Pittsburgh 2011 Forum

[pjo]

I applied in September... and after the initial message from the school... nothing else.

I'm not a big fan of schools that don't have status checkers...

But, if I get into Pitt I will most certainly go for free...

you most certainly won't. lol. They don't give full rides. Depending on if you're in state your probably lookig at 12k/yr in scholarship. I knew a guy that was able to haggle with them to increase it to 16k/yr and he had some great offers elsewhere (he actually ended up at UVA). If you're OOS, you're looking at 14-16k/yr max. You will not get a full ride, they don't care what your numbers are.

[OGR3]

I applied in September... and after the initial message from the school... nothing else.

I'm not a big fan of schools that don't have status checkers...

But, if I get into Pitt I will most certainly go for free...

you most certainly won't. lol. They don't give full rides. Depending on if you're in state your probably lookig at 12k/yr in scholarship. I knew a guy that was able to haggle with them to increase it to 16k/yr and he had some great offers elsewhere (he actually ended up at UVA). If you're OOS, you're looking at 14-16k/yr max. You will not get a full ride, they don't care what your numbers are.

It's true. They like to spread the love. Nonetheless, if Pittsburgh is where you'd like to practice, it's still a good deal.

[Barbie]

How hard is it to get in state tuition after the first year? And assuming you do, your scholarship drops?

[pjo]

I applied in September... and after the initial message from the school... nothing else.

I'm not a big fan of schools that don't have status checkers...

But, if I get into Pitt I will most certainly go for free...

you most certainly won't. lol. They don't give full rides. Depending on if you're in state your probably lookig at 12k/yr in scholarship. I knew a guy that was able to haggle with them to increase it to 16k/yr and he had some great offers elsewhere (he actually ended up at UVA). If you're OOS, you're looking at 14-16k/yr max. You will not get a full ride, they don't care what your numbers are.

It's true. They like to spread the love. Nonetheless, if Pittsburgh is where you'd like to practice, it's still a good deal.

Yeah, I mean don't get me wrong. They definitely try to make law school feasible for everyone. I think it just catches a lot of ppl with high numbers off guard when they don't ge some massive scholarship lol.

[OGR3]

How hard is it to get in state tuition after the first year? And assuming you do, your scholarship drops?

It's not overly difficult, it's mainly just a big pain.

http://www.bc.pitt.edu/students/tuitionguide.html

Things they really like when it comes to residency are property ownership, if you brought a significant other with you (and if they have a job), and whether you've secured employment in the state.

I've heard that with some people, they have to agree to live and work in the state for a set number of years, but I haven't confirmed that.

Also, residency is determined outside the law school, so it shouldn't have any impact on your scholarship dollars.

[reverendt]

How hard is it to get in state tuition after the first year? And assuming you do, your scholarship drops?

I'm a Pitt 3L. I got in-state status after my 1L year. A petitioned for it, got denied (like everybody does) and requested an appeal (like almost everybody does) and got granted in-state after the appeal. The fact that I brought my wife to PA with me helped, as did the fact that I could have gone to other schools cheaper, but told the appeals committee I chose Pitt because it was a city I would be happy to remain in.

My scholarship did NOT drop. I still get my 5K/year.

[Gemini]

I applied in September... and after the initial message from the school... nothing else.

I'm not a big fan of schools that don't have status checkers...

But, if I get into Pitt I will most certainly go for free...

you most certainly won't. lol. They don't give full rides. Depending on if you're in state your probably lookig at 12k/yr in scholarship. I knew a guy that was able to haggle with them to increase it to 16k/yr and he had some great offers elsewhere (he actually ended up at UVA). If you're OOS, you're looking at 14-16k/yr max. You will not get a full ride, they don't care what your numbers are.

It's true. They like to spread the love. Nonetheless, if Pittsburgh is where you'd like to practice, it's still a good deal.

Yeah, I mean don't get me wrong. They definitely try to make law school feasible for everyone. I think it just catches a lot of ppl with high numbers off guard when they don't ge some massive scholarship lol.

Kinda disappointing! I never realized that UPitt never offers full rides. I have strong numbers for this school and the only way I would go over a better school is if I got a lot of $$$.

[Barbie]

How hard is it to get in state tuition after the first year? And assuming you do, your scholarship drops?

