Sarah ReillyMicrobiology major If you read my “About Me” blog you know that I have transferred to Pitt from the local community college, CCAC, and will be graduating late, which isn’t the normal route for most students. I also commute to and from Pitt from my house in the South Hills and it takes two buses for me to get to class, which is about an hour to an hour and a half each way. I made this decision as soon as I got accepted into Pitt because of the money I am saving and accessibility to get to my lifeguarding job on weeknights and weekends. This situation can be incredibly stressful at times, but if anyone else is commuting or transferring, this post may help you out! Commuting: My first word of advice is to always plan to take an earlier bus than you anticipate because as we all know, Port Authority isn’t the greatest at being on time. For example, if I have a 9am class, I will catch a 7:30am bus into downtown and then catch another into Oakland. This way, I have time to walk to where I need to be and grab a coffee or breakfast! If I am driving in that day, I still leave at 7:30am because traffic is also super unpredictable, as well as parking. Another tip is that although this takes away about 3 hours of my day, I usually do all the reading I need to do for class on the bus. For classes with scientific papers, articles etc. this is the perfect time to catch up with your reading because there isn’t really much else to do, except scroll through Instagram and Twitter (which is an incredibly bad habit I have) or stare out the window and listen to music. I would say the last thing about commuting is that it’s also a great time to reflect on what you have done that day and what else you plan on doing. Write down everything that needs to get done and maybe take a little bit of “me time” and actually listen to that new album or podcast you’ve been planning on. Doing little things like this on your commute can make life easier because think of all the money you are saving and still getting things done! Transferring:
The transfer process from CCAC to Pitt was rather difficult, I don’t want to lie to you. It’s incredibly hard to find a resource from both Pitt and CCAC that you can rely on for all of the correct information. I got incredibly lucky to have had the Biology Advisors come to talk at CCAC about the process, and how to make it easier on me. All of your classes, no matter what college you are transferring from, will usually never all transfer over. There are always one or two classes that you may have to retake or fight for to count as credits. I received about 70 credits from CCAC to obtain my Associates degree, which was my choice, instead of focusing completely on transfer credits, and only around 45 credits transferred to Pitt. I knew this was going to happen so it isn’t a surprise that I will be graduating later than normal, but I believe that this process will 100% benefit me in the long run. Always look at the articulation agreements between colleges (just Google it!) and never be afraid to ask questions. I was very intimidated when it came time to contact someone at Pitt because I was scared to start the process. It is daunting at first, but the biology advisors and biology peer advisors only want to make it easier for you. If anyone reading this ever has any questions about anything, I am always available to listen, answer any questions and help with anything that I can! (email: [email protected])
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January 2022
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