The University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Campus

Date: Jun 06 2004
Major: Engineering Department (This Major's Salary over time)
DO NOT FREAKING GO HERE! I went here because I got a lot of scholarship $$$—Good schools don't need to give out scholarships to attract decent students! First of all, it's in Pittsburgh, which is bad news; the city has a horrible economy, high crime, a religious obsession with mediocre sports teams, a lack of nonalchohilc activities, the traffic problems of Manhattan, and worse mass transit than Omaha. Oh, and did I mention it's so cloudy that you have to SQUINT whenever the sun is out? Except for cheering on the mediocre, overhyped sports teams, the student body is very apathetic—activities are practically non-existent, and the Greek system is LAME and overrated.

Social life tends to revolve around house parties, although cops generally won't cite you for underage drinking unless you're very obviously inebriated. Professors are arrogant and inaccessible (supposedly some years ago, one of them even had a flowchart posted on his door giving steps to go through before he'd deign to see you), and large classes are the norm, although most classes are relatively easy to get into. Advising is, as a rule, awful, and career services are almost non-existent. Housing is also a pain—dorms have gestapo security, nosy RA's, and strict visitation policies, so most students live off-campus. Living off-campus is no picnic either, since rents are absolutely insane and landlords awful anywhere NEAR campus, and away from campus you have to deal with the pain in the neck that is getting around Pittsburgh.

Oh yeah, and the administration sucks; they seem to always find new and creative ways of wasting money, and they seem to have a blatant hatred of students, as opposed to a mere indifference. In short, you DO NOT want to go here; I used to be able to say at least it's cheap in-state, but tuition seems to rise every year, without any meaningful improvements.