~University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Class of 2012

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yay artararxes! I also with drew from NU a few days ago. Was pretty hard to do, but I"m glad to finally have it down to one. How'd you decide on Pitt?
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1956Goldtop said:
yay artararxes! I also with drew from NU a few days ago. Was pretty hard to do, but I"m glad to finally have it down to one. How'd you decide on Pitt?
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If pittsburgh is in Anna Arbor (#1 singles city!), Boston, NYC, or Chicago, it'd be a no brainer, but why does it have to be in Pittsburgh!!!!!!!!

but yeah, I'm pretty much decided, only holding onto sinai.
 
Aww don't tell me that Pitt is the #2 worst city for singles! Is that possible though? We have University of Pittsburgh and CMU, there must be a lot of singles in this city - certainly more than any city without colleges.

Glad to hear you guys chose Pitt though! I'm excited to get to know the people that are definitely coming :) Goldtop, I'm also thinking of living in Shadyside, it sounds like the best neighborhood based on all the descriptions I've read, and it's very close to the school. I haven't really ramped up my apartment hunting efforts yet though. I wish there was a section in the Pitt survival guide that pointed us to the best apartment complexes based on students' recommendations, that would be really helpful. I bet a lot of our classmates will be in Shadyside since Darragh isn't available, it should be fun!
 
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SnoPearl said:
Aww don't tell me that Pitt is the #2 worst city for singles! Is that possible though? We have University of Pittsburgh and CMU, there must be a lot of singles in this city - certainly more than any city without colleges.

Glad to hear you guys chose Pitt though! I'm excited to get to know the people that are definitely coming :) Goldtop, I'm also thinking of living in Shadyside, it sounds like the best neighborhood based on all the descriptions I've read, and it's very close to the school. I haven't really ramped up my apartment hunting efforts yet though. I wish there wa6ment complexes based on students' recommendations, that would be really helpful. I bet a lot of our classmates will be in Shadyside since Darragh isn't available, it should be fun!
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I think Forbes was the one that ranked pitt so poorly for singles, part of it is the median age, 36, and lack of a completely rejuvenated jobs market preventing young professionals from coming back.

Btw, are you leaning more toward mich or pitt? mich's much vaunted fin aid package was a little sparse for me:(.
 
Dudes, I just withdrew my other acceptances and am internet house-hunting in Pittsburgh. Is anyone else actively looking to buy a place? It's nice to feel somewhat decided on Pitt.
 
artaxerxes said:
I think Forbes was the one that ranked pitt so poorly for singles, part of it is the median age, 36, and lack of a completely rejuvenated jobs market preventing young professionals from coming back.

Btw, are you leaning more toward mich or pitt? mich's much vaunted fin aid package was a little sparse for me:(.
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I've pretty much crossed off UMich, they gave me absolute crap for their financial aid package, so that definitely doesn't compare to Pitt. I'm actually really excited about coming to Pitt, I just haven't withdrawn from UMich yet because I'm chicken and want to hold onto it just another day or two before I want to admit that my decision has been completely finalized haha :oops:
 
Good to know you are looking at places in Shadyside. A professor of mine who knew the area was raving about how wonderful it was. You looking at any specific complexes? I'm hoping to get something somewhat nice, as it will hopefully be a place I can call home for the whole 4 years :)
 
For any of you interested in buying a house, I have one for sale, details are here:

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/rfs/679169545.html

My husband and I have lived here for 4 years while he got his PhD at CMU. It's not as close as Shadyside/Squirrel Hill, but he rides the bus into Oakland everyday and finds it very convenient. It's not a bad drive, either, but parking is a problem in Oakland.

We'd love to continue living here, but unfortunately my husband didn't get into Pitt for med school, so we'll be moving elsewhere. Our townhouse is in a nice neighborhood with 6 other units, lots of young professionals. In fact, one of our neighbors went to med school at Pitt also and is now a doctor at UPMC.

