2012-2013 University of Pittsburgh Application Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Accepted as well! This is my first acceptance. I balled my eyes out! :clap:
 
congrats everyone! I can't wait to meet everyone at Second Look
 
sk15731 said:
Accepted as well! This is my first acceptance. I balled my eyes out! :clap:
Click to expand...

I think I was too shocked to cry, but I told my best friend and she did it for me:"I'm just...sniff...so...happy for you waaaaaaaah"
 
Guys, I'm too excited to sleep. Tell me about amazing Pitt things. Anything but sports.
Like about how they put french fries on their salads instead of croutons.
(leaning forward, chin in hands)
 
Amphoterism said:
Guys, I'm too excited to sleep. Tell me about amazing Pitt things. Anything but sports.
Like about how they put french fries on their salads instead of croutons.
(leaning forward, chin in hands)
Click to expand...

Haha this is so funny! Congratulations!! Now join the Facebook group for the class of 2017!!
 
Amphoterism said:
Guys, I'm too excited to sleep. Tell me about amazing Pitt things. Anything but sports.
Like about how they put french fries on their salads instead of croutons.
(leaning forward, chin in hands)
Click to expand...

The first time I ordered a steak salad away from home (I'm a native Pittsburgher) I was wondering where the fries were!

I think we just like putting fries on things, like Primanti's sandwiches have fries and coleslaw on them
 
Amphoterism said:
Guys, I'm too excited to sleep. Tell me about amazing Pitt things. Anything but sports.
Like about how they put french fries on their salads instead of croutons.
(leaning forward, chin in hands)
Click to expand...

Hiker got to it first, but French fries also go on sandwiches at primanti's. Are you a fan of breakfast? Pamela's has some delicious hot cakes, good enough for Barack Obama when he came to Pittsburgh! 🙂
 
Hi Guys,

Long-time lurker, first time poster here...

Just wondering if those of you who got off the waitlist got a status change email (before/after/at all) you were offered an acceptance.

Also Congrats to everyone who got in!
 
Can any current Pitt Med students comment on the road to becoming a specialist once you're in medical school? I'm a first generation student and I don't really know any physicians, so I'm really oblivious to everything. I know that some students come into medical school with an idea of what they want to specialize, but that likely changes during their education (similar to undergraduate majors). So when do students begin to seriously consider what specialty they'd like to pursue? Not until third year? Also, I don't understand the matching process very well. I know it's based on how you rank certain programs and how they rank you, looking for reciprocity. Isn't it better to identify your specialty early on so you can build your application better for residency programs? It'd be great to get more insider information apart from random internet articles. Thanks!
 
Whatsapremed said:
Hi Guys,

Long-time lurker, first time poster here...

Just wondering if those of you who got off the waitlist got a status change email (before/after/at all) you were offered an acceptance.

Also Congrats to everyone who got in!
Click to expand...
I got accepted yesterday, too, from the first tier wait list. I got an automated email from pitt admissions yesterday saying that my application status changed.
 
churrytree said:
Can any current Pitt Med students comment on the road to becoming a specialist once you're in medical school? I'm a first generation student and I don't really know any physicians, so I'm really oblivious to everything. I know that some students come into medical school with an idea of what they want to specialize, but that likely changes during their education (similar to undergraduate majors). So when do students begin to seriously consider what specialty they'd like to pursue? Not until third year? Also, I don't understand the matching process very well. I know it's based on how you rank certain programs and how they rank you, looking for reciprocity. Isn't it better to identify your specialty early on so you can build your application better for residency programs? It'd be great to get more insider information apart from random internet articles. Thanks!
Click to expand...

You really are better off reading the forums for this, but specialization in the sense of cardiology, GI, etc. is a fellowship level thing. Fellowship is post-graduate training that comes after residency. You can look up what is residency level and what is fellowship level. People claim to come into medical school with some idea of what they want to do, and more often than not, this all changes around once you've been through your required clerkships, because you don't really know much about any particular area until you've worked with them. Based on what you want to go into, you apply to residency programs in that field(s) and then rank programs based on how you liked them, and then the match happens.

