2012-2013 University of Pittsburgh Application Thread

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oberon said:
Does anyone know when we should be expecting financial aid packages?
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As long as your financial aid application was completed on time, you should receive your financial aid package at the beginning of May, according to the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid.
 
Question for the current students: I am a big class goer because hearing the material and attending class helps me learn. I noticed on the academic calendars that we have some who days and some half days of classes. Does this mean like 8-12 and 8-5 or is it more variable than that? Thanks!
 
wizedw said:
Question for the current students: I am a big class goer because hearing the material and attending class helps me learn. I noticed on the academic calendars that we have some who days and some half days of classes. Does this mean like 8-12 and 8-5 or is it more variable than that? Thanks!
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It varies by class day and by course. I'll give you a general overview.

Monday, Thursday, Friday:
Block lecture 8-12

Tuesday:
Block lecture 8-4 (varies greatly, usually more like 9-3)

Wednesday:
MDM/MLM/Ethics/Behavioral Medicine 8-12
Block lecture 1-4

Not all of our classes start at 8 and it doesn't always go to 4 or 5, so it's pretty variable...I think it was only anatomy and then once in a while other classes started at 8. In some courses, lab, PBL, TBL, and clinical conferences will replace some lectures.

In the first semester, you'll have one afternoon off (MThF) per week and the other two you'll have medical interviewing and intro to physical exam. In the 2nd semester when you start going to the hospital/clinic to see patients, you'll have 2 of those afternoons off.
 
Ismet said:
It varies by class day and by course. I'll give you a general overview.

Monday, Thursday, Friday:
Block lecture 8-12

Tuesday:
Block lecture 8-4 (varies greatly, usually more like 9-3)

Wednesday:
MDM/MLM/Ethics/Behavioral Medicine 8-12
Block lecture 1-4
.
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These are going to be the whiniest years of my life (kidding, kidding....okay only sort of kidding. Yes, I know they don't always start at 8 and they are recorded, anyway, but stillllll.)

I am also a dork who almost always goes to lecture.
 
Amphoterism said:
These are going to be the whiniest years of my life (kidding, kidding....okay only sort of kidding. Yes, I know they don't always start at 8 and they are recorded, anyway, but stillllll.)

I am also a dork who almost always goes to lecture.
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Haha well anatomy usually started at 8, but Dr. Schumann is AWESOME and it will be worth it, at least I thought so. Even for those who are not a fan of lecture (me), anatomy lectures are good.

I'm cranky because 1) we have mandatory small group at 8am tomorrow, and 2) just found out that everyone in your class is being assigned to a "longitudinal" patient that you'll be following through the 4 years. jealoussssss 🙁 Buttttt Stephen Colbert will be at Pitt tomorrow and that will make my day better 🙂 hehe
 
Did everyone receive an email today about completing their financial aid app -- despite having already completed it?
 
Ismet said:
2) just found out that everyone in your class is being assigned to a "longitudinal" patient that you'll be following through the 4 years. jealoussssss
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That sounds pretty awesome.
 
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Blais said:
Did everyone receive an email today about completing their financial aid app -- despite having already completed it?
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I got one after submitting everything. I called the office and they let me know I was all set and that it was probably sent in error. I'm sure you could give them a call if you were concerned.
 
For those of you who are "chronic lecture goers," you may find yourself not going to lectures once you are in med school. Just as an FYI. Not because the lecturers suck, but you gotta find out what is the BEST usage of your time. For me, I was a devout lecture goer in undergrad, but then I stopped when I got into med school after doing a little experimentation. I realized I was far more efficient by carefully reading the course reader, then following-up with podcasts at 1.6X. The skinny is that first years have a couple goals to accomplish. (see below) Heck, I skipped all of the lectures throughout all of micro, and still turned out fine.

1) Figure out what study method works for you. This is an advantage associated with PittMed being P/F. P/F makes it easier to try things you normally wouldn't do with a graded, more stressful grading system. Usually most people will do this after anatomy is done. You'll need to have figured this out so you know yourself well when you're studying for the boards, and for second year (which contains a lot of board-related info)

2) Enjoy life. 2nd, 3rd, 4th yrs all say that 1st year is easy, and you should learn to appreciate what it has to offer. Get involved. Do some hobbies. Become "interesting," while you still can.

3) Network. Because PittMed has faculty that are generally approachable, it is in your best interests to take advantage of this and meet people early on in your medical career.
 
Does anyone know if the Darragh apartments are pet-friendly (or, more specifically, feline-friendly)?
 
izod1991 said:
Does anyone know if the Darragh apartments are pet-friendly (or, more specifically, feline-friendly)?
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No pets. I'm sure you can get away with a little animal like a rabbit or something but a cat would probably be pushing it.

If you want to find a local apartment that allows pets, Costello Properties usually allows dogs and cats, and some Sterling Land buildings allow cats but no dogs.
 
