2014-2015 University of Pittsburgh Application Thread

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Kelevra said:
Congrats to all accepted!

Does anybody know how many acceptances went out today/ how many more waves they expect to see? Also, for those accepted, did your portal status change as well, or was it only an e-mail?
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My portal status changed too.
 
Congrats to all the acceptances today! This news just made me so anxious. I hope we see more movement soon :heckyeah::nailbiting:
 
So to hold our acceptance spot for the meantime we just need to complete the Admission Data Forms? Also said in the email that $100 deposit will not be accepted until April 30th.
 
10KDoc said:
So to hold our acceptance spot for the meantime we just need to complete the Admission Data Forms? Also said in the email that $100 deposit will not be accepted until April 30th.
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Yep. I called admissions this morning and they confirmed that we can't send the $100 deposit until after April 30th. So basically they only want the deposit if you decide to go there for sure.
 
Ismet said:
Depends on how many upperclassmen keep their apartments and how many 4th years were in them, but I think MS1's usually make up a large portion of the Darragh tenants. You'll get more info on that in a few months. I'm sure some of the other current students have more insight into the timeline than I do.

P.S. You can find cheaper options that are still close to the school, if Darragh doesn't work out. The apartments are super convenient and I found myself sometimes wishing I had lived there (especially last month when I was working at the hospital across the street), but they're way overpriced for the size you get. Especially when you realize the joy of podcasting and never leave your apartment anyway 😛
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Is there a website where someone could start looking for off-campus housing options?
 
Ismet, could you comment on what a typical M1 week is like? (like how much time in lecture vs small groups ect.). Thank you!
 
lyra928 said:
Ismet, could you comment on what a typical M1 week is like? (like how much time in lecture vs small groups ect.). Thank you!
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A current MS1 can probably answer this better as I'm now 2 years removed, but I want to say it's between 80/20 and 70/30 lecture/small group (it varies by course). And by small group, I'm kind of lumping lab (micro, path labs) with PBL and TBL. Anatomy is more like 50/50 lecture/lab time.

Monday, Thursday, and Friday are half days of lecture/small group, usually 8-12. On 1-2 of those afternoons, you'll have clinical stuff. In the first semester, it's learning how to do a history with standardized patients and then how to do a physical. Then in the 2nd semester, you spend 1 afternoon a week in the hospital or in a clinic doing H&Ps on patients and presenting to your preceptor.

Tuesday and Wednesday are all day lecture/small group, usually 8-4, but they're pretty good at breaking it up. Wednesday morning is always the "soft science/humanities" courses, like biostats, ethics, behavioral medicine, etc.

Lectures are podcasted and ~99% are not mandatory.
 
Ismet said:
A current MS1 can probably answer this better as I'm now 2 years removed, but I want to say it's between 80/20 and 70/30 lecture/small group (it varies by course). And by small group, I'm kind of lumping lab (micro, path labs) with PBL and TBL. Anatomy is more like 50/50 lecture/lab time.

Monday, Thursday, and Friday are half days of lecture/small group, usually 8-12. On 1-2 of those afternoons, you'll have clinical stuff. In the first semester, it's learning how to do a history with standardized patients and then how to do a physical. Then in the 2nd semester, you spend 1 afternoon a week in the hospital or in a clinic doing H&Ps on patients and presenting to your preceptor.

Tuesday and Wednesday are all day lecture/small group, usually 8-4, but they're pretty good at breaking it up. Wednesday morning is always the "soft science/humanities" courses, like biostats, ethics, behavioral medicine, etc.

Lectures are podcasted and ~99% are not mandatory.
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When you say podcasted does that include just the audio or is the video also recorded to? I also know you have posted a brief summary of the pittsburgh neighborhoods in the past (not sure if this thread or previous years) but I am having some trouble finding that post. Could you post that again whenever you have the chance. Just starting to look at some general rent ranges for the neighborhoods. Thank you so much!
 
mik30102 said:
When you say podcasted does that include just the audio or is the video also recorded to? I also know you have posted a brief summary of the pittsburgh neighborhoods in the past (not sure if this thread or previous years) but I am having some trouble finding that post. Could you post that again whenever you have the chance. Just starting to look at some general rent ranges for the neighborhoods. Thank you so much!
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Audio + the powerpoint synced with the audio. You basically get everything except a video of the lecturer. Also you can speed it up, I believe to 2.5x.