It is pretty unnecessary to identify your area of interest early unless you're gunning for one of the ultra-competitive residencies (e.g. rad-onc, plastics, derm, neurosurgery), in which case, you may end up taking a year off for research anyway because you need to publish a ton of papers. But really, you should just try to adjust to the first year of medical school and enjoy learning about interesting things instead of peering into the future about Step 1 and matching.
 
churrytree said:
Can any current Pitt Med students comment on the road to becoming a specialist once you're in medical school? I'm a first generation student and I don't really know any physicians, so I'm really oblivious to everything. I know that some students come into medical school with an idea of what they want to specialize, but that likely changes during their education (similar to undergraduate majors). So when do students begin to seriously consider what specialty they'd like to pursue? Not until third year? Also, I don't understand the matching process very well. I know it's based on how you rank certain programs and how they rank you, looking for reciprocity. Isn't it better to identify your specialty early on so you can build your application better for residency programs? It'd be great to get more insider information apart from random internet articles. Thanks!
Click to expand...

It's fine to come in not knowing what you want to specialize in or having a laundry list of specialities you are considering. Through the years, starting in first year, you start whittling away at that list and adding more on, but the large bulk of the experience happens in clerkships. The important thing is to keep an open mind. I came in thinking I would never do peds, but I have loved every minute I've spent at Children's and peds or peds/EM are at the top of my list at the moment. I'm sure I'll change my mind at some point as I get more exposure to different things

1) Shadowing doesn't end in pre-med, most medical students shadow (and it is soooo much easier to shadow as a med student than as an undergrad). This way you can get a feel for different specialties, especially the ones you might not see in clerkships.

2) You'll naturally be getting some exposure to peds, FM, IM, and some other specialties via the physical exam course throughout MS1 and MS2.

3) Pitt has interest groups for pretty much everything, and if it doesn't exist, you can create one easily (my classmates have already created a couple groups). These are the lunch talks we always rave about...free food and usually an interesting lecture from a physician in that field, sometimes there are clinical skills workshops for things like EM and surgery, some interest groups give you easy access to shadowing.

As for the match, there's no need to worry about it right now. If you think you might have an interest in something super competitive, like derm/ophtho/rads, you should have that in mind for potentially doing research during MS1 summer, but again that's also not completely necessary, and I think it's becoming a lot more common to take a year off to do research for those competitive specialties. Like med school admissions, residency admission is based on a variety of factors: board scores, clerkship grades, preceptor evaluations, research, and others, so if you think you're interested in peds, getting honors and a glowing evaluation from your peds clerkship would be beneficial to your application, but that's not to say you shouldn't do your best in the rest of your clerkships.

EDIT: Haha redpanda snuck in while I was drafting my response! 🙂 I agree that this is not something that you should be concerned about right away, but it's good that you're trying to get a sense of the process. I'm also a first generation student and I didn't personally know anyone in healthcare, so at one point this whole process was foreign to me too. You have plenty of time to learn and figure everything out. 👍
 
paddum said:
I got accepted yesterday, too, from the first tier wait list. I got an automated email from pitt admissions yesterday saying that my application status changed.
Click to expand...

Well my status changed today (yay!), but I have yet to receive a status change email (Boo!)... I just don't want this to be too good to be true because I would love to go to Pitt!
 
Whatsapremed said:
Well my status changed today (yay!), but I have yet to receive a status change email (Boo!)... I just don't want this to be too good to be true because I would love to go to Pitt!
Click to expand...

Mine changed today as well 😀. I wouldn't worry about not getting the status change email yet (i'm not) because they don't come out until late in the evening after the website update. At least that's how my wait list notification worked out back in January.
 
ACCEPTED off the first tier waitlist!!!

WOOO. See you clowns in August!! (or for second look if I get my **** together in time!)
 
When I got mine a month ago, I teared up and also started jumping up and down so hard the whole house literally shook (old house, it was kinda scary actually 🙂 )
 
just got pulled off the t1 waitlist as well. this marks the end of the application cycle for me. see you all in the fall.
 