Bummer. I'll have to check out the Sterling Land apartments, then. Apartment searching can be really frustrating!
 
izod1991 said:
Bummer. I'll have to check out the Sterling Land apartments, then. Apartment searching can be really frustrating!
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I live in a Sterling Land 2-bedroom and I'm renewing for next year. A few other med students, dental students, and some residents and professionals live in my building. I really love my place, my only complaint is that the temperature is centrally set so we can't control it, but cracking a few windows does the trick. 😀 Feel free to PM me if you want more details!
 
Ismet said:
I live in a Sterling Land 2-bedroom and I'm renewing for next year. A few other med students, dental students, and some residents and professionals live in my building. I really love my place, my only complaint is that the temperature is centrally set so we can't control it, but cracking a few windows does the trick. 😀 Feel free to PM me if you want more details!
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PM sent. Thanks for your help!

Also, your avatar is awesome. 😀
 
Blais said:
So I received my finaid "award letter" today. It shows two items: direct loans and grad plus loans for a total of ~70k.

Am I interpreting this correctly -- that I didn't get a single dollar of actual aid?
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Sorry to hear. Perhaps "award" is a misnomer.
 
Blais said:
So I received my finaid "award letter" today. It shows loans for a total of ~70k.

So am I reading this correctly -- that I didn't get a single dollar of aid?
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Unfortunately. There is very limited merit aid. If you were expecting some need-based aid, you can, and should, file an appeal.
 
I also got a letter but it was a merit award. There was no mention on loans or need based aid, just the per year "scholarship". I know I qualified for aid in Undergraduate so hopefully there is more coming.
 
Viduus said:
I also got a letter but it was a merit award. There was no mention on loans or need based aid, just the per year "scholarship". I know I qualified for aid in Undergraduate so hopefully there is more coming.
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My email contained three attachments: one merit award letter, one terms and conditions pdf, and a third pdf that was a general financial aid letter outlining need-based grants, the merit scholarship, and loans. Make sure you open all three - two of the files names were nearly identical for me!
 
I have not received any email; it was a one page conventional mail. I guess that means more should be coming.
 
So just to make sure I'm interpreting this correctly...

Everyone's "total resources" should total up to $70k right? And this is per year, specifically for 2013-2014?

Then there's a "UPSOM need based scholarship (4 year award) for $XXXXXX"
- does this means I have that much money, per year, taken off of my cost of tuition? Or is it that amount of money divided over four years?

And then the unsubs'd federal loan makes up the difference between $XXXXX and $70k?
 
Celyfia said:
So just to make sure I'm interpreting this correctly...

Everyone's "total resources" should total up to $70k right? And this is per year, specifically for 2013-2014?

Then there's a "UPSOM need based scholarship (4 year award) for $XXXXXX"
- does this means I have that much money, per year, taken off of my cost of tuition? Or is it that amount of money divided over four years?

And then the unsubs'd federal loan makes up the difference between $XXXXX and $70k?
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Without seeing your award letter, I can only speculate, so you might want to call the financial aid office to get official word.

The award letter is for this upcoming year. You'll have to reapply for or renew your financial aid again next year, including the need-based scholarship. So the $X they list next to the need-based scholarship is the money that is taken off your COA this year, and can be renewed for all 4 years.

Then federal loans and GradPLUS loans make up the difference to total the COA.
 
Ismet said:
Without seeing your award letter, I can only speculate, so you might want to call the financial aid office to get official word.

The award letter is for this upcoming year. You'll have to reapply for or renew your financial aid again next year, including the need-based scholarship. So the $X they list next to the need-based scholarship is the money that is taken off your COA this year, and can be renewed for all 4 years.

Then federal loans and GradPLUS loans make up the difference to total the COA.
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Is anyone familiar with the maximum amount of need-based aid per year?

Also, although they budgeted a total of ~$70K per year for COA, is that realistic? Can any current students chime in on if it's significantly lower than that? Full disclosure: I'll have a roommate, but I won't eat ramen every day.
 
I'm a pitt undergrad, so ill chime in! Of you have a room mate nd live fairly frugally you can cut at least 2k from the 16kish they estimate so living. I actually plan to live on 12k. My half the rent will be 430 a month so it won't be too bad!
 
churrytree said:
Also, although they budgeted a total of ~$70K per year for COA, is that realistic? Can any current students chime in on if it's significantly lower than that? Full disclosure: I'll have a roommate, but I won't eat ramen every day.
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There is no need to take out the full COA unless you plan to be living by yourself in an extravagant apartment and eating out constantly or something.

I'm not sure if they told you guys this at Second Look, but you can always take out more money up to the COA. So if you decide to initially use $65,000 out of the $70,000 COA but realize halfway through the semester that you're going to run out of money, you can take out more. You can't "give back" what you've already taken out.

