Review of University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus
from Pittsburgh, PA
Describe your college in three sentences.
Pitt literally has something for everyone. There are majors/minors/certificates in nearly anything you could think of, over 400 clubs, and Pittsburgh is a city that offers a wide variety of living arrangements, tons of restaurants, and entertainment/fun events every weekend. There are also endless resources to get you the internships, research, and volunteer experiences that will help you get a good job when you graduate.
Do you have any tips for prospective students?
-Since Pitt has endless things to do, it will be easy to overestimate your time and overbook yourself. Looking through the list and going to the activities fair, you will want to do everything. Commit to one or two clubs you really care about, and visit the rest whenever they have big events open to everyone.
-Be open to meeting people different than what you're used to. Pitt isn't the most diverse school percentage-wise, but since it has over 15000 kids, it still adds up.
-Take advantage of O-Week! Lots of schools don't offer anything like it, and it's a super easy way to learn about the school, make friends, and get a ton of free stuff, so go to as many events as you can.
-Don't spend the next ~100 days wasting away in Oakland. Pittsburgh is a city known for it's diverse neighborhoods and the bus is free with your Pitt ID, so you should do something in all of them at least once (cultural district, south side, shadyside, squirrel hill, lawrenceville, east liberty, waterfront, north shore).
-Take advantage of the internship/volunteering opportunities of living in a big city. Leadership in Action is a program that gives you experience working on a special project for a local nonprofit. First Experiences in Research is also a great program, and not just for STEM majors. They have projects for everything from bio to psych to history to art.
-PITT ARTS!!! Their events are everything. They take you to a play or musical in the city plus get you dinner at a restaurant, for free. Sign up for their newsletters to get notified so you can sign up.
-Watch your spending. Living in a city, it's easy to lose track of money you spend on random crap. My club's blog, pittpennysavers.blogspot.com , writes articles about how to save on Pitt's campus.
-Study abroad. You can go almost anywhere! Obviously this is a bit down the line for freshman, but you can start looking into it today. They have a good website that details all the programs. There are lots of sch...
Do you find there’s enough academic rigor at your school?
Rigor can be mixed bag with Pitt. Bio and Chem courses are notoriously hard, and cause lots of pre-med kids to switch majors (free tutoring is available, but if you're not totally in love with science you'll probably just give up). Other than that, you shouldn't be screaming your head off to get good grades, but you will be challenged.
Describe the dorm life at your college.
I never lived in a dorm. For the fact that they allow freshmen to live off-campus in the first place, when many schools don't, I'll rate them a 5/5. Besides that, I never met anybody who had any real problems with their dorms. Most people say it's super easy to make friends in dorms. They're tiny as hell, but that's kind of the idea if you live in the dorm. Still, I would strongly encourage everyone to look into off-campus housing. You will save a lot of money, and the Commuter Student Association is great at Pitt. They sponsor lots of free events for you to get to know other commuters, and I met a lot of my good friends there.
Describe the food and dining at your college.
Again, since I didn't live on campus I can't say much about the cafeteria. I personally didn't really like it, but I know it is a lot better and has way much more variety than most. The meal plans try to scam every freshman, so get the lowest one you can. The great thing about living in the city is that there are so many other options besides cafeteria food. Just don't tie up all your money in Dining Dollars and Swipes, and you'll be able to take advantage of that.
What’s there to do for fun at your college?
-Again, Pitt Arts. Their Free Visits program includes free admission to lots of local museums and the Conservatory. Signing up for the Newsletter gives you access to free trips to plays, concerts, dance performances and more, which also include free meals at some of the hottest Pittsburgh restaurants! These events are often worth over $50, but as a Pitt student you get to go for free. Pitt Arts also gives you discounts to other events through their Cheap Seats program.
-Clubs, clubs, clubs. There are over 400. See below.
-Pitt Program Council events. PPC is the event planning club at Pitt, and they get about 200k/year to play around with. In my freshman year, they brought in Hoodie Allen, Kenan Thompson, American Authors (with a free food truck festival), and Lupe Fiasco. They also do lots of other events throughout the year like spa days, open mic nights, trips to theme parks and pro sports games, paintball, and cupcake/cookie decorating. Other big clubs also bring people in, like the Rainbow Alliance brought in Laverne Cox. Read the Pitt News to stay updated on who's coming.
