OFFICIAL: UPitt Class of 2008!!

You know I am!! I had so much fun this weekend and met some great students with whom I felt I had a real connection. I'm actually counting down the days until school starts.

 

I'm... 90+% sure that I'll be there.

 

See you all in august! I can't wait!

 

I will be there unless I get off a waitlist! I look forward to getting to know you all! PM me so we can chat!

 

see you guys again in august!!

 

I'm torn between a few schools, but there's a good chance I may be at Pitt next year. Sorry I don't meet the >90% requirement for joining this thread, quideam.

 

hi, i'll probably be at pitt

it was great meeting many of you this past weekend!

 

Though I'm tempted to add myself to the definite list of Pitt prospectives, I am currently torn (as many of you already know) between Pitt and Sinai. After Pitt's 2nd Look, I'm leaning towards Pitt though because of its stellar hospitals and facilities. Also, both the prospective and current students were awesome and I could definitely see myself being happy as part of the PittMed community. I'm planning to revisit Sinai in two weeks and then make my decision right before the May 15 deadline.

 

I will most likely be at Pitt as well.

after the interview i day I was definitely excited about the school.

do any of you know much about pitt's on campus housing? i know most of the students live off-campus, but i'm all about convenience.

 

From what I have seen, there really is no on-campus housing. They have a graduate school dorm (Ruskin Hall), but nothing specifically attached to the medical school.

On a side note, who is going to do a concentration at Pitt? I am looking forward to doing the Global Health concentration!

 

I looked at ruskin when I was there for second look, and I think I'm going to end up there next year if I'm at pitt-- I just sent in a lease. It's so close to school, and I like the idea of not having to wait for the bus in the morning. If you want to live there, call about it ASAP, because I think they're starting to get low on apartments for next year.

 

I would suggest you look into some of the non-university owned buildings that are right near Ruskin. You get more for your money that way. Many of my classmates live in buildings in Oakland owned by Sterling Land and have had no complaints. They have fantastic apartments for just as much as it costs to live in Ruskin, but with a lot more appeal. You pay a lot for what you get living in Ruskin, in my opinion.

 

What are they like? I may be interested if I do not get an apt. Is all the info on the website? If so, where? how close is Ruskin to the Med School? Thanks!

 

Hey Pitters!

Would someone please tell me when we start orientation and class in August? I tried to find it on the website but was unable to do so. I want to go on a small vacation and I want to organize my schedule. Anyone going to try out for PalPITTations? Can anyone join or do you have to audition? I so want to join! How was their performance during 2nd look? I am so excited about Pitt!

 

the building is an 8-10 minute walk to scaife. Call the property number listed on the housing website. They will hook you up with an application for a lease. Then, depending on what they have, they will either offer you a lease or elseput you on a waiting list.
The rooms have high cealings, wood floors, and are very nice, although the building was obviously built a long time ago. Everything is well maintained, and I was actually pretty impressed.
PM me if you have questions-

 

In regards to starting date for Pitt Med, I believe there was a form included in acceptance packet to order your White Coat (size etc). On that form it states Pitt White Coat Ceremony was Sund, Aug 15. Then orientation begins for M1's. Too early in the month.

 

I'm in the over 90% group here. Yay for Pitt!

 

I'm 90% Panther.

 

Im offically 100%.....made the decision today....and i don't have any regrets!

 

I will see you all there in the fall! I hope everyone has a fun a somewhat productive summer!

 

I've been following all of the Pitt posts for awhile hoping that someday...

Well, finally this morning I got the courage to call. When the admissions woman put me on hold I knew from previous posts that I was being transferred to Dr. Curtiss and I had a pretty good idea of what he was going to say.

I'm IN AT PITT and I'm so excited!!! I feel like I'm living a dream!!

I'm also so grateful to everyone for posting their experiences. Just knowing that others are going through what I am has made such a difference to me.

Joan

 

Congrats Joan!

 

Thanks DrJ2B! Actually, your last post in the Pitt Rolling Admissions thread inspired me to call...so double thanks!!

 

You are very welcome! I hope to see you next year. Are you planning on getting an apt or staying in Ruskin Hall? I am debating about where to live.

 

i'm curious about everyone's interests. I am deciding about pitt , maybe 75% going. i am into global health and HIV... anyone else have hobbies or interests within medicine or public health?

 

Hey dsp!

I am very interested in doing an MPH in International Health, specifically to work with an indigenous group in the Amazon that I had the privilege to so an anthropological study on this past summer. I was able to see the bad conditions of their hospitals and village clinic and I want to go back and help them improve those conditions. I am spefically interested in preventative medicine, including AIDS.

 

oops I meant specifically. dsp, are you specifically interested in working with a certain group of people or nation or are you just interested in more policy work?

 

Hey if anyone wants to live at Ruskin for a year without signing a lease, just to try it out and see how you like it, I'll be subletting my Ruskin apt starting in July. I'm going to be taking a year off to do research at the NIH, and the apts provided by that program are already furnished, so I will be leaving my furniture behind. So this apt at Ruskin will be totally furnished. I have a 1 bedroom, and the lease is for 1 person, so any single people interested, pm me!


btw, for those of you who were asking, Ruskin is about a 10-15 min walk from the hospitals, and if you're late or don't feel like walking, you can run down to the bus stop and you'll be there in about 3-5 minutes. It's very much on campus, even though it's technically "off-campus housing" which is good in a way. The apt's are much nicer than what you'd have in a dorm, like say Columbia P&S housing which is "campus housing." Ruskin has med students, dental students, and grad biomed students living there. If you have a car though, it might be more of a hassle, but that said, many ruskin residents have cars.

 

During the interview day one of the students mentioned that she had participated in Pitt's pre-matriculation program. Are they still doing this? If so, does anyone have any info?

