2011-2012 University of Pittsburgh Application Thread

[sam500]

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INTERVIEW INVITE!!!!
My first one!
Scheduled for 8/22
Yippee!
I'm so happy.
Good luck everyone.

 

[medschool2016]

WOW already! congrats 🙂

 

[Ignatius M.D.]

INTERVIEW INVITE!!!!
My first one!
Scheduled for 8/22
Yippee!
I'm so happy.
Good luck everyone.

What!?!? Do you have a 56 MCAT? You must be one of the first few invited. Congrats!

Waiting for fee waiver to apply 🙁, but I've already submitted 🙂.

 

[gmcguitar4]

If I have not received my secondary does that mean I won't get one? I submitted amcas on June 9th.

 

[zqx]

If I have not received my secondary does that mean I won't get one? I submitted amcas on June 9th.

They don't screen for secondaries so you should be able to submit one anyway. Did you check your spam folder? I found my email from Pittsburgh in there.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

INTERVIEW INVITE!!!!
My first one!
Scheduled for 8/22
Yippee!
I'm so happy.
Good luck everyone.

congrats! best of luck!

 

[sexycani]

INTERVIEW INVITE!!!!
My first one!
Scheduled for 8/22
Yippee!
I'm so happy.
Good luck everyone.

is this one of those auto-invites or did you submit the secondary first?
if the latter, when did you submit the secondary and when did you hear back?

 

[sam500]

is this one of those auto-invites or did you submit the secondary first?
if the latter, when did you submit the secondary and when did you hear back?

I submitted AMCAS primary 6/1 9:31AM. Verified 6/1 3:30PM.
I submitted complete secondary 6/22 10PM.
Interview Invite received 6/24 4pm.

It seems U. Pitt has either a very quick turnaround or relatively few complete secondaries to wade through at the moment.

Either way good luck everyone! I hope to meet some of you on interview day.

 

[Ignatius M.D.]

I submitted AMCAS primary 6/1 9:31AM. Verified 6/1 3:30PM.
I submitted complete secondary 6/22 10PM.
Interview Invite received 6/24 4pm.

It seems U. Pitt has either a very quick turnaround or relatively few complete secondaries to wade through at the moment.

Either way good luck everyone! I hope to meet some of you on interview day.

...and now for the dreaded question...what are your stats if you don't mind? 🙂

Congrats again man. GL.

 

[sam500]

...and now for the dreaded question...what are your stats if you don't mind? 🙂

Congrats again man. GL.

Average for last years matriculating students according to the MSAR.
However, I have some unusual EC's. I'm a non-trad.

 

[Ignatius M.D.]

Average for last years matriculating students according to the MSAR.
However, I have some unusual EC's. I'm a non-trad.

Average stats for Pitt are great, and they love non-trads. I wonder if they love trads with low GPAs...?

 

[gmcguitar4]

They don't screen for secondaries so you should be able to submit one anyway. Did you check your spam folder? I found my email from Pittsburgh in there.

gahhhh! it was in my spam folder! wtf mate!

 

[soundnin]

gahhhh! it was in my spam folder! wtf mate!

INTERVIEW INVITE!!!!
My first one!
Scheduled for 8/22
Yippee!
I'm so happy.
Good luck everyone.

throwing out another congratulations! 😀

 

[chronicidal]

omg its been sitting in my spam folder all week.

 

[bucks2010]

gahhhh! it was in my spam folder! wtf mate!

omg its been sitting in my spam folder for two weeks.

found mine in the spam folder too. Gmail must not like Pitt.

 

[musik2468]

Do you think any topics are off-limits for the diversity question? Religion? Political affiliation?

 

[gmcguitar4]

Do you think any topics are off-limits for the diversity question? Religion? Political affiliation?

hmm although those do reflect diversity I don't think that is what they are looking for. I feel they are looking for specific experiences or things that you were apart of during your life.

for example I am writing about how I am a jazz musician and was in a pretty successful rock band through college.

 

[EpicBearMan]

Do you think any topics are off-limits for the diversity question? Religion? Political affiliation?

I wouldn't say religion or politics are "off-limits", so long as you stay positive in your writing.

 

[EliteBeat9]

Thanks!

 

[Prateek]

So...just want to clarify something about entering prereq courses

If I took a biology course (0.50 credits/3.00 hours), that included a lab component I would write

Introductory Biology: Part I (LB) under the Course Name/Number column, in the LECTURE row of the table?

