2020-2021 Pittsburgh

Med School Insiders
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Grace10 said:
Still on the WL... and I got rejected post-II from the PSTP. Does this mean I’m basically screwed?
Click to expand...

so sorry 🙁 did you get the PSTP decision today?/does anyone know when they are coming out
Members don't see this ad.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Grace10 said:
I got it yesterday when they released all the post-II PSTP decisions.
Click to expand...
So sorry to hear! 🙁 Were u notified of a decision via email? Its strange how pstp decisions came out earlier for others.
 
TOP_applicant said:
So sorry to hear! 🙁 Were u notified of a decision via email? Its strange how pstp decisions came out earlier for others.
Click to expand...
Yeah I got an email that they were available on the portal and then a personalized email with my decision.
 
Congrats to you all who were accepted. The PDF for things to do in their email indicates a background check that needs to be done. Did you receive an email for this or is it automatically conducted. For reference, I was accepted off of the WL recently.
 
Would any current students mind providing insight into how grading works? Is it P/F throughout the curriculum and is there an internal ranking that is kept? If there is a ranking do all years factor into it or just clinical years and is the ranking reported when you apply for residency?

Also has there been any discussion as of yet regarding a return to in person activities for the fall? Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Sterubels said:
Congrats to you all who were accepted. The PDF for things to do in their email indicates a background check that needs to be done. Did you receive an email for this or is it automatically conducted. For reference, I was accepted off of the WL recently.
Click to expand...
You should receive an email for the background check! For me it came a couple days after my official acceptance.
 
Rheopecty said:
😕 Honestly...I don't like my chances anymore. Compared to prior years, there just appears to be way too many people on the thread already committed to the plan of matriculating here. Maybe the financial aid drop will shake up the list, but they'd have no reason to pick me with median stats and weak ECs.

It was a long shot anyways and lured me into a false sense of hope...
Click to expand...
I cannot relate more to this. 🙁 Pitt is my dream, but it's not looking too good now. Still holding onto some hope though, although yesterday hurt pretty bad. Happy for everyone who got accepted though.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
TheMightyMattress said:
Would any current students mind providing insight into how grading works? Is it P/F throughout the curriculum and is there an internal ranking that is kept? If there is a ranking do all years factor into it or just clinical years and is the ranking reported when you apply for residency?

Also has there been any discussion as of yet regarding a return to in person activities for the fall? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Current MS1. Pitt is P/F unranked for the pre-clinical years - no AOA either. Clerkships are graded honors, high/low satisfactory, unsatisfactory. In-person activities are almost assured for matriculants by the fall and should be the case for basically every medical school in the country. We are already in-person for our clinical experiences courses and shadowing has been wide open at UPMC for a few months now.
 
Can any current students speak on the pros/cons of living at Darragh? What's the consensus, is it worth it?
 
frenchfries7 said:
Can any current students speak on the pros/cons of living at Darragh? What's the consensus, is it worth it?
Click to expand...
Not a current student but from the area and have been in the aparrments; Darragh is significantly more expensive than a comperable apartment in the area.
 
Accepted off the wait-list! I was elated for about one minute when I got the news before the reality of packing up my whole life and moving to an entirely different climate set in lol. I'm knocking on the door of age 30 and have been out of school working full time for several years. As a result, I currently own a 2016 Toyota Camry, enough furniture and housewares to fill a 900+ sq ft apartment, and both large and small appliances. Questions from a southern nontrad student -

1) Should I sell my car, trade it in for a cheaper/more weather-appropiate vehicle, trade it in for a hybrid (save on gas), or just keep it?

2) Do I need to overhaul my wardrobe or just add in a good winter coat and boots? I'm from a southern state where we get snow maybe once or twice a year and most of my clothing is for warmer weather.

3) Should I consider selling any of my furniture or appliances (e.g. my washer and dryer)? I will be moving roughly six hours away from my current residence to attend Pitt.

Thanks in advance!
 
