2010-2011 University of Pittsburgh Application Thread

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whimsical said:
Oh wait, I see what you mean. On the interview tab it says I'm scheduled for the date I chose. the other tab says "not scheduled". Maybe once they actually put it on the schedule in the office it will change?
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Well, you're still ahead of me. Under the "Schedule Interview" tab, I don't see anything that says I'm scheduled for any date. (I did receive an email saying I signed up for an interview, though. We'll see what happens.)
 
Does anyone know how we know if our application is complete? Under the "App Status" tab, it says "Invited to complete supplemental application." But it says that I have submitted the supplemental, i have paid the fee, and they have received my LOR's. However I did not receive any email except the very first secondary invitation. Does this mean complete?
 
Just submitted my secondary.

To those of you who have already received your interview invites, were your MCAT scores and GPAs outstanding or did you guys write brilliant essays?
 
Zeldex said:
Just submitted my secondary.

To those of you who have already received your interview invites, were your MCAT scores and GPAs outstanding or did you guys write brilliant essays?
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Honestly, I think my essays were probably it. I'm a much better writer than I am test-taker.
 
whimsical said:
Honestly, I think my essays were probably it. I'm a much better writer than I am test-taker.
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Your stats look awfully good to me whimsical, best of luck. This long holiday weekend is killing me with anxiety. Oh, well, hurry up and wait.😉
 
To the people already invited for interviews, when do they start?
 
The 30th of August. There aren't any on labor day, obviously.
 
Wow? interview invites already? Congrats! Pittsburgh is an awesome place so far, and I can wait to start my first year here in a few weeks!
 
for those invited to interview, did you already submit secondary?
 
mdwiz said:
Wow? interview invites already? Congrats! Pittsburgh is an awesome place so far, and I can wait to start my first year here in a few weeks!
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Ooh, you'll have to tell us all about it! I've heard a lot about Pittsburgh, but I've never been.

thebillsfan said:
for those invited to interview, did you already submit secondary?
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Yep.
 
pitts is awesome school with great program.
but definitely not an awesome place.... lol r u kidding me
 
for the course requirements section, under English--including W courses taken outside of the English Department, if I put:

Health Policy and Economics (Writing Intensive Course)

as the course name, do you think this would count as going towards the english requirement?

alternatively, would it better to list an AP english course for which i received credit but no grade? The only reason I don't want to do this is because my other english course is a current course--and thus I don't have a grade in that either.
 
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thebillsfan said:
for the course requirements section, under English--including W courses taken outside of the English Department, if I put:

Health Policy and Economics (Writing Intensive Course)

as the course name, do you think this would count as going towards the english requirement?

alternatively, would it better to list an AP english course for which i received credit but no grade? The only reason I don't want to do this is because my other english course is a current course--and thus I don't have a grade in that either.
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Congrats to everyone getting interviews already!

I'm going to be an MS1 at pitt in a few weeks and couldn't be more excited. To answer your question billsfan, there is no problem with including courses in progress or even planned courses. I was in progress of completing my inorganic chem requirement when I applied and hadn't done biochem yet, but put them anyways. You don't have to have all the requirements done before senior year, as long as you have them before you graduate you're all set.

And to answer questions about the city of pittsburgh itself, yes it has its ups and downs, but I am pretty psyched to live in pittsburgh. I'd say the pros and cons break down like this.

Cons:

Weather: Its really cold in winter and humid in the summer. It sucks, but not much worse than most east coast schools.

A bit difficult to fly into from the west coast: Direct flights from cali are rare and/or expensive. Pretty easy and cheap to fly around the east coast though.

Relative social scene: Its not new york or boston or San francisco or even philly in terms of going out and partying (but this goes back to the pros)

public transit: Depending on where you come from this is a pro or a con. If you're from manhattan or Boston, you'll think it sucks. That being said, there is an extensive bus network that is free for pitt students, and makes going without a car entirely feasible, at least for the first 2 years.

Pros:

Cost!!: I was going to go to a school in boston before getting into pitt, and my larger apartment in pittsburgh is 1/2 the price of the place I was going to get in boston. includes all utilities too (boston didn't). A fair number of pitt students even buy houses from what I hear. With a reasonable budget, Pitt will only cost me about 10k/year more than my state school.