I'll try to find that post or re-write it after my shelf exam on Friday 🙂
 
redpanda said:
Found it:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...ool-of-medicine.1004704/page-17#post-14966663
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Thanks! Good thing too. My brain is fried after that internal med exam.

Quoting below from last year's thread:

Ismet said:
Woohoo! Welcome to the PittMed family! I'm on a study break, so I'll give you my 2 cents on housing.

It depends on your budget and how close you want to be to the school. Generally speaking, the closer you are to campus, the more expensive the place, but also in general, Pittsburgh is relatively cheap compared to other cities, so you're not really going to be shelling out an arm and a leg.

Of course there's the med student apartments (Darragh) which are a block away from the school. These are super convenient, but they're also 1) extremely small and 2) way overpriced for the size. You'll get to tour the apartments during second look, so you can decide for yourself if the size/price is okay for you. My friends who live there love it, but personally I wouldn't be happy there.

Some students live on the streets behind Darragh. The houses there often aren't in the best of shape, but they're relatively cheap and still very close to the school.

North Oakland is a nice neighborhood mostly made up of college seniors and grad students. It's pretty quiet unless you live on the block with the frats, and even then it's not that loud. It's about a 15 minute walk or 5 minute bus ride from the school, so it's still extremely convenient. I also have an apartment that is 3+ times the size of a Darragh apartment for the same price, utilities included (~$1250/2 bed 1 bath).

The next popular neighborhood is Shadyside. Don't let the name fool you, it's actually one of the nicest neighborhoods in Pittsburgh. Shadyside is huge, and there are a ton of housing options, most within reasonable distance from a bus stop that will take you to campus. I have friends who lived on the very outskirts of Shadyside and it can take them at least 20-30 minutes to get to campus on the bus, even more if the bus is off schedule (often) so that's something to keep in mind. It's generally cheaper to live out there, though, and apartments are often nicer since they're usually catering to adults and not students.

Squirrel Hill is probably less popular than Shadyside, but it's the same premise. It's a really nice neighborhood, lots of shopping and restaurants, one of my favorite neighborhoods to visit. It's less accessible by bus than Shadyside, as only a couple buses connect Squirrel Hill to Oakland. This is a good place to live if you have a family. Squirrel Hill has more of a "residential/suburban" vibe to me, whereas Oakland and the main drags of Shadyside are much more urban.

I would advise against South Oakland, even though it's extremely cheap. The apartments are falling apart and it's where all the loud undergrad parties are. I lived there for a summer in undergrad and it was baaaad.

Other classmates are scattered around remaining neighborhoods. A few live in Bloomfield/Lawrenceville, which is out by Children's Hospital. That area is kind of "up and coming" and I think it's relatively cheap. Still easy to get to campus from there, although a couple miles out.

I think I've exhausted all the main neighborhoods. I'd personally recommend North Oakland or the parts of Shadyside closer to campus. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll get back to you on my next study break! :bookworm::bookworm::bookworm::bookworm:

EDIT to add: you don't need to stress out about getting housing this early. Definitely start looking into options, but you don't need to make a decision until at least after Second Look. The housing market is pretty open for grad students, there are a lot of landlords who don't rent to undergrads but will rent to grad students and adults. I didn't sign my lease until June before MS1!
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@mik30102
 
I was also recently accepted off of the waitlist and I will be attending in the fall! Does anyone knows if there is a facebook page for the class of 2019?
 
Question regarding registration: at what point will we be able to enroll at UPSoM? Undergrad loan payments are a bitch and a half.
 
