More info on Pitt??

[kak3521]

Hey everyone, I just moved to Pittsburgh because my husband got into the PT program with Pitt. I've applied to PA school in the past and got waitlisted, but never at Pitt. Pitt has never been on my radar until we started talking about moving here. Obviously, Pitt is a phenomenal school, however I am wondering about the PA program since it is relatively new. Does anyone know anything about the program? How is it? Are they still working through kinks that every new program goes through? Thanks for any help!!!

[PAschoolreviews]

Having interviewed at/visited Pitt:

 

Pros:

- Seemed like a friendly, young, and supportive faculty

- Great name recognition in the area

- January start date and low (500) HCE hours

 

Cons:

- Location is FAR from Pittsburgh; program is not at the UPMC in Oakland, but at the UPARC complex in Harmarville. UPARC is a dingy, gated office park, and the PA program has one floor of one of the buildings. It felt like being in a cold war research facility.

- Requires relocation for ~3 of your rotations, and will not provide assistance securing or financing housing.

- Tuition is high for a public institution.

 

I felt as though the didactic curriculum would be quite good at Pitt, but as it is a new program, the rotations could end up being a crapshoot. Having to relocate 3 times for rotations didn't appeal to me. And as an out-of-stater, the idea of either living in A) Harmarville, AKA the boonies or B) Pittsburgh and commuting a ways out to Harmarville didn't appeal to me. I'd be interested in this program if I had some particular reason to be in Pittsburgh- friends, family, significant other, etc. However, if you're a single out-of-stater like myself, this doesn't seem like a good program to build your life/career around for 2 years, especially for their price tage.

 

For you specifically-if your husband is going to be in Pittsburgh, I would absolutely apply there. At the end of the day, you'll get your degree and pass your PANCE (Pitt has a high PANCE pass rate), so the things that bothered me may not be substantial for you. It seems like most of the students I met there were from the area, or went to Pitt, or had a situation like yourself, in which case I could see how they would like the program.

 

Cheers

[kak3521]

Thanks for the info! Sorry, I never responded earlier but your info helped. I applied, interviewed and was accepted. I think it's the perfect for me. Good luck to you with everything!

[chris8605]

the three rotations  that are "far" from the school sort of worry me, but if other students have made it through i would hope they would help us out and guide us through those bumps in the road.

 

for instance:  How do you get a place to live for only 1 month?  That is my big question haha

[hockeyfreak]

the three rotations  that are "far" from the school sort of worry me, but if other students have made it through i would hope they would help us out and guide us through those bumps in the road.

 

for instance:  How do you get a place to live for only 1 month?  That is my big question haha

 Chris try www.airbnb.com, every time i travel I use that to find rooms (instead of hotels).  Not only do I not pay for hotel tax and get cheaper rooms but I also get to talk to locals.  Everyone I've stayed with has been really nice.  When I interviewed at Pitt thats what I used.  Most places have daily, weekly and monthly rates.

 

Good luck with Pitt!  I decided to go to Penn State instead because I'm having a baby in January =)