Thanks 🙂

 

[nadaba]

Interview invite! Got it two days ago, but I was in the mountains without Internet

So excited!

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

Interview invite! Got it two days ago, but I was in the mountains without Internet

So excited!

dude congrats, that's awesome!

 

[nicolemeooow]

I wouldn't say religion or politics are "off-limits", so long as you stay positive in your writing.

We need to get more ppl to make this thread longer than case's...

 

[DoctwoB]

We need to get more ppl to make this thread longer than case's...

its not the length of the thread, its how you use it.

Oh and for all you applicants, I'm a rising MS-2 who'd be happy to answer any questions in this thread or via PM (though its been a while, so I don't remember the specifics of the application).

 

[nadaba]

Any travel tips or advice from current Pitt students?

 

[EpicBearMan]

We need to get more ppl to make this thread longer than case's...

Oh, hellomeow. I see what you are saying, but I agree with doctwob that length doesn't really matter. What does matter, is the length * diameter + weight / girth divided by angle squared.

Any travel tips or advice from current Pitt students?

I'm not a current student yet, but I can tell you that the public transportation is pretty good. The bus that goes from the med school area to the airport comes pretty frequently.

Pitt has a student host system set up that I'd suggest taking advantage of. Many student hosts live within a very short walk from the school, and the ones that don't will surely give you a ride in the morning. The campus is pretty hilly, so I might suggest that the ladies consider bringing along a more comfortable pair of shoes for the tour.

 

[DocTraveler]

I submitted AMCAS primary 6/1 9:31AM. Verified 6/1 3:30PM.
I submitted complete secondary 6/22 10PM.
Interview Invite received 6/24 4pm.

It seems U. Pitt has either a very quick turnaround or relatively few complete secondaries to wade through at the moment.

Either way good luck everyone! I hope to meet some of you on interview day.

You're very right. Pitt has a very quick turnaround. It was the last school I added. Submitted secondary in late October on a Monday. Got the interview invite that Thursday, and this was at the peak of the application cycle.

Good Luck! See you around the halls in August.

 

[penguinism]

I'm still waiting for my application to get verified. My school ends late so my transcript is slowww. I'm hoping for at least an interview here though! It's one of my top choices, and I've heard wonderful things about it. 🙂

 

[DoctwoB]

Any travel tips or advice from current Pitt students?

The 28x runs from the airport to around two blocks from campus (forbes and Mckee) for about 3.25 I think, but you need exact change so bring singles/quarters. And yes, the campus is very hilly, so bring comfortable shoes.

 

[nadaba]

I'm not a current student yet, but I can tell you that the public transportation is pretty good. The bus that goes from the med school area to the airport comes pretty frequently.

Pitt has a student host system set up that I'd suggest taking advantage of. Many student hosts live within a very short walk from the school, and the ones that don't will surely give you a ride in the morning. The campus is pretty hilly, so I might suggest that the ladies consider bringing along a more comfortable pair of shoes for the tour.

The 28x runs from the airport to around two blocks from campus (forbes and Mckee) for about 3.25 I think, but you need exact change so bring singles/quarters. And yes, the campus is very hilly, so bring comfortable shoes.

Thank you! I'm going to try and snag a host. This interviewing thing is going to be expensive.

 

[sam500]

I'm going to go the student housing route too. However, it's not available yet on the application website.

I can't wait. This is one of my top choice schools as well.

 

[soccerboy90]

Wow Pittsburgh's fast! Submitted on Saturday night and got an interview invite this morning! 😀 Other people who've gotten interviews, what date did you guys schedule your interview?

 

[conebone69]

for the ppl who got interviews: have you guys submitted your LORs already?

 

[sam500]

for the ppl who got interviews: have you guys submitted your LORs already?

I can't speak for the others, but AMCAS has had my letters since June 13th.

 

[pooghe]

for the ppl who got interviews: have you guys submitted your LORs already?

I am also interested in this question. I have everything else done but don't have letters in yet. I guess what I'm getting at it should I submit the secondary without letters being in? Will they look at it and make an interview decision without LORs?

 

[DocTraveler]

I am also interested in this question. I have everything else done but don't have letters in yet. I guess what I'm getting at it should I submit the secondary without letters being in? Will they look at it and make an interview decision without LORs?

