As a senior in high school and decision day right around the corner, I decided to do a top 10 story on all of the schools that I applied to. During the summer, I knew I didn’t want to wait to hear if I got in November/December, so I applied early action in August. I heard from all nine schools by the beginning of September, which I would recommend to everybody because it gave me a lot of time to tour different colleges and figure out where I see myself in the upcoming years. With this being said, I will be ranking the nine schools I got into 10 being the worse and one being the best. Since this is a top 10, I will be adding an additional school that I was interested in but never ended up applying to. This rank is based on location, student life, academics, dorms, campus, and the overall environment of these schools.
- Chatham University
There are not a lot of positive things to say about Chatham University. I toured this college back in October, and I felt like Chatham University was going to be a college that I would love. However after touring it, I now know that this college isn’t for me. The professors we talked to were very disorganized, didn’t even know a lot about the program they taught for, and would honestly drive me insane if I actually went to school there. The education there is very basic, which we learned after all the school talked about was how a student could take classes at neighboring colleges through cross registration. The campus was gorgeous though, and I liked how the college is located in Pittsburgh but you don’t feel like you are in the city because the campus is in its own area surrounded by nature. The dorms were old mansion styled, but I can’t really say much about that because we left the tour before we got to see the dorms in depth. All and all, I wouldn’t recommend this college to anyone.
- Penn West University
I don’t have a lot to say about Penn West University because I didn’t apply to this school nor have I ever actually toured it. However, I was on this campus when I attended a college fair there last year. I don’t know much about their academics or programs, but I am not a fan of the campus’s location and I feel like there isn’t much student life going on over there.
- Robert Morris University
I never toured Robert Morris University, even though I applied and got accepted into this college. I was offered over $24,000 a year to go there, but I just feel like there is nothing about the school that stands out. It’s not a well known college so it would be harder to get opportunities and though the campus is pretty close to Pittsburgh, it is still in the middle of nowhere. They don’t have anything that is impressive about their academics, and I honestly don’t even know why I applied to this school.
- Gannon University
Once again I never toured Gannon so I can’t really say much about this school. I’m not sure why I applied to this school either because I definitely didn’t have any interest in going there. I like their international study opportunities but besides that I don’t really know anything else about the university. I don’t like where the campus is located and it is definitely too close to home.
- La Roche University
I think La Roche University has a beautiful campus, and I like where it is located in Pittsburgh. Although it’s not right downtown where other colleges are located, I feel like there is still a lot of opportunity to have fun in the city. I never toured this campus, I don’t know much about their academics, and it is a pretty small school. I just think that compared to other universities in Pittsburgh it doesn’t have much to offer.
- Hofstra University
The main reason I applied to Hofstra University is because it is located around 30 minutes away from New York City. I never toured this college because I wasn’t serious about going there, but from the pictures I saw online, the campus looks pretty. I don’t know much about their academics nor honestly anything about them. This is partly because I applied back in August and never heard back from them. I’m probably missing something on my application, but I don’t care enough to check!
- Baldwin Wallace University
I visited Baldwin Wallace University back in August during their welcome week for incoming freshmen. Their academics seem good, the campus is very walkable and beautiful, and it is right outside Cleveland, OH. There are tons of restaurants and shops that are located next to the campus for students to go out with friends. There is even a psychic located 10 minutes away from the campus that I went to, who can help students navigate their future. The dorms that I saw were a good size and looked to be newly renovated. However, the communal bathrooms were sort of gross and the hangout areas looked to be a little outdated.
- Point Park University
I visited Point Park University back in November and loved everything about this school. The president was there shaking future students and families hands, which demonstrated how much this school actually cares about the people that they are admitting. The location is perfectly located right in the downtown of Pittsburgh. There are a lot of fun things to do around the area and it seems like an overall good school. Students can either choose to have a dorm with a bathroom or air conditioning, and there are a lot of spaces in the building to hangout with friends. Their academics are very impressive because they revise their curriculum every four years and the professor that we met was very knowledgeable and involved in her major. The only reason why this school is ranked 3rd is because the school is mainly for students who are pursuing a degree in the arts.
- Penn State Behrend
I visited Penn State Behrend in October and they have a lot of positives. There school has an accreditation for business, which is impressive for a smaller school to have because it is hard to maintain that status. All of the professors were friendly, very involved in their work, and were passionate about the major that they were teaching for. The dorms were spacious and the buildings that we looked at had study rooms on each of the floors for students to do their work in. In addition, on the main level of the dorms, there was a big kitchen, laundry, and living room section for students to hangout in. This college is fairly priced, and the campus is beautiful. The only negative is the campus is hilly, and I couldn’t imagine having to deal with that during the winter. A few other negatives is I don’t like how close this college is located to home, and I don’t like the school’s student life.
- University of Pittsburgh- Business School
The University of Pittsburgh has almost all positives. I visited the campus last year in October and I just visited it again in November. The campus is conveniently located in the downtown area of Pittsburgh with several restaurants and activities to do all around that area. Even though Pitt is located in the city, a campus is still established for students to navigate. This college provides a bus pass so that students can take the bus for free all across the city and do fun things with their friends. Pitt business specifically has amazing academic programs with students having a 97% success rate for getting a job after graduation. In addition, there are many international opportunities for students to choose from. Students can either do a two week program, a month program, or a whole semester in a different country. The places that students can go are endless with places ranging from Brazil to Japan. Even though there are thousands of students attending this college, the business school only accepts 350 new students a year so it is on a much smaller level then the main Pitt school. With this being said, it is very easy for students to form a community with people who are pursuing the same majors as you. The University of Pittsburgh also has many connections throughout the city for students that allows them to take part in internships and get rare opportunities. The only negative aspect about Pitt is some of the dorms are sort of far away from the main campus and the main dorms in the towers are very dark, small, and you have to use a communal bathroom. However, there are many different buildings for dorms where students could potentially live. Some even have a sweet style and have a bathroom that you can share with only a couple of people. Also, Pitt has some of the best dining food around with many options to choose from. Lastly, Pitt has an amazing student life. From attending the Pitt football games to the hundreds of clubs and student organizations that are on campus, there is a place for everyone. The only thing I wish is that Pitt was a little more affordable and wouldn’t be so bad about financial aid.
