I’m having difficulty filling out the section of my Pitt application where it asks about your coursework. My issue is that I can’t indicate that I’ve taken certain classes twice (like biology, which I took at the Honors level in freshman year, and at the AP level as a junior, or calculus, where I took Calc AB in junior year and will take Calc BC as a senior). So what should I put for my classes? The most recent time I took these classes, the highest level at which I took them? Or should I just distribute my classes so I have one class in each subject for every year?
@STEMinist16, Please enter the coursework exactly as it appears on your transcript. When you enter coursework for each academic year, simply enter each course you took in that year. (This option is below the “Preliminary Coursework Entry” option on the app). If your exact course name is not on the drop down list, just type it in exactly as it appears on your transcript. Does that help? If you have more questions, feel free to call our office: 412-624-7488 or shoot us an email: oafa@pitt.edu.
Best,
A Pitt Admissions Staffer
Instead of using the Preliminary Coursework Entry option on the application, I just entered my courses by year. so first I filled in all my classes for 2012-2013, and on. So in your case, for freshman year just put Bio H. and then for 2014-2015 (junior year), put Bio AP.
@hailtopitt1787 So if a class is listed on the transcript somewhat vaguely (such as CIT, which stands for Computer Information Technology), should it be entered as CIT or spelled out? If the class is taken for a double block (one block is dual enrolled, one is not), should it be entered twice?
@mamaduck, Yes, please write it out. And please enter the double block class twice. Thanks!
Best,
-A Pitt Admissions Staff
@hailtopitt1787 Thanks for the clarification! Out of curiosity, does Pitt use this form to recalculate GPA, or do you just use the school’s reported GPA?
@mamaduck, We do both. We pay attention to the school’s reported GPA, but we do our own calculations.
Hope that helps!
A Pitt Admissions Staffer
@hailtopitt1787 When recording my classes, should I include that my courses were Honors and AP because they are part of the course name, or should I just leave it out and indicate it on the “course level” section? Also, does it matter if I use all capital letters on the course name, or just capitalize the first letters of each word? And if a course is abbreviated on my transcript or on PowerSchool, does it matter if I abbreviate it on the application or write out the full words (for example, writing “Calculus” instead of “Calc”)
@STEMinist16 Please write the course name exactly as it appears on your transcript, so include Honors/AP in the course title and the course level. The capitalization doesn’t matter much, just pick one or the other and make it consistent. Please spell out abbreviations.
Thanks!
-A Pitt Admissions Staffer
@hailtopitt1787 Thank you so much! This is a huge help!
@hailtopitt1787 - if the transcript for the high school lists two classes taken off campus at the county magnet center, and calculates the GPA for those classes separately, should the magnet center be listed as a separate school? The magnet center does not offer a separate transcript and is a subsection in the home school’s transcript. If they are listed with the home school, the two GPAs would have to be combined to be accurate.
Also, do you want Driver’s Ed listed if it’s on the transcript - no credit value, just a grade.
@mamaduck, When filling out the SRAR, please just input all information exactly as your transcript states and do not exclude any classes.
Best,
A Pitt Admissions Staffer