2012-2013 University of Pittsburgh Application Thread

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So, since a round of acceptances just went out, I'm willing to wait a day to send my LoI... what tone did you guys use in your LoIs at Pitt? Formal? Trying to actually describe WHY you like it? A more kind of passionate style? Or just a quick and simple "Really liked your school, would definitely go there" single paragraph kind of thing?

I feel like Pitt would respect any of those, as they seem to be a very open minded committee, but I'm just curious
 
Wow congratulations to all those that received wonderful news this morning!
 
(checks status, sort of excited because I said "rabbit rabbit" this morning)
.
.
.
.
(no change. is sad.)
 
I keep logging in and out of the secondary every 5 minutes in hope that they're still updating statuses.

Can someone let us know when emails go out so we can assume that they've finished? (I mean, they've probably finished anyway, but stfu)
 
It's probably like when they updated the statuses Jan 31st, but didn't send out the e-mails till like 8pm at night.
 
ERMAHGERD said:
It's probably like when they updated the statuses Jan 31st, but didn't send out the e-mails till like 8pm at night.
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Lies, my status is going to change to accepted any second now, I can feel it.
 
Congrats to everyone that received an acceptance today! For those that didn't, don't stress out about it. I remember being in your position last year, thinking that Pitt had forgotten about me. The season is long and there's still plenty of time!
 
Just got the email now! Still hasn't warn off. Best day ever
 
Just got in off of the waitlist!!!! I'm thrilled! I'm a Pittsburgh native and so excited to go home for med school 😍
 
When is UPitt's Second Look?

Congrats everyone who got their acceptance today 😀
 
still on the t1 waitlist 🙁 sigh.. oh well, still holding my breath..
 
Is it possible to go to only parts of second look? I have finals and graduation that week, but I'm a Pitt undergrad so I could make it to an event or two...
 
wizedw said:
Is it possible to go to only parts of second look? I have finals and graduation that week, but I'm a Pitt undergrad so I could make it to an event or two...
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Yeah that's perfectly fine. I was in the same situation last year, since I was graduating from Pitt and my family was in town. There will be some night-time activities that you can attend, and I just popped in and out of the events as my schedule fit. Definitely try to come to the mini activities fair thing if you can, though!
 
saveourpens said:
Hey guys is there a facebook group for class of 17?
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Not yet...imagine they are working on it though.

Also, bump to celebrate another panthers win... but, really, whats up with all the late-game dominance? Just start balling in the first half. Save everyone a lot of stress!
 
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Did anyone else get an invite to the Prologue to Medicine program for the summer? It looks like a good way to transition into medical school but at the same time I was kind of looking forward to one last summer without any academic activities...
 
Ismet (or any other Pittmed students hanging around the forum),

Where do most of the med students live? My wife and I are looking for a place where we can live comfortably but I'd like it to be close to other students if possible. Also, when is a reasonable time to start looking for housing in that area?
 
Blais said:
Not yet...imagine they are working on it though.

Also, bump to celebrate another panthers win... but, really, whats up with all the late-game dominance? Just start balling in the first half. Save everyone a lot of stress!
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I know. Pitt's been playing like that for years.
 
hiker574 said:
Did anyone else get an invite to the Prologue to Medicine program for the summer? It looks like a good way to transition into medical school but at the same time I was kind of looking forward to one last summer without any academic activities...
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A few of my friends did that program and they really enjoyed it. You get some free books (Netter's, Rohen's, and a couple others) and you get to meet some of the lecturers for the first few classes. Almost all of the people who did it were either non-traditional or were coming from somewhere relatively far from Pittsburgh, so it was a good way to transition into the city instead of trying to transition during anatomy. You still get plenty of summer to enjoy, and they had quite a bit of free time to explore the city and hang out. If you don't have any concrete plans for the summer, I'd suggest looking into it!
 
Arthemue said:
Ismet (or any other Pittmed students hanging around the forum),

Where do most of the med students live? My wife and I are looking for a place where we can live comfortably but I'd like it to be close to other students if possible. Also, when is a reasonable time to start looking for housing in that area?
Click to expand...

A lot of students live in the Darragh apartments (med student housing) but it's really expensive compared to living off campus. Other than Darragh, I'd say most students live in North Oakland, Shadyside, and Squirrel Hill. The earlier, the better, but I didn't find an apartment until June-ish and it was fine. The bus system is pretty easy to use and generally runs when scheduled, but personally I'd recommend living somewhere that is easily in walking distance from school (aka North Oakland or Shadyside). I live about a 15 minute walk away or a 5 minute bus ride away from school, and it's just good to have a couple options for getting there in a hurry.

