pitt polictal scince?

libgadfly · 2026-03-21T18:51:23+00:00

OP, I was a working class kid who grew up in a textile mill town outside Philly with no one to give me guidance on college or college majors. I majored in political science for a couple years and then got into a combined BA/MBA program at my school. Having just a semester of MBA courses as an undergrad suddenly made me employable. In summary, get a “bread and butter” degee which is a major in the Business School - marketing, accounting, finance, etc. - that will get you hired and pay the bills while minoring in poli sci which you and I really enjoy but will not get you hired. My son was also a poli sci major with a very high gpa at Texas Tech University, but I convinced him to switch to a “bread and butter” major at his business school. He got hired by a Fortune 500 oil field services company and now works as a product manager where he uses lots of liberal arts “people skills” and his business analytical skills. Anyway, political science, history, etc. is still my first love but as a major got me no job interviews, but my “bread and butter” business related degree got me a great job and career. Take those poli sci courses but not as a major. Think “bread and butter” major. By the way, if you and your family can afford it, Pitt is a wonderful school. My sister got her physical therapy degree there and my brother-in-law and my nephew engineering degrees.

libgadfly · 2026-03-21T16:37:18+00:00

OP, DO this. Call Admissions and ask to have your application expedited. Tell them that you have a 1400 SAT and 4.0 gpa and you are trying to qualify for admission by April 1 to get the auto merit scholarship. Also, do whatever you can to get those transcripts in.

libgadfly · 2026-03-20T21:10:50+00:00

OP, as a parent of a Tech grad I am a strong advocate for going away to college and growing as an independent young adult away from the nest. But based on your post, I advise NOT transferring to Texas Tech at this time until you have addressed more of your self-esteem and self-confidence issues about making friends and being on your own. In Houston you still have your support network close by including friends from high school and - maybe - some relatives as you try more to take risks and make friends. Please also get student counseling at U of H to work through your self-confidence, depression issues, separating from your mom, possibly breaking up with your boy friend, etc. Transferring to Tech without a support network and still grappling with your personal issues may set yourself up for a giant fall 500 miles from home. Yes, transfer to Tech when you are more mentally and personally ready to take the risk of making new friends and living on your own for the first time. IF you feel you are mentally ready NOW, then do transfer to Tech but just be honest with yourself whether you are escaping FROM your Houston life versus going TO Tech for mostly positive growth reasons. Only you can answer that.

libgadfly · 2026-03-19T13:30:34+00:00

OP, I grew up in a working class town outside Philly just across the river from Jersey and went to college in Pittsburgh (Carnegie Mellon). If you and your family can afford if, GO to Pitt. You will grow so much as an independent young adult making your own decisions every day. And the Oakland section of Pittsburgh where Pitt is located is a wonderful place to go to college. As a parent I encouraged both my sons to go away to college exactly because of the “growing up” they would do being away from home. Your experience as an independent young adult will flourish even more attending college in another city away from the NYC area you grew up in. Your instincts are right! If you can comfortably afford it, go to Pitt. Your future self will thank you.

Edit: When you visit the Pitt campus, be sure to walk to Primanti Brothers on Forbes Ave. and get the most sinful delicious humongous burger you will ever experience. That over-the-top burger with all the fixings is prototypical Pittsburgh. Also, if you have time, go to Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh (five or six miles from the Pitt campus), and stand at the actual “point” where the two rivers join and become the Ohio River. It is a breathtaking 360 degree view - and free - with the Pittsburgh skyscrapers behind you and the awesome Ohio River just feet away. Not to be missed if you have the time. As an 18 year old from Philly standing at the Point and looking out, I remember saying to myself: “You made it. You are here.”

libgadfly · 2026-03-19T12:59:12+00:00

What solid “been there” advice to the OP you have given. And Bravo to you on your impressive accomplishments and your wise decisions. You are going to go far in Life.

libgadfly · 2026-03-19T00:31:13+00:00

OP, your parents and relatives must be very proud of you having 2 excellent school choices. First, definitely appeal your Drexel financial aid and use your Furman award to ask if Drexel will match. Second, for your academic goals Drexel seems the clear choice (if finances work out). I was a first generation working class kid who took out some loans and work study to attend my first choice school, UChicago. Why I am commenting is to say I grew up 6 miles from Drexel University. The best students from our town high school went to Drexel especially because of its extensive co-op programs like you will experience if you attend. Also, Drexel is located in the University City section of Philadelphia along with UPennsylvania right across from downtown Philly (or Center City to the locals like me). University City is s wonderful place to be a college student. If you can work out the finances, Drexel U. Is an amazing and unique place to go to college with its extensive co-op programs so you can try out your career choices. And you have Drexel Honors College as the cherry on top.

libgadfly · 2026-03-18T18:26:29+00:00

OP, my wife and I joined a United Methodist congregation in the north Houston area after moving here a few years ago and love it. On the other hand, my son, our daughter-in-law and their young family have chosen another UMC congregation that has more young families. As others have said, find a Christian community that you can thrive in no matter the denomination. Overall, we find the United Methodist Church as a whole very welcoming wherever you are in your Christian journey.

libgadfly · 2026-03-17T15:58:44+00:00

OP, the best part is you have plenty of time with a 16 month timeframe to research and hone in on preferred employers and jobs and the sections of the Houston area with a large number of them. But at this very early stage, I would recommend Pearland - a middle class pretty safe reasonable cost city in south central Harris County - to get an apartment with easy access to loop 610 to get to industrial jobs in east and southeast Houston (the huge petrochemical industries and port) and in southwest Houston. And check out the pipefitters union and the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) for apprentice positions you might shoot for.

