2015-2016 University of Pittsburgh Application Thread

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jordan222 said:
I see how that's true at most schools because they're rolling, but my questions is whether or not Pitt is rolling at all (from what I can tell, they aren't). If they aren't rolling, then any date before Christmas should be equally "ideal," right?
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In theory yes, but what actually happens, consciously or not, at the last adcom meetings is not clear. My point is that if you want to err on the side of caution, interviewing earlier is always better. If your travel situation would be significantly simpler around Thanksgiving, which it sounds like it will be, then that should be fine too.
 
To everyone with II's, what is the earliest date you can sign up for now?
 
FreckleFart99 said:
Congrats! My stats aren't far from yours, what kind of ECs do you have??
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Very ordinary ECs. Shocked that I got an interview here, especially since I haven't gotten an interview anywhere else. I am a college athlete and otherwise didn't do a whole lot, did some research but never got published, did a little bit of volunteering and shadowing but not a ton. My LORs were a mix of stellar and very generic.

I'm so thankful for this II. I have this sense of determination that has come over me, like, this might be the only II I get and I am not going to **** it up!!!
 
Any thoughts on interviewing "too early" versus "too late"? I still don't think there is a consensus on whether they have rolling admissions or not but do you think it is bad to interview too early? Maybe they want to hold on to spots because they think that there are going to be good candidates that come afterwards too and they don't want to use up all their spots. AHHHH. This whole process is way too complicated. Why do they make us question ourselves and every little detail... 🙁
 
Globetrotter1990 said:
Any thoughts on interviewing "too early" versus "too late"? I still don't think there is a consensus on whether they have rolling admissions or not but do you think it is bad to interview too early? Maybe they want to hold on to spots because they think that there are going to be good candidates that come afterwards too and they don't want to use up all their spots. AHHHH. This whole process is way too complicated. Why do they make us question ourselves and every little detail... 🙁
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I think early always confers some benefit over late. The extent of that benefit depends on the particular school. Just my opinion. I'm interviewing this Friday 😱
 
starlite911 said:
I think early always confers some benefit over late. The extent of that benefit depends on the particular school. Just my opinion. I'm interviewing this Friday 😱
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Holy **** that's early. I couldn't get in until early November and I don't know how I feel about how late my interview is now
 
Mr. Beefy Lion said:
Holy **** that's early. I couldn't get in until early November and I don't know how I feel about how late my interview is now
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I think you're fine! My suggestion was just that when given an option of dates, choose the earliest that is feasible for you.
I'm also low-key panicking about interviewing at one of my Top 3 choices first, so it's a trade off 😕
 
ngc 2170 said:
Relax, act like a socially adept individual, sound interested in what you say you're interested in, know your application/research, pay attention to the prevailing culture/strengths of Pitt and see if they match your interests... Not much different from any other interview. Get ready for a hike up Cardiac Hill during the tour.

MS-1 is pretty great so far. We recently started anatomy, which is a huge volume of info in a short time (at any school). Our class is very friendly and fairly non-cliquey. The faculty offer advising/shadowing opportunities all the time, especially during orientation and the first week of classes. There are a bunch of interest groups and more things going on than you can do even if you wanted to. I could keep going, but I really should be studying...
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Thank you so much for taking time to share your experiences so far! I lived in Pittsburgh for a couple of months for an internship and am very familiar (read: jogged/walked up and down) with Cardiac Hill - is it bad that I'm actually excited to walk up it again? Haha, also, did your interviewer ask about current events/healthcare issues, or was your interview focused on your application materials?
 
ngc 2170 said:
Hm, I don't remember any questions about that, but my memory might be rusty. They did ask about my research and some specifics on that (how many base pairs in the gene? How many mutations cause the disease?).

A few of my interviews did ask about current events and issues in medicine, but I'm not sure if one of those interviews was Pitt.
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Gotcha, thank you!
 
ngc 2170 said:
Hm, I don't remember any questions about that, but my memory might be rusty. They did ask about my research and some specifics on that (how many base pairs in the gene? How many mutations cause the disease?).

A few of my interviews did ask about current events and issues in medicine, but I'm not sure if one of those interviews was Pitt.
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Do you know of any resources I can use to get read up on current events/issues in medicine?
 
ngc 2170 said:
I'm an MS-1. We have roughly 25-30% PA residents, a lot of CA residents (especially UC Berkeley students), a bunch of NY/upstate residents, and a smattering of others, including a pleasant number of Midwesterners. I think we have several Florida residents, although I can't think of many off the top of my head. That probably has more to do with applicant demographics than anything else.



