Does anyone know how difficult is it to get into Pitt for grad school? (Pittsburgh: student loans, lawyers)

[right-here-i-say]

Walk up for your interview and state you have your credit card ready to be charged. They will accept you.

[dana_in_'sylvania]

Originally Posted by Elder18

If yes, then Pitt will take you. At least that's the impression that I get from having gone to school there since August.

But maybe it's different since I'm going into Library Science.

Hi Elder18! I went to Pitt for my MLIS too and graduated in '05. Nice to meet a fellow library lover.

[lostinpgh]

As many have said, it depends on the program. Pitt has arguably the top philosophy of science program in the world (see The Philosophical Gourmet Report 2006 - 2008 :: Breakdown :: PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE ) and it is notoriously difficult to earn admission to that program, but I know nothing about how their English programs are ranked.

[subdivisions]

I don't know anything about English either, but I know that the History, Psychology, and Biology programs at Pitt are quite difficult to get into (~300 applicants a year, they take maybe 5-10 new students). For any of these programs, a 3.20 probably wouldn't even get an applicant past the first cut, much less an interview.

[zip95]

Originally Posted by subdivisions

History, Psychology, and Biology programs at Pitt are quite difficult to get into (~300 applicants a year, they take maybe 5-10 new students). For any of these programs, a 3.20 probably wouldn't even get an applicant past the first cut, much less an interview.

I know Psych and History accept few applicants, but Biology???? Science programs are usually huge, as science is directly correlated with the national interest.

I know at my alma mater the Biology dept was gigantic. After all, those guys and gals are the engine behind big pharma.....that's a massive chunk of the economy.

[subdivisions]

Originally Posted by zip95

I know Psych and History accept few applicants, but Biology???? Science programs are usually huge, as science is directly correlated with the national interest.

I know at my alma mater the Biology dept was gigantic. After all, those guys and gals are the engine behind big pharma.....that's a massive chunk of the economy.

I have a friend in the Biophysics department. They just had applicant weekend, where they interviewed only 4-5 people out of hundreds.

She also tells me that many of the labs in the department don't have funding anymore (and that this is apparently the norm across the country these days).

[barefootchick]

Originally Posted by dana_in_'sylvania

Hi Elder18! I went to Pitt for my MLIS too and graduated in '05. Nice to meet a fellow library lover.

I'm looking at Pitt for graduate school to get my MLIS. I'm looking at a couple of other schools as well (Drexel, FSU, etc.) I'm really curious about Pitt because the program seems to have the specializations that I'm looking for. I want to go into either Health Sciences or Children's/YA librarianship.

Maybe I should start another thread!

[fleetiebelle]

I know a ton of people who've gone through Pitt's library program (as I work in a university library.) They all seem to like it, but the drawback is that there are no library jobs in Pittsburgh. Every job that opens up is just flooded with applications from Pitt students who want to stay in the area.

[dana_in_'sylvania]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

I know a ton of people who've gone through Pitt's library program (as I work in a university library.) They all seem to like it, but the drawback is that there are no library jobs in Pittsburgh. Every job that opens up is just flooded with applications from Pitt students who want to stay in the area.

This is true. I would encourage any prospective MLIS students to consider moving outside of the county after graduation. Jobs are few and far between.

[barefootchick]

Originally Posted by dana_in_'sylvania

This is true. I would encourage any prospective MLIS students to consider moving outside of the county after graduation. Jobs are few and far between.

I've heard Pitt has a really good library science program. I would like to try the city life for a while as I live in Fredericksburg, VA now and grew up in the country. I'm actually working in two different libraries now and really like it.

I'm planning on applying for the fall of 2009, so I'm still looking at other schools now (Pratt, LSU, I don't plan to stay in Pittsburgh after grad school, but who know what'll happen?

What I'm interested in is how to pay for grad school. I know I'll probably have to take out loans, but how do people work and go to grad school full-time and have enough money to live on? Maybe there's a thread for that.