From experience, most, if not all med schools will not look at your file until it is complete. That means everything is there, LORs included. You can submit now, but they probably won't make a decision until your file is complete.

 

[EpicBearMan]

I am also interested in this question. I have everything else done but don't have letters in yet. I guess what I'm getting at it should I submit the secondary without letters being in? Will they look at it and make an interview decision without LORs?

I'm pretty sure Pitt does not offer interviews until file is complete with LORs. I was in a similar situation last year, doing all my secondaries as I got them, but I didn't have my pre-med committee letter until the end of September. I got an interview invite from Pitt like 4 days after my file was completed with letters.

The only school that I know for sure offers interview invites before looking at LORs is The Ohio State University. They use LORs along with interview feedback to choose acceptees.

 

[conebone69]

I'm pretty sure Pitt does not offer interviews until file is complete with LORs. I was in a similar situation last year, doing all my secondaries as I got them, but I didn't have my pre-med committee letter until the end of September. I got an interview invite from Pitt like 4 days after my file was completed with letters.

The only school that I know for sure offers interview invites before looking at LORs is The Ohio State University. They use LORs along with interview feedback to choose acceptees.

I guess that's the downside of having committee letters. My school's letters go in later this week I think. Don't really see the benefit of these letters to begin with if it only seems to slow down the app process.

 

[MilkIsGood]

my committee letter was finished before i was done with my amcas. too bad my transcripts took so long to get in, so havent been verified yet

 

[EpicBearMan]

Our committee writes pretty good letters at my undergrad, but they get out so late that they are more of a detriment than an assist. I'd have been better off with the traditional letters and getting my files complete much sooner. I turned in my committee application the first day that they would take them in mid August, and had no letter until the last week of September. They mean well for us, but don't really have a good understanding of the current application timeline.

Pitt has an impressively quick turnaround, even for those of us who were not complete in the first batches for various reasons 🙂.

 

[sibitrum]

Hey, despite what Pitt is telling me about my own life, I can't really recall being confronted with a "substantial moral or ethical dilemma". Should I blow something that has happened to me out of proportion or something? Any advice?

Also, regarding the "areas of interest", are they referring to hobbies, academics, or medical specialty?

Thanks!

 

[onecountry]

Submitted secondary on 24th. Interview invite on 29th.

 

[xATB]

Submitted secondary on 24th. Interview invite on 29th.

congrats!!! it must feel awesome to have an interview invite so early in the season! I wonder how Pitt can offer interviews so quickly when other schools take weeks just to send their secondaries.

I submitted mine late Sunday night, here's to hoping for an interview invite by the end of the week! My MCAT probably isn't high enough for one of these super early invites, but I can still dream 🙂 Good luck everyone!

 

[Ismet]

If anyone needs general Pittsburgh tips, I'm an undergrad here (and familiar with the med school) so feel free to PM me if you have questions. Definitely bring comfortable shoes, as you'll be doing some steep hill walking (we affectionately call the hill next to the med school/hospital "cardiac hill" because you could have a heart attack after walking up that beast). An adcom here said you can bring a change of shoes (like nice sneakers or something) for the tour.

Congrats to everyone who already got interview invites! Pitt is my #1! 😍

 

[hello0]

Is anyone else having a hard time thinking of a substantial "ethical dilemma." The only one I can think of is when I was an orgo TA and students bribed me for copies of old tests...would that still be considered "cheating in an academic setting?" ughhhhh

 

[soundnin]

Is anyone else having a hard time thinking of a substantial "ethical dilemma." The only one I can think of is when I was an orgo TA and students bribed me for copies of old tests...would that still be considered "cheating in an academic setting?" ughhhhh

i vote yes lol

 

[MilkIsGood]

Hey, despite what Pitt is telling me about my own life, I can't really recall being confronted with a "substantial moral or ethical dilemma". Should I blow something that has happened to me out of proportion or something? Any advice?

Also, regarding the "areas of interest", are they referring to hobbies, academics, or medical specialty?

Thanks!

would like to know about the areas of interest thing too

 

[xATB]

would like to know about the areas of interest thing too

it's just a drop down menu where you select your top 3 specialty interests. Other options "underserved," "research" or "clinical research," but most of the choices are different specialties. I selected psychiatry as my #1 🙂

 

[chronicidal]

The list is incomplete. They have internal medicine and subspecialties like cardiology but not gastroenterology or hepatology.

 

[MilkIsGood]

i see. thanks!