University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Top Questions

My classmates are helpful, exciting, and diverse, and they are what has made my first year of college one of the most memorable years of my life.

There are a pretty wide variety of kids at Pitt. There are a lot of people from the Pittsburgh area and the greater Philadelphia area, but there are kids from all over the country and the world. Anyone can find their place at Pitt.

My classmates are all among the top ten percent of their high school classes, motivated, friendly, and great resources to be around.

My classmates are united through so many different things: sports (beating PSU, Notre Dame, Syracuse), the community through the turnout with Pitt Make a Difference Day and through classes because I see so many students offering to help others who need a lift with studying or with a tutor.

My classmates were diverse and interesting.

Pitt has so many different kinds of students. No one would feel out of place here. You will find friends easily. There are tons of different ethnicities, so if that's a concern, don't fret.

Pitt is a public school in the heart of Pittsburgh, PA. It consists of mostly in-state students who take advantage of the school's low tuition for in-state students. About 25{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students are from out of state, and about 10 to 15{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} are international students. Because the majority of the students are from Pennsylvania, an out-of-state student or international student could feel out of place and couldn't relate to many of the local traditions or cultural events. I know because I'm from Springfield, MA and even until today I'm still learning and adjusting to Pittsburgh. But if non-PA students take the time to get involved with campus activities and organizations, they won't feel out of place anymore because the intimacy and family-feeling of campus organizations really help non-PA students make new friends and feel at home. I joined two religious organizations in my freshman year, and the people in these two organizations really helped me adjust into this new environment and find friends that support and care about me. One thing I love about Pitt students is that we have school pride. Almost every student has a Pitt shirt, Pitt umbrella, and other Pitt accessories. The Panther is the school's mascot which is recognizable not only outside of Pittsburgh, but also outside of this state. I went home to visit my high school, and my old teacher was able to identify the Pitt Panthers when I mentioned my school name. Pitt pride is very important and wonderful to all students because it gives a sense of community and family-feeling. Pitt students are very polite, respectful, and care for each other. They care about the community, they want to learn, and they want to succeed in life. Most Pitt students participate in the Pitt make a difference day, in which Pitt students go around the city for clean up and serve the community. Students don't really take racial, religious, or soci-economic issues into consideration. People of all religious get along, people of all classe work together, and people of all races care about each other. One thing that binds every student is the cost of living. All Pitt students are "poor".Students love to help each other out financially. If a girl runs out of dinning passes, her friends or a random stranger won't mind swiping her into the dinning hall for free. If a guy don't have money for groceries, his buddies or even RA would buy him food and tell him to not worry about paying back.

Approximately 70{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students are from Pennsylvania, but even though I have something in my mind that is a "stereotypical Pennsylvanian," not many of the students fit that stereotype. The largest area represented is probably the city and suburbs around Pittsburgh. However, I'm from New York, and have met people from Texas, California, Alaska, Minnesota, Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Flordia. There is also a pretty good number of international students - lots from China and India - especially in graduate programs - but you're also likely to know at least one international student as an undergrad.

I'd say the stereotype is that Pitt students are pretty nice, friendly, happy, down-to-earth people (although I think those doing the stereotyping probably know that because Pitt is a pretty big school, there are plenty of exceptions). I think this is mostly true: Pitt students probably fit this description more so than kids at other schools. I've met a lot of really nice and friendly people, which has been my favorite part about college. However, what I've found more than anything is that it's pretty difficult to make a generalization/stereotype about the student body as a whole. Pitt is a pretty big school (with 18,000+ undergraduate), and thus there are a broad array of personalities, interests, and backgrounds. Another thing to note... I think there's a stereotype that Pitt is this big sports school with great basketball and football teams, and that there's a lot of school spirit and support for these teams. The football and basketball game are pretty fun, and lots of people go to them, but I definitely don't feel that stereotypical "ra-ra" atmosphere here.

Not many students could feel out of place at our school. There are groups and clubs for every ethnicity, religion, major, etc. And the student population is so diverse that everyone accepts everyone because its more of a melting pot than a dominant majority religion or race.