When your FB page gets up and running, there will be a lot of discussion about housing, and hopefully a few Pitt students will be there to help you out with landlord/residential area advice.
 
Ismet said:
A few of my friends did that program and they really enjoyed it. You get some free books (Netter's, Rohen's, and a couple others) and you get to meet some of the lecturers for the first few classes. Almost all of the people who did it were either non-traditional or were coming from somewhere relatively far from Pittsburgh, so it was a good way to transition into the city instead of trying to transition during anatomy. You still get plenty of summer to enjoy, and they had quite a bit of free time to explore the city and hang out. If you don't have any concrete plans for the summer, I'd suggest looking into it!
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That's odd that they would invite me given that I'm a lifelong Pittsburgher and a traditional student.... but it sounds like a cool program! I'll definitely be looking into it.
 
hiker574 said:
That's odd that they would invite me given that I'm a lifelong Pittsburgher and a traditional student.... but it sounds like a cool program! I'll definitely be looking into it.
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I might be wrong, but I think everyone is invited to apply for prologue. I was invited and I was a Pitt undergrad and as traditional as they come. I think it's just that the people who choose to do it are mostly non-trad/from far away. One of the people who did it last summer grew up in Pittsburgh, so it's definitely not an exclusion criterium or anything.
 
I was creepin the financial aid site, do students really end up buying 2k worth of books and supplies or is that a high estimate?
 
wizedw said:
I was creepin the financial aid site, do students really end up buying 2k worth of books and supplies or is that a high estimate?
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:laugh: Wow that's huge. They probably include that in case someone feels the need to buy new books for all the classes. In reality, the syllabi they provide + Google to clarify are all you need for most classes. Few classes in MS1 require/recommend books...I only bought Netter's for anatomy and I bought Abbas Immunology from an upperclassman for $5. Our MDM (biostat) class uses a book, which I'm sure most of us will be selling next year to you guys. I also bought a neuro atlas from an upperclassman for $10, and I got a book for micro from Amazon for like $30. So all told, I've spent less than $150 for books this year. We have an "internal email craigslist"-type thing where you can buy cheap used books from upperclassmen, which really comes in handy!

EDIT: I just realized that includes "supplies" so yeah that jacks up the price a bit. Just off the top of my head, you'll be buying a stethoscope ($60-$150), an oto-ophthalmoscope ($150-$600), tuning forks, pen light, reflex hammer (cheap). A BP cuff is also good to have if you're planning on doing community work.
 
Ismet said:
:laugh: Wow that's huge. They probably include that in case someone feels the need to buy new books for all the classes. In reality, the syllabi they provide + Google to clarify are all you need for most classes. Few classes in MS1 require/recommend books...I only bought Netter's for anatomy and I bought Abbas Immunology from an upperclassman for $5. Our MDM (biostat) class uses a book, which I'm sure most of us will be selling next year to you guys. I also bought a neuro atlas from an upperclassman for $10, and I got a book for micro from Amazon for like $30. So all told, I've spent less than $150 for books this year. We have an "internal email craigslist"-type thing where you can buy cheap used books from upperclassmen, which really comes in handy!
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Agreed, $150 sounds about right for books for all of M1. Also you'll need to buy a stethoscope and oto/opthalmoscope which will range depending on how much quality you're looking for. I think I spent about $250 for all of my doctoring toys and they've worked out just fine, but you can easily spend $750 or more if you want the higher quality stuff.


Edit: Ismet's edit was quicker than my post :laugh:
 
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jesse120 said:
Agreed, $150 sounds about right for books for all of M1. Also you'll need to buy a stethoscope and oto/opthalmoscope which will range depending on how much quality you're looking for. I think I spent about $250 for all of my doctoring toys and they've worked out just fine, but you can easily spend $750 or more if you want the higher quality stuff.
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+1. I went "low-end" on my equipment ($60 stethoscope and $125 oto-ophtho), figuring I wouldn't be too upset if they get broken/stolen during med school and I'll just get nicer ones later on. Neither has given me any trouble and work just as well as the more expensive things.

Don't bother buying anything now, as you won't start physical exam stuff until end of October. Once you get here, upperclassmen will help you figure out what the best options are.
 