Social scene: Like I said, its not new york, but there is a pretty vibrant scene in pittsburgh. There's a large student population, lots of cultural institutions (museums, opera, symphony, etc.), plenty of bars/clubs and guess what: Its actually affordable on a student budget (especially with all the money you saved from housing). Personally, I'd much rather buy $4 pitchers in pittsburgh than $10 cosmos in NYC.

Safety: Despite what you hear of pittsburgh, it actually has the lowest crime rate of any city its size or larger.

Parks/outdoors: Pittsburgh used to be a huge city, but then steel crashed and most people left. Now the city itself is only about 300k. Instead of leaving all those empty building to turn to ghetto areas (*cough* detroit *cough*), they knocked down entire blocks and turned them into parks and open spaces. As a result, the city itself is rather beautiful in the right time of year.

Hope to see some of you at interviews!
 
DoctwoB said:
Congrats to everyone getting interviews already!

I'm going to be an MS1 at pitt in a few weeks and couldn't be more excited. To answer your question billsfan, there is no problem with including courses in progress or even planned courses. I was in progress of completing my inorganic chem requirement when I applied and hadn't done biochem yet, but put them anyways. You don't have to have all the requirements done before senior year, as long as you have them before you graduate you're all set.

And to answer questions about the city of pittsburgh itself, yes it has its ups and downs, but I am pretty psyched to live in pittsburgh. I'd say the pros and cons break down like this.

Cons:

Weather: Its really cold in winter and humid in the summer. It sucks, but not much worse than most east coast schools.

A bit difficult to fly into from the west coast: Direct flights from cali are rare and/or expensive. Pretty easy and cheap to fly around the east coast though.

Relative social scene: Its not new york or boston or San francisco or even philly in terms of going out and partying (but this goes back to the pros)

public transit: Depending on where you come from this is a pro or a con. If you're from manhattan or Boston, you'll think it sucks. That being said, there is an extensive bus network that is free for pitt students, and makes going without a car entirely feasible, at least for the first 2 years.

Pros:

Cost!!: I was going to go to a school in boston before getting into pitt, and my larger apartment in pittsburgh is 1/2 the price of the place I was going to get in boston. includes all utilities too (boston didn't). A fair number of pitt students even buy houses from what I hear. With a reasonable budget, Pitt will only cost me about 10k/year more than my state school.

Social scene: Like I said, its not new york, but there is a pretty vibrant scene in pittsburgh. There's a large student population, lots of cultural institutions (museums, opera, symphony, etc.), plenty of bars/clubs and guess what: Its actually affordable on a student budget (especially with all the money you saved from housing). Personally, I'd much rather buy $4 pitchers in pittsburgh than $10 cosmos in NYC.

Safety: Despite what you hear of pittsburgh, it actually has the lowest crime rate of any city its size or larger.

Parks/outdoors: Pittsburgh used to be a huge city, but then steel crashed and most people left. Now the city itself is only about 300k. Instead of leaving all those empty building to turn to ghetto areas (*cough* detroit *cough*), they knocked down entire blocks and turned them into parks and open spaces. As a result, the city itself is rather beautiful in the right time of year.

Hope to see some of you at interviews!
Click to expand...

I went to Pitt Med. I was a traditional applicant originally from the east coast corridor with no ties to Pittsburgh. After living there for four years, here is my perspective of the city and school:

Like this poster said, Pittsburgh is not New York, San Francisco, Boston, etc.. Sure, cost of living is lower, but you get what you pay for. There's a logical reason why cost of living is low: people don't want to live there.

First off, the weather sucks. Like most of the east coast, it's sweltering in the summer and freezing in the winter. But even worse, Pittsburgh is cloudy or precipitates about 300 days of the year.

If you're a big city person, the social scene in Pittsburgh will suck. If you're new to the city, it might seem like there's a decent amount to do at first, but trust me, it gets old really fast. Sure, Pitt Med is located next to the college campus with a big student body, but as a med student are you really going to party with undergrads? There have been law school and dental school mixers, but in my experience they haven't been that great (low turn out, people keep to their own groups, etc.)

