University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Top Questions

It's a great campus. Plenty of opportunities on campus and in the community. Pittsburgh is a unique city because the colleges are what really make it what it is. Oakland is basically a college town comprising of a few colleges, but dominated by Pitt. In comparison to some NJ schools I've seen it is definitely not a suitcase college. Also, unlike WVU you do not have to take a bus to get everywhere fun or to get to downtown. When you become 21 Pitt has an awesome bar scene. It is a city that is recovering from the steel industry collapse, but is wisely investing in future technologies and is on the cutting edge for environmental standards. Pitt students get free city bus transportation for when they want to visit downtown, which is remarkably clean. Pittsburgh is a nice city, but feels like a small town. Especially if you are coming from the East Coast. There is a lot of school pride and the Greek Life is also active. I am involved in the Pi Kappa Fraternity which like others, can dominate some aspects of the school. However, the school does not huge mansions like Penn State and other colleges, so non-Greeks do not feel left out if they choose not to join. Also the Living Communities make excellent areas of learning for some students. My one personal compliant is how it is hard to change a mistake in your schedule or fix a mistake in financial aid. Sometimes you have to make 3-4 appointments with different people in order to get what you need. This is because its a big school and not every school employee knows all aspects for everything. The other concern is that it gets very cold and windy in the winter. This past winter it snowed every day almost. So bring a pair of boots. However, it gets real hot in the fall and warms up quickly in the spring. Also you get out before any other school I know. (As early as April 20)... and without going in excessively early. (You go in around August 20). Some of your breaks are just shorter, but it is well worth it for a long summer break.

Pitt is in a city, it isn't out in the middle of nowhere. There is so much to do, especially for non-drinkers. The huge college stereotype is that everybody drinks, but at Pitt there is a lot more to do. There are so many school sponsored events as well as events and shows going on throughout the city at any time.

The big picture of Pitt... Geez, I'm not sure I know. Your big picture is going to be different from my big picture. I'm a simple guy; I go to classes, work out with friends a couple times per week, go to a club meeting or two, and enjoy the weekend. Let's try to answer some of the standard questions: - most time spent on campus: around the Cathedral; lots of classes are in or within a block of there - Is Pittsburgh a college town? No. Pittsburgh is a city. You go to college in that city. - School pride? Only during basketball season. There are a lot of apathetic football fans, which is disappointing. However, you'll see about 30-40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of your classmates wearing assorted Pitt gear every day.

Pitt has a great atmosphere, for a large school, it's hard to feel lost among the crowd. Professors can get to know you, if you want them to, that is, and its not hard to stand out if you try. Oakland, where the campus is located is kind of run down, but it has a good flavor to it, sort of a good place to mature. there are bums and crime, sometimes i can hear gunshots at night, but its also fairly safe, as long as you're not stupid. but there's lots of good coffee shops and restaurants, making it easy for a chill time or to take someone on a date. there is a good deal of school pride, especially during basketball season, due to our excellent team over the past few years. there's also a lot of pittsburgh pride, especially for the penguins (our hockey team), but no one gives you too hard a time if you're a fan of some other team, especially from philly or ohio.

The best thing about Pitt is that UPMC is providing some money for me to go to school. Other than this, I will receive a raise at work after completing my Master's degree. When I tell people I go to Pitt, they say 'oh'. Not really much of a respose... The only school pride is in their basketball....when they are good. When their sports teams are not good, they talk badly about them. I can honestly say I did not have a great experience here. Administration for my program sucked, and they are not very organized at all. It is in the middle of the city, and I do not like when the homeless people would ask me for money after getting done with a class.

Best thing- many hospitals which allow for research, internships, and volunteer experience. It is a huge school which is awesome because there are so many students. I spend a lot of time studying at Hillman Library and in the Cathedral of Learning. People love Pitt- everyone loves it and I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I will always remember when the Steelers won the Super Bowl (for the 5th time) freshman year because everyone was going crazy and they had to close down the streets in Oakland because everyone was being crazy outside.