Ismet said:
You also avoiding micro like Yersinia pestis? :laugh:
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Just because we have PBL in the morning and an exam on Friday does NOT mean I have been procrastinating by going on SDN, youtube, and staring at walls for the past few hours. 😴


Edit: literally just realized PBL isn't until 1 pm and did a little dance in my chair:soexcited:
 
jesse120 said:
Just because we have PBL in the morning and an exam on Friday does NOT mean I have been procrastinating by going on SDN, youtube, and staring at walls for the past few hours. 😴


Edit: literally just realized PBL isn't until 1 pm and did a little dance in my chair:soexcited:
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Don't get too excited...we're probably learning like 5 more pathogens tomorrow :meanie:
 
Jesse and Ismet,

How has your first year at pitt been so far? How much harder is the work then undergrad work? How much free time do you get? Highlights and low points so far?
 
The Beyonder said:
Jesse and Ismet,

How has your first year at pitt been so far? How much harder is the work then undergrad work? How much free time do you get? Highlights and low points so far?
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Hehe since I'm procrastinating, might as well...

First year has overall been great, I still love Pittsburgh, still love the people. Academically it has been good and bad at times, but everyone has their own strong and weak subjects. Micro is notoriously the most difficult course of MS1, and we end our battle on Friday. :scared: haha

I wouldn't say the material is harder necessarily, it just a lot faster paced and you're expected to know a ton of stuff in a short amount of time. For example - in biochem, we had to know less info and with less detail than a full semester's biochem class in undergrad, but it was also 2 weeks long and really fast. It's a different kind of studying that you just have to experience and get used to during the first few classes, and everyone figures it out differently. It's not impossible, but it does require staying on top of things and not falling too far behind.

Free time is different for everyone and depends on 1. your level of time management, and 2. how well you want to do in the class. I don't gun for the top of the class (because it really doesn't matter anyway) and I like to make time for extracurricular things like clubs and service activities. There's plenty of free time and I'd actually say I have more fun in med school than I did in college.

Highlights - Academically, probably anatomy. I miss it. 🙁 Mr. PittMed (male beauty pageant benefiting a charity) was pretty awesome. Doing H&P's on real patients and realizing simultaneously how much I've learned and yet how very little I know.

Low points - Micro 🙁 Only having 10 days for winter break. And another sucky football season. :laugh:

And with that, I'm out for the night. Burying myself in my syllabus.
 
The Beyonder said:
Jesse and Ismet,

How has your first year at pitt been so far? How much harder is the work then undergrad work? How much free time do you get? Highlights and low points so far?
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The answers to those questions are definitely going to vary substantially from person to person, even within the same class. Here are my short answers, at least for now, since I really do need to actually do work at some point tonight :laugh:

Q. How much harder is the work than undergrad work?
A. For me, it's been "easier." I say that because I studied engineering in undergrad which, often, was very frustrating. I could spend hours on a single problem and not make any progress. You need to figure out the correct way to set up and solve the equations or else nothing's going to work right. In med school, there's no actual "thinking" involved. The material is given to you and it's usually simple enough to understand; your job is just to memorize it. Now, that in itself, isn't always an easy task, especially now in microbiology where everything is foreign. This unpronounceable foreign word is used to treat this other unpronounceable foreign word. Got it? Good. Now memorize a crap ton more of them and do it quickly. For the most part, med school is the same level as undergrad biology, but definitely much faster paced. A very rough rule of thumb is: a day of med school is equivalent to about a week of undergrad. Not always true, but close enough on average.

Q. How much free time do you get?
A. Wayyyy more than undergrad. Now, granted, I don't go to lectures. I only go to the mandatory stuff like PBL, labs, etc. and so my schedule is a lot more flexible than the lecture-goers. I rock climb between 2-4 days a week for several hours each time. And after I climb, I almost never study, so those days aren't very productive. I have a tendency to fall behind A LOT. Thank God for pass/fail.

Q. Highlights?
A. For me, seeing patients. Pitt heavily emphasizes clinical training throughout the preclinical years. At least once a week, we're doing something clinical. During the fall, we learned to take a history or do a physical exam on standardized patients and each other, and now we're in the hospital every week taking H&Ps on actual patients.
And like I mentioned earlier, another highlight is the amount of free time I have.

Q. Low points?
A. Statistics. 👎
 
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