Clayton
Pitt is very unique in the sense that it provides its students the opportunity to have all the advantages of both a small campus as well as a large research university. Although, there are approximately 16,000 undergraduate students it is easy to get to know your professors, but it is up to you to do so. In addition to the academics, Pitt offers a great campus in the city of Oakland. Almost anything you could want to do is just a short walk or bus ride away.
Neema
The Neuroscience Program is one of the top ten in the country, and once I pass the beginning "weed-out" courses, I will find smaller classes and more one-on-one time with the professors.
Courtney
Even as an in-state student, the Univeristy of Pittsburgh is more expensive than many other public universites.
David
Unlike other schools I considered, Pitt is located in the middle of a big city and is always filled with different acitivities going on all the time. In addition, the weather is also most variable in Pittsburgh than on any of the other campuses I could have attended. With respect to academcis, Pitt has the highest ratred program for my major compared to the other schools I considered attending.
Taylor
I love the energy at Pitt. It's something I felt from the moment I stepped on campus for a tour when I was about to be a senior in high school, and It never ceases to amaze me that the student,s faculty, staff, and city is so supportive and constantly moving with the students and for us.
Michelle
What is unique about Pitt is that people here really want to learn. Other schools i have looked at where party schools and people when to the school to have a social life and didnt really care what type of education they good. Or it was a good school but was so well know for their parties that I had high school freinds talk about going to crazy parties there.
Adam
Choosing a college can be difficult, because when it comes down to it, many colleges are very similar. For example, a lot of the mid-large public schools are pretty similar, a lot of the prestigious private schools are pretty similar etc. I'd like to say a few things about what makes Pitt distinguishable from other schools.
It's a good place for someone interested in neuroscience. Not too many schools offer neuroscience as a major, and Pitt does. This is good because there are a lot of classes you could take in neuroscience, which gives you the chance to learn about it.
Pitt is a good place for someone who is pre-med (actually, a lot of the pre-med kids major in neuroscience, because it has a lot/all of the pre-med requirements. the paragraph above refers to kids interested in neuroscience, not pre-med). This is because there are a lot of opportunities for them. Like I talk about in the next paragraph, there are a lot of research opportunities. Also, there are opportunities to get involved in medical (not basic) research, through Pitt's medical school (they have a really good medical school), and the many many hospitals around. The amount of hospitals around is definitely a distinguishable feature (they're all part of UPMC). For example, I volunteer in a neuroscience research lab (in the eye and ear institute, which is part of UPMC) that is across the street from my dorm...literally.
Pitt is a good place for someone interested in research. I'm not sure that this is a distinguishable feature, because a lot of schools similar to Pitt are also good with research, but Pitt may be a little better. They do a good amount and quality of research, and they also give undergraduates opportunities to participate, probably more so than other similar schools. They also offer a decent amount of fellowships and stuff for undergraduates.
The philosophy department is ranked highly, meaning that they produce a good amount and quality of research. However, I don't think this impacts undergraduates too much. Although I'm not sure how undergraduate philosophy research works, but I doubt kids are impacted by their school too much (maybe having a good department gives you access to more and smarter mentors, but you can still read and write about whatever you want wherever you go to school, whereas with biology or something, you're limited to what your school researches). I think the department does offer more classes than is typical. However, regarding the quality of those classes, I don't think they're very good. I've taken two intro classes and they weren't good, and I haven't heard good things about the other intro classes. However, I'm not sure what the upper level classes are like, and might be better.
I can't think of anything too distinguishable about the social or living environments. Pitt's campus is nice because it's a 15 minute walk max to anywhere. The off campus food might be better then normal.
Something to keep in mind, Pitt just got a $125 million donation a month or two ago. However, I'm not sure when this impact will be felt.
Jane
The setting was very close to a city, which I love. It was a pretty large school, but not the largest I applied to. It is a public school in my state of residence, so supposedly tuition is less. They did offer me the most financial aid of any school, so I don't have too much debt compared to my sisters who went to private schools.
Kristen
Pitt has more opportunites for freshmen and sophomores to get really involved in student organizations and research opportunities. There are also many more opportunites for student jobs here than in most other places that I looked in to attending.
Elizabeth
My school is unquie- we have every kind of person imagineable: white, hispanic, black, forgein exchange students. There is every type of person as well from the nerd to the partier to the athlete to the goth and just the average person.
Hannah
Pitt has an AMAZING Philosophy department. Even though there are more than 16,000 undergraduates, professors really make it a point to take personal time with students who show an interest.
Cayla
People have the misconception that a big school in the city such as Pitt makes it hard to draw close to professors and other students. The truth is that is just the opposite. Many of my professors had office hours in which they just sat there. Going to office hours doesn't neccessarily mean that you have a question on the material, you could simply need advice. In fact, office hours at Pitt are the key to earning a good grade. Visit your professor and see how you're doing. They'll remember that effort come final grades time.
Karen
The staff here are exceedingly helpful and agreeable. They are very timely as well. That's actually harder to find than one might think. Also, the setting of the university in a city always felt safe and they keep the campus fairly clean. They also have a very active career counseling center.
Sameeran
We have outstanding professors at Pitt.
Leslie
Pitt was the first school I thought of when I knew I had to transfer. It had everything I needed and some things I did not realize were important.
Krystin
The University of Pittsburgh has the best of both worlds - the city and the suburbs. While you are ten minutes away from a beautiful city with a lot of culutral value, you are also within walking distance of the grass and trees of Schenley Park.
Kelsey
This is the second university i have attended and what makes it different than the last one is the bigger campus and how much more there is to do on campus. There is more school spirit and more school events to get involved with which gives me more of the college experience. Something i never really had at my last year school.
Ian
The University of Pittsburgh is a different experience than most of the other schools that I could have gone to. It offers a glimpse of what most of the country looks like outside of the North East. It has many of the amenities of an urban school but it also has more students from rural backgrounds. This exposure to a different part of the country is what most separates the University of Pittsburgh from the other schools I applied to.
Ivory
The University of Pittsburgh (Main Campus) is uniquely different from my school because of its strong connection to the community; unlike other institutions of higher learning, my school involves the community in my entire learning process and it extends my campus into the city of Pittsburgh and beyond.
Danielle
I think that the blend of urban setting and school is unique and interesting. One can walk away from class and immediately access Oakland's stores, houses, and restaurants. Also, most of the buildings in which classes and administrative activities are held can easily double as a hotel, convention center, or fully equipped research lab. In fact, some of Pitt's buildings weren't originally intended for university activity use.