<p>I have been admitted to Pitt for Fall of 2010 and am interested in completing a visit soon and am wondering about what my options are.</p>
<p>First, I noticed that the “Picture Yourself At Pitt” Program is available for Nov. 21st, which would be nice in that I could see both the school and the city early on. Has anyone attended this program in the past? If so, what were your impressions/recommendations after attending?</p>
<p>I am wondering, however, if there are visit days for admitted students in the fall or winter (I assume that there are in some in the spring as well, but the timing would be bad for me).</p>
<p>Also, could someone who has visited recommend a hotel near the university?</p>
<p>We did not attend the “Picture Yourself At Pitt” . We have made quite a few visits (just back from homecoming weekend; my son is a freshman). We have been staying at the Hampton Inn Pittsburgh University Center Oakland at 3315 Hamlet Street. It’s a typical Hampton Inn; nothing fancy, but clean and comfortable. You have to pay for parking ($14 a night, but that is common in cities). The staff is great and they have a shuttle that will take you within a 3 mile radius of the hotel. It’s about 1 mile from the campus. If you don’t or can’t walk that far, you can take the shuttle.</p>
<p>There use to be an admitted students day for those who are undecided. We have stayed at the Hampton Inn (mentioned above) but have enjoyed our stays at the Holiday Inn (on campus). It is more expensive than the Hampton Inn but it is walking distance to everything on campus (it is across the street from the Cathedral of Learning).</p>
<p>The Residence Inn by Marriott is also near campus, about a mile away, maybe less. It’s in a residential neighborhood, though, and not surrounded by stores. I recommend this if you have a car. There might be a shuttle to campus, though. I’m not sure. The rooms are beautiful and have full kitchens. You can dine on a nice terrace that overlooks the city. The rooms are like studio apartments, with a queen size bed in the alcove and a sofa bed in the living room. </p>
<p>Honestly, Picture Yourself at Pitt isn’t that great. You really don’t learn that much information that you couldn’t learn online. However, I guess if you haven’t been on the campus ever, the visit itself can be pretty informative. Make sure, though, that you go up to the honors college place in the cathedral of learning (35+36th floors) and if the study lounges are open, look at the view…you literally see everything in Pittsburgh and sometimes it can be absolutely breathtaking. That’s just my opinion though.</p>
<p>smart.cookie: we could not wait to hear your U of Pitt visiting report. Please do share your experiences, both positive and negative, with us fellow CCers. Enjoy your trip!</p>
<p>I’m visiting the week before Christmas! Any recommendations on fun things to do while in Pittsburgh? Will be there for a full 4 or 5 days, so need some ideas.</p>
<p>Carnegie museums are nice–great dinosaurs and rocks. Andy Warhol Museum. Ride the incline, but get directions on how to find the bottom of it; we found the top (not much use in riding it down). There are several places to shop: Shadyside, which is close to the university, Southshore(?)–haven’t been there yet, but it is downtown, and a huge mall in Monroeville. I don’t know whether any sports teams have games then, but there are plenty of teams.</p>
<p>Falling Waters (Frank Lloyd Wright house) is about an hour and a half away. Have fun. I love visiting Pittsburgh. Oh, don’t forget to look at the University.</p>
<p>There are a ton of great places to eat in Pittsburgh. I got the impression at Pitt and CMU that a common non-partier activity (or pre-party activity for Friday night double-dippers) was to get everyone ready, together, and go out to dinner.</p>
<p>Smart.cookie: Saw your college visit report on Pitt. Glad you were impressed. How does it compare to UM and any of the other colleges that you looked at?</p>
<p>I would say Pitt has a top notch nursing school with many opportunities only available in an urban setting. While U of M is ranked one notch higher according to USNWR, Pitt gets more money from the NIH, has much closer clinicals, and has the senior individualized nursing experience in which nursing students select their specialty and take and individualized clinical for 8 credits. One option I would love to pursue is that of transplant nursing, available at few nursing schools. The UPMC system would allow for transplant nursing clinical hours, which is something I have always dreamed of doing.</p>
<p>For me it will ultimately depend on the financial offer I receive from UofM. Also, if Villanova comes through financially it will be a strong contender, as I am in love with their campus and their philosophy of care. It will be a loooong wait until April 1st…</p>
<p>Reviving this thread to ask mor questions about hotels…</p>
<p>We’ll be attending “A Day for Admitted Students” in March. I’m thinking of getting a hotel room in Monroeville, which looks to be about half an hour (or less) from campus. We’re coming from the east, so would just stop to spend the night in Monroeville and drive into Oakland on Saturday morning.</p>
<p>We can get a nice hotel for a little less in Monroeville than those available in Oakland. I’m leaning towards the Courtyard by Marriot in Monroeville…has anyone stayed here? Any other recommendations for Monroeville?</p>
<p>Stayed at the Springhill Suites Marriott Monroeville last night. You can walk to Max and Erma’s (burgers) to eat and the Monroeville Mall is a couple of miles from the hotel along with about any other store you might need. There is no charge for parking. The rooms have a bed and a pull-out (or two beds and a pull-out).</p>
<p>When you stay in Monroeville or the Waterfront, there are no parking charges. Traffic can back up a bit on 376, but it does move; it usually takes about 15 minutes to get to campus. If you have any specific questions, plese ask. We have Marriott rewards, so I have been trying the different properties around the area.</p>