Congrats to all of you on your acceptances!
 
im lookin at the shadyside area as well.. looks like its close to school and a pretty nice place to live. I looked at some of the mozartrents stuff and it looks pretty nice. I'll probably have to go to the city before i make the decision.
 
Yeah I'm not sure of any apartment complexes yet either. Actually, if anyone is nearby and/or planning to visit Pittsburgh to apartment hunt in the near future, maybe you could take pictures of places you look at and share with us? We'd forever forever be in your debt :)
 
btw, is there absolutely no empty apt in the school owned complex?

oh, and I heard one of the students mention something about a boxing and mma club at Pitt, any truth in that ?
 
i'm not sure if there is a club or not...but I have been training BJJ and Muay Thai for a little over four years (just started boxing a year ago) and helped do some instructing for about a year. if there isn't a group...we can start a small one!
 
bsug23 said:
i'm not sure if there is a club or not...but I have been training BJJ and Muay Thai for a little over four years (just started boxing a year ago) and helped do some instructing for about a year. if there isn't a group...we can start a small one!
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Some of my classmates have put together a boxing club. I think it's pretty informal right now, but I know they were trying to really get it going. I'm sure they'll love to have more people who are interested!
 
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We have a Pitt facebook page where people are posting apartment listings. You could also ask questions about apartments and current students will give feedback. Like Erina said, there is a boxing club. There is also an outdoor club that goes on day hikes and climbing. And there was a marathon training group this year, football games, etc. Lots of fun!
 
bsug23 said:
i'm not sure if there is a club or not...but I have been training BJJ and Muay Thai for a little over four years (just started boxing a year ago) and helped do some instructing for about a year. if there isn't a group...we can start a small one!
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do you train muay at pittsburgh? I've been looking at gyms in the area, do you know anything about sit-dragonleg in the the southill area?
 
Anyone thinking about attending the prematriculation program? Any current students have any opinions on it?
 
1956Goldtop said:
Anyone thinking about attending the prematriculation program? Any current students have any opinions on it?
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I am thinking about it because I have been out of school more than 5 years and think it will be a nice way to ease into studying. Being there will make the housing search easier I suppose.
My only problem is that I would have to quit my job a month earlier than I had planned which would cause me to lose much needed dough.
 
1956Goldtop said:
Anyone thinking about attending the prematriculation program? Any current students have any opinions on it?
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call me cheapity cheap- but i just don't want to lose the couple grand i would be making if i did do the prematriculation program and quit work early. if i keep working a bit longer, that couple grand in the bank instead of $ taken out as loans will more than double by the time i can get around to paying it back after med school. but it looked like a good program for people who can afford to go w/o the extra working time and wanted to move to pittsburgh early.
 
BAH I forgot about the $100 deposit until the email today. Where are we supposed to submit the deposit? Or is it by check only? Quick!!! haha crap
 
I don't think I'm going to do the program either. I just finished UG and want to take the summer off. I may work, and that may mean extra dough, but even if that's not the case I'd probably still like to have the time off.
 
I didn't do it, although first years I know who went through the prematriculation program seemed to really enjoy it. That being said, I personally think that enjoying one's last full summer before medical school is very important and that the time should be spent traveling, relaxing with friends and family, and enjoying one's hobbies passionately. Medical school is a HUGE time and energy commitment and by the end of our 40 week first year (three more days!), I think most of us are in need of a temporary break from academia. Also, while I imagine it might have been easier to get into the swing of things after being out of school for awhile if I'd enrolled in the premat program, anatomy (which is what you'll do from the time school starts till mid-October) is a very unique experience that I don't think is easily prepared for in terms of developing study skills.

Best of luck with making the decision of where to go to medical school! Pitt's an awesome place to be. :D
 
Hello everyone!

I just got off the waitlist today and I'm definitely going to Pitt in the fall!

When I interviewed, I stayed with a 1st year who lived in Shadyside. It definitely seems like one of the best neighborhoods for students, so I'll probably live there.
 
luckiestguyever said:
Hello everyone!

