@nocturne21 – love your determination to solve this mystery. TE is never a full ride though and it’s competitive-- you have to actually apply and complete the TE specific paperwork. @Dolemite can speak specifically to this process I believe?
@nw2this – exciting news for your D although it sounds like Pitt isn’t even a blip on her radar. Did this scholarship have any special wording/ designation?
It occurs to me: There are some disadvantages to living in a time zone beyond the west coast. (I mean, our work day is barely starting while east-coasters are well into lunch, so if something huge happens early in the day out there, we tend to not be able to react to it until late.) One of the most excellent things about living out here, though, is that when you know that an east-coast school is scheduled to release decisions on a particular day, you’re not going to have to wait too long into the day to find out.
@carachel2 Ok, I looked up tuition exchange, so now instead of knowing nothing about it, I’ve improved to knowing next to nothing. Lol Anyway, it seems that some schools do include housing with full tuition, but not PITT. What I read is they award up to the set rate which I believe is approx. 34,000 this year.
So, no, tuition exchange is likely not the solution to this mystery. Putting my sleuthing cap back on… (sure beats working!)
@nocturne21 – yes that’s what I was thinking. And I’ve read about some highly competitive kids who were denied TE money at Pitt. It’s pretty competitive it seems.
I would call Pitt and ask how something like that could happen. Straight up.
I think they should call Pitt and ask for housing to be paid for too.
@youcee Didn’t they said that Pitt offered a full ride? If so, housing would already be included.
Yep…they said it was a full ride.
I stand corrected. Ask for a stipend like Alabama gives out. Go for $3500.
Maybe it was a full ride TO Pitt. Like, from the airport?
@illinoyz --D got that! $250 travel reimbursement to visit Pitt and free hotel for the night = FULL RIDE to Pitt! :))
I forgot about that!!
May be you all tag Pitt AO to this thread 
Ok, so I know we’re all being jovial about this, but @nw2this can you give us some clarity here? There are a LOT of people who read this thread, and a lot of people who rely on the info shared here, so can you explain to us exactly what happened that caused a non-application to result in a “full ride” to U Pittsburgh?
I don’t have a personal interest in this (wasn’t on our list of apps for my kid), but I feel like for all the kids who worked SO hard to get into Pitt, and for those who were admitted and for those who were denied, that some explanation would be really good here-it says a lot of bad things about Pitt if they’re giving full rides to people who never applied, and I don’t think that’s ok if that’s not what really happened.
The ride must be full. So there must 5 other passengers in the van to Pitt. :))
@nw2this Yes, did you try and call them to see why you got the letter?
@hailtopitt1787 Care to comment on this claim of a free ride to Pitt without the student applying mystery?
@MotherOfDragons --well said. And I would add that it’s a slap for kids who worked specifically for merit opportunities. For anyone who may be reading all of this, they should understand-- merit awards at Pitt are competitive. The Pitt merit thread is full of students with 34-36 ACT and top 2% status who got half tuition and that’s it.
So for someone to log on and say their kid got a random letter for a full ride without completing the app and then to not specify the type of scholarship-- it paints an image that this is a blow off school with easy merit. And we have not found that to be true of Pitt.
It seems like there may have been a miscommunication between Pitt and one specific family.
@nw2this, please do contact our office to clarify.
If anyone else has any questions about their specific admissions status, I encourage you to contact us directly. Our staff is happy to assist you:
412-624-7488 or oafa@pitt.edu
Best,
A Pitt Admissions Staffer
Hmmmm… I find the reactions of some to @New2this good news to reflect the downside of college confidential… Whatever the reason for their good fortune why wouldn’t we celebrate with them? After all it is not going to change our kids admission decision or merit aid…
@WhatSally --why would any parent of a kid who has worked to get merit at a particular school (or any school for that matter) be overjoyed to see someone log in and say their kid got a full ride without even applying?
This forum is all about celebrating the legitimate achievements of students who have worked hard, completed applications and put in the work. I have never once seen an ounce of bitterness directed at those achievements and announcements. But most of us are never going to be overjoyed at someone being given something for…nothing.
If this student did indeed complete the app or if the award was given for something legit then GREAT. We will all cheer them on. But in the meantime, we are no doubt a little leery. You should also note that no one has made outright disparaging remarks—we are just puzzled as to how it could happen. There is a big difference between the two.