The best thing about Pitt is the level of diversity we maintain. The student body, itself, is culturally, racially, economically and religiously diverse. The majors, courses, and honors programs offered are diverse. Also, the amount of volunteer, research, extracurricular, leadership and social opportunities are incredibly diverse. You can do anything and be anything that you would ever chose to at Pitt! Every day is like a new adventure, packed full with possibilities. For once, I feel as if my dreams are completely within my grasp. I have never been a sports aficionado, fanatic or even devoted fan, but after coming to Pitt, I have been completely transformed! I now religiously follow Panther football, basketball and lacrosse and support the Steelers. There is such a shared pride and community when attending sports events that I never imagined I would enjoy so much! There is nothing like a packed stadium full of screaming, united fans to get the blood rushing and the school spirit flowing. Something I will never forget about my freshman year is the incredible sense of friendship and community I found within my very own residence hall, Tower B. I think I had friends on every floor! The ability to just walk up a few flights of stairs to talk for hours about anything and everything with a diverse group of supportive friends was immeasurably life-changing. When I began at Pitt, I knew not a single person. Now, having completed my freshman year, I have friends from classes, activities, living quarters and best of all, a group of seven incredibly supportive and close friends with which I know I will never part. There is nothing like that feeling of complete and supportive solidarity to make one feel that college is, perhaps, the happiest place on earth.

Pitt has a wonderful city life atmosphere that makes even the most mundane days exciting. There is never a dull moment at Pitt and having the city and professional sports team so close by makes every season exciting.

The best thing about Pitt has to be the buses and you're location. It's hard to run out of things to do since the buses will take you anywhere and you ride for free. Sometimes it does suck having all of these great restaurants but no money to eat at them. And since I live a few hours from WVU, lets just say people's reaction to my going to Pitt isn't always thrilled.

Pitt is the ideal place for me. The people are friendly. I am in a city setting. The school isn't too big or too small. I see a new face everyday. Most of the time I am either with my friends working on homework or in my room alone studying. Pitt athletics are very entertaining. The most memorable day of my freshman year was when the basketball team upset No. 6 Georgetown.

One think I would change is lack of unity. Sure, we have the cathedral but other than that if you were to meet someone who goes to Pitt you would have no shared experiences besides being in the same few square miles. The school's size is perfect; class sizes range from 10-200. The worst part about Pitt is the assumptions people make about you as soon as you tell them what school you go to. I've found that we're viewed over all as average or slightly below average. There is no "college town" for Pitt; if you walk down the streets of our campus 80-90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the people you see do NOT go to your school. This, again, results in a lack of unity. There's not much school spirit except among the few people that go to basketball and football games. A portion is actually anti-school spirit which is a downer for the rest of us. The administration is actually above par. I don't think I've heard of any controversy or great tension between students and administration. The school is very well run and they certainly keep us happy.

i was a non-traditional student at pitt, so i didn't live on campus, didn't attend the whole four years. started at penn state and then finished at pitt. from starting at psu, i had the impression that pitt's academics were not so hot. i soon found out that my impression was entirely wrong. the professors that i had for my english classes were amazing, and the professors i had for my gen ed classes were also just as amazing. perhaps it is because i am older now and had a more focused mindset, but i felt that i learned more from my classes at pitt than i did when i first started my undergraduate career. campus is nice, city campus, so one has to be comfortable with traffic, homeless people, and general mayhem during busy times (which is nearly all of the time in oakland). my only complaint is that hillman library becomes a bit of a night club after 6pm, and if you're looking for a quite place to study, the library is not the place to go in the evenings.

In all honesty, Pitt is large enough to have a very diverse student body. You can be involved in sports, politics, music or anything else you can think of, and find a group of people with similar interests. So we are big enough to have the resources yet the many classes are small enough so you can "get to know your professors" like all of you small college goes love to do.

Pitt is a great school. It's in the city, but it's not too much in the city.

Pitt is very diverse, but people to tend to segregate themselves based on race. But you will be exposed to people from all over and learn how to get along- so that is very important in this world. You also learn a lot from how other people live in other places & you can be more open of a person if you let yourself- but you have to do that. There are a lot of clubs to be involved with & many activities to do so you don't have to just party. There are parties of all types if that is what you do. You learn lots of political things & keep up to date on environmental & social injustice issues.