Pittsburgh's economy is bad. The main industries are healthcare and research, both driven by UPMC. So in terms of social life, you're not going to meet many people outside of the hospital and labs. Outside of the hospital, the population of Pittsburgh pretty much consists of old, fat people. Personally, I'd rather pay $10 for a cosmo in New York and meet all sorts of interesting young professionals, than $4 for a pitcher of beer in Pittsburgh with a bunch of obnoxious undergrads, or middle-aged and overweight people who want to talk only about the Steelers.

Also, there's pretty much only one bar that the med students go to, Doc's (I never found out if the pun is intended). There's also pretty much only one club that is popular but the name and management keeps changing so I won't bother posting the name. No one goes downtown because there's nothing to do and it's ghetto. The Pirates suck and don't expect to get any Steelers tickets. But you could watch the Pens if hockey is your thing. Pitt's college sports are pretty good, but you won't have time to go often.

Food in Pittsburgh is lacking, especially in ethnic food. There is pretty much only one good Chinese restaurant in the entire city, and a few expensive but mediocre Thai, Korean, Japanese, Indian, and Mediterranean places. However, there is a brunch place called Pamela's which is very popular, and their food is pretty good, especially the hotcakes.

Pitt Med itself is a great school I guess, as far as med schools go. Pretty much every department is strong, and off the top of my head, ENT, Plastics, Ortho, and Critical Care are regarded among the best in the country. Pitt also has one of the most state-of-the-art simulation centers and it's a great educational tool.

But it's a shame that the city of Pittsburgh is the reason why UPMC can't attract the very best students and residents in the country. Of our match list, the people who match at UPMC are those who want to stay because they are married/have families/otherwise settling down, or have family ties to the area.

When it comes down to it, Pittsburgh is a great place for people who want to settle down, but I'd think hard about going there if you're not at that stage of life.

If anyone has other questions, feel free to post here, PM me, or whatever.
 
pittgrad10 said:
I went to Pitt Med. I was a traditional applicant originally from the east coast corridor with no ties to Pittsburgh. After living there for four years, here is my perspective of the city and school:

Like this poster said, Pittsburgh is not New York, San Francisco, Boston, etc.. Sure, cost of living is lower, but you get what you pay for. There's a logical reason why cost of living is low: people don't want to live there.

First off, the weather sucks. Like most of the east coast, it's sweltering in the summer and freezing in the winter. But even worse, Pittsburgh is cloudy or precipitates about 300 days of the year.

If you're a big city person, the social scene in Pittsburgh will suck. If you're new to the city, it might seem like there's a decent amount to do at first, but trust me, it gets old really fast. Sure, Pitt Med is located next to the college campus with a big student body, but as a med student are you really going to party with undergrads? There have been law school and dental school mixers, but in my experience they haven't been that great (low turn out, people keep to their own groups, etc.)

Pittsburgh's economy is bad. The main industries are healthcare and research, both driven by UPMC. So in terms of social life, you're not going to meet many people outside of the hospital and labs. Outside of the hospital, the population of Pittsburgh pretty much consists of old, fat people. Personally, I'd rather pay $10 for a cosmo in New York and meet all sorts of interesting young professionals, than $4 for a pitcher of beer in Pittsburgh with a bunch of obnoxious undergrads, or middle-aged and overweight people who want to talk only about the Steelers.

Also, there's pretty much only one bar that the med students go to, Doc's (I never found out if the pun is intended). There's also pretty much only one club that is popular but the name and management keeps changing so I won't bother posting the name. No one goes downtown because there's nothing to do and it's ghetto. The Pirates suck and don't expect to get any Steelers tickets. But you could watch the Pens if hockey is your thing. Pitt's college sports are pretty good, but you won't have time to go often.

Food in Pittsburgh is lacking, especially in ethnic food. There is pretty much only one good Chinese restaurant in the entire city, and a few expensive but mediocre Thai, Korean, Japanese, Indian, and Mediterranean places. However, there is a brunch place called Pamela's which is very popular, and their food is pretty good, especially the hotcakes.