-I definitely wouldn't say Pitt is a party school, but there is partying if you seek it out. There are also a couple cool clubs and bars around the city that students frequent.
Do you feel you’re getting value for the money you’re spending on college?
If you're in-state, you're definitely getting a good deal. Pitt is just as good as private schools that charge twice as much. Obviously the out of state tuition is one of the highest in the country, but I still think it's a pretty decent deal. You get so many opportunities that small schools don't offer. The free bus pass alone retails for over $1600.
Share any unusual traditions or locations on campus
Every freshman class breaks an obscure world record - we did most people making an image of the earth by holding up LED lights. Rubbing the Panther's nose for good luck. Saying Let's go Pitt! during the dun dun dun of Sweet Caroline
Which types of students will excel at your college?
Pre-meds (UPMC), philosophy (#1), social work (#1). Having a great philosophy and good poli-sci also makes it great for pre-laws in general. People who want to do research - there is more to choose from than pretty much and school at this price point and funding through the Brackenridge and other grants is everywhere. Career-focused, academic, city kids (although lots of people come from the middle of nowhere) will thrive at Pitt. It's definitely liberal, but there are a few conservatives - just don't be shocked when you see a gay interracial couple kissing in public.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
There are over 400 of them so there's literally something for everyone. There's club sports, debate, newspaper and other publications, model un, political groups, racial/ethnic groups, religious groups, major/career-orientated clubs, greek life (not very popular but the people in it love it), volunteering clubs, a capella groups, bands, poetry and music performance clubs, and pretty much anything else you can think of. It is also extremely easy to start your own club, I did it (started the Pitt Pennysavers, a club centered around couponing and saving money). All you need is 10 people and you can start applying for funding.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
Greek life isn't very popular at Pitt, but it's a close knit group that seems to have a lot of fun together. They also have 6 historically black (there are a few white/asian kids) sororities and fraternities.
How would you describe campus safety? Do you feel safe on campus?
Oakland is pretty much the safest place in the city. There are cops everywhere. If you go out and get super wasted, bad things can happen, but as long as you have good friends you should be okay.
Pitt literally has something for everyone. There are majors/minors/certificates in nearly anything you could think of, over 400 clubs, and Pittsburgh is a city that offers a wide variety of living arrangements, tons of restaurants, and entertainment/fun events every weekend. There are also endless resources to get you the internships, research, and volunteer experiences that will help you get a good job when you graduate.
-Since Pitt has endless things to do, it will be easy to overestimate your time and overbook yourself. Looking through the list and going to the activities fair, you will want to do everything. Commit to one or two clubs you really care about, and visit the rest whenever they have big events open to everyone. -Be open to meeting people different than what you're used to. Pitt isn't the most diverse school percentage-wise, but since it has over 15000 kids, it still adds up. -Take advantage of O-Week! Lots of schools don't offer anything like it, and it's a super easy way to learn about the school, make friends, and get a ton of free stuff, so go to as many events as you can. -Don't spend the next ~100 days wasting away in Oakland. Pittsburgh is a city known for it's diverse neighborhoods and the bus is free with your Pitt ID, so you should do something in all of them at least once (cultural district, south side, shadyside, squirrel hill, lawrenceville, east liberty, waterfront, north shore). -Take advantage of the internship/volunteering opportunities of living in a big city. Leadership in Action is a program that gives you experience working on a special project for a local nonprofit. First Experiences in Research is also a great program, and not just for STEM majors. They have projects for everything from bio to psych to history to art. -PITT ARTS!!! Their events are everything. They take you to a play or musical in the city plus get you dinner at a restaurant, for free. Sign up for their newsletters to get notified so you can sign up. -Watch your spending. Living in a city, it's easy to lose track of money you spend on random crap. My club's blog, pittpennysavers.blogspot.com , writes articles about how to save on Pitt's campus. -Study abroad. You can go almost anywhere! Obviously this is a bit down the line for freshman, but you can start looking into it today. They have a good website that details all the programs. There are lots of sch...
