~*~University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Class of 2011 ~*~

[cubbbie]

Looks like Pitt changed their 2nd look weekend, now 20-21 April.

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[Bubblehead-to-MD]

Looks like Pitt changed their 2nd look weekend, now 20-21 April.

yup, yup, yup

 

[Bubblehead-to-MD]

FYI - I shed a tear today when Bill Cowher resigned as head coach of the Steelers...this is the end of an era.

 

[shantster]

FYI - I shed a tear today when Bill Cowher resigned as head coach of the Steelers...this is the end of an era.

I know! I was so upset. I really was looking forward to trying to get tickets to a game while there to see him coach.

 

[sciencewonk]

hi,
does anyone know if the second look weekend is paid for by the school?

 

[Erina]

ok, why is pitt so freaking controversial? i feel like people either love it or hate it and im getting really sick of people bashing it over in pre-allo

 

[Severus]

I know... I know, Erina. There are a couple of things that are pissing me off over in PA:

1.) If you applied and didn't like it, fine. That's cool. Don't go there... just stop bitching about it.

2.) The common argument of "well, it's the only top school you've interviewed at, so of course you'd be impressed". First off, that's a pretty crappy thing to say. Secondly, it's incorrect. I've been around (edit: insert joke here) and I've seen some truly awesome and great and, for those that care, very highly ranked schools. You know what? I still like Pitt. Period. If I'm lucky/blessed and get into another school, it's going to be one hell of a decision because there is a lot I like about Pitt.. both the city and the university.

Granted, one could argue that it doesn't have the name recognition outside the community of say a Harvard or Hopkins, but going to Pitt isn't going to hinder me from becoming whatever it is I want to become.

3.) Bitching about the city: Pittsburgh is grey. Pittsburgh is full of rabid football fans who wag a stupid towel around. Accept it. Embrace it. Love it. Pittsburgh is by no means a great city (then again, neither is Baltimore, or St. Louis). It does, however, have some redeeming qualities. Namely, it's cheap and a student could live reasonably well there. For me, this is pretty important because although it's fun living in a trendy part of Philly (i.e. a part where hobo **** only covers 60% of the sidewalk), paying $1200 a month for a small studio apartment really isn't doing it for me.

Anyway, I gots to get back to work. TTFN.

 

[Bubblehead-to-MD]

ok, why is pitt so freaking controversial? i feel like people either love it or hate it and im getting really sick of people bashing it over in pre-allo

I'm with you Erina. Some of those peeps over in pre-allo need to get off their high horses. Pitt is a great school. I have had the opportunity to see what that school is all about for some time now. The curriculum is very well designed, and the students manage to have a great time while they are there. Can you put a price on happiness?

I certainly do not think attending Pitt would limit opportunity. It might not carry the weight of Harvard, Hopkins, or Stanford, but it is certainly recognized as being one of the best programs in the country.

 

[sudongpo]

FYI:

I called the Department of Property Management about the new apartments that are being built near Scaife

1. White coat is Aug 12th. Admissions office says you don't have to be physically there before that (no school events before 12th).
2. It seems the building is not yet complete, but they're gunning for a first week of August occupancy.
3. You can start applying for the apartments now. I did it just so I can be free to start traveling.
4. No need to rush. 144 apartments, some doubles, for a M1 class of around 150. They also say that the old Ruskin hall is perpetually undersubscribed.
5. Which univ dept will manage the parking at Darragh Street is still up in the air. Parking and trans services says best to call around June, if it ends up being they're going to manage it.
6. Single bedrooms around $600, utilities, internet, basic cable included.

To apply contact Kevin Stiles kstiles "at" bc.pitt.edu

 

[shantster]

Thanks for the info sudongpo. I'm putting that on my list of things to do tomorrow.

 

[dottore07]

Thanks sudongpo, good info -- I'm excited about the new building; people in the Oakland area have told me that it is going to be pretty nice

 

[cubbbie]

I can't believe no one has made any mention of the CD yet. Has anyone listened to it? Tell me if it's good. I need to know what I'm getting myself into. I'm .... ok, afraid.

 

[Severus]

I can't believe no one has made any mention of the CD yet. Has anyone listened to it? Tell me if it's good. I need to know what I'm getting myself into. I'm .... ok, afraid.

What??? Am I missing stuff? I never did get the Christmas card and now I'm wondering if I'm missing a CD.

 

[dottore07]

I'm not sure what you are talking about either - no CD or Christmas card for me! Pittsburgh, where is the love?

 

[cubbbie]

Hmm -- I got a CD. I'm sure you'll get yours soon. It comes along with a book of poems and photography done by Pitt students. The CD is full of songs written and performed by Pitt students.

