<p>^Well, having seen your past posts, you might be pretty old (no offense :P) since you talk about going to Duquesne in the 1970s and was surprised it didn’t take five years to get a pharmacy degree anymore. So you might have been in high school ~30 years ago and a lot has changed since then. </p>
<p>I think Pitt is really known for its medical school and UPMC, athletic programs, and certain departments (philosophy) but also in recent years there have been more and more kids with high numbers attending because Pitt has developed a rep for giving out generous merit aid. </p>
<p>As for acclaimed faculty not teaching undergraduate classes… I am not completely sure if it is true now but it is the case at many large research universities to find more acclaimed faculty teaching upper level or honors courses.</p>