I just got off the waitlist today and I'm definitely going to Pitt in the fall!

When I interviewed, I stayed with a 1st year who lived in Shadyside. It definitely seems like one of the best neighborhoods for students, so I'll probably live there.
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Congrats!!! Very appropriate username haha :)
 
Hi guys,
I just got into Pitt and am super super excited...
on that note I did a school comparison on:
http://www.amsa.org/premed/medsurvey/medsurveyresults.cfm

Pitt got great ratings from all the students who took the survey (which is what I expected) but then I read this comment:

"Research opportunities and lots of 'em. Also lots of clinical opportunities. And service opportunities. And clubs. You'd have to be twelve students to take advantage of all the stuff they offer here. Also, I am an MD/PhD student, and the program here is quite good. The directors are concerned about their students and very accessible and responsive to our concerns. Furthermore, assuming you're here on a funded slot (and if you aren't, it's probably not worth coming), you will find that the stipend is a pretty good match to the cost of living in Pittsburgh. "

What do they mean by and if you aren't its prob not worth coming?? I was under the impression that Pitt is a top 15 school with a great vibe...whats going on here?
 
i think they're referring to the MD-PhD students with that comment - meaning that if you're not a government-funded MSTP student, there are definitely better places to go who have their own privately funded MD-PhD programs (WashU comes to mind if i'm not mistaken)

on another note, have all of you found places to live in Pittsburgh yet? like bunches of you, i'm leaning heavily toward the shadyside area as well - Pitt med does eventually give us resources for finding prospective roommates right (i mean aside from http://www.ocl.pitt.edu/sublets/matchinglisting.html)?

while I'm on that subject, if anybody feels like sharing a two (or three) bedroom apartment in shadyside, PM me!
 
MsJLewis said:
I'm still deciding myself. Pitt seemed amazing when I visited. I'm just unsure about that senior project/thesis requirement. Any students want to shed light on how much time that takes up??
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Hi guys! For anyone who has this question now or in the future- I am a 4th yr at Pitt med and was in the FIRST class who had the SP requirement. At the time, a lot of people really disliked the idea, and there's no doubt it attracts more students who into research (which is a strong "interest" of our dean)... but I am one of those who had NO interest in research and am VERY glad I was required to do an SP! It does NOT have to be traditional research at all. If you liked chemistry lab and want to play at a bench, or think it would be fun to play with rats (like our attending who accidentally injected a med into an artery instead of tissue and watched the rat run around like crazy for 30 seconds and then die!) there are plenty of basic science opportunities. If you want something more clinical- you can help recruit, interview, work with, etc patients in clinical studies, or help "crunch numbers" from previous studies... but if none of that sounds like fun, the SP really just has to "demonstrate scholarly thought." You can write a book, make a patient education movie, find a way to pursue anything you're interested in. I'm sort of a nut about QI (quality improvement, preventing errors, patient safety) so I played with the kids in the center where they diagnose autism and put together educational material for the staff and the parents. Didn't feel like research to me- but they are actually using the materials I made and it was fun, it was an easy way to earn 2 months of Honors, and it is REALLY nice for applying for residency. My class complained a LOT about the SP in the first few years, but none of them complain now. It was a valuable experience. As far as time, they say "3 months." You can do most of it in the summer after 1st year (I did none of it at that point because I wanted a summer vacation!), or you can take time to do it during 3rd and 4th yr for credit (since we start clinical rotations in MAY of 3rd yr, not August, you still have plenty of time for everything else. Then you do little bits here and there until March of senior year- edit your write-up, read new related articles, present at a conference.... and let me just say DON'T let it stop you from going to Pitt because the quality of education we get is phenomenal- I know that now being able to look back. Come to UPSOM!!!
 
Celcius said:
Thanks for the info.