Perhaps this is a dumb question, but for those of us accepted yesterday/today... they say to expect official welcome packet in 1-2 weeks, which would be 4/11-4/18... considering second look weekend is the 26th, are we even expected/invited to come or is a kind of "too late" kind of thing. Just curious, because I'd really like to go even if I have to drive myself out there.
 
bortenson said:
Perhaps this is a dumb question, but for those of us accepted yesterday/today... they say to expect official welcome packet in 1-2 weeks, which would be 4/11-4/18... considering second look weekend is the 26th, are we even expected/invited to come or is a kind of "too late" kind of thing. Just curious, because I'd really like to go even if I have to drive myself out there.
Click to expand...

I can't say with any certainty, but I do not think it's too late for you to be invited for second look. Actually, I was accepted exactly one year ago today, and I was able to go to second look

Edit: confirmed by Neurologic below 👍
 
Last edited:
bortenson said:
Perhaps this is a dumb question, but for those of us accepted yesterday/today... they say to expect official welcome packet in 1-2 weeks, which would be 4/11-4/18... considering second look weekend is the 26th, are we even expected/invited to come or is a kind of "too late" kind of thing. Just curious, because I'd really like to go even if I have to drive myself out there.
Click to expand...

It's definitely not too late. I was accepted yesterday and received the second look invite (and financial aid info) this morning.
 
First, Congrats all!


Does anyone know if there is a common method to get the info from second look without attending? My school holds a senior thesis presentation day on Second Look that is mandatory. I am set on Pitt but don't want to miss out on important info.

Also, in the past, when did they send packets to students about the details of starting M1 year (orientation, white coat, etc.) and what they need from us (like physicals, final transcripts, etc.)? Is it after the deposit is paid in May?

I know it is quite early to think about this, but since I'll be doing a bit of traveling this spring/summer, knowing when to expect things helps
 
Last edited:
Viduus said:
Does anyone know if there is a common method to get the info from second look without attending? My school holds a senior thesis presentation day on Second Look that is mandatory. I am set on Pitt but don't want to miss out on important info.

Also, in the past, when did they send packets to students about the details of starting M1 year (orientation, white coat, etc.) and what they need from us (like physicals, final transcripts, etc.)? Is it after the deposit is paid in May?

I know it is quite early to think about this, but since I'll be doing a bit of traveling this spring/summer, knowing when to expect things helps.
Click to expand...

If you're set on Pitt, there's really not much you'll hear at Second Look that you haven't already heard on interview day or you won't hear at orientation, at least not information that you need to act on. I was also set on Pitt last year, but I went more for the social aspect and meeting current students/potential classmates than for the information. But I'm sure someone on here would probably be able to recap important details.

All the details come after the deposit, I think the emails with paperwork started coming in mid-June. Our white coat order form was sent to us on 7/11. I see I have a transcript reminder from mid-July. And whoever is in charge of orientation week fun things ( 👍👍👍 ) will probably contact you guys later in the summer.
 
Questions! Sorry if these have already been asked before..

- Are fitness classes open to med students? Does anyone know how much each class costs? http://www.intramurals.pitt.edu/groupclasses.php

- is the music building/practice rooms open to med students?

- is there a relatively low commitment orchestra that med students can participate in?

thanks in advance!
 
I don't know about music but the once a week for 10 weeks "healthy u" classes are 30 dollars!
 
musicalcycloid said:
Questions! Sorry if these have already been asked before..

- Are fitness classes open to med students? Does anyone know how much each class costs? http://www.intramurals.pitt.edu/groupclasses.php

- is the music building/practice rooms open to med students?

- is there a relatively low commitment orchestra that med students can participate in?

thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

1. Yes! I think one of my classmates was trying to organize another Zumba class for us since the classes offered were full or at conflicting times (not sure what became of that) and I believe it would have been $30/person. You also get 6 credits built into tuition that you can use for classes at Pitt, including physical education classes, of which there are a ton, including yoga, zumba, party dance (my friend teaches that and it's amazing), rock climbing, and more.

2. Yes, anyone with a Pitt ID can use the practice rooms (and get a locker for your instrument in the music building if you have a large instrument). Each room has a piano.

