I’m not too familiar with Pitt, but I’m an incoming freshman at AU with lots of friends there. I’ve also visited twice so I know a bit about it. I’ll try and give an honest opinion.
AU definitely has it! It’s a small campus but not too small. It’s not small enough that you can walk it in 5 minutes but not big enough that you need to take a bus to class.
AU doesn’t have that much school spirit tbh. They don’t have a lot of sports, so yeah. I do think people there are very proud of their school though, especially when it comes to the whole AU/GW/Gtown rivalry.
AU is known for it’s political science program, it’s one of the largest majors on campus, with a ton of internship opportunities. Given that it’s in DC, almost all students complete an internship (around 97%).
Like a lot of schools, AU has a ton of clubs. The greek life isn’t super prevalent. AU doesn’t allow greek housing, so sororities are more like clubs. Most clubs are super welcoming though. You can join at any time for most of them.
The AU admin, like all administrations, has its problems, but I feel like they do better than a lot of schools. Especially with the current situation, they’ve done a good job of taking care of students by providing emergency housing and food.
AU has a really passionate student body, and I haven’t found it too hard to make friends even though I’m C/O 2024.
I’m not sure about Pitt, but American’s housing and food are fine. They do a really good job of handling dietary restrictions. The food is also college food, so it’s not 5-star, but it’s as good as you can get as college. You can also spend your dining dollars at Tenley Town restaurants. The housing is also pretty good. You can choose between a suite with full beds and a private bathroom or a standard double with amazing storage. Sure, it’s not as good as your own bedroom, but as far as college housing goes, it’s pretty good.
They give you a really good opportunity to choose your classes. You have to declare a “specialization”, in which you can create your own if you don’t like the pre-selected ones.