So it's a H/P/NP system right? There is no "high pass"?
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So I'm a 4th year- let me explain the grading. For the first 2 years, it is Honors/Pass/Fail (unless they just changed it but I don't think so). Fail is 2 standard deviations below the mean (which means way low) and honors is one standard deviation above the mean. So long as you pass, you keep on going. Honors in the first 2 years has relevance in some areas (like if you want to tutor later on and get paid) but really doesn't matter much for residency. 3rd and 4th yr the grading changes to fail/low pass/pass/high pass/honors. I think it'd be really hard to get a low pass let alone a fail in these years- pass is easy and common, but you can get high honors and honors, different criteria in different rotations. Hope that clarifies things.
 
artaxerxes said:
I think I'm going to pick pittsburgh, although knowing that the D. street apartments are unavailable is downer..........
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So I've lived all 4 years in an area called Friendship- it's between Shadyside, Bloomfield, East Liberty and Garfield. East Liberty and Garfield are known as not such good neighborhoods, as are North Oakland/the Hill District. Braddock and Homewood are bad neighborhoods, but their not close to school so I don't think you'd be looking there anyway. The best way to find a place is to come here, drive around the areas near Oakland (Shadyside, Sq Hill, etc) and call the numbers on signs! If you want a traditional apt building, you can do it online, but there are LOTS of older homes split into apts with much more space and often very reasonably priced, and most of them just put a sign out front, don't advertise anywhere. So if you are able to come here, you're sure to find a great place. You can also start with a management company and decide if you want to move after 1st yr. I know the Darragh apts are incredibly popular now, but as they are new, they weren't even there when my class started, and MOST of us live off campus. It's not isolating (not when you spend 80hrs/week or more on campus!) but I think it depends on your personality. Do you want to see the 4x8 blocks of campus 24/7 for 4 years, or do you occasionally want to be somewhere else? (You can see where my preference lies!)
 
artaxerxes said:
well I'll be withdrawing from NorthWestern, Tufts, and U mich....put some movement on those waitlists. Still not thrilled about pittsburgh being the 2nd worst singles city in the US:mad:
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I'm not sure which ranking you're referring to, but it probably looked at Pgh as a whole. Pgh is also the 2nd-oldest city in the country because all the younger people 10-20yrs ago moved away looking for jobs when the steel mills shut down. But now healthcare is THE biggest industry in the city (makes it a great place to train) and if you're near the "college" part of the city- from downtown through Shadyside, that includes Oakland- then the population is a LOT younger and singler. Pitt itself has 11 grad schools, and there are LOTS of other undergrad/grad schools nearby. So I don't think you'll dislike it that much!
 
when can we expect more housing information? haven't heard a peep from admissions since may 15th....
 
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artaxerxes said:
when can we expect more housing information? haven't heard a peep from admissions since may 15th....
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I don't remember hearing anything about housing last year outside of the Darragh apartments (which from what I've heard aren't really open for next year).

This is the Pitt off campus housing website that has information about the different neighborhoods: http://www.ocl.pitt.edu/. I personally live in Shadyside and love it out here. For Oakland, North Oakland is much nicer than South (that's the undergrad area). Squirrell Hill is also a nice area. They list South Side on the neighborhoods, but I'm not sure how reliable the bus is from that location to the med school. Remember you'll get on the bus for free with your student id, and those three areas are good for the bus to school. You can live elsewhere and still get to school, but you might need to drive. When looking for an apartment outside those three areas, make sure to ask how far the bus stop is and how often it runs. If they don't give you the information, you can find it online (http://www.portauthority.org).

Hope that's helpful. I used craigslist and the off-campus living site to find different apartment management companies and just called them for their August availability. They should have it now, and you would want to start the actual search soon. The offcampus site is a little outdated so the prices are low for what the apartments go for now.
 
I kinda want to get a 2 br and share it with someone, but is there a msg board where all the perspectives can communicate?
 
artaxerxes said:
I kinda want to get a 2 br and share it with someone, but is there a msg board where all the perspectives can communicate?
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If you're on facebook, there's a discussion going on in the Pitt Med Class of 2012 group.
 
