NSCS Chapter School
UNIGO SUMMARY
University of Pittsburgh (“Pitt” to students and natives) is fully integrated into the landscape of surrounding Oakland, a college-friendly section of downtown Pittsburgh.
The Cathedral of Learning, one of the Pittsburgh skyline’s best-known features,
provides students traversing Oakland for classes, activities, and parties a
“Drunken Compass” to guide them back to their freshman-year dorms or off-campus
houses. Pitt’s academic reputation is built on research, but the surrounding city resources (and Pitt's top-notch medical school) make it easy to build real-world experiences as well. There’s no strong core campus, and neighboring
schools like Chatham University and Carnegie Mellon University intermingle in
Oakland to form a mixed-college community among the neighborhood’s
plentiful diners, coffee shops, and bars. Pitt students are passionate about Panthers basketball and Steelers football, but those without athletic interests spend their weekends taking advantage of discounted admission at Pittsburgh’s numerous cultural events and museums.
UNIGO REVIEW
The University of Pittsburgh (“Pitt”) boasts strong ties to its city home--“The city is our campus” is the unofficial school slogan. Against the urban backdrop, Pitt students feel free to play with or against standard school stereotypes. “Pretty much anyone could feel at home at Pitt,” says one junior who chose the school for its city setting. “Adjusting to life in Pittsburgh isn’t difficult, speaking as someone from the suburbs.” But while Pittsburgh may claim to be a “nice city [that] feels like a small town,” the surroundings aren’t the pristine oak-lined walkways typical of its county-college cousins. “Campus is flooded with bums, violent evangelicals who will harass you non-stop, drunks, and working people,” writes a less-than-impressed senior. If you’re not the type who likes mingling with the inner-city landscape, Oakland’s opportunities can come at an unpleasant price.
Pitt is “based on research,” and its highly-esteemed hospital, labs, and scholars give it a solid academic reputation in the higher-ed world. But students have mixed feelings about how the research focus translates to the classroom experience. Lower-level classes pack in hundreds of students, and teachers (or the grad students who fill in, leaving some feeling “scammed”) can seem too swamped to give personal attention. “Unless you go out of your way and talk to a teacher, they won't know your name,” says a sophomore, and “when people do ask questions, [other students] get annoyed because it takes time away from the professor.” But the research aspect isn’t all downside—motivated students looking to get some hands-on experience can ferret out unique opportunities to contribute to professors’ work with “undergraduate research positions across the campus,” says a senior in the Communications department, “which almost no [other school] does.” And once students break out of intro coursework, classes usually become “small enough [that] you can get to know your professors,” writes a senior engineering major.
Pitt’s size and scale leaves some feeling lost in a “bureaucratic mess” when trying to navigate their academic futures. “Advising freshman year is absolutely horrible,” claims one neuroscience major. Others report that the large administrative network is actually a valuable resource, especially for those looking to get out and explore. “[O]ne great thing about Pitt is that they encourage you to study abroad from the moment you begin your career as a freshman,” says one junior. “You are hardly there for 2 weeks before they are telling you to leave the country!” And, despite “hit-or-miss” faculty and administrative experiences, students are happy with the quality of their peers. “Students are very competitive, but in a helpful way,” writes one sophomore. “Everyone wants to earn a better grade than the next person, but people are always willing to help.”
Even students have a tough time defining themselves as a group. “It's hard to define a 'typical' Pitt student,” says one freshman. “You'll see it all here: dresses, jeans, tights, sweats, heels, flats, tennis shoes, sweaters, polos, tank tops, hoodies, tee shirts; all shades of skin; straight-edgers, potheads, drunks; Democrats, Republicans, libertarians, [and] anarchists.” While no one stands out, students can have a hard time coming together. Some lament the “lack of unity,” and the Student Government Board has been “trying hard to rejuvenate school spirit.” “However”, writes one student, “there's still a definite sense of community among the students; we still have dining halls exclusively for students and riots when our sports teams beat rivals, just like any other university.”
Clubs and extracurricular activities reflect the diversity of interests, offering virtually “any group one can think of.” Many upperclassmen move off-campus, but the on-campus housing all freshmen (and some sophomores) suffer through bonds them and introduces them to some of their future best friends: “Freshman year in Towers is where I met all my closest friends to this day,” says a senior psych major, an experience echoed by many. Students are border on being “annoyingly” active in political groups, but the noise is split among all different kinds of ideologies, from the far left to the far right. The majority of students come from all sides of Pennsylvania, but all 50 states are represented on campus, as well as a handful of foreign countries.
Despite Pittsburgh’s reputation as a “football town with a drinking problem,” students report that no one feels pressured to drink or not drink at the same bars. “Pitt’s social life is however you want it to be,” writes one senior. For entertainment, “good heavens, there’s a party scene” says one junior, with stretches of student-friendly bars in Oakland and nearby city neighborhoods, as well as a small-but-enthusiastic Greek presence. For sports fans, “Sunday afternoons when the Steelers play” is practically a city holiday, and Pitt football and basketball games are equally rowdy events with the popular student cheering section, Oakland Zoo. But non-drinkers need not despair: The free bus pass takes them to any of Pittsburgh’s cultural centers for concerts, exhibitions, and cultural fun at a discounted rate. With that level of accessibility, students often feel like Pitt is handing them the keys to the city, and many take advantage of the available opportunities while they last. One junior offers the following sage advice from her experience: “Pitt's fun, but you should really know yourself before you go, or you're just going to end up being a big partier. If that's what you're looking for, though, party on.”