toledo

Has anyone else applied here? My son applied here because of a unique program and would really like to find out more about the school.

annalovesbananas

I applied and was accepted

toledo

Oh yeah, I sent you a private message a while back after you added Duquesne and another school (was it Miami or Butler?) to the list of schools people were applying at. My son is interested in the physician assistant program.

How long ago did you apply and how long did it take to hear back from them?
What major are you interested in?
Have you visited this school? What did you think?

annalovesbananas

It took about a month.
I was disappointed with the scholarship though.
I'm interested in speech-language pathology.
The people were very nice, but the campus is small and cramped.

notthatgood4

They were the first school that got back to me, about a month ago. I got 13.5k/year scholarship. Seems like a nice school, but it's still a tad expensive.

JustAMomOf4

my daughter is sending her application this weekend - Nursing.

have not visited - will do so later on this winter.

How is the area beyond the campus?

Whistle Pig

spotty ... it's on a "bluff" overlooking the Monongahela Rio on one side, downtown Pitt on the other. It's not a bad area, but one would not want to wald 5 or 6 blocks north of the campus minus a platoon of Army Rangers. a bit overstated, but not much. I'd kill my dd if I knew she was walking uptown, Hill District area. But immediately around the campus is not too bad.

It's a pretty "catholic" place, with a decent reputation. Don't know your experiences, but the absolute worst admissions process, materials, etc. of the dozens of colleges and U's. my daughter heard from. She'd had some initial interest in several of their health related programs.

It's a very utilitarian, pragmatic type of institution. For example, many part time, commuting law students ... people working who get degrees. Campus has been dramatically upgraded over past 10 - 15 years, but it's no Taj Mahal. Ok, but not anything special. They've really overbaked their colleges and schools, putting names on everything including the executive restrooms. The last president really saved their bacon. Had been in an administrative shambles under the direction of the priests. Several academics (law dean from Pitt, I think) and business leaders from Westinghouse and other places came in after the padres were excommunicated, and raised a lot of $$, and sort of righted the ship. It's a decent place. As you know, Pitt's is a much more recognized nursing program, but it's sorta pie in the skyish.

Khipper

I'm a Duquesne alumnus who graduated in 1980.

First of all, the Duquesne campus itself is pretty safe. Yes, the neighorhoods to the north and east are pretty tough by Pittsburgh standards. However the Duquesne campus is self-contained and a lot safer than Pitt's Oakland campus.

The Duquesne campus is indeed small. However the capital improvements since I graduated have been dramatic. When I was there from 1976 to 1980, there were still a couple of row houses still standing of campus.

I will admit that university officials went overboard in naming buildings and schools after donors, but when you are a private school without many wealthy patrons, you do what you have to ...

A previous posting used words "utilitarian" and "pragmatic" to describe the student body. I agree and say that with pride. Many of us were the first in our families to go to college. Our families wanted us to be respectable members of the white collar, professional middle class. To obtain that education, many Duquesne students indeed are part-time students, holding down part-time for full-time jobs.

Just wanted to give my opinion

JustAMomOf4

Thanks guys - I had heard about the surrounding areas -
one more question - How about getting to CMU and/or Pitt? Is that easy enough? Safe enough? City busses?
I ask because the bf is applying to CMU.

Abolsutely - she is applying to Pitt-Bradford - another topic. Not Oakland though - I think too many kids from school go there

The "excessive" naming of buildings - probably a Catholic thing - have noticed it at other Catholic colleges.

thanks for all the honest input - the application is in - free if before 12/15 so it's a no lose situation.

achang1990

I applied to Duquesne in mid September, still haven't heard back yet. They called me 3 weeks ago, and said my application was incomplete which I was 150% sure I sent in all my stuff. after resending everything in, they called and said they did not get my essays. I had to resent twice!!!!!! I applied to their pharmacy, but not really interested anymore. I got accepted to pitt, which was my first choice. but I do like the campus at Duquesne, I think it's nice.

Khipper

Almost all the buses that stop along Forbes Avenue go to the Pitt campus.
To get to CMU from Duquesne, take the 61A, 61B or 61C, all of which run pretty often; the 61s stop on Forbes Avenue along the Duquesne campus and again at Forbes and Morewood, the main CMU bus stop. From Duquesne to CMU, the bus ride would be about 20 minutes, depending on traffic; rush hour, of course, will be a longer ride

toledo

Would a non-Catholic feel out of place?

It sounds like there are a lot of commuters!?? My son isn't going to be able to come home every weekend so I hope that won't be a problem.

Khipper

A non-Catholic won't feel out of place. My four roommates in chronological order were Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox, Jewish and Lutheran.

Duquesne is both Catholic and catholic, in both sense of the word. The university has traditionally drawn a number of non-Catholic and at one time educated a large number of first generation Jewish Americans.

Commuters outnumber residents, but staying on campus during the weekend shouldn't be any problem. Downtown Pittsburgh is in walking distance and bus/trolley service to almost anywhere in the county is available. A lot of places, like South Side, are within a (long) walking distance. I wouldn't however, consider walking to Pitt. Hill District/Midtown Corridor/Soho can be pretty rough, but bus service is easily available

toledo

Thanks, everyone, for all the great information.

rrah

Very good info---I was sorry to hear some of this. D doesn't want a commuter campus so this one is off the list.