I think it's wonderful that students take the time to do this kind of thing.

The reason I'm afraid though ... I love music. It has for a long time been my one true passion. Pitt (or med school in general) has now become my second passion. They're like my two lovers. I love them both uniquely, but I would never want them to meet.

Anyway -- maybe I'll suck it up and listen. But if someone out there has already listened to it, let me know ...

BTW -- I did not receive a Christmas card either.

 

[Severus]

bumping.... and still no CD.

 

[Erina]

bumping.... and still no CD.

well if it makes you feel any better, i didn't get the christmas card either. i did get the cd though...it came in the back of a little booklet full of poems and pictures and stories that the med students wrote. maybe they randomly pick who they send things too?

 

[Severus]

well if it makes you feel any better, i didn't get the christmas card either. i did get the cd though...it came in the back of a little booklet full of poems and pictures and stories that the med students wrote. maybe they randomly pick who they send things too?

Or maybe my mailman still sucks. He decides when he wants to deliver the mail and even then, it's only like 1x a week. I truly do wonder how much stuff I've missed because of him.

 

[Severus]

I finally received my poetry packet!! Yippie!


It was accompanied by a rejection from WashU's mudphud program. B*tches. Ooh well, I really wouldn't have gone there anyway. St. Louis...

 

[Erina]

Or maybe my mailman still sucks. He decides when he wants to deliver the mail and even then, it's only like 1x a week. I truly do wonder how much stuff I've missed because of him.

what i'm having trouble understanding is why it always takes so long for me to get mail from pitt when im only 2.5 hours away! i should just offer to drive there and pick up my mail directly from the source.

 

[Severus]

what i'm having trouble understanding is why it always takes so long for me to get mail from pitt when im only 2.5 hours away! i should just offer to drive there and pick up my mail directly from the source.

This somewhat confuses me as well. It didn't take long for the acceptance packet to arrive, but all this other stuff is just so slow to make it.

 

[Lorienne7]

Hi everyone! I decided to poke my head in here, since I very unexpectedly got the acceptance email today! I'm not yet sure if I'll be at Pitt in the fall because I don't think I know enough about the school to make a decision yet. I'm hoping second look weekend will help me make up my mind

 

[Severus]

Hi everyone! I decided to poke my head in here, since I very unexpectedly got the acceptance email today! I'm not yet sure if I'll be at Pitt in the fall because I don't think I know enough about the school to make a decision yet. I'm hoping second look weekend will help me make up my mind

Welcome!


I'm not 100% sure I'll be at Pitt come fall, but I really do love the school and am pretty excited about getting a closer look come second week. Hope to see you there!

 

[HumbleMD]

I finally received my poetry packet!! Yippie!


It was accompanied by a rejection from WashU's mudphud program. B*tches. Ooh well, I really wouldn't have gone there anyway. St. Louis...

Did anyone else not think that the letter accompanying the poetry packet was ridiculous? The "Scylla and Charybdis" of the MCAT? Oh brother. I swear that thing makes me want to go to Upitt even less. How nerdy can you get...

 

[Erina]

Did anyone else not think that the letter accompanying the poetry packet was ridiculous? The "Scylla and Charybdis" of the MCAT? Oh brother. I swear that thing makes me want to go to Upitt even less. How nerdy can you get...

it may have been kinda corny but geeeeeez do you always have to bash pitt?

 

[Severus]

Did anyone else not think that the letter accompanying the poetry packet was ridiculous? The "Scylla and Charybdis" of the MCAT? Oh brother. I swear that thing makes me want to go to Upitt even less. How nerdy can you get...

Yeah.... I was sitting there reading that like "ugh... literature/drama-heads."


Well, it's not how I would have phrased it...

 

[cubbbie]

Yeah, I didn't want to say anything, but my boyfriend and I both got a good chuckle while reading that letter. I thought it was adorably earnest, but yeah, I agree it was a little off-putting.

Then my boyfriend reminded me of the video they sent to accepted students at my undergrad. He told me how he very nearly withdrew his application immediately after viewing the video. I chose not to watch the video for that very reason (much like I'm choosing not to listen to the CD now). We both ended up loving our undergrad experience, so it just goes to show how you can't make really important decisions based on fickle things like your experience with a single interviewer, the friendliness of a single tour guide, or the over-the-top writing style of a single, well-intentioned m4.

 

[cubbbie]

Did anyone else not think that the letter accompanying the poetry packet was ridiculous? The "Scylla and Charybdis" of the MCAT? Oh brother. I swear that thing makes me want to go to Upitt even less. How nerdy can you get...

it may have been kinda corny but geeeeeez do you always have to bash pitt?