SevenofSonless said:
Current MS1. Pitt is P/F unranked for the pre-clinical years - no AOA either. Clerkships are graded honors, high/low satisfactory, unsatisfactory. In-person activities are almost assured for matriculants by the fall and should be the case for basically every medical school in the country. We are already in-person for our clinical experiences courses and shadowing has been wide open at UPMC for a few months now.
Click to expand...
Along these lines, any word on whether 2nd Look will be in person?
 
dph_718 said:
Accepted off the wait-list! I was elated for about one minute when I got the news before the reality of packing up my whole life and moving to an entirely different climate set in lol. I'm knocking on the door of age 30 and have been out of school working full time for several years. As a result, I currently own a 2016 Toyota Camry, enough furniture and housewares to fill a 900+ sq ft apartment, and both large and small appliances. Questions from a southern nontrad student -

1) Should I sell my car, trade it in for a cheaper/more weather-appropiate vehicle, trade it in for a hybrid (save on gas), or just keep it?

2) Do I need to overhaul my wardrobe or just add in a good winter coat and boots? I'm from a southern state where we get snow maybe once or twice a year and most of my clothing is for warmer weather.

3) Should I consider selling any of my furniture or appliances (e.g. my washer and dryer)? I will be moving roughly six hours away from my current residence to attend Pitt.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Haha, I'm not a student (still on WL), but, as for the belongings you want to keep, I think that you'll have to decide what's important to you. I'm sure your car is fine, you'll just have to learn how to drive in snow.

And sure, you'll need warmer clothes for winter, but I find it hard to believe you'll need to completely change your wardrobe.
 
dph_718 said:
Accepted off the wait-list! I was elated for about one minute when I got the news before the reality of packing up my whole life and moving to an entirely different climate set in lol. I'm knocking on the door of age 30 and have been out of school working full time for several years. As a result, I currently own a 2016 Toyota Camry, enough furniture and housewares to fill a 900+ sq ft apartment, and both large and small appliances. Questions from a southern nontrad student -

1) Should I sell my car, trade it in for a cheaper/more weather-appropiate vehicle, trade it in for a hybrid (save on gas), or just keep it?

2) Do I need to overhaul my wardrobe or just add in a good winter coat and boots? I'm from a southern state where we get snow maybe once or twice a year and most of my clothing is for warmer weather.

3) Should I consider selling any of my furniture or appliances (e.g. my washer and dryer)? I will be moving roughly six hours away from my current residence to attend Pitt.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
I won't lie to you. Winters can be pretty brutal. I am from pgh and went to pitt undergrad. They do a pretty good job about shoveling the sidewalks, but you definitely need a good pair of boots. The winter and a large majority of the spring usually is pretty cold, and I think one year it snowed like almost every day in the winter. You definitely will need a fair amount of clothes for the winter.
tumblr_nfghuinmk61s5n19go1_400.gif
 
Twub13 said:
I won't lie to you. Winters can be pretty brutal. I am from pgh and went to pitt undergrad. They do a pretty good job about shoveling the sidewalks, but you definitely need a good pair of boots. The winter and a large majority of the spring usually is pretty cold, and I think one year it snowed like almost every day in the winter. You definitely will need a fair amount of clothes for the winter.
View attachment 333500
Click to expand...
When cardiac hill turns into a sheet of ice... yikes
 
Twub13 said:
I won't lie to you. Winters can be pretty brutal. I am from pgh and went to pitt undergrad. They do a pretty good job about shoveling the sidewalks, but you definitely need a good pair of boots. The winter and a large majority of the spring usually is pretty cold, and I think one year it snowed like almost every day in the winter. You definitely will need a fair amount of clothes for the winter.
View attachment 333500
Click to expand...
Okay, thanks for the info! I know it's going to be a whole new experience in many ways, including the weather. Now, I can start prepping for the future
 
dph_718 said:
Accepted off the wait-list! I was elated for about one minute when I got the news before the reality of packing up my whole life and moving to an entirely different climate set in lol. I'm knocking on the door of age 30 and have been out of school working full time for several years. As a result, I currently own a 2016 Toyota Camry, enough furniture and housewares to fill a 900+ sq ft apartment, and both large and small appliances. Questions from a southern nontrad student -

1) Should I sell my car, trade it in for a cheaper/more weather-appropiate vehicle, trade it in for a hybrid (save on gas), or just keep it?