Rigor can be mixed bag with Pitt. Bio and Chem courses are notoriously hard, and cause lots of pre-med kids to switch majors (free tutoring is available, but if you're not totally in love with science you'll probably just give up). Other than that, you shouldn't be screaming your head off to get good grades, but you will be challenged.
I never lived in a dorm. For the fact that they allow freshmen to live off-campus in the first place, when many schools don't, I'll rate them a 5/5. Besides that, I never met anybody who had any real problems with their dorms. Most people say it's super easy to make friends in dorms. They're tiny as hell, but that's kind of the idea if you live in the dorm. Still, I would strongly encourage everyone to look into off-campus housing. You will save a lot of money, and the Commuter Student Association is great at Pitt. They sponsor lots of free events for you to get to know other commuters, and I met a lot of my good friends there.
Again, since I didn't live on campus I can't say much about the cafeteria. I personally didn't really like it, but I know it is a lot better and has way much more variety than most. The meal plans try to scam every freshman, so get the lowest one you can. The great thing about living in the city is that there are so many other options besides cafeteria food. Just don't tie up all your money in Dining Dollars and Swipes, and you'll be able to take advantage of that.
-Again, Pitt Arts. Their Free Visits program includes free admission to lots of local museums and the Conservatory. Signing up for the Newsletter gives you access to free trips to plays, concerts, dance performances and more, which also include free meals at some of the hottest Pittsburgh restaurants! These events are often worth over $50, but as a Pitt student you get to go for free. Pitt Arts also gives you discounts to other events through their Cheap Seats program. -Clubs, clubs, clubs. There are over 400. See below. -Pitt Program Council events. PPC is the event planning club at Pitt, and they get about 200k/year to play around with. In my freshman year, they brought in Hoodie Allen, Kenan Thompson, American Authors (with a free food truck festival), and Lupe Fiasco. They also do lots of other events throughout the year like spa days, open mic nights, trips to theme parks and pro sports games, paintball, and cupcake/cookie decorating. Other big clubs also bring people in, like the Rainbow Alliance brought in Laverne Cox. Read the Pitt News to stay updated on who's coming. -I definitely wouldn't say Pitt is a party school, but there is partying if you seek it out. There are also a couple cool clubs and bars around the city that students frequent.
If you're in-state, you're definitely getting a good deal. Pitt is just as good as private schools that charge twice as much. Obviously the out of state tuition is one of the highest in the country, but I still think it's a pretty decent deal. You get so many opportunities that small schools don't offer. The free bus pass alone retails for over $1600.
Every freshman class breaks an obscure world record - we did most people making an image of the earth by holding up LED lights. Rubbing the Panther's nose for good luck. Saying Let's go Pitt! during the dun dun dun of Sweet Caroline
Pre-meds (UPMC), philosophy (#1), social work (#1). Having a great philosophy and good poli-sci also makes it great for pre-laws in general. People who want to do research - there is more to choose from than pretty much and school at this price point and funding through the Brackenridge and other grants is everywhere. Career-focused, academic, city kids (although lots of people come from the middle of nowhere) will thrive at Pitt. It's definitely liberal, but there are a few conservatives - just don't be shocked when you see a gay interracial couple kissing in public.
There are over 400 of them so there's literally something for everyone. There's club sports, debate, newspaper and other publications, model un, political groups, racial/ethnic groups, religious groups, major/career-orientated clubs, greek life (not very popular but the people in it love it), volunteering clubs, a capella groups, bands, poetry and music performance clubs, and pretty much anything else you can think of. It is also extremely easy to start your own club, I did it (started the Pitt Pennysavers, a club centered around couponing and saving money). All you need is 10 people and you can start applying for funding.
Greek life isn't very popular at Pitt, but it's a close knit group that seems to have a lot of fun together. They also have 6 historically black (there are a few white/asian kids) sororities and fraternities.
Oakland is pretty much the safest place in the city. There are cops everywhere. If you go out and get super wasted, bad things can happen, but as long as you have good friends you should be okay.