Any advice on what my son should say? We are new to this process.
By any chance do you know which schools are considered Peer institutions to Pitt? Wondering if Pitt will consider a little bit of merit if we show them - for example - Drexel’s COA (which is lower than Pitt)…
Its not that all the seats have been committed to, it could be that based on predicted yield that they are not going to offer anymore acceptances at this time. Most likely have received a record number of applications and even though they are a rolling application school, they do not need any more acceptances to fill their freshman class.
We were specifically told (in person, via email and phone) Pitt does not negotiate offers or take competitive offers from other schools.
Yes…
So I hear people saying all the time “people declining now won’t move the waitlist”. But what if everyone who is absolutely sure they are not going to Pitt declines, I would think the waitlist would start to move.
Kudos to Pitt for sending out emails to people asking where they stand with their decision right now.
I am sure tons of people are filling out the form to say they want more money in hopes that Pitt will be like “Oh OK… we want you to commit so here is a lot more money”. It doesn’t work that way. They have more than enough people willing to pay full price or be ok with the merit they received. They don’t need to negotiate.
Was the $12K financial aid or merit? Do you mean that it was financial aid that will go away next year because that your income is higher?
If you google online, there are scripts and example letters for how to write an appeal for more merit aid.
As others have said, Pitt generally does not review or grant any increases. Drexel is likely not a peer institution because it’s a private university. But…it doesn’t hurt to ask. They aren’t going to put a black mark in his file because he asked. And I do have a friend who has had luck negotiating small increases in aid by pleading her case.
So, do some research on the best way to write the email and give it a shot, but expect that the answer will most likely be no.
Thank you for the suggestion! I guess it is worth a shot. I will look at email examples online. Thanks again!
Pitt’s has a pretty consistent yield rate of about 22%. So say, for example, they have 4,400 seats to fill. They’d need to extend 20,000 offers (because 4,400/0.22=20,000). Maybe once they hit that number of offers, they consider that as having committed all their seats (to potential students).
I realized I didn’t answer your question. $12K is financial aid. Yes, the financial aid may go away next year because I’m now working full time versus working just half a year when we reported our family income on the FAFSA.
12k per year in financial aid is really good IMO. If you are going from part time to full time, it may not necessarily go down to zero though but if its a substantial pay increase then yea, in their minds “they are making this much more, then can afford to pay”… I mean we all know thats not the case but thats a simplified response lol. You do 100% have to factor that in as your child is there for 4 years not just this year. You have to be able to afford all 4 years.
2 years ago, right before and on the May 1st date, an onslaught of accepted students committed to Pitt. Kids waited for that reach school or deferred school, and wound up choosing Pitt. I’m amazed how quickly the demand for Pitt has escalated and how Pitt had adapted with their own changes to the admissions process/outcome possibilities.
There is nothing to lose if trying to get more merit/financial aid before May 1.
And I just want to say good luck to those Panthers in today’s mens basketball game against Xavier in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament!! H2P!!! Sean Miller, Xavier’s coach was Pitt’s point guard when I was in school, so it makes the match up even better. Let’s Go Pitt! Tip off is at 12:10 pm
@Elisette @TheMonaLisa @Skitcher
I wonder if your kids have made their decision. Attending Pitt?
S23 accepted his offer to Pitt. He is excited and happy to move on from the college search.
How does one find roommates? How does that work? S23 was accepted to the Honors College and thinking about Sutherland Hall. Any recommendations?
Congratulations to your son! My son will commit to Pitt once the Pitt Portal is no longer under maintenance, haha! He was looking forward to accepting the offer this evening.
Your son will be in CS too, is that right? Mine will be too and is very excited!
Kid declined Pitt due to other offers coming in. I remain grateful to their early process and was favorably impressed with them throughout. Hopefully this will improve the odds for others.
Thank you! I hope they fix the portal, and you can accept soon. Yes, S23 is a CS major - it would be great if they could connect. Is there a way I can message you directly?
Just messaged you. I can’t remember how to make my profile public again so that you can message me so I went ahead and messaged you. 
Thank you for declining. I know people say it doesn’t matter or help the waitlist, but I am one who thinks that it does (if everyone who knows they aren’t going now declines). Im glad your child found their place to land…good luck to them!
We declined as well. Daughter really liked the school and even with small merit 5K a year couldn’t justify the cost over in State, University of Florida
Yes, my D23 accepted her spot immediately after her scholarship package was received. She loved the school that loved her back, quickly and readily. 
As for roommates, there is some website she is using which is like “tinder” for roommates. You set up your profile, your “priorities”, and then “swipe right” on matches. If they “swipe” back on you, they connect you to have discussions.
Congratulations! It is nice to be done with the college search!!!
Thanks, that’s super useful information. I will let S23 know so he can get on the roommate ‘tinder’ . Oh, I think I found it on the Pitt housing website, ‘RoomSync’. They will send an invitation to your student to join. Should tell S23 to check his Pitt email.
Do you know if one should complete housing application (and deposit) first or match with a roommate first?