Thank you! Little concerned about the safety. I get it, I’m close to Philly, and there are some colleges that are in safer neighborhoods than others. What is the consensus on Duquesne? I don’t see my daughter going out on the city streets alone and taking chances, but is there enough to do on campus that you don’t have to leave the contained area?
2 Likes
This is great to know! Definitely a great thing to hear, about the reputation. You mentioned above about the Catholic presence. My daughter is very Catholic-- so that is a definite plus, too.
1 Like
The campus is “self-contained” in the city. I moved here from Memphis which has a very high crime rate. Comparatively speaking, Pittsburgh is a very safe city. Locals will say Pittsburgh isn’t as safe as it used to be. I don’t watch a lot of news but I know incidents do occur. In Memphis, I had to watch my back everywhere. Not here. Oakland - where U. of Pitt, CMU and Carlow are located are nearby so there is a lot around for college students; although, I don’t think it is really walkable to get there from Duquense - maybe take a bus or car. My daugher, a senior, loves Oakland. She goes down nearly every week for one thing or another… I worry more about the traffic she is driving in than her physical safety. If your daughter likes the city atmosphere and you think the school size would suit her, Duquesne sounds like a great place. The school is well respected in the area and we have heard plenty of good feedback from folks that have attended, hired, taught or sent there kids there.
@stardancer Pittsburgh native here and as I said above '91 Duq grad. The campus is nice but you defintely have to leave campus for bigger activities whether it be sporting events, museums or Broadway shows. It is not what I call safe in Pittsburgh nor Oakland. I have a Pitt sophomore and a Pitt grad. You absolutely should not walk alone if at all possible off of Duq campus. My Pitt grad walks his sister home from night classes when she can’t be in a group.
If you want the info, subscribe to Pittsburgh Bureau of Police on FB, University of Pittsburgh Police Department on FB for crime alerts, The Pitt News on FB but mostly monitor the 3 local TV stations, WTAE, WPXI and KDKA.
That being said, we know several people who went through the PA program. Super regarded just like Pitt. Just without the name recogination outside of Pittsburgh. Mercy is literally a one minute walk from campus.
3 Likes
I have two sisters who graduated from Duquesne, both in the early-mid 90s. I think the area is better than it was back then, in large part due to Mercy and Duquesne expanding. But it’s still a city. The Penguins arena is adjacent to campus and there are lots of concerts there. There’s also a subway stop right on campus, which gets you over to the Steelers/Pirates facilities in no time. A shuttle takes kids back and forth to Oakland on a very regular basis. I have a nephew at Duquesne right now and they walk down to Market Square and the Point, but it’s not something you’d want to do alone at 3 am. Worth noting also that the campus sits way up on a bluff, which makes it pretty distinct from the surrounding area, and kind of a self-contained area.
I have twin boys who were both accepted for the fall, and they both really like the campus. We’re from a rural area, so for them it’s like New York and Paris all rolled into one. Still exploring their options, especially as it relates to money (stupid FAFSA delay!) but DU is high on their list.
1 Like
Sadly there is not a subway stop right near Duq but there are plenty of bus stops. You have to walk to the Steel Plaza light rail stop… which is off campus.
Pittsburgh has a very, very small light rail system. It frustrates my public transportation crazy kids. 
Congrats!!!
My junior is looking at the PA program, mind if I pick your brain? We’re also trying to figure out at time to make it to campus since it’s a plane ride away for us.
Do they only accept 42 incoming freshmen or like so many other programs do they over-enroll then weed out?
What other direct-admit programs are you looking at?
Can you tell me what your daughter did to stand out? Feel free to PM me if you prefer not to share publicly. TIA!
1 Like
I have a LOT of thoughts. :). I will PM you.
Congratulations to your daughter! My HS Sophomore is also interested in the Direct Admit PA routes. What other schools have your daughter applied to and I’m curious has to what are her favorite schools
Thank you! Most of the schools that offer 5-year PA programs are smaller schools, and a lot of them are religious, so it all depends on what’s most important to your daughter. We’re still trying to work that out. My daughter likes Duquesne because it is a bigger school in a city which she feels might offer more opportunities, both professionally and socially. But she also likes several other ones, including St. Francis (but it’s really remote), Desales (very close to home), King’s College (doesn’t have much of a campus), and Lock Haven (inexpensive but a bit remote as well).
