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Replies to: University of Pittsburgh Class of 2023 Discussion Thread
-A Pitt Admissions Staffer
#H2P
Application facts (Fall Term 2018):
Number of freshman applications received 29,850
Number of students offered admission 17,691
Number of students who matriculated 4,218
Middle 50 percent SAT score 1280-1420
Middle 50 percent SAT Math 630-730
Middle 50 percent SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 630-700
Middle 50 percent ACT composite 28-3
My D applied through Coalition and sent the SRAR on August 21. She received her Pitt portal credentials yesterday, and it says they are missing her transcripts. This is just a mistake, correct? Since she submitted the SRAR? @hailtopitt1787
To manage expectations, she shouldn’t expect a decision for at least a month or so, correct?
And as for waiting, I would say late September/early October is a good guess for the decision wait time. We work hard to give everyone a thorough but quick review, but with the volume of applications we receive in August and September, it can take us a little longer to return a decision at this point in the cycle.
Best of luck!
A Pitt Admissions Staffer
Our D had a 33 ACT and a 3.9+ GPA -–> strong numbers, but not an ACT north of 34. She was offered $10,000 in merit aid at Pitt. We are a doughnut hole family, and we were looking have some options that would drive our COA below our EFC. $10,000 in merit at Pitt was an attractive proposition, especially considering their COA vis-à-via private schools and vis-à-vis publics with COAs as or more expensive than Pitt for OOS families.
Our general sense from the anecdotal evidence gathered on CC last cycle was that a 34 ACT and higher generally moves the needle to more like $15,000K per year for those awarded merit as an OOS applicant and also increases the chance the OOS applicant will be considered for Pitt’s higher merit tiers (which require interviews). You can trace the Pitt merit award experiences of a number of families from last admissions cycle at this (32 screen!) thread:
https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pittsburgh/2030027-upitt-merit-scholarship-results-2022-p1.html
So, a given ACT score won’t guarantee merit at Pitt. Geographic diversity, URM, and other holistic measures also likely factor in. But relative to the universe of merit opportunities for OOS applicants at public/state-related universities, Pitt is worthy of serious consideration. And relative to the COA proposition for full pay or doughnut hole OOS families at public or private institutions, a merit award at Pitt can offer a lot of bang for the buck. As several have noted above, Pitt is also willing to consider upward revisions to merit awards based on post-merit COAs an OOS applicant may have achieved at other peer institutions – not all institutions are willing to make those sorts of adjustments to their merit awards. Finally, if you are a high stats kid interested in Pitt, its rolling admissions and then rolling merit award notification systems are really nice features --> you may not realize how nice until you find yourself waiting until spring for the same info from other institutions.
This all assumes Pitt otherwise meets an applicant’s needs, interests, and college preferences. If so, you may just find that Pitt is on your short list of institutions for which merit aid is a reasonable possibility for OOS applicants with 32+ ACT stat profiles.
Anyway, fwiw. Thanks all.
- The Pitt merit committee sits once a week starting sometime in September (maybe even late September)
- Applications are reviewed for merit on a rolling basis and are considered (at least roughly) in the order in which the applications were submitted
- The time it takes to receive a merit decision following acceptance can vary based upon a number of factors. Those factors include how many applications the merit committee has in queue (probably alot at first, then maybe it tapers a bit, and then maybe picks up again around the 11/1 and 1/15 deadlines that apply to other schools – not because those deadlines apply to Pitt, but because some applicants probably apply to Pitt at the same time as they are submitting their apps but all that is just a guess!). It also varies by the Pitt academic calendar and holidays in terms of when the merit committee meets. Shockingly, things like Thanksgiving get in the way.
- My D applied 11/1, app complete in Pitt’s portal 11/14, admitted 11/29, merit award received in third week of January. My gentle encouragements to my D to apply earlier to Pitt were to no avail (a fate met by my gentle encouragements throughout the app process
- But if the applicant is not an outright awardee or no award, but rather on the bubble, I think the merit committee may keep the app in the pool for longer to evaluate it closer to the end of the cycle when more is known about the entire applicant pool. Awards continue being extended into as late as March.
Sorry, not sure unfortunately how all this translates for the December ACT decision. Perhaps your kiddo can wait to as close to the December ACT registration deadline as possible to see if any word yet from Pitt.
If you do get a merit decision before December, I guess a related question is whether Pitt will reconsider a merit decision (either the amount or flipping a no to a yes) if the applicant retakes the ACT and scores higher after Pitt has evaluated the app based upon a 32C. The Pitt admissions office is incredibly responsive. Perhaps call them or shoot them a PM on CC and ask. If they know the answer, my experience with them is that they will give you a straight answer.
Hope that helps, and hope others more knowledgeable might jump in and correct or supplement the above!
Pitt is pretty clear about the minimum threshold for merit. There are perhaps a FEW outliers who post that they got merit but for the most part Pitt sticks very close to their merit threshold. And it's competitive merit, not automatic.
Don't put your fingers in your ears or cover your eyes. Help your student be realistic and objective.
I am sure plenty of people waited three to five months. Plenty did not. Not sure what the "norm" is, even culled from the very small universe of CC posts. Pitt does rolling merit review, and sometimes makes decisions relatively quickly and sometimes reserves decision for months (as late as March).
I think for now I'll stand by "32+ ACT OOS applicants is more realistic at Pitt than at many state or state-related institutions of its caliber." I recognize a caliber measure is subjective.
Other great schools, public and private, will give more merit for the same stats than Pitt. How many are state/state-related, give awards to OOS students, and similar to Pitt -- there I think the list shortens a great deal. And among publics and privates similar to Pitt, how then does the COA compare after merit awards (even larger ones than Pitt gives) are applied, especially at private institutions. Agreed, most importantly, families should build target lists of admissions/financial safeties/matches/reaches that suit a kid's interests and needs in a university. Pitt may find its way on to some of those lists, as it did for our doughnut hole family looking to include some OOS publics/state-related that give merit aid for OOS 32+ ACT kids.
I'll also demur on needing a 34 ACT for a "real shot" at some merit at Pitt. It's that sentiment I think is too discouraging. If I am too hot on Pitt merit, I think that is too cold. Collegeisago probably has it just about right as to OOS 32+ applicants: "Obviously, this should not discourage potential OOS applicants from applying because after all many schools should be target in order to see how it all plays out."
Again, "a given ACT score won't guarantee merit at Pitt."
Thanks for the discussion. Quite soon, the results and speculation from those battling through this admissions cycle will take over --- and a "Pitt Merit Class of 2023" thread will materialize to provide up-to-date insights.
Best of luck to everyone.
SAT:1180 (520 ERBW, Math 660)
GPA: 3.6
I did take the SAT once before and got an 1130 on it but I improved in both sections the second time around. I am taking the ACT this weekend. I have a lot of extracurriculars. I have taken a lot of college prep and ap courses throughout high school. I know it’s gonna be tough to get in but this is my number one choice by far.
Best,
A Pitt Admissions Staffer