I was also wondering about housing. I heard that they will have a forum up for students who are looking for roomates and housing. Anyone know when that will be up? Have most people found housing already? I'm getting a little anxious about not having the housing stuff settled yet, am I premature in worrying about it?
 
RnRnflower said:
I was also wondering about housing. I heard that they will have a forum up for students who are looking for roomates and housing. Anyone know when that will be up? Have most people found housing already? I'm getting a little anxious about not having the housing stuff settled yet, am I premature in worrying about it?
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there is a SOM roomate finder section in the zone, but it has 3 people on it.....
 
I am looking into places in shadyside and squirrel hill, with a preference for squirrel hill. Do any current students have any recommendations for management companies to go through. So far, I've been considering Mozart and Lobos management, though I know nothing about these companies besides what they advertise on their websites. Thanks!
 
1956Goldtop said:
I am looking into places in shadyside and squirrel hill, with a preference for squirrel hill. Do any current students have any recommendations for management companies to go through. So far, I've been considering Mozart and Lobos management, though I know nothing about these companies besides what they advertise on their websites. Thanks!
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I have yet to find a place so I am no expert on these companies. On the city of Pittsburgh forum, I have heard mixed things about these companies, some say stay away from Mozart and others say not so bad. When I was in Pittsburgh for second look, I did see an apartment from Mozart and I was shocked to be told that they will not clean an apartment before tenants move in because "we don't take any deposit from you." So, if you don't mind cleaning a place a stranger was living in, it's probably fine. They looked alright.
As far as Lobos, I hear they are absolutely terrible, but of course this is not from first hand experience.
 
1956Goldtop said:
I am looking into places in shadyside and squirrel hill, with a preference for squirrel hill. Do any current students have any recommendations for management companies to go through. So far, I've been considering Mozart and Lobos management, though I know nothing about these companies besides what they advertise on their websites. Thanks!
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What I did for each management company before I made appointments was do a google search for them and look at sites like apartmentreviews.com or apartmentratings.com. I'm at Colebrook and love it, and when I looked last year, I remember liking Walnut Capital as well.
 
Does anyone know if a Pitt student ID also gets you on the light rail for free?
 
1956Goldtop said:
I am looking into places in shadyside and squirrel hill, with a preference for squirrel hill. Do any current students have any recommendations for management companies to go through. So far, I've been considering Mozart and Lobos management, though I know nothing about these companies besides what they advertise on their websites. Thanks!
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The Student Government Board at Pitt did a housing survey. You have to log in with your Pitt ID. It seems pretty comprehensive.

https://surveyweb2.ucsur.pitt.edu/oclrc/
 
I was looking at apartments in North Oakland, since they seem so close to the med school. Mainly, I was looking at the management company Sterling Land Company and Lobos Management (The Royal Windsor). Anyone know how these two companies are and how safe North Oakland is?
 
I've heard and read some pretty terrible things about Lobos Management.
 
Have you already gotten your login info/password to login to the Zone, email, etc?
 
So, someone posted earlier in the thread that the whitecoat ceremony is August 10 and that we have some semblance of class the following week, can anyone confirm where this info comes from? All I can find on the website is that class starts the 18th. When is everyone else actually planning to move to Pitt?
 
LameDonkey said:
So, someone posted earlier in the thread that the whitecoat ceremony is August 10 and that we have some semblance of class the following week, can anyone confirm where this info comes from? All I can find on the website is that class starts the 18th. When is everyone else actually planning to move to Pitt?
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White coat is August 10th, orientation is the week after, "class" (pretty low key "intro to being a physician" that feels like a second week of orientation) is the week after that (so 18th), then anatomy starts the week after that.
 
you can access more information at the zone

Your username is Lastname.firstname
Password is First letter of last name followed by first 4 digits of social followed by first letter of firstname.

you can use this to log onto the zone and email.

http://zone.medschool.pitt.edu/

there's a roomate finder under student life heading
 
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