<p>Just to clarify, Oakland isn’t a suburb of the city. It is a neighborhood in the city, approximately two to three miles from downtown. Most of the city’s major bus routes pass right through campus so it easy and quick to get downtown (and as mentioned above, free). Oakland is the city’s cultural and education center. It is also the location of Carnegie-Mellon University, Carlow University, the city’s major art and science museums and library, Phipps Conservatory, and Schenley Park. Pitt itself is condensed into approximately 130 acres of Oakland (or roughly 10 blocks long and 4-8 blocks wide) and sits adjacent to CMU, the museums, and the park. The only major university academic facility that isn’t in this area is its Allegheny Observatory that sits on the north side of the city, but that isn’t something you’d frequent unless you are majoring in astronomy/physics and doing research there. There are some medical labs spread around other areas too, but most are in Oakland, or very close to Oakland.</p>
<p>In addition to the dorms and libraries, students also study in the [Cathedral</a> of Learning<a href=“e.g.%20the%20Commons%20Room”>/url</a>. Years ago, a good place I studied in was actually the UPMC-Presby hospital cafeteria in Scaife Hall (Med School) since it was quiet and they served food (at least the grill was open) all night. [url=<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alumni_Hall_(University_of_Pittsburgh)]Alumni”>Alumni Hall (University of Pittsburgh) - Wikipedia]Alumni</a> Hall](<a href=“Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh - YouTube”>Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh - YouTube) is also a good place to study, and is usually not very crowed and quiet. It is actually pretty under rated as a study facility. The [student</a> union](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Pitt_Union]student”>William Pitt Union - Wikipedia) is used to study in too.</p>
<p>Freshman dorms include Litchfield Towers, Forbes Hall, Sutherland Hall, Lothrop Hall, and Holland Hall. (see <a href=“http://www.pc.pitt.edu/housing/options.html[/url]”>http://www.pc.pitt.edu/housing/options.html</a>)</p>