Well I go to a branch campus of Pitt which I feel is really helpful to the type of student that I am. I know at our campus there is a lot more hands on with teachers and almost all of the time your teachers are always there to help you. I think that when I tell people I go to Pitt they look at me with high standards, meaning like it's a very good school to attend so the person I am speaking to is impressed by what they hear. I don't really hear many student complaints which I think is tremendous. As far as school pride goes that is one thing I am very proud of. Even being on a branch campus I still feel so involved with all the major Pitt activities.

Pitt is great, because it is in a fun part of town. There are things to do at all hours of the night for the most part (food, parties, etc.) It is a big school, but once you get involved in things and make friends the campus doesn't seem that big anymore. I see people I know all the time! While Pitt is a great school and a safe campus, it is still a city, and living off campus isn't exactly safe. But the off campus living is generally highly populated with students and is pretty safe during the daytime. I've only known one person that came to pitt and didn't like it - so people are pretty satisfied with it. And the food is actually really good! Most of my college friends complain that the food on their campus is poisoned or something it's so bad, but the main food place on campus is better than the food I get at home. Pitt is all around a great school and I love it so much. I would recommend it to everyone.

In so far as the atmosphere of Pitt, the 'big picture', the feeling one gets from walking around campus, it is full of pride. I love the campus, because I like the urban setting, and I LOVE the fact that I am not in a 'college town' that there is a whole city, plenty of things other than just school going on everywhere around me. READ: Oakland is NOT New York City. It is a decently sized city, with lots of things to do, but it is not New York City. I've actually heard complaints that Pittsburgh is too small, or there's nothing to do. They usually come from people from New York or Philadelphia, meaning, they haven't taken the time to look around. There is a thriving arts scene. Whatever your tastes in music, art, food, name it, you can find it. But it won't be thrown in your face. Yes, you will have to explore. Exploring is easy too. Until I tried to get around other cities without a car, I never realized what a truly wonderful public transit system Pittsburgh has. And it's FREE. A student ID from Pitt= FREE buses. They really pushed that when I came on a tour when I was looking at schools. It didn't seem important at the time. IT IS HUGE. You cannot afford to park a car here. I don't care how rich you are, a car is a waste of money here. With the public transit system here, you do not need a car. The city life is wonderful, the whole urban ambiance, makes the Pitt experience so much more rich.

The best thing about Pitt is that it is in the city. You are not confined to just those in your school but yet it is easy to be around them. There are different areas of the city to go to if dirty Oakland isn't your vibe for the night. Also, although South Oakland is dirty and maybe alittle scary, there are amazing little stores and restaurants that people do not find out about until they move into South Oakland. Some good places to check out are the Indian place on S. Bouquet and the little Italian market on Bates Semple.

City of Pittsburgh: The city of Pittsburgh is certainly one of the more underrated cities which gets a bad rap as an old dirty steel city. That has changed drastically in the last 20 years and Pittsburgh is now a medical, financial and business center with the 5th most Fortune 500 companies in the USA. Pitt is wonderful because it is located in the city and you can acquire connections to extremely top-class corporations that all recruit here (PNC Bank, PPG, US Steel, Bayer, Dicks Sporting Goods, ect.) It is a wonderful school if you are a business/finance major. School Size: About 16,000 but the business undergrad school is probably around 1,500 so you get to meet many people of your own major within the larger school. Reputation: Pitt for the last decade has been drastically climbing in the school rankings and is now a Top 25 public university and Top 60 overall University. It is closely approaching schools like Michigan and Indiana, and by international rankings Pitt is Top 50 in the world and getting better every year. Admission has therefore been getting more selective on a yearly basis. Athletics: A big attraction is that Pitt Basketball and Football are good year in and out. The school is more of a Basketball school and the Oakland Zoo (student section) is full almost every game since Pitt is a perennial Top 25 team. The Football team has seen some tough times lately even though we have had some great talent and the students are much more fair-weather-fans. Tailgating is always fun though!