I'm a Pitt 3L. I got in-state status after my 1L year. A petitioned for it, got denied (like everybody does) and requested an appeal (like almost everybody does) and got granted in-state after the appeal. The fact that I brought my wife to PA with me helped, as did the fact that I could have gone to other schools cheaper, but told the appeals committee I chose Pitt because it was a city I would be happy to remain in.

My scholarship did NOT drop. I still get my 5K/year.

So say you get the OOS scholly, like idk... 14-16k a year... and then you get instate... won't that become almost like a full scholly? IDK... ?

[OGR3]

How hard is it to get in state tuition after the first year? And assuming you do, your scholarship drops?

I'm a Pitt 3L. I got in-state status after my 1L year. A petitioned for it, got denied (like everybody does) and requested an appeal (like almost everybody does) and got granted in-state after the appeal. The fact that I brought my wife to PA with me helped, as did the fact that I could have gone to other schools cheaper, but told the appeals committee I chose Pitt because it was a city I would be happy to remain in.

My scholarship did NOT drop. I still get my 5K/year.

So say you get the OOS scholly, like idk... 14-16k a year... and then you get instate... won't that become almost like a full scholly? IDK... ?

You'd still be paying around $10,000 a year.

[pjo]

How hard is it to get in state tuition after the first year? And assuming you do, your scholarship drops?

I'm a Pitt 3L. I got in-state status after my 1L year. A petitioned for it, got denied (like everybody does) and requested an appeal (like almost everybody does) and got granted in-state after the appeal. The fact that I brought my wife to PA with me helped, as did the fact that I could have gone to other schools cheaper, but told the appeals committee I chose Pitt because it was a city I would be happy to remain in.

My scholarship did NOT drop. I still get my 5K/year.

Wow, I've been on this board too long. I can remember asking reverendt questions on this board when he was a 1L . Anyway, how are job prospects for 3L's?

[kk19131]

I applied in September... and after the initial message from the school... nothing else.

I'm not a big fan of schools that don't have status checkers...

But, if I get into Pitt I will most certainly go for free...

you most certainly won't. lol. They don't give full rides. Depending on if you're in state your probably lookig at 12k/yr in scholarship. I knew a guy that was able to haggle with them to increase it to 16k/yr and he had some great offers elsewhere (he actually ended up at UVA). If you're OOS, you're looking at 14-16k/yr max. You will not get a full ride, they don't care what your numbers are.

Actually, I'm guaranteed a full ride....

At any rate, do you think going to Pitt for free would have advantages over going to a higher-ranked school with debt?


and fyi... last year Pitt gave out 18 full/more than full tuition scholarships.

[kk19131]

Kinda disappointing! I never realized that UPitt never offers full rides. I have strong numbers for this school and the only way I would go over a better school is if I got a lot of $$$.

Never is not true... 8 people in the school have full tuition... 10 have more than full tuition.

[HeavenWood]

Kinda disappointing! I never realized that UPitt never offers full rides. I have strong numbers for this school and the only way I would go over a better school is if I got a lot of $$$.

Never is not true... 8 people in the school have full tuition... 10 have more than full tuition.

I think Pitt mostly gives full rides to URMs, but I could be wrong.

[kk19131]

Kinda disappointing! I never realized that UPitt never offers full rides. I have strong numbers for this school and the only way I would go over a better school is if I got a lot of $$$.

Never is not true... 8 people in the school have full tuition... 10 have more than full tuition.

I think Pitt mostly gives full rides to URMs, but I could be wrong.

Well, I guess I'm lucky I'm a urm.

[pjo]

Kinda disappointing! I never realized that UPitt never offers full rides. I have strong numbers for this school and the only way I would go over a better school is if I got a lot of $$$.

Never is not true... 8 people in the school have full tuition... 10 have more than full tuition.

I think Pitt mostly gives full rides to URMs, but I could be wrong.

Well, I guess I'm lucky I'm a urm.

Seriously, where are you you getting this information from? Because if what you say is true then the admissions office tells lies and LSN has never once documented what you claim.

[reverendt]

How hard is it to get in state tuition after the first year? And assuming you do, your scholarship drops?

I'm a Pitt 3L. I got in-state status after my 1L year. A petitioned for it, got denied (like everybody does) and requested an appeal (like almost everybody does) and got granted in-state after the appeal. The fact that I brought my wife to PA with me helped, as did the fact that I could have gone to other schools cheaper, but told the appeals committee I chose Pitt because it was a city I would be happy to remain in.

My scholarship did NOT drop. I still get my 5K/year.