It's one thing to bash a school, but the overriding sense I get from reading HumbleMD's posts is that his negative impression is based on rather arbitrary and trivial factors. Granted, when looking at these schools, that is often all we have available to us and we unfortunately end up making our decisions based on these types of things.

 

[stiffany]

I received an email from my student interviewer this morning (such an awesome way to wake up) so it looks like I get to join this thread! W00t. I'm so excited everyone!!! Maybe HumbleMD will chastize me for this, but I think Pitt's an incredibly amazing school. Where does one find second look weekend info?

 

[Severus]

I received an email from my student interviewer this morning (such an awesome way to wake up) so it looks like I get to join this thread! W00t. I'm so excited everyone!!! Maybe HumbleMD will chastize me for this, but I think Pitt's an incredibly amazing school. Where does one find second look weekend info?

Congrats!!!


There's scarely little info out there about 2nd look. I think it's like April 12th??!

 

[dottore07]

Congrats!!!


There's scarely little info out there about 2nd look. I think it's like April 12th??!

Congratulations Stiffany - I think the 2nd look is actually April 20th-21st. Hopefully we'll get more info about it soon!

 

[HumbleMD]

I received an email from my student interviewer this morning (such an awesome way to wake up) so it looks like I get to join this thread! W00t. I'm so excited everyone!!! Maybe HumbleMD will chastize me for this, but I think Pitt's an incredibly amazing school. Where does one find second look weekend info?

Oh booh. Congrats btw. I just think Pitt is not for me out of my other options, but obviosuly not the same sentiment can be said for everyone. What myself and others note about Pitt is that so many people are way in love with it (and justifiably so - it's a very personal process), so we had high expectations that weren't met on interview day. Maybe I should go on the second look weekend just to shock everyone or something. I'll be wearing a white rose corsage....

 

[Severus]

Congratulations Stiffany - I think the 2nd look is actually April 20th-21st. Hopefully we'll get more info about it soon!

Is the 20th the new date or the old one? I know they changed it, but I can't recall which date they moved it to. I'm a minimalist when it comes to my inbox, but man, I gotta stop deleting all the semi important stuff.

 

[Erina]

Is the 20th the new date or the old one? I know they changed it, but I can't recall which date they moved it to. I'm a minimalist when it comes to my inbox, but man, I gotta stop deleting all the semi important stuff.

haha yeah it's now the 20th-21st, which sucks because the 21st is my boyfriend's birthday!

 

[Severus]

haha yeah it's now the 20th-21st, which sucks because the 21st is my boyfriend's birthday!

That does suck.


Hey.... are you still really undecided between Pitt and Penn State have you started to lean a bit one way or the other?

I keep putting myself in these sort of hypothetical situations (since I won't know until March), but everytime I'm all loser-like and make one of those "Pro/Con" sheets between Pitt/somewhere else, it still ends up really 50/50 or like 49/51. I have a hard enough time deciding between Coco puffs and Lucky Charms in the morning... this med school thing is way out of my league.

 

[Erina]

That does suck.


Hey.... are you still really undecided between Pitt and Penn State have you started to lean a bit one way or the other?

I keep putting myself in these sort of hypothetical situations (since I won't know until March), but everytime I'm all loser-like and make one of those "Pro/Con" sheets between Pitt/somewhere else, it still ends up really 50/50 or like 49/51. I have a hard enough time deciding between Coco puffs and Lucky Charms in the morning... this med school thing is way out of my league.

i think it's going to be pitt for me. i made my decision easier for myself by deciding that i had to be in pennsylvania and that living in philly wouldn't work for me. deciding between pitt and penn state hasn't been easy, but im really leaning toward pitt for some reason. maybe it's the location of penn state...i want to make sure i grow a lot as a person and going to hershey would be way too easy for me since i grew up in central pa.

 

[Severus]

i think it's going to be pitt for me. i made my decision easier for myself by deciding that i had to be in pennsylvania and that living in philly wouldn't work for me. deciding between pitt and penn state hasn't been easy, but im really leaning toward pitt for some reason. maybe it's the location of penn state...i want to make sure i grow a lot as a person and going to hershey would be way too easy for me since i grew up in central pa.

Woah.... that's where I grew up. Scary. We're multiplying and taking over SDN!!

 

[stiffany]

i want to make sure i grow a lot as a person and going to hershey would be way too easy for me since i grew up in central pa.