My advice is to sit down and ballpark how much rent + utilities you'll be paying for the year. Then figure out a budget for food and any incidentals you might need. I personally estimated $500/month for groceries + eating out + random purchases. Add that all together, and consider adding on an extra $500-$1000 for good measure in case something comes up that you didn't budget for. My rent+utilities+monthly budget+emergency extra came out to around $14,000 and I definitely have not used all of it, so I'll probably take out less for next year.
 
churrytree said:
Is anyone familiar with the maximum amount of need-based aid per year?
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The past two years it's been around $36-37k. Not sure about this year.

Also, although they budgeted a total of ~$70K per year for COA, is that realistic? Can any current students chime in on if it's significantly lower than that? Full disclosure: I'll have a roommate, but I won't eat ramen every day.
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My total COA for this year has been over $10k less than the estimated COA (and I live alone).
 
Am I right in thinking that to get merit based aid you had to have astronomical numbers?
 
BurghStudent said:
Am I right in thinking that to get merit based aid you had to have astronomical numbers?
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I don't have astronomical numbers and I received a merit scholarship. I'm not sure what they're looking for when they distribute those funds.
 
wizedw said:
I got a merit scholarship and my numbers are right around the pitt averages
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Interesting. Should I ask about this? I had above average stats, GPA > 3.7 and MCAT > 35

I ask because financial aid will probably lead my decision on school choice
 
wizedw said:
If he is also on his parents health insurance that doesn't seem quite as crazy!
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haha i am still on my parent's health insurance as well. 1 bedroom apts are usually pretty pricey though so i was surprised. but then again i'm not as in tune with my finances as i should be so i don't exactly know how much i've spent this year. 😳 woops

p.s. in the COA they budget $2000 for books & supplies and you absolutely will not be spending that much (at least in 1st year). i spent less than $150 this year on books and around $300 for supplies (oto/ophtho scope, stethoscope, other instruments)
 
Did anyone else not get a financial aid email at all? Maybe more are coming tomorrow.
 
BurghStudent said:
Interesting. Should I ask about this? I had above average stats, GPA > 3.7 and MCAT > 35

I ask because financial aid will probably lead my decision on school choice
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I'm wondering the same thing; I also had above average stats but received no merit award. I wonder if "merit" means "research experience" or some such thing.

Also, I'm really frustrated that I apparently didn't qualify for any need-based financial aid. We lost >60% of what we had saved for college in the stock market crash, and my sister is in college with plans to attend medical (or veterinary school). But does the FAFSA consider these things? Nope, just the raw income $'s on your parents' paycheck, as if that makes any difference. :annoyed:

My state school is beginning to look much more appealing...
 
izod1991 said:
I'm wondering the same thing; I also had above average stats but received no merit award. I wonder if "merit" means "research experience" or some such thing.

Also, I'm really frustrated that I apparently didn't qualify for any need-based financial aid. We lost >60% of what we had saved for college in the stock market crash, and my sister is in college with plans to attend medical (or veterinary school). But does the FAFSA consider these things? Nope, just the raw income $'s on your parents' paycheck, as if that makes any difference. :annoyed:

My state school is beginning to look much more appealing...
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I feel you.

Well, at least now we know what specialties are off the table.

...and with a simple 1-page letter, a gunner was born. Neurosurgery, here I come! 😉

(Yeah right, 7 years of interest accruing during neuro residency... forgettaboutit!)
 
Blais said:
I feel you.

Well, at least now we know what specialties are off the table.

...and with a simple 1-page letter, a gunner was born. Neurosurgery, here I come! 😉

(Yeah right, 7 years of interest accruing during neuro residency... forgettaboutit!)
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I'm just curious - what specialties would you consider to be off the table? Like any kind of primary care?
 
churrytree said:
I'm just curious - what specialties would you consider to be off the table? Like any kind of primary care?
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It was more of a tongue-in-cheek jest.

I suppose if primary care interests a student, there are always "loan forgiveness" programs to check out (assuming they're still around in the future); however, those fields weren't in my original plan to begin with...

On the flip side, in reality, this DOES change my original plan for life after residency. Apparently I will be working even more than I anticipated for those first couple years out.
 
churrytree said:
"Overall, male physicians earn 30% more than women (17% more in primary care)."

This.

Is crazy.
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The general consensus is that the disparity in income is based largely on unequal work schedules. "Mommy-track jobs" is what attendings seem to call them.
 
Ismet said:
😱 what do you pay for rent?!
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I pay $510 + electric/water/gas which comes out to about $650 on average (free parking as well). It's a pretty sizable single -- much larger than Darragh

wizedw said:
If he is also on his parents health insurance that doesn't seem quite as crazy!
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I'm on the school UPMC insurance plan which is pretty expensive (~ $3k).
 
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