Wow, I've been on this board too long. I can remember asking reverendt questions on this board when he was a 1L . Anyway, how are job prospects for 3L's?

Pretty crappy! I've done fairly well (top 30%, journal note being published) and I have nothing lined up. My current (and 2L summer) job won't turn into full time work (it's a solo practice and he's nearing retirement). So it's small law or PI for me. Which I'm fine with as long as I can find something. In the meantime....its very anxiety inducing!

[pjo]

How hard is it to get in state tuition after the first year? And assuming you do, your scholarship drops?

I'm a Pitt 3L. I got in-state status after my 1L year. A petitioned for it, got denied (like everybody does) and requested an appeal (like almost everybody does) and got granted in-state after the appeal. The fact that I brought my wife to PA with me helped, as did the fact that I could have gone to other schools cheaper, but told the appeals committee I chose Pitt because it was a city I would be happy to remain in.

My scholarship did NOT drop. I still get my 5K/year.

Wow, I've been on this board too long. I can remember asking reverendt questions on this board when he was a 1L . Anyway, how are job prospects for 3L's?

Pretty crappy! I've done fairly well (top 30%, journal note being published) and I have nothing lined up. My current (and 2L summer) job won't turn into full time work (it's a solo practice and he's nearing retirement). So it's small law or PI for me. Which I'm fine with as long as I can find something. In the meantime....its very anxiety inducing!

That's too bad man, I really hope things start panning out for you. Are most 3L's in the same situation? I have a lot of connections to the legal community in Pittsburgh but I kind of have the feeling that the city is just in a legal slump. Even with my connections I'm thinking it might be better to try my luck at another regional school I'm interested in, like UNC or Wake. I'm thinking because NC is growing it might have more opportunity.

[kk19131]

Seriously, where are you you getting this information from? Because if what you say is true then the admissions office tells lies and LSN has never once documented what you claim.

I got my information from the American Bar Association.

I don't know what you've been told, but you are mistaken: the school does have people there with full scholarships.

http://officialguide.lsac.org/Release/S ... BA2927.pdf

[reverendt]

That's too bad man, I really hope things start panning out for you. Are most 3L's in the same situation? I have a lot of connections to the legal community in Pittsburgh but I kind of have the feeling that the city is just in a legal slump. Even with my connections I'm thinking it might be better to try my luck at another regional school I'm interested in, like UNC or Wake. I'm thinking because NC is growing it might have more opportunity.

Yes, most of us are in that situation. Everyone's adopted a sort of a gallows-humor approach to the whole thing!
A lot of the non-biglaw jobs don't hire until the new year, so we really won't know how bad our lot is or isn't for several months.
I know a handful of people with biglaw & biglaw-esque (by that I mean big local firms that pay big-law salaries and have adopted the whole summer associate system) but maybe only about 15 or 20 out of my class of 250. Not surprisingly, they're all near the top of the class and on law review. In good time (meaning a few years ago) the top 1/3 of the class would probably be in that situation. 5 years ago Reed Smith used to take about 15-20 summer associates, mostly from Pitt. This year they took 4. The same goes for the other firms.
I don't know if this means that Pittsburgh is in a legal slump, or if it's typical of the nationwide legal slump.
My advice: 1) Consider your legal connections to Pittsburgh. Are they such that you think an employment opportunity is likely to arise? If yes, then I would recommend giving Pitt serious consideration. If not, then you want to weigh your options. What markets do UNC and Wake feed into? Talk to 3Ls looking for jobs in those markets, and compare.
Good luck!

[Gemini]

PJO, you and I seem to be considering a lot of the same schools!

[pjo]

PJO, you and I seem to be considering a lot of the same schools!

haha I was just thinking how I keep running into you in the same threads.

[uwgbluedevil]

I was extremely impressed by Pitt and should have my application in within a week. Can anyone who might know give me my honest chances of getting in?

3.1 and 163

[OGR3]

I was extremely impressed by Pitt and should have my application in within a week. Can anyone who might know give me my honest chances of getting in?

3.1 and 163

I'd say your chances are pretty good. Your GPA is just above the 25th percentile and your LSAT is over the 75th percentile.

[BarbellDreams]

I feel like you'll get in but not with much , if any, scholly help.

[Barbie]

I feel like you'll get in but not with much , if any, scholly help.

lolwut????
163/3.1 I would wager is SURE money from Pitt.
http://lawschoolnumbers.com/charcop/jd