2) Do I need to overhaul my wardrobe or just add in a good winter coat and boots? I'm from a southern state where we get snow maybe once or twice a year and most of my clothing is for warmer weather.

3) Should I consider selling any of my furniture or appliances (e.g. my washer and dryer)? I will be moving roughly six hours away from my current residence to attend Pitt.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
1) You will definitely need a car in Pittsburgh; and if you can afford a more weather-appropriate car with good gas mileage, then that would be even better. I'm from Alabama. I don't live in Pittsburgh, but visit every now and then and I plan on apply to U Pitt's medical school next year.

2) Buy winter clothes! It definitely snows in the winter months, but you don't need to completely overhaul your wardrobe. Pittsburgh is cold and chilly for at least 5-6 months out of the year.
 
dph_718 said:
Accepted off the wait-list! I was elated for about one minute when I got the news before the reality of packing up my whole life and moving to an entirely different climate set in lol. I'm knocking on the door of age 30 and have been out of school working full time for several years. As a result, I currently own a 2016 Toyota Camry, enough furniture and housewares to fill a 900+ sq ft apartment, and both large and small appliances. Questions from a southern nontrad student -

1) Should I sell my car, trade it in for a cheaper/more weather-appropiate vehicle, trade it in for a hybrid (save on gas), or just keep it?

2) Do I need to overhaul my wardrobe or just add in a good winter coat and boots? I'm from a southern state where we get snow maybe once or twice a year and most of my clothing is for warmer weather.

3) Should I consider selling any of my furniture or appliances (e.g. my washer and dryer)? I will be moving roughly six hours away from my current residence to attend Pitt.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Hey! I'm from the South and have thought about these things too! FWIW I currently drive a Camry and plan to sell it for a SUV. Wardrobe wise I'm definitely getting more winter coats/outerwear, boots, and generally things that are easy to layer (couldn't get myself to buy new clothes during lockdown so super excited 😍)
 
1) Should I sell my car, trade it in for a cheaper/more weather-appropiate vehicle, trade it in for a hybrid (save on gas), or just keep it?

2) Do I need to overhaul my wardrobe or just add in a good winter coat and boots? I'm from a southern state where we get snow maybe once or twice a year and most of my clothing is for warmer weather.

3) Should I consider selling any of my furniture or appliances (e.g. my washer and dryer)? I will be moving roughly six hours away from my current residence to attend Pitt.
Click to expand...

Books2ReadMe said:
1) You will definitely need a car in Pittsburgh; and if you can afford a more weather-appropriate car with good gas mileage, then that would be even better. I'm from Alabama. I don't live in Pittsburgh, but visit every now and then and I plan on apply to U Pitt's medical school next year.

2) Buy winter clothes! It definitely snows in the winter months, but you don't need to completely overhaul your wardrobe. Pittsburgh is cold and chilly for at least 5-6 months out of the year.
Click to expand...
I'm going to disagree here. A car is nice to have but not at all needed. I have a car but rarely use it (I live in Shadyside). It's nice for hauling groceries once a week, but otherwise don't have much use for it. I'm glad I have mine because it means I have more freedom, but I know several current medical students at Pitt who do not own cars and it's working out well for them. You'll just want to live in a central location that's a short bus ride from the medical school (i.e. Shadyside).

I'm from the South as well. You will want boots and a down jacket for sure, but no need to replace your entire wardrobe. (I made it through last winter without boots, though I would not recommend doing that.)

As far as your furniture situation... I've moved around the country several times. Honestly it's rarely worth it to bring furniture with you. Figure out how much it will cost you to transport what you have versus replace it once you arrive in Pittsburgh, and do what makes the most sense. If you are patient you can buy most of what you need used on Craigslist/FB marketplace and get the rest at Ikea if you're trying to save money.

Congrats and looking forward to getting acquainted! Feel free to pm me with any questions about moving, where to live, etc.
 
Does anyone know when financial awards are going to be released?
 
Rheopecty said:
That's the hope...