Pitt Med itself is a great school I guess, as far as med schools go. Pretty much every department is strong, and off the top of my head, ENT, Plastics, Ortho, and Critical Care are regarded among the best in the country. Pitt also has one of the most state-of-the-art simulation centers and it's a great educational tool.

But it's a shame that the city of Pittsburgh is the reason why UPMC can't attract the very best students and residents in the country. Of our match list, the people who match at UPMC are those who want to stay because they are married/have families/otherwise settling down, or have family ties to the area.

When it comes down to it, Pittsburgh is a great place for people who want to settle down, but I'd think hard about going there if you're not at that stage of life.

If anyone has other questions, feel free to post here, PM me, or whatever.
Click to expand...

People might bag on you for being a downer, but it's nice to get an alternate, non-sugar-coated perspective. I know lots of people with genuinely good things to say about Pittsburgh, but for those of us who've resided in big cities, obviously it may be lacking in some respects. Oh well - hopefully I can get some decent indian food once in a while.
 
Thanks DoctwoB and Pittgrad, I really appreciated your perspectives. It's good to hear the good and bad of a place, especially since location is particularly important to me right now.
 
For those that already received interview invites, were your letters already submitted to the amcas service? thanks!
 
whimsical said:
Thanks DoctwoB and Pittgrad, I really appreciated your perspectives. It's good to hear the good and bad of a place, especially since location is particularly important to me right now.
Click to expand...

You're welcome. When I interviewed for both med schools and residencies, everyone I met basically said that his or her school/program was more perfect than Disney Land. It was beyond frustrating because almost no one will give you a straightforward opinion. I admit I did the same when I interviewed applicants as an MS1, but back then 1) it was my job to sell the school, and 2) I was a new student and somewhat naive.

UPMC is well aware that the city is a big drawback for a lot of people. In fact, they used to show a cheesy video to applicants about how great the city is supposed to be. That said, I still stand by the fact that UPMC has excellent academics: strong clinical departments and a supportive academic administration. And with the low cost of loving, outdoorsy Midwest feel, and family-oriented environment, Pittsburgh may be the ideal place for certain people.
 
Put me down for not a fan of the Pitt..

I'm from Chicago and I'm 22, so that is my comparison.

All of my extended family lives in or around that city, and I just really dislike it. Granted I don't go out when visiting family, but just the gross people in the area, and the general sense of dingy-ness gets to me... Everyone's fat and old it seems. The accent... The "Pittsburgheez"..... my god....

This school is fantastic, but the city is just not somewhere I see myself.

/bashing
 
Just completed my secondary for Pitt. Come on fast interview invite! magically. haha.

I didn't think Pitt was that bad... but then again, I have Cleveland pride (and I'm a third generation Chicagoan haha)
 
FWIW, loved the city of Pitt (from Chicago) and the school itself. The entire city seemed to revolve around UPMC. Hated the ginormous waitlist and almost semi-non-rolling nature of their admissions. Check out last cycle's thread for more info.
 
here's an ethical dilemma...i worked with a lot of immigrants, a lot of them hispanic, and teach them how to speak english. if the immigrants tell me they are illegal, am i morally obligated to report it, or to respect their trust in me? would this be something to write about, or is it too controversial? i dont wanna say that i kept it to myself when the adcoms think i "should" have reported it
 
thebillsfan said:
here's an ethical dilemma...i worked with a lot of immigrants, a lot of them hispanic, and teach them how to speak english. if the immigrants tell me they are illegal, am i morally obligated to report it, or to respect their trust in me? would this be something to write about, or is it too controversial? i dont wanna say that i kept it to myself when the adcoms think i "should" have reported it
Click to expand...