Congrats!! My daughter was waitlisted for the PA program so we’re on hold. But we did really like the campus when we visited in the fall. She has 2 other options that she has been accepted to, but still hoping for good news soon!
Good luck to her! Which ones is she considering? My daughter was accepted to 4, waitlisted to another 4, and decided not to pursue the accelerated pathways at Elon and Pitt, though she was accepted to the schools, because the whole darn process was really demoralizing and tired her out. She didn’t realize that pressing “send” on the application was only the beginning. Right now, she just wants to accept one and be done with it. But it’s so hard with all these waitlists!
Just an update on our Duquesne saga as we visited yesterday!
My daughter wasn’t feeling well but she really liked the school. The admissions team really made her feel special by constantly congratulating her for securing a spot “in their most difficult program,” the PA program. One thing I did realize is that Duquesne is different from just about every other direct-admit program out there because they DO NOT admit graduate students for PA. You HAVE to apply from high school. So while some schools can weed out the PA kids and fill those spots during the graduate phase, Duquesne does not, which is more an incentive for them to pick the right kids and support them through the program. I have heard of many PA programs that weed kids out and are brutal about it, which is sad considering these kids are 18 years old and on their own for the first time… they need all the support they can get. I really felt like the PA program would be extremely supportive.
As for the school, the location really can’t be beat. It felt extremely safe there. The housing and food options seem great, the facilities were wonderful. It definitely felt like a little haven in the middle of the city. And everyone we ran into seemed friendly and welcoming. So it’s definitely a top contender.
I am glad you liked Duq. I am a '91 grad. The actual campus is safe but the immediate surrounding streets are not. Your child should never leave campus walking alone.
Yes we definitely noticed that directly outside the campus! But we don’t imagine she’ll ever walk outside the campus alone-- seems like everything she needs is right there.
My daughter was just admitted to Duquesne in the Honors College and she’s very interested, but is unsure about the religious aspect of the school. Does anyone know if there are required religious elements? Courses, or required mass attendance, etc.? Is the environment open to the nonreligious, or is it a core part of the university? We are not Catholic, so that could be the difference between her being happy there or not. Thanks for any info!
Our tour guide made a point of saying that it’s fine if you’re not Catholic. No mass requirement, which I feel is the case for a lot of Catholic schools—they’re trying to cater to a more secular crowd. Despite the Pieta and a crucifix on campus and in classrooms, and a chapel on site, I didn’t sense a big presence there, which was frankly a little disappointing to us! I have a friend who attended mass at an open house and said no one was there. And our guide also said that the requirement for courses is a Theology or Philosophy class, so there’s a wide range of classes to choose from.
1 Like
I have a freshman at Duquesne. We are from the Philly area and he wanted urban. He was accepted at Pitt, Temple, Delaware and West Virgina. Duquesne was an afterthought - I told him to apply since we had a schedule visit at Pitt. I wanted him to go to Pitt! Within 5 minutes of our visit at Duquesne he said “I’m coming here”. He hasn’t looked back since. It was the right size for him, right location and the school loved him. He is thriving. He didn’t know anyone that was going there as well. Loves the school and the area. I am so proud he made the decision. Your daughter will figure it out with other students. My son has a large group of friends from the area as well as NY, NJ and Oh. They hear from upper classman.
Side note - Duquesne gets better looking every day - drive down Forbes Ave with the new medical building - its got that city college feel to it. Again, I was all in with Pitt but now? I’m so proud of my son being a Duke!!
2 Likes
Thank you stardancer!
1 Like
We both graduated from Duquesne back in the late 90s, pharmacy for me and music education for my wife. We took my S24, music education major, for his audition last Friday. We stayed in the city Thursday, near the strip district and walked to Primantis bros. When we got back to the hotel, my s24, he said he didn’t want to go, because it was in a city.
After doing the audition, speaking to current students, and taking a campus tour, he changed his mind. It’s still his third choice. He did learn from all the music students, the opportunities for music students to perform throughout the city. Plus seeing how separated most of the campus is from city, he felt better about it.