CrisisOrLysis said:
Question regarding registration: at what point will we be able to enroll at UPSoM? Undergrad loan payments are a bitch and a half.
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My servicer offers forbearance if you plan on going back to school within 6 months. Also I remember they put my loan on deferment a bit earlier than official start date.
 
lyra928 said:
Ismet, could you comment on what a typical M1 week is like? (like how much time in lecture vs small groups ect.). Thank you!
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It depends on what block you're in - right now the 1st years have Microbiology so there's an added mandatory lab component a couple hours of the week. But generally speaking, lecture and PBLs are on Monday mornings, Tuesday all days, Wednesday afternoon, Thursday mornings, and Friday mornings. You'll usually have a required PBL component 2x a week (one to learn about a case, one to go over it after everyone in the group researches a learning objective). Some PBLs are in the morning, some are in the afternoon, it just depends on the block (since those are required, it's appreciated when they aren't at 8am 😛).

On Monday afternoon/Thursday afternoon/Friday afternoon, you'll have some sort of clinical component. In the first semester, that's the medical interviewing and introductory physical exam course. In the spring, that's when you branch out into clinics and get practice in clinical settings. You'll have the clinical component one day and the other 2 afternoons off.

Like Ismet said, Wednesday mornings are the "soft sciences" days - biostats types of classes, ethics, a class on research, and behavioral medicine. Those are usually required as they're mainly in a small group setting.

And 99% of lectures are not mandatory - you'll see most of the class go to lecture in the first block (Anatomy) but attendance really drops off after that. I think only about 30-40% of the MS1 class goes to lecture regularly, which is perfectly fine. Some people learn in lecture and others prefer to podcast (audio podcasts synched to powerpoint slides, generally uploaded within 30 minutes of lecture ending). The fact that lecture isn't required and that it's P/F the first 2 years are what I love about Pitt -- you still have to put in work, but it lets you be very flexible.
 
Fellow peeps on the waitlist: Has anyone preemptively sent in their 1040s and W2s for financial aid? Seems a little presumptuous to me, but also seems to be the responsible thing to do.
 
unnumzaan said:
Fellow peeps on the waitlist: Has anyone preemptively sent in their 1040s and W2s for financial aid? Seems a little presumptuous to me, but also seems to be the responsible thing to do.
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They did ask for financial aid information, but iirc it was just the needaccess application thing. It is true that a lot of people get in off the waitlist though, so you could end up needing it anyway.
 
unnumzaan said:
Fellow peeps on the waitlist: Has anyone preemptively sent in their 1040s and W2s for financial aid? Seems a little presumptuous to me, but also seems to be the responsible thing to do.
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I sent mine in cause I was doing it for my other schools. Just wanted to be 100% done with financial aid stuff.
 
Any idea on when Pitt will release financial aid information if all of your necessary materials are submitted?
 
Does anyone know what that dress code is for second look? I saw the dinner reception on the itinerary.
 
I just got an email from admissions asking me to re-submit my letters of rec on official manuscript paper before they consider taking me off the waitlist. Did anyone else get this?
 
DoctorDude7 said:
I just got an email from admissions asking me to re-submit my letters of rec on official manuscript paper before they consider taking me off the waitlist. Did anyone else get this?
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Did you send your rec. letters through AMCAS or directly to Pitt?
 
DoctorDude7 said:
I just got an email from admissions asking me to re-submit my letters of rec on official manuscript paper before they consider taking me off the waitlist. Did anyone else get this?
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They probably mean with an official letterhead. All LORs need to be on letterhead.
 
Just withdrew, and feel like I just made a huge mistake. I was very determined to go to Pitt to be part of the humble, practical and yet excellent system. If up to me, I'd sit on this until the last day in April in case I change my mind. But I think I should release my seat so someone else can get it soon enough to go to the second look. Adieu! PittSOM and UPMC. I should be back.
 
Wait listers... if you have reallly high MCAT and GPA, write them a love letter. Pitt likes to hold back on really competitive applicants so they don't get rejected. They figure you are going to go to a better school, so no sense giving you an offer.
 
DoctorDachshund said:
Wait listers... if you have reallly high MCAT and GPA, write them a love letter. Pitt likes to hold back on really competitive applicants so they don't get rejected. They figure you are going to go to a better school, so no sense giving you an offer.
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What is this, year 3 of holding a beef against Pitt and spreading the same false rumor? When are you going to let it go?

Everyone knows Pitt is receptive to LOIs. But that's the extent of truth in your statement.
 
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