3. YES!!!!!!! 😀 I am in the orchestra (cello) and I've been in it since sophomore year of undergrad. It's pretty chill (low key audition, no auditions for chairs, he just rotates people for every concert depending on your skill and seniority), but we do play some challenging music. I think they're playing a full Mahler symphony right now (I had to sit out this concert because I broke my ankle and carrying a cello would be impossible). Pitt doesn't really have a strong music program, so the orchestra is naturally not very intense, and we even have some community members playing with us (I think our oldest member is probably in her 80s-90s!) The director is hilarious and so far he's been super understanding of when I have to miss rehearsal for studying right before an exam. Three concerts per semester, and rehearsals are on Wednesday nights from 7:30-10pm. I haven't had any issues making time for it, and actually I enjoy it as time to get away from med school and do something different with my brain while interacting with a whole different group of people.

Haha this is so exciting! What do you play?
 
Ismet said:
1. Yes! I think one of my classmates was trying to organize another Zumba class for us since the classes offered were full or at conflicting times (not sure what became of that) and I believe it would have been $30/person. You also get 6 credits built into tuition that you can use for classes at Pitt, including physical education classes, of which there are a ton, including yoga, zumba, party dance (my friend teaches that and it's amazing), rock climbing, and more.

2. Yes, anyone with a Pitt ID can use the practice rooms (and get a locker for your instrument in the music building if you have a large instrument). Each room has a piano.

3. YES!!!!!!! 😀 I am in the orchestra (cello) and I've been in it since sophomore year of undergrad. It's pretty chill (low key audition, no auditions for chairs, he just rotates people for every concert depending on your skill and seniority), but we do play some challenging music. I think they're playing a full Mahler symphony right now (I had to sit out this concert because I broke my ankle and carrying a cello would be impossible). Pitt doesn't really have a strong music program, so the orchestra is naturally not very intense, and we even have some community members playing with us (I think our oldest member is probably in her 80s-90s!) The director is hilarious and so far he's been super understanding of when I have to miss rehearsal for studying right before an exam. Three concerts per semester, and rehearsals are on Wednesday nights from 7:30-10pm. I haven't had any issues making time for it, and actually I enjoy it as time to get away from med school and do something different with my brain while interacting with a whole different group of people.

Haha this is so exciting! What do you play?
Click to expand...

Whoa, I play the cello, too! 😀
 
Me: "I got into University of Pittsburgh."
Dad: "Oh, come on, you're not serious."

Not the reaction I was looking for!
 
Have any.recently.accepted students recieved the certiphi screening email yet?
 
feathr said:
Hm.. interesting. I already had my certiphi screening done and released for another school. Anyone else in thr same boat? Do i need to resubmit anything?
Click to expand...


The initial email I received said something like "You have been conditionally accepted at one or more schools" which seemed to imply you only have to fill it out once, and then additional schools can get access to the background check from them.
 
feathr said:
Hm.. interesting. I already had my certiphi screening done and released for another school. Anyone else in thr same boat? Do i need to resubmit anything?
Click to expand...

You just fill it out once and all the schools that accepted you can view that. There will be more background checks to complete over the summer specific to Pennsylvania, but for now you should be good.
 
Ismet said:
You just fill it out once and all the schools that accepted you can view that. There will be more background checks to complete over the summer specific to Pennsylvania, but for now you should be good.
Click to expand...

Since April 20 is coming up, I'm just curious: when do we start getting tested for...substances? I'm asking on behalf of a friend...:luck:
 
Pitt drug tests..? I'd to know as well, on behalf of a friend of course.
 
feathr said:
Pitt drug tests..? I'd to know as well, on behalf of a friend of course.
Click to expand...

I have no idea if Pitt drug tests. I would guess probably not. I would imagine that UPMC (as well as any other legit hospital) would drug test their residents, etc. My friend just wanted to know. It would suck if he/she showed up and was told to return to his/her suite, pack his/her bags and go home.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

wysdoc
2024-2025 Pittsburgh
25 26 27 28 29
Replies
1K
Views
309K
pinklover01
P
wysdoc
2024-2025 University of Washington
10 11 12 13 14
Replies
680
Views
145K
stew_md
S
wysdoc
2024-2025 University of Chicago (Pritzker)
12 13 14 15 16
Replies
778
Views
205K
X0001234
X0001234
wysdoc
2024-2025 Medical University of South Carolina
3 4 5 6 7
Replies
302
Views
58K
hbic2025
H
wysdoc
2024-2025 University of Central Florida (UCF)
3 4 5 6 7
Replies
318
Views
73K
LaurelePoole
L
Top