Personally, I think that's too controversial. Some ADCOMS might think you made the wrong ethical decision when you didn't report them and not trust your judgment. As a physician, I feel like we will need to play by the rules -- the rules of our government, hospital, ect. That means we can treat illegals, but we shouldn't "know" they are illegal -- and if we do, we probably need to report. Personally, I want amnesty for all of them... but you can't always get what you want. Maybe someone who knows the Pitt admissions committee better might have an idea though.

edit: but at the same time, I do think that is an excellent essay topic. I've known a few illegals (including one of my good friends) but I guess I never saw a dilemma in it because I have nothing against immigrating to the US -- or even just coming in the summer to work.
 
thebillsfan said:
here's an ethical dilemma...i worked with a lot of immigrants, a lot of them hispanic, and teach them how to speak english. if the immigrants tell me they are illegal, am i morally obligated to report it, or to respect their trust in me? would this be something to write about, or is it too controversial? i dont wanna say that i kept it to myself when the adcoms think i "should" have reported it
Click to expand...

Actually, I don't think this is a bad topic. Ethical dilemmas have no right answer, and all of them are controversial (although I understand some are more controversial than others). Unless you work for law enforcement, are you supposed to run around tattling on every illegal immigrant you see?

In medicine, we deal with ethical dilemmas all the time. Patients come in overdosing on illegal drugs like cocaine all the time. We treat them and let them go, no reporting to the police. It's part of patient-physician confidentiality. The only times we report to the police are cases of child abuse or violent crimes like gun shot wounds ... Basically situations that come about from one person harming another.

Physicians, especially in the southwest, treat illegal immigrants all the time. There are even free clinics for them. No one is reported to the police.
 
pittgrad10 said:
Actually, I don't think this is a bad topic. Ethical dilemmas have no right answer, and all of them are controversial (although I understand some are more controversial than others). Unless you work for law enforcement, are you supposed to run around tattling on every illegal immigrant you see?

In medicine, we deal with ethical dilemmas all the time. Patients come in overdosing on illegal drugs like cocaine all the time. We treat them and let them go, no reporting to the police. It's part of patient-physician confidentiality. The only times we report to the police are cases of child abuse or violent crimes like gun shot wounds ... Basically situations that come about from one person harming another.

Physicians, especially in the southwest, treat illegal immigrants all the time. There are even free clinics for them. No one is reported to the police.
Click to expand...


Agreed--except this isn't my patient. This is just someone i work with. If he was my patient then there'd be no ethical dilemma...does this change anything?
 
If you were at risk of getting in trouble for not telling on them (like it's in your job to report them or something), then I think it would be a really good essay. If you didn't have to report them, i think you'd just be kinda mean for doing so. Either way, it's a better dilemma than I picked lol.
 
NHBPFA5 said:
If you were at risk of getting in trouble for not telling on them (like it's in your job to report them or something), then I think it would be a really good essay. If you didn't have to report them, i think you'd just be kinda mean for doing so. Either way, it's a better dilemma than I picked lol.
Click to expand...

what did you end up picking? haha

But I do think it's a good ethical answer... but just, be careful, you never know who will end up reading your application and there stance on the issue. I wouldn't want me essay to be tossed, not that they should.
 
Goirish9 said:
Does anyone know how we know if our application is complete? Under the "App Status" tab, it says "Invited to complete supplemental application." But it says that I have submitted the supplemental, i have paid the fee, and they have received my LOR's. However I did not receive any email except the very first secondary invitation. Does this mean complete?
Click to expand...

Sorry to re-ask this, but has anyone gotten a complete email, or see the words "complete" anywhere on their secondary? Or is "submitted" as good as complete?
 
very long story short: I have a drinking ticket which is an ordinance violation. My school placed me on censure for it. There is no record of my censure, and nothing will really show up on a background check. I applied last year and had all intentions of disclosing it. But totally missed the institutional action section on my AMCAS. So I was disclosing the censure and drinking ticket to all the secondaries that asked for it, but my AMCAS had no record of it, and the schools that didn't ask about it didn't know anything. Along comes temple, which says something like "as indicated by AMCAS, you clicked no for this answer." needless to say, I pretty much died. So there was the dilemma. Disclose something embarrassing, in an even more embarrassing way to every school which I applied to? Even though it would very likely never be found out about? or just leave it.

I ended up emailing every school last year detailing the whole thing. and apologizing for the discrepancy. Including Pitt, so hopefully they realize how Effing honest I decided to be.

It was definitely very dilemma-y, but IDK how good it was.
 
NHBPFA5 said:
It was definitely very dilemma-y, but IDK how good it was.
Click to expand...

