University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Top Questions

Describe the students at your school.

Justyn

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.

Adrianna

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.

Emilie

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

Stephanie

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.

christine

My classmates were diverse and interesting.

Jonathan

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.

MonaLisa

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.

Becky

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.

Adam

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.

Mark

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.

Seth

Pitt students are very accepting of everyone regardless of race, religious, sexual orientation, social status, etc and we are a very diverse school in terms of all of these differences. You will see all kinds of students interacting with each other, and there are always a variety of cultural events held by student organizations on campus, and off campus at various locations to promote diversity and cultural exchange. If diversity and openness is what a student is looking for - Pitt is a school they should seriously consider! People here are very laid back, and its very common to see people walking around in a Pitt sweatshirt and Pitt sweatpants. At the University of Pittsburgh, all of the students, regardless of what makes them unique, all share one thing in common... we are all PROUD to call ourselves a PITT PANTHER!

Seth

Pitt students are very accepting of everyone regardless of race, religious, sexual orientation, social status, etc and we are a very diverse school in terms of all of these differences. You will see all kinds of students interacting with each other, and there are always a variety of cultural events held by student organizations on campus, and off campus at various locations to promote diversity and cultural exchange. If diversity and openness is what a student is looking for - Pitt is a school they should seriously consider! People here are very laid back, and its very common to see people walking around in a Pitt sweatshirt and Pitt sweatpants. At the University of Pittsburgh, all of the students, regardless of what makes them unique, all share one thing in common... we are all PROUD to call ourselves a PITT PANTHER!

Becky

Rainbow Alliance, Black Action Society, and Campus Women's Organization are all prevalent groups on campus. This is a good thing because it makes the campus population in general more socially aware (all 3 of these groups hold some awesome annual events that draw lots of the student population), and also provides support for more historically-disadvantaged people. At Pitt, it seems like students with the same interests end up finding one another via their majors or campus organizations, so lots of times people with the same interests end up being friends. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though, as another common group of friends is those who you lived with as an underclassmen, and in these groups you find people of opposite political views and without many common interests who can still be really good friends. So different types of students definitely interact, but if you're passionate about something you will probably also naturally become friends with others who are too. Students of all financial backgrounds attend Pitt, too. In general, I haven't met anyone from an incredibly-disadvantaged background, but I also haven't met many legitimately rich people either. I'd say most students are lower-middle, middle, or upper-middle class. Pitt students are generally politically aware, but the majority aren't really active. Student voter turnout has increased in the years I've been here though, and there definitely is very prevalent political activism on campus, just from a smaller amount of students. The student population, like most colleges, is stereotypically on the moderate side of left. However there's also a strong set of extremely liberal students, and there are more conservative students (much more fiscally conservative than socially) than one might expect on a college campus, since Pitt is located in Pennsylvania, and pretty much all of rural Pennsylvania is predominately conservative. Approxtimately 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.

Olivia

Most of my classmates in the business school are very intelligent.

Maura

I would describe my classmates as being some of the most inspiring people I have me so far in my life, they constantly motivate me to do better in many aspects of my life.

Arpan

My classmates are relaxed, yet motivated to achieve their goals.

Brittany

n/a

Bradley

People who were self centered and cared about no one but themselves.

Victoria

Pretty friendly for the most part, it's not really hard to make friends.

Melanie

While leaving a comfortable setting at home was difficult to do, the people that I have met here, and the bonds I have forged have made this experience all the more worth while.

Snehal

Very friendly, outgoing, dedicated, hardworking

Laurie

When I was in OT school, all my classmates and I became very close. With similar interests and goal mindedness, it was easy to create lasting friendships

Gabrielle

My class mates are very diversed.

Ian

Pitt has such a large student body that is made up of an incredible mix of students; i would describe it as very diverse.

Lindsay

Diversity is simply the best word to describe students at Pitt, not only are people from all different ethnic and religious backgrounds, but people also differ in their political, cultural and extracurricular interests and aren?t afraid to express these differences, which in turn has led to a tolerant and open-minded campus.

Rachel

My classmates are rather intelligent and often participate in engaging discussions in class; they are not overly competitve as they are at some other schools.

Sameeran

Very friendly, great professional experiences, and fun to be with

Diamonique

My fellow classmates at The University of Pittsburgh are all very bright and smart students. This is a competitive school to get in which makes all of us try out hardest to maintain the GPA's that w have. They are all very friendly and willing to help our peers with academics. There are numerous tutoring sessions and counseling sessions ran by students fot the sole purpose of helping other students. I've never met such a friendly and outgoing group of people.

Amber

My classmates are intelligent, outgoing, fun, well-rounded, and most of them are from Pennsylvania.

Crystal

My classmates are constantly engaged with the teacher, paying attention to each word said during lecture, and helpful to others outside of the classroom.

Paul

We all understand what each other has to go through at school, so we do our best to help each other to ensure that we all succeed and have a good time in the process.

Tiffany

Average and unoriginal.

Jennifer

Hard working, fun, and diverse.

Jason

Fun-loving, enthusiastic, sports loving, crazy, and diverse people all under the same proud home.

Shamar

Very intelligent people that are career-oriented.

Valerie

Academically driven, socially active, and community oriented, Pitt students make up a diverse group of young adults that act as one family connected through great pride in their school, campus, and city.

Jessica

Very school spirited. There are a lot of intellegent students in my classes.

Kelly

A lot of very diverse people...

Julia

This is a very open-minded community. You'll find every kind of person here from every socioeconomic background, and I think anyone can fit in as long as they're prepared to branch out and be social. We have SO many different groups here. There's definitely no "typical Pitt student". The campus community leans left politically, but there's also a good number of conservatives and libertarians to spice things up. Most people are from the Pittsburgh area, Philadelphia or bordering states.

Adam

This is a video of an awesome party in North Oakland. My Birthday Bash….But if partying is not your thing this video is also a documentary of the Dance Dance Revolution Stars here at Pitt. Everyone knows them and they have some serious skills…such as spin moves and more. Check this hilarious video out RIGHT NOW!!

Adam

Pitt is definitely more left wing then right wing. I personally don't agree with left wing politics, but I am still comfortable being a student here at Pitt. There are clubs for everyone no matter what cultural background you identify with or where you're from. For example I am Jewish, so I partake in a community on campus called The Chabad House which is like a home away from home. They serve Friday night dinner to whoever will come share their home for a festive meal, and Saturday lunch. This community is just one of many options depending on what your interests are. Students love to debate political ideas and so much more here on campus. Sometimes it may get heated, but everyone can find someone who has similar beliefs to talk to. There truly is such a mixture of people here that it's beautiful. You have commuters who work, people from out of the country, out of state, and don’t forget about the locals. Pittsburgh is an amazing city with a rare community that you cannot find anywhere else in the world. It is so easy to get comfortable here and find your place.

Alanna

Diverse and determined; there are many different races at my school, and they all seem to have one goal: to be successful.

Stephanie

Most of my classmates are friendly, highly motivated, intelligent, and interesting individuals who have a variety of personal views and interests.

Lizzie

My classmates aren't as passionate as I'd like for them to be.

Erikka

diverse

Terri

My classmates are driven, energetic, and passionate people.

Jay

My classmates are intellectual, friendly, informative, and great people to be around.

Alexandra

My classmates are very sociable and culturally diverse. There is always a chance to meet someone new.

Marianne

Hard-working and friendly.

Kelli

Most students at Pitt were above average in high school. They are all typically friendly and we all have the same goal of getting as high of a grade as possible in each class. There are no specific words to define all of the students.. there is so much diversity in each and every class here.