@CValle Pitt is already ranked the #1 Public School in the Northeast so I’m pretty sure they are already at a good place. Maintaining the rank and making sure the school has geographical, cultural and academic diversity across disciplines is likely the name of the game these days.
Where do you see Pitt being ranked number one? So many rankings out there and not always the deciding factor . Some majors are ranked much higher at lower ranked schools and of course the basis of this chain, financials dictates the majority of these decisions
According to US News, it is ranked at 68 in the country
behind CT, Penn State, Maryland , etc…
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public
Our daughter was accepted to Pitt, but if any of your predictions hold true, she will not get any merit. Fortunate to have some excellent options as well. Having said that, do we let them know this early in the game that we will not be attending? I see lots of other kids having a hard time getting in or being admitted to different campuses.
I think the admissions yield is not that great, I would think that many of these high stat students are choosing to go somewhere else where merit is even better. Also the instate rate for Pitt is much higher that some similarly ranked OOS schools such as Ohiio State *we applied and we are waiting) which requires lower stats to get some merit.
It was ranked #1 public school in the Northeast by the Wall St Journal.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/top-private-and-public-colleges-in-the-northeast-1477492224
@Boomer1964 --it was a WSJ ranking: https://www.wsj.com/articles/top-private-and-public-colleges-in-the-northeast-1477492224
I have no idea about the admissions yield. Anecdotal evidence from the Pitt students Facebook groups showed many students ditched Pitt for higher tiered schools (my daughter’s originally intended roommate decided at the last minute to attend Cornell instead).
Others didn’t get merit from Pitt because their scores were pretty average for Pitts admitted class —and those students went where they were offered money for their lower scores.
I have no idea about what you should do about the admissions decision. I would think it’s way too early in the game to make a decision.
Pitt merit notifications go out through March. It makes sense that the top stats student who have applied so far are reviewed first. Pitt can award merit any way they see fit, it is noted on the scholarship page that merit is competitive, if everyone got a scholarship for certain stats, then why even have a scholarship committee?
The students don’t have to make a matriculation decision until May 1. So who knows, maybe some of you will still get a surprise.
I have no idea if the fact that my D is a first generation college student and that she is from a small rural town had any bearing on her receiving an award over someone else, but who knows, it could play a role.
@mommdc exactly! I do believe someone with a 32 ACT reported a last minute Hail Mary type of scholarship decision from Pitt last year in like March. It was a smaller amount (5K/year I think? But it was a smidge below their norms published on their page and we were all pleasantly surprised and happy for that student.
But definitely use this time to be realistic. I know until we received my daughter’s scholarship notification, we spent the time helping her understand she could be excited about some of her other options AND to be realistic. We were not one to support false hopes or magical thinking. We also used the time to hedge bets and diminish any expectancy.
The data is out there. Pitt’s common data set shows number of freshman applications, how many were accepted and how many enrolled. You can find data on freshman profile regarding SAT and ACT scores and GPA, amount of need based and non need based aid awarded, and more.
My D is being very realistic, taking into account she will have med school debt. She is OOS and hasn’t received a scholarship offer from Pitt yet, although she is in the range. They may have been waiting for her Med GAP application, which she decided not to submit for a few reasons, but that’s a different story. She has applied to several comparable schools, knowing that a lot of college is how much you put into it, and will likely have better scholarship offers from some of them than she will get from Pitt. Still, she loves Pitt, and if the money is right, she would love to go there. Still, much as the colleges take a holistic approach to admissions, she is taking a holistic approach to her decision. I’m very proud of her for that.
@JMRome --smart girl! Fingers crossed for her and the journey in front of her!
@carachel2 Thanks. Fingers crossed for all these kids. It’s the first real-life decision many of them will make.
Yes same here… Loved the fact that they waived the application fee and was accepted. However hard to get too excited based on the information shared here about Merit. Just happy to have a few excellent options so early in the game . Hopefully, they will come through at one point or another in order to be able to even consider it. Pitt would be great option. Until then, we do not hold any false hope.
Has anyone here received a partial scholarship for Pitt being an in-state resident? If so, can you post your stats and how much you received? It seems like most of the postings have been for full scholarships. The website says that partial scholarships are offered even as low as $2k/year but I have not seen any postings about these smaller merit scholarships.
@dixie200, not all of the students receiving them might be on CC, or they get awarded later.
Most of the students that posted so far about merit had 35, 34 ACT scores, and/or were OOS.
My D had some classmates who got smaller awards but I don’t know stats.
I would encourage every PA student to submit the Stamps and especially Nordenberg scholarship application, it’s another chance at full tuition or more, and I think required stats are a bit lower.
Just wanted to wish this supportive community a Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your day!
Just received my merit scholarship ! $20k a year. out of state, 34 ACT and 3.7 unweighted gpa, six ap’s and ten honors classes.
Hey All - congrats to all of you who won scholarships!
My D was accepted a couple weeks ago and received an invitation to the Honors program today. Is it still possible to win a merit scholarship, or has that ship sailed? 101 weighted GPA, 10 APs and 1430 SATs.
@zingerdad Did her acceptance letter mention that she would be considered for merit?
@Zingerdad —last year kind of late in the season (late Jan or Feb?) someone with a 32 ACT posted they got a bit of a scholarship. On the Pitt website they specifically state 1480 SAT is their lower threshold. It is likely that ship has sailed but honestly this year so far seems different for merit at Pitt. It’s like Santa Claus climbed into their merit office and started dishing out the $$ lol.
@carachel2 no - it did not.
@DfwMomof2 No it did not.