Wow! That is an impressive one. Way better than the one's mentioned earlier AND way tooooo honest. Pretty impressed you mention this when there is no record of it -- I wouldn't have the balls to do so (then again, I don't have balls, haha)
 
Thanks... I still felt so unsure about it

but well... if they looked hard enough, they'd find my ticket. And if they realized that everything like that gets processed by the dean, they'd wonder why nothing was done about it. And if they looked hard enough, maybe they would find something lol... I just felt too weird answering no to a question that the answer was yes... Lying to medical schools is probably the surest way to not get in they say...
 
Do we need an invitation to fill out or submit the secondary? Thanks!
 
Dragon88 said:
Do we need an invitation to fill out or submit the secondary? Thanks!
Click to expand...

I received an "invitation" to fill out the secondary. I believe they screen, but I'm not positive on that.
 
Does anyone have a recommendation for a good hotel near the campus?

Thx
 
Nessy said:
I received an "invitation" to fill out the secondary. I believe they screen, but I'm not positive on that.
Click to expand...

no, all applicants with a verified amcas are "invited" to fill out the secondary. no screening!
 
yay! i got my first interview invite this morning from pitt. i also submitted pretty late. i think it was last Friday.
 
submitted friday night and got an interview yesterday morning.
 
1. Did anyone get an "application complete" email? My status online says submitted for secondary and complete for letters of rec + payment, but I got no notice beyond that.

2. If you don't get an interview, then does that mean you're rejected? I submitted last Wednesday and still I didn't get any notice.
 
skyhyp2009 said:
1. Did anyone get an "application complete" email? My status online says submitted for secondary and complete for letters of rec + payment, but I got no notice beyond that.

2. If you don't get an interview, then does that mean you're rejected? I submitted last Wednesday and still I didn't get any notice.
Click to expand...

1. Do you really need a notice beyond that?

2. Just keep checking your status--they may not have reviewed your app yet. That's weird that you submitted before me and havent heard back yet though.
 
skyhyp2009 said:
1. Did anyone get an "application complete" email? My status online says submitted for secondary and complete for letters of rec + payment, but I got no notice beyond that.

2. If you don't get an interview, then does that mean you're rejected? I submitted last Wednesday and still I didn't get any notice.
Click to expand...

No news isn't necessarily bad news. I submitted more than a week ago with recs from a PittMed grad and a family member who used to serve on the adcom... and I still haven't received an interview invite.
 
goteamUSA said:
Does anyone have a recommendation for a good hotel near the campus?

Thx
Click to expand...

If you are asking this because of your interview, I would say that you should look into student hosting once all of the 1st years get there and start to coordinate it. It will save you money in the end and you will be able to meet 1st and 2nd years that can tell you all about Pittmed without the glitz and the glamor that interview day makes every school out to be. It was one of the best decisions that I made and ultimately one of the reasons why I chose Pitt. I stayed with a 1st year back when I interviewed and I met his friends, chatted them up about the school (good and bad) and had a great time just walking around meeting faculty and students with him. I even stayed with him again during second look. But student hosts aren't for everyone and some people will want their own peace and quiet but it will definitely make a difference.

I would call the Office of Admissions and inquire about when student hosting would be available (they may be able to get some 2nd years to do it until the 1st years take the lead).
 
I sent in my secondary a week ago and haven't heard about an interview yet either. Hmm....
 
goteamUSA said:
Does anyone have a recommendation for a good hotel near the campus?

Thx
Click to expand...

Definitely second taylorMD's opinion here.

If you can get an interview at pitt, you'll probably be interviewing at a lot of other places as well. You're already spending enough money on apps/flights, don't unnecessarily add $100/interview with hotels. I went on 13, and didn't pay for a single hotel (used lots of family/friend connections as well, which I highly recommend if a place doesn't have a student host option).

Also, staying with a student and asking a lot of questions is the BEST way to learn about a school. Much better than info sessions or even the students who come to the interview lunches (who generally are a bit of a self-selecting bunch).
 
Interview invite today! Secondary complete on 7/7. Scheduled interview for September 17!
 
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