context. She has a volunteer position with UPMC for older adults who have dementia, and she also works part-time at UPMC. Keep you posted!
I also know, that a student who is not in the honors college can and will do great and amazing things at Pitt if they apply themselves and use the tools available to them. Seek out advisors, join clubs (pre-professional, service, social), go to events, ask questions, go to the career center, get internships and research and do whatever pertains to your path. It can be done without honors.
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My D is waitlisted for Honors but doesn’t think she’ll get in either. But we’re still planning to visit and based on all I’ve read on this and other Pitt threads, virtual sessions, etc, I think it will jump to the top of her list when we do. It just sounds like the kids are so happy at Pitt, and that’s something I really want for my D.
I know many (most?) schools have waitlists for really popular classes, but do you know if this is a big issue not getting classes, or mainly just some popular ones? I’m wondering if this is an ongoing difficulty with getting classes, especially major requirements, as I know that happens often at state schools. TIA!
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Did your daughter get to register early both semesters? I noticed one of the benefits listed on the Honors College acceptance letter was “early registration starting with Spring enrollment” and was curious if it has always been that way or if it had something to do with the big enrollment numbers last year, if not this year, too.
My daughter is also planning on exploring neuroscience. One of the things that most attracted her to Pitt was the wealth of opportunities. Especially if a student is interested in health science fields (among others), attending a large, urban college with prestigious, neighboring hospital systems means more work, research, and academic opportunities than one finds at the average school. I find it similar to Boston in that regard.
From mixed feedback I’ve received from others about the advising system, I get the sense that you get out of it what you put into it, Honors College or otherwise. Pitt provides a wealth of opportunities but also isn’t going to do a lot of hand-holding (which I think is probably a good thing for young adults). Any advice on how to take advantage of those opportunities sooner rather than later? I’m particularly curious how work-study functions at Pitt for students who want to do research, so if you have any insights on that I’d appreciate it.
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To address some of the questions people are asking about the value of honors….
Both of my kids attended Pitt. The older one graduated in 2020. She was not in honors from the start but was allowed in during her freshman year due to high GPA (not sure if they still do this). Back then, honors did not get early registration. She never took any honors classes or lived in the honors dorm. She went to one honors event, said it was boring and never went to another. So, honors made zero impact on her experience. She still graduated summa cum laude, was invited to join phi beta kappa, and landed an excellent job. Honors is not necessary.
Generally, students pick classes based on how many credits you’ve completed so seniors first , then juniors, etc. Any credit you come in with due to AP courses helps to bump you up a bit.
My younger child is currently a junior at Pitt and was a long way from being in honors. I think the only time he really had trouble scheduling was second semester freshman year where he got shut out of a couple courses in his major. He easily took them sophomore year and it ended up not being an issue at all. There was one course he wanted this semester that sounded really interesting but it was already into waitlist status before juniors even got to pick, so it does happen but it’s not common. Overall it hasn’t been a problem.
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Hmm, yes definitely no hand holding. You are right there. Seek out the advising. And if you need a specific pre-health advisor, ask for one. D18 had a pre-PA advisor assigned to her because of her Gap admit. But, I do think that the Honors program helps with honors advising right at the beginning. So my advice would be to utilize honors opportunities/advantages fully for advising/mentoring/research opportunities and tips. Your D will be assigned an honors mentor.
I don’t know about formal work-study. I do know kids can get paid for lab work. They could also have it as an internship with no pay. They can also get credit for research they do (S16 who transferred to Pitt did retinal research in a lab with mice, and earned 3 credits, maybe 4 for his work). I’ve found that when my kids aren’t shy, and email/call/meet with researchers, good things happen.
Tons of specialty hospitals. Tons. And neuroscience at Pitt is very established. One of the first to have a neuroscience major if I’m not mistaken.
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Thanks much for taking the time to share your daughter’s experience and perspective. Appreciate it!
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You’re welcome 
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Of all the forums I’ve been on CC, I find Pitt forum the most helpful and supportive. I think that probably will reflect on the student community too. Thanks everyone for being supportive and willing to share your thoughts!
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