University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Top Questions

I had a bad experience with two advisors that ended up hurting my GPA and an opportunity of obtaining a research position with a professor. After meeting with an associate dean about a course, I felt disrespected and as though the dean didn't care to hear me out.

There are no frustrating things about this school.

The education does not seem worth the money. At least for much of undergrad.

it can be a bit overwhelming with all the choices you have. There's a lot of different clubs and groups, lots of electives to take and just lots of things to do in general. You kind of want to do them all yet you also want to keep school in focus.

The first few weeks of attending a large, public university were definitely an overwhelming experience. It was difficult to juggle a demanding class schedule, studying, meeting new friends, joining organizations, and building a new social life. It was difficult to navigate through a new city and a new school. It was also difficult to be away from home – I truly missed my family. But, I soon discovered that many freshmen experience these same feelings and I also quickly discovered ways to manage and prioritize my time. After successfully completing my first semester, I feel much more connected and more confident.

On-campus dining options on weekends is limited, as many places that accept dining dollars are closed.

It's a great school. Some classes are large, but on the whole it's a good fit for most people.

Everything just costs way too much. Housing is close to ten thousand dollars and the meal plan is around three thousand. Not to mention it costs around twenty-secen dollars to go here. Yes it is a big school, but it is extremely expensive especially for a family with four kids in college and a single mother.

Most of the students have always had everything given to them. They have never had to struggle. A majority of the students who attend The University of Pittsburgh are not actually from Pittsburgh. They were raised in other areas. They are students and only play the role of a student. Most of them never had a job. Although this is one of my biggest struggles, I feel that it allows me to stand out in the long run. Also the school departments are disconnected from one another.

Some of the teachers are hard to understand or are difficult to try and learn from. Their tests can sometimes be incredibly difficult in the way they're written. It's luck of the draw a lot of times when it comes to who you'll have teaching your class.

While I love being in a big school because of the social aspect, it can also be frustrating because of the lack of individual attention in classes. The lectures tend to be huge and a lot of the learning is on an individual basis.

The perception that everyone attending our school has a lot of money was very frustrating because people made assumptions about the students attending there based on that fact.

The most frustrating thing about my school is that they do not offer scholarship money to transfer students. I chose the school because I know it is a perfect fit for me, but I do wish that I had been eligible for scholarship money to help pay for my education.

This is more of a personal frustration, but I love my school and this city - but my boyfriend does not like Pittsburgh. I guess I wish the University of Pittsburgh was in a different city, or that the branch campuses had more engineering programs.

being limited to 15 credits allowed to count toward graduation taken outside of your designated school (i'm in the school of arts and sciences but only 15 credits of classes from the school of education or school of general studies can count toward my graduation even though i need to take 21 credits in the school of education during undergrad in order to apply to pitt's school education grad program)

The departments do not communicate with each other efficiently. Grades don't get changed when they are supposed to which causes problems for a student on finantial aid. This is directly due to the size and lack of sufficient handling of it.

Receiving clear responses from the financial aid office is always tough. If your account is not in good standing you can't register for classes and you have to have proof. Getting that proof if money had not 'pinged' your account around the time you had registered and so wasn't showing up on the most recent pull of your account, when trying to register was always annoying. Because then you would have to walk across campus back and forth, until things were straightened out.

keeping up with my school work, job responsibilities, volunteer and community service obligations and still trying to maintain some sort of social life.

There aren't very many frustrating things about Pitt, though the financial aid department is probably one of them. They are usually helpful and considerate, but this department becomes painful when your materials are incomplete or not turned in on time. In addition, sometimes they say they didn't receive material even though a student submitted it on time.

There is not much parking because the school is in the city.