kestrl

Money Is Confusing

The financial aid office is helpful as long as you go and know exactly what questions you need answered. Walk-ins during normal business hours are fine. Student Accounts are entirely managed online, and sometimes the way things are posted on top of each other in a list fashion makes it confusing to figure out how much money is available or what the student owes the school and for what reasons.

Health Could Be Better, Safety Is Fine

Many students consider health services on campus a joke. I myself have had the unfortunate experience of dealing with Campus health services when I got the swine flu. I had no problem with services while I was sick, but two weeks later I had bronchitis and health services was not at all helpful with prescribing and giving me advice on when to attend class agan. There have been some safety concerns off campus often times near where students live. Campus police are very good at sending out emails notifying us about thefts and violence like this, even if the incidents do not necessarily happen towards students. The only way to help prevent these incidents, though, is to not walk alone at night or even during the day if you are attracting unwanted attention. You can never be completely safe at any urban university, but the presence of so many people is an attractive part of being at an urban university for me!

Pittsburgh Is Rainy

I personally love how variable Pittsburgh's weather is, but I'm also a native, so my favorability towards Pittsburgh is biased. One day it will be beautiful outside and then it will rain for two or three days. Pittsburgh is in a valley, so the weather is unpredictable because cold fronts and winds approach from different directions.