Pitt as Safety/Match/Reach for my D

JMS111
Thu, 22 Jun 2017 15:18:01 +0000

AmyBeth, thanks so much for the kind, encouraging, and helpful reply!!! We have been to Pittsburgh within the last few years, but before college visits were part of our life. It’s a city she likes a great deal, and an urban or near-urban environment is a strong want of hers as she decides on where to apply. I am not sure if we can get back to make a campus visit or not, but if demonstrated interest is considered at Pitt, we’ll factor that in along with the great benefits of visiting the campus itself. We are very impressed with what we’ve gathered about Pitt.

Thanks too for the help on admissions, merit, and honors! It seems a little tough for OOS’ers like your family and ours to classify some of these state-affiliated schools in terms of safety/match/reach admission chances as the 50% ACT/SAT bands are probably higher for OOS than in-state and the admission rates probably lower. Still, as you say, a match seems about right in terms of a characterization, and I think that’s where we will put it.

On aid, it sounds like we are in much the same boat as your family in terms of little or no need-based likely but paying $240,000 over four years is very tough at the very best. Agreed that based upon the information available from piecing together merit awards/stat profiles on this site, whether she’d be offered merit is uncertain.

Thanks much for the insight on the honors program! It caused me to look more closely at their website, and yep, looks like she could take honors classes as a freshman because her math and English ACT subscores average to 32. The honors college residential dorm is a separate application it says, and I don’t know how hard to get, but I’m not sure that would be a big factor for her anyway.

Your D’s list of schools is a really great one. We love Boston, U Delaware (and its honors program if she could get in) looks great, BMC is a school our D visited and liked…All the best to your D and your family during the application and admissions process.

And thanks again for the helpful information and perspective shared, I really appreciate it!!!