I have been a longtime lurker, but just joined. My child is seriously considering Pitt. How is the honors college and honors housing. What is the academic environment like at Pitt. Any info would be appreciated.
I would also be interested in responses to your question, but I think our timing is not the best…finals are concluding on campus and students are currently packing up for the summer! I am a step ahead, DD will attend Pitt in the fall. I will tell you we learned a lot about the honors college by reading the “Pitt student” thread answered by awesomeopossom and also subscribing to the weekly UHC (university honors college) newsletter by email. We found that on the honors college website. So far we have been very impressed.
My DD will be a junior next year in engineering and she has lived in honors housing for the prior years.
First, honors housing, I highly recommend it. My DD went there knowing nobody and made friends easily. The other students were open, diverse and committed to doing well in school. Again, highly recommend it.
The Honors program is different than most. It is more open than most with less requirements. You do not have to be in honors to take an honors course, you just need an approval. Again, I would recommend it because it opens doors without a large time or class commitment.
The academics of Pitt are challenging but not overwhelming. My DD never made a B in HS but has at Pitt but is still keeping her GPA up. She does have an internship this summer that she got thru Pitt channels. Her professors are involved with her and her progress. I will also say that she has had time to do Pitt Arts and explore Pittsburgh. It has been a nice balance. It has been a great school for her.