Not from PA or OH

northeastmom · 02-27-2008, 09:11 AM

How difficult is it to get to and from the airport? Are you often stranded at the airport because of bad weather?

The following is a comment from someone who was apparently a student. Do you agree or disagree with it? The word foreigner refers to someone who comes from outside the Pittsburgh region:

"Because so many kids are from the Pittsburgh region they tend to bond many times disregarding "foreigners.""

Also, does Allegheny really only focus on internships in the Pittsburgh area, so that they would be hard to get through Allegheny outside of Pittsburgh (ie: NY or NJ)?

Jen01 · 02-27-2008, 02:08 PM

Northeast Mom,
It is quite easy to get to and from the airport. In all the years flying in and out of the airport, I have had one weather delay. Allegheny has an amazing network with their alumni for internships. Allegheny kids are given preference, and many are offered jobs when they graduate. The Alumni network reaches across the country, not just Pittsburgh. Allegheny is very concerned with their students participating in internships. They could not stress it enough when we went to visit the school. The Allegheny kids come from many different states and countries. As in any college there are kids from the same high school who don't reach out and meet new people. Unfortunately, they would do the same thing if they went to the University of Richmond together.

northeastmom · 02-27-2008, 02:30 PM

Jen, Welcome, I see that this is your first post! Jen, are you or were you a student at Allegheny? Thank you for your response. I really appreciate it! I posted these questions here, bc these seemed to be some concerns that other past students posted elsewhere.

hudsonvalley51 · 02-27-2008, 03:10 PM

Northeastmom -- Which airport are you referring to? Erie or Pittsburgh? Erie International is relatively small and flight delays can be common during the winter when the lake effect is in full force. Connections are also limited. Mostly regional jets flying to hubs in Cleveland, Detroit and Philly. Greater Pittsburgh International (about 1 hr. and 45 min. from Meadville) is a different story altogether and has state-of-the-art deicing stations for the far less frequent snowy days.

Regarding the Pittsburgh students, I went to college not far from Pittsburgh and never noticed any real tendency for Allegheny County kids to form cliques. And I'd say the percentage of Pittsburgh-area students was even higher at my college than at Allegheny. AC's website indicates that about 56% of its students are from Pennsylvania, and I'd be surprised if more than 1/3rd of those come from the Pittsburgh metro area. I really don't think there is likely to be any problem. Where I went to school the Pittsburgh kids loved inviting the NY/NJ/CT students to their hometown for a weekend to catch a concert or Pirates/Steelers/Penguins game. Particularly when they played and were favored to beat the NY teams.

northeastmom · 02-27-2008, 03:28 PM

Pittsburgh, because the airport transportation is available for $50 RT. This service is run through ASG and student activities. If the ride is missed (ie: delays), the student is responsible to secure transportation back to the college. This is not what our tour guide told us, btw. The tour guide said that it would be no problem to have someone from the college pick up the student. Also, on a personal note, I would not even want a relatively new driver (some friend) attempt to pick up my child for a 3-4 RT car ride in good weather, if it is snowing.

2/3 of students come from OH/PA/NY (many of those NY students are from the Buffalo area). The 2/3 figure comes from the info session we attended.

hudsonvalley51 · 02-27-2008, 04:01 PM

Speaking as one who was once a relatively new driver who drove the college van to and from the Pittsburgh airport -- I share yor concern.

northeastmom · 02-27-2008, 04:11 PM

Hudson, I'll bet you got some nice on the job driving experience.

I can picture my son going down the list of moblile phone numbers, searching for someone willing to drive 3 hours in snow when he gets into the airport possibly at 10pm, or past midnight. I am a cautious person. I have no idea about the driving skills of any of these students. I don't know if their cars are all wheel, front, or rear wheel drive, and whether their brakes work. I don't know if there are side and front airbags. This is a big concern of mine. That airport is far from campus. Who knows if they run out of gas because the gas station is closed by 9pm, or they don't have the funds to pay for gas and miscalculate how full that tank is. If one allows plenty of time, it still might not work out. Flight delays can be the rule rather than the exception. NY to Pittsburgh probably has many flights each day, but in inclement weather, who knows. Oh, the worries of a mother bear for her cub!