<p>I’ll throw in my opinion with the others.</p>
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<p>Depends. Starting out some HS people will originally hang out with their HS friends, but for the most part your first friend (or companion I guess) will be your roommate or people in your dorm. As you start classes and meet people (join clubs, etc.) your friend group will slowly expand. I was one of two people from my HS (OOS) to come to Pitt and I only ever saw the other girl in passing at the start of a mutual class. I made friends with people who lived on my floor, other kids in my classes, and people from the clubs I was involved in. It’s not hard to meet people if you are involved on campus.</p>
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<p>There is SO MUCH to do here! One of my favorite things was to do “PittArts” (link: [PITT</a> ARTS - Event Sign Up](<a href=“http://pittarts.org/]PITT”>http://pittarts.org/)) which has free arts events every week (they take you to a show, feed you, give you great seats, and then you talk to a performer/conductor/director/actor/etc. afterwards). They also have a great “CheapSeats” program (link: [PITT</a> ARTS - Tickets](<a href=“http://www.pittarts.pitt.edu/tickets/]PITT”>http://www.pittarts.pitt.edu/tickets/)) where you can buy super cheap tickets to arts/cultural events for a ridiculously low cost.</p>
<p>A lot of clubs hold events on the weekends. Plus you can go exploring, shopping, see a movie, go to a game (baseball/soccer/basketball/etc.) or a variety of other things. You will not get bored easily. I only went home 3x/year (Thanksgiving, Winter Break, Spring Break) which is true for a majority of kids.</p>
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<p>The actual orientation itself is pretty dumb (lectures/talks are boring, etc.) but the fact that you get a week of free food and events with no class + time to explore the campus and city is AWESOME. Essentially you have the campus all to yourself (very few upperclassmen) which gives you some time to get adjusted and find your buildings/etc. before it’s overrun with students. Plus it’s a great time to hang out and meet other students who are also new to the area/school. The last day before class (Sunday afternoon) there will be a HUGE activities fair in the Basketball Arena (Petersen Events Center) definitely go, explore the room, sign up for any clubs that look interesting and get a bunch of free swag/candy. It’s the best way to quickly find out about a lot of clubs.</p>
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<p>At least in Engineering this is mostly NOT true. Our particular school (SSOE) is, on average, more diverse than Pitt as a whole, so everyone hangs out with everyone (important for studying!). You will notice <em>some</em> people hang out with their own race, generally more to do with the clubs they’re involved in (for instance, the Indian kids heavily involved in the Indian Student Association tend to hang out with other club members who are most probably indian. The Black kids who are in the National Society of Black Engineers might hang out with other club members a bit more often) but overall there isn’t too much of a separation. I think the foreign students may have a BIT of a harder time assimilating (this is especially truer for the graduate students) so you see that a bit more often, but the American kids really don’t self-segregate that much.</p>
<p>Edit: Somehow I missed #3</p>
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<p>It’s an urban campus with a LOT of green space. It’s a condensed campus (you can walk end-to-end in 20 minutes or so) so a lot of our buildings are tall, not wide (i.e. you build up for space). However, a lot of places have green space here and there (courtyard at Benedum, Cathedral Lawns, Soldies & Sailors Lawn, Schenley Plaza). Plus just down the road (10-15 minute walk) there is the MASSIVE Schenley Park with a track, tennis courts, ice arena, disc golf course, etc. for you to enjoy if you want to get into nature. </p>
<p>It’s definitely not a traditional “walled campus” though. You have to cross the streets, deal with regular traffic, and accept the fact that the buildings are interspersed with businesses/restaurants/hotels/etc. But that’s great because you have so much variety with things to do literally just outside your door (food choices, for instance, are AWESOME).</p>