Interestingly, 3 of the ~9 PSTP people are from the SDN thread. Congrats y'all.
Click to expand...
True. They also could have sent out more PSTP A's than there are spots, as I'm sure some applicants would end up withdrawing
 
Last edited by a moderator:
n123123 said:
as I'm sure some applicants would end up withdrawing
Click to expand...
I'm legit PRAYING for this (not necessarily for PSTP, but just general MD). Currently using every fiber in my body to hold onto that sliver of hope... If you plan on withdrawing from Pitt soon, just know that you have a special place in my heart LOL 😘🫀

Does anyone have any predictions for the next WL movement? Possibly before the CTE deadline (April 30)?
 
frenchfries7 said:
Can any current students speak on the pros/cons of living at Darragh? What's the consensus, is it worth it?
Click to expand...
its hella convenient and a good way to connect with fellow classmates but feels a tad like freshman year of college. If you have no connections to pgh or know people here, I'd say go for it. Can move out m2 with friends you make
 
Rheopecty said:
In my endless neuroticism, I made a spreadsheet with the decisions from 2/19 and 3/25.

This is the SDN data plus 5 non-SDNers I interact with (making up 123 of the ~900 pool):
View attachment 333731
*Does not account for withdrawn As and WLs from this thread. Had to infer several WLs based on the user mentioning sending LOI/Updates post-Feb 19.

Let say we can extrapolate 900/123 = 7.3x
Initial As: ~240 (Reasonable and it is in line with calculations made by last year's class of ~250.)
Initial WLs: ~610 (Low certainty, but possible. I would donate max 100 of these to the R pile.)
Initial/Final Rs: ~50 (Seems pretty small, but who knows.)

Can't extrapolate beyond Feb-19, because decisions no longer are applied to the entire collective. Just some food for thought.
Click to expand...
Interesting estimations, and shows that there is a ton of WL movement, which is hopeful. Hard to get be certain about these numbers based upon self-reported SDN data, but it helps give an idea
 
SevenofSonless said:
Yeah screw the message in a bottle of intent. Everyone and their grandma sends one. Try this maybe:

Pitt Med numbah one (14)
US News Report so good
Pitt Med so so good
Click to expand...
minor, but kinda super important haiku update guys

Pitt Med numbah one (13)
US News Report so good
Pitt Med so so good
 
There has been this idea floating around that schools like Pitt basically only admit people from the waitlist if a similar person gave up his or her spot. So like, if you're from PA, especially, you'll only get in if someone from PA gives up a spot. Has anyone heard this as well?
 
modpres said:
There has been this idea floating around that schools like Pitt basically only admit people from the waitlist if a similar person gave up his or her spot. So like, if you're from PA, especially, you'll only get in if someone from PA gives up a spot. Has anyone heard this as well?
Click to expand...

Heard of it but ultimately its not exactly actionable information.

Also think its more specific than just from PA. More like if the male figure skating champion dropped they'll let a guy whos into figure skating off the waitlist or something.
 
modpres said:
There has been this idea floating around that schools like Pitt basically only admit people from the waitlist if a similar person gave up his or her spot. So like, if you're from PA, especially, you'll only get in if someone from PA gives up a spot. Has anyone heard this as well?
Click to expand...
Heard this from the SDN AdComs but not specific to any particular school. If an accepted applicant of a particular demographic withdraws, they are very likely to admit someone of a very similar demographic off the WL (usually based on gender, race, or background).
 
I guess… USNWR rankings didn’t help us at all in terms of people dropping because of rank movement.
 
456432 said:
Heard this from the SDN AdComs but not specific to any particular school. If an accepted applicant of a particular demographic withdraws, they are very likely to admit someone of a very similar demographic off the WL (usually based on gender, race, or background).
Click to expand...
Hoping blushing potatoes from warmer climates withdraw soon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

wysdoc
2023-2024 Pittsburgh
26 27 28 29 30
Replies
1K
Views
296K
pr12
P
wysdoc
2021-2022 Pittsburgh
21 22 23 24 25
Replies
1K
Views
309K
nadal123
N
wysdoc
2022-2023 Pittsburgh
21 22 23 24 25
Replies
1K
Views
299K
nemestey
N
koffeekween
2021-2022 Ponce-STL
2 3 4
Replies
184
Views
27K
amazinmedicine
A
TheDataKing
2020-2021 Yale
6 7 8 9 10
Replies
475
Views
235K
wya2020
W
Top