Pitt Students Extol Their University's Virtues in The Princeton Review's Latest Best Colleges Issue

"Hail to Pitt!" "A fantastic place to spend four years of your life."

PITTSBURGH––University of Pittsburgh students already know that their large, research-oriented public university has especially strong academic programs, including the health sciences, engineering, philosophy, English, and business and management. And, in questionnaire excerpts published in the new 2002 edition of The Princeton Review's "The Best 331 Colleges," they not only praise these academic offerings, but also are quoted as saying "Hail to Pitt!" in a running recital of the University's other virtues.

Noting that the University offers a "plethora of classes," students acknowledge "most are taught by professors" who are "involved and cutting-edge," "wonderfully entertaining and enlightening," "lecture their butts off," and "really enjoy teaching." In addition, professors "really take the time to encourage and support students," and they are "extremely helpful and accessible in their offices and over e-mail."

Students also mention the University's affordability and find Pitt to be "a fantastic place to spend four years of your life." Located on a "gorgeous, historic," urban campus, the University's residence halls are considered to be "great." The city also is described as a "really clean, safe city." For entertainment, a senior notes, "In one weekend, you can go see a symphony (for free), see a hockey game, bum around a museum (for free), and window-shop downtown." According to another, "If you're bored, it's your own fault." Students also say Pittsburgh, "has a homey feel to it," making it "a good starter city to live in your first time away from home." All of this validates the University's message to its students, "The City Is Our Campus."

And because a large percentage of Pitt students are Pennsylvania natives, most don't have far to travel when they go home for vacations. According to many, fellow students are "generally nice and easygoing" offering "friends and groups of friends here that would fit just about anyone's personality type." The University offers a supportive environment: "It's a school where you are not left out in the cold, yet also not forced into things. They let you make your own choices but still help you out along the way."