 

Hey everyone...

Is Pitt going to send us anything about housing? I'd like to find an apartment ASAP, but I don't really know where to start looking. Did any of you who went to second look weekend find out anything about that?

And DRJ2B...I really want to be in the PalPITTations!!!! I loved a cappella in college but never made it into any of the groups here.

 

Hey PianoGirl!

I don't think they send anything to us about housing necessarily (my parents mentioned there was something about housing in the acceptance packet, not sure about that). However, the webpage has some info about Ruskin and how to go about looking for housing.

This has info about different options in Ruskin Hall. http://www.pc.pitt.edu/housing/

This site has general info on housing and such.
http://www.pitt.edu/~property/

RoccoWJ is from the area and may be able to offer you some advice to like he has offered me.

Awesome! Another person interested in PalPITTations! You totally rock!

 

I had emailed the Minority Affairs office earlier this week; they responded saying that we would be receiving information about this within a couple of weeks. The Minority Affairs website has a blurb of information about it -- it appears to be for minority students and non-traditional students.

 

hey,

about housing: from what i hear, the best thing to do is to return to pittsburgh and spend a weekend wandering the neighborhoods/looking through the city paper and finding the right place for you.

for those of you who don't want to or can't come back before august, it's more of a gamble for you guys. i remember last year we were emailed about a pittmed forum that had people post about looking for roommates, housing, etc. i personally went to the pitt housing resource webpage (listed in a post above) and found a group of random non-medstudents to live with, in a great location, and for a great price. (although i did "google" them first to see what i would find out about them, haha.) basically, i thought that if i didn't get along with my roommates, at least i didn't have to be in class with them all the time - but, in the end it's actually worked out wonderfully ... and i'm really grateful for having a social outlet outside the school. (not that i don't think my classmates are great, but...) so anyway, those are other options.

also, i *think* that in the new survival guide we might be including a section for apartment hunting, etc. if we do get that part together, i'll see if we can get it up on a website and let you all know about it or something.

and finally, my thoughts on ruskin: i know it seems the easiest because it's technically student housing and seems close and all that, but - i would encourage you to look other places too. i personally think it's kind of expensive for what you get, and it's also *just* far enough to not be super-convenient to walk everywhere, especially in the wintertime. i have a few friends who are there, without cars, and it sucks for them sometimes (for example, if you go out in shadyside later at night and have to depend on someone to drive you back, or call a cab). ANYWAY, the point is you can get something a lot cheaper for somewhere that might have other qualities important to you.

hmm, is that all i have to say for now? sorry, it's a lot. anyway, congratulations to all of you and i hope to meet you here next year. (and i hope our two classes get along better than we do with the class above us, ha.) if you have questions, need advice, whatever, just let me know.

 

That is so sweet. I feel privileged to get such a compliment. Please tell your mom thank you so much. She is so cool!

 

hi everyone, i emailed the dean of academic affairs to ask about the curriculum changes and rumors of getting rid of honors grades. thought id post his reply for everyone to read:

We're in the midst of finalizing the changes for the curriculum year that will begin this August. Though we don't have every detail worked out, we do have the general schedule. The combined first two years will end a little bit earlier than under the current schedule. The current plan will have the second year end about two months earlier in the year, and clerkships potentially start two months earlier (not six months as your 1.5 figure might suggest) We will be preserving the current model of having an interval for preparation for the boards after the end of coursework.

Anticipating your next question - how? - we're managing the calendar change by cleaning out redundant material, and maximizing the efficiency of how we deliver the content. No, that does not mean 12 hours of lecture every day! We will continue to use PBL and other small group case-based models where they make the best sense. We will also continue our custom of reserving 1-2 afternoons each week for self-directed learning. Students use that time for preparation for classes, and for pursuit of interests beyond the usual coursework. The clinical skills/physical diagnosis curriculum will be enhanced (not trimmed), since this is vitally important for all physicians.

About the Honors grading: I would regard this as a rumor. At the Curriculum Committee, which governs all aspects of the curriculum including grading policies, we will soon be taking up the question of how to evaluate students, faculty, and courses. I would imagine the question of whether there should be honors grades will come up - many medical schools are asking this question. However, so far, we have not had a focused or high-level discussion on this topic. The broad topic of evaluation is a major agenda item for the upcoming (faculty and student) annual Curriculum Colloquium on May 11.

Regarding sending you a revised schedule: We hope to have a version suitable for general distribution within the next few weeks. The key features are that as a new student, the curriculum would appear on paper to be quite similar to what you've already heard about: courses in Basic Science in yr 1; Organ Systems later in yr 1 and all of yr 2; and longitudinal courses in physician, patient and society and in clinical skills threaded longitudinally through the whole first two years. The current Introduction to Medical Decision Making course will be followed by a second, more advanced course in this domain, which will include topics beyond the basics of evidence-based medicine. Every student will also have an opportunity to complete an independent, mentored scholarly project within this new curriculum (about half of our students already do this).

 

thanks so much for that- really appreciate it; definitely some good info.

 

How generous is Pitt's financial aid? I have an EFC of 20000 and Mount Sinai gave me a decent (though not great) package of 7300 in scholarships and 22000 in interest free loans. I haven't heard from Pitt yet, but I get the impression that their financial aid sucks. Thanks for the help!!!

 

bump......

 

dunno, but it sure sucked for me!!

 

hey everyone

first off CONGRATS!! to everyone going to pitt....im so happy for you guys

second, im on the waitlist there and i loved it when i visited.....i was just curious....how did you guys find out you were accepted, email, call , letter?

thanks

 

I found out by letter, but I think some people received a phone call.

 

Were you taken from the waitlist?