I did this for college (from Houston to Philadelphia) and while it was a scary proposition flying 1300 miles away from my family for the first time, it's a decision I've rarely regretted throughout the past six years because of the independence I've gained and all of the cool opportunities I had at the school I went to relative to my other main option back close to home. Plus, Pittsburgh is close enough so you can still visit your roots relatively easily when you need a home cooked meal, familiar friends and family faces, or a place to do laundry.

As for me, I'm still bouncing off the walls post-acceptance - which is easy to do, especially metaphorically, in a box shaped cubicle at work.

 

[stiffany]

Thanks for the info sudongpo. I'm putting that on my list of things to do tomorrow.

Shanster, are you definitely attending Pitt? Did you get anywhere with the apartment reservation?

 

[cubbbie]

Hmm -- I got a CD. I'm sure you'll get yours soon. It comes along with a book of poems and photography done by Pitt students. The CD is full of songs written and performed by Pitt students.

I think it's wonderful that students take the time to do this kind of thing.

The reason I'm afraid though ... I love music. It has for a long time been my one true passion. Pitt (or med school in general) has now become my second passion. They're like my two lovers. I love them both uniquely, but I would never want them to meet.

Anyway -- maybe I'll suck it up and listen. But if someone out there has already listened to it, let me know ...

BTW -- I did not receive a Christmas card either.

Hey all --

I just breezed through the CD last night, and I was actually quite pleased. I mean, I didn't listen with an extremely critical ear (when I say "breezed," I mean I listened to about 20 seconds of each song) ... still, I didn't hate it.

Severus -- I saw on your MDapps page that you play the violin. Me too. Plan on continuing in med school? If so, how?

I'm not going to lie, as I'm trying to pick between schools at this stage, the local music scene and the free time the school would allow to pursue such a thing is starting to become a greater and greater consideration ...

 

[Severus]

Severus -- I saw on your MDapps page that you play the violin. Me too. Plan on continuing in med school? If so, how?

I'm not going to lie, as I'm trying to pick between schools at this stage, the local music scene and the free time the school would allow to pursue such a thing is starting to become a greater and greater consideration ...

We'll see. I have a rotator cuff problem (from tennis) which has been keeping me from playing either tennis or the violin for awhile now. I'm afraid I'm getting rusty, but if I can get my act together over the summer I'd very much like to continue through medical school.

The med school music scene is actually one thing that's becoming more and more important to me. I was also pleasantly surprised with the CD.

 

[HumbleMD]

We'll see. I have a rotator cuff problem (from tennis) which has been keeping me from playing either tennis or the violin for awhile now. I'm afraid I'm getting rusty, but if I can get my act together over the summer I'd very much like to continue through medical school.

The med school music scene is actually one thing that's becoming more and more important to me. I was also pleasantly surprised with the CD.

"Are you my light?"

 

[cubbbie]

"Are you my light?"

Yeah, that one wasn't so much a song as a spoken word poem thingy. Did you make it past that one though?

 

[Severus]

"Are you my light?"

Dude, some of the poetry (in the book and stuff on the CD)... well, I'll just say that I'm not into poetry and leave it at that. AP Literature sufficiently killed any inkling for poetry I might have ever had.

 

[cubbbie]

Dude, some of the poetry (in the book and stuff on the CD)... well, I'll just say that I'm not into poetry and leave it at that. AP Literature sufficiently killed any inkling for poetry I might have ever had.

I definitely don't have a discerning ear for that kind of thing. BUT, as I was listening to that first track, I remember thinking, "I would like this woman to read my children bedtime stories."

 

[Quix]

Severus, every time I see that avatar I keep expecting to hear porn music in the background.

Anyway, how long did it take you to hear back from your interviews? I interviewed 01/23/07, and I was expecting 4-6 weeks (I'll be applying for the CSTP program, too, and am meeting with Amber Barnato tomorrow).

 

[Erina]

Severus, every time I see that avatar I keep expecting to hear porn music in the background.

Anyway, how long did it take you to hear back from your interviews? I interviewed 01/23/07, and I was expecting 4-6 weeks (I'll be applying for the CSTP program, too, and am meeting with Amber Barnato tomorrow).

I interviewed on 9/15 and heard back a month later on around 10/17, but they couldn't let me know before that anyway. However, if they could get my turnaround time to be 4.5 weeks, they should be able to do it for you too! Good luck

 

[dottore07]

About a month between interview and acceptance for me too. I'm also applying to the CSTP program -- when did you hear about an interview for that/do you know when they are making decisions?

 

[Quix]

About a month between interview and acceptance for me too. I'm also applying to the CSTP program -- when did you hear about an interview for that/do you know when they are making decisions?

I haven't heard any updates.

Are you going for the certificate or the MSc?

 

[dottore07]

I'm going for the MsC -- you?