Relax, act like a socially adept individual, sound interested in what you say you're interested in, know your application/research, pay attention to the prevailing culture/strengths of Pitt and see if they match your interests... Not much different from any other interview. Get ready for a hike up Cardiac Hill during the tour.

MS-1 is pretty great so far. We recently started anatomy, which is a huge volume of info in a short time (at any school). Our class is very friendly and fairly non-cliquey. The faculty offer advising/shadowing opportunities all the time, especially during orientation and the first week of classes. There are a bunch of interest groups and more things going on than you can do even if you wanted to. I could keep going, but I really should be studying...
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Woooooo go Berkeley bears 😀
 
So anyone with MSTP II know how the logistics works? Do we get an email with more info? I just got my II today and was wondering if more info will come later - like student hosts. Just trying to figure out my plane ticket/itinerary mainly atm. Thank you.
 
SurgeonOfLife said:
So anyone with MSTP II know how the logistics works? Do we get an email with more info? I just got my II today and was wondering if more info will come later - like student hosts. Just trying to figure out my plane ticket/itinerary mainly atm. Thank you.
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Check the interview scheduling tab on the application site - for MD II it had a link to download a spreadsheet of current student hosts, might be the same for MSTP.
 
That tab doesn't work for me. Still says "You have not yet been invited to schedule an interview." The confirmation tab works and I can see my dates for interview.
 
Can anyone who has interviewed or perhaps who just has better insight than I do speak to what the "faculty-led small group discussion" entails. Is it kind of like a panel interview with standard interview questions, or is it something completely different? Thanks!
 
SurgeonOfLife said:
So anyone with MSTP II know how the logistics works? Do we get an email with more info? I just got my II today and was wondering if more info will come later - like student hosts. Just trying to figure out my plane ticket/itinerary mainly atm. Thank you.
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My interview is this coming Monday and I just got an email today with the MSTP interview day schedule. It is insane lol...three 1-hr long interviews with faculty from the admissions committee, lunch with MSTP student, then five 30-min long interviews with faculty of interest, and then interview with another MSTP student. Concludes with dinner...not to mention all these interviews take place in different offices and buildings. I would recommend making sure you know where to go the day before.

In terms of hosting, they sent me a form about whether I was interested in student hosting. I filled it out but they weren't able to find me a host so they booked me a hotel for two nights at the Wyndman Hotel.
 
kbird said:
Can anyone who has interviewed or perhaps who just has better insight than I do speak to what the "faculty-led small group discussion" entails. Is it kind of like a panel interview with standard interview questions, or is it something completely different? Thanks!
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I haven't done it yet (I will tomorrow!) but to my understanding, a group of students just kind of works through an ethical case and a faulty member "facilitates" (or just observes, depending on who you ask). In previous years, this wasn't a part of the formal evaluation, it was kind of a pilot project, so I'm not sure if it's a real part now or still in the test phase!
 
pineapplecake said:
My interview is this coming Monday and I just got an email today with the MSTP interview day schedule. It is insane lol...three 1-hr long interviews with faculty from the admissions committee, lunch with MSTP student, then five 30-min long interviews with faculty of interest, and then interview with another MSTP student. Concludes with dinner...not to mention all these interviews take place in different offices and buildings. I would recommend making sure you know where to go the day before.

In terms of hosting, they sent me a form about whether I was interested in student hosting. I filled it out but they weren't able to find me a host so they booked me a hotel for two nights at the Wyndman Hotel.
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Thanks man! Appreciate it. Good luck to ya too.
 
pineapplecake said:
My interview is this coming Monday and I just got an email today with the MSTP interview day schedule. It is insane lol...three 1-hr long interviews with faculty from the admissions committee, lunch with MSTP student, then five 30-min long interviews with faculty of interest, and then interview with another MSTP student. Concludes with dinner...not to mention all these interviews take place in different offices and buildings. I would recommend making sure you know where to go the day before.

In terms of hosting, they sent me a form about whether I was interested in student hosting. I filled it out but they weren't able to find me a host so they booked me a hotel for two nights at the Wyndman Hotel.
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Yeah that schedule is sooo intimidating. Let us know how your interview day goes so that I can know whether to freak out or not lol.
 
neurotroph said:
Yeah that schedule is sooo intimidating. Let us know how your interview day goes so that I can know whether to freak out or not lol.
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Yeah...I assumed that I would be interviewing with ONE of the three faculty I listed but low and behold, all three will be there in addition to two other immunology faculty :nailbiting::nailbiting::nailbiting: frantically went to download papers earlier and now cramming and skimming through them ahaha I'll post an update once I finish~
 
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