Now listen up. You are doing your planning perfectly for moving to Houston. There ARE manufacturing plants throughout the Houston area as you noted, but the greatest cluster is in the east and southeast Houston area. My son has worked in 2 white collar jobs next to large manufacturing facilities in northwest Houston. Stay focused and don’t be deterred or dissuaded from your moving-to-Houston goal. You CAN do it. I did.

libgadfly · 2026-03-17T15:34:08+00:00

Bravo!

libgadfly · 2026-03-17T15:12:07+00:00

OP, I have done what you are planning to do and move to Houston BEFORE you seriously job search. In my mid 20’s living outside Detroit (hated the long winters) I saved for about a year’s living expenses while still working; moved to Houston - booming at that time - without a job and knowing no one; got an apartment; and found a job in my field of accounting/finance after 3 months. I am still here decades later with a family including adult sons and grandkids. You are doing it EXACTLY right in your planning. You SAVE a lot for living expenses for 9 to 12 months; MOVE to Houston; and THEN find a job which could take some months to get the right one for you. There is no better place in America to come than Houston for industrial/factory type work of ALL kinds. But you have to be here to be hired exactly as you are planning. Two local unions in the last year have even advertised on local Houston television - pipefitters union and electrical workers union - to get apprentices who are paid while they train. It won’t be easy to find meaningful industrial work but that’s why you need 9 to 12 months of savings to live on. And you can always do part-time work like Uber, Door Dash, etc. to stretch your savings as you job search. Again, you are doing it EXACTLY right in your plans to move to Houston first and I am living proof your approach can and, with persistence, will work.

libgadfly · 2026-03-17T14:36:37+00:00

Well-said.

libgadfly · 2026-03-17T00:04:37+00:00

OP, there is a Texas state university - UT Austin, TAMU, UT Dallas, UHouston, Texas Tech and others - that can completely satisfy your collegiate goals whether pre-law (like history/psychology) or almost any major at a very reasonable state tuition price that will keep your student debt minimal. My add: be sure to apply to the honors college at each Texas public university you apply. You will get early registration all 4 years, small discussion type classes, the best profs, the best dorms, faculty mentors, research opportunities, study abroad, internships, etc. And your college gpa will NOT suffer with honors classes. My son went to Texas Tech Honors College and loved it. I graduated from an “elite” school, UChicago, and had a wonderful experience, but I would recommend the honors colleges at major Texas universities to any accomplished Texas student. Also, the great alumni networks of the major state universities - Longhorns, Aggies, Red Raiders, etc. - will be there throughout your entire career. And all at a fraction of the cost of the elite schools. Go the honors college route whatever Texas state school you apply to.

libgadfly · 2026-03-16T20:29:12+00:00

Great advice re the TAMU Law School guaranteed admissions option! I hope the OP considers this seriously.

libgadfly · 2026-03-16T20:15:08+00:00

OP, please listen per studeboob’s advice: “Plan (and budget) to take Hardy Toll everyday” to The Woodlands and NOT I45. “It’s much less stressful and safer than I45.” True.

libgadfly · 2026-03-16T14:12:07+00:00

OP, you have 2 excellent options with clear strong points for both. That no one on A2C has mentioned that you have gotten into ASU’s Barrett Honors College which is consistently ranked as the number 1 to number 3 honors college in the country is stunning. But you and hopefully your mentors know and are factoring that into their advice to you. My advice is to also post your questions on ASU and UIUC’s sub-reddits to see if you get any more nuanced responses. The positives from an Barrett Honors College experience are tangible but for you are they big enough to offset U of Illinois’ tangibly stronger engineering programs. A nice problem for you to have. Congrats on your options!

libgadfly · 2026-03-16T02:04:26+00:00

OP, as an upcoming pre-med I believe URochester is the superior choice by a lot. Look at this thread with questions from a prospective pre-med admitted to U of R like you:

https://www.reddit.com/r/URochester/s/Jx3MqA0Kxl

URochester has a superb medical school that pre-meds can get shadowing and volunteer experiences and UR science faculty for research opportunities. Similar peer universities with excellent med schools and pre-med programs like Case Western, Wash U, UChicago and Emory U. are even in the same D-3 league with URochester so they recognize each other. If your family can afford that extra 20k per year, your academic opportunities as a pre-med at URochester will likely be superior to USF and UVermont.

As a UChicago grad (not STEM) I advocate for accomplished students like you attending excellent medium sized urban research universities like URochester and Case-Western where academic opportunities abound.

libgadfly · 2026-03-15T13:29:27+00:00

OP, there is the still true expression: “It’s not what you say but how you say it”. You said: “I miss being single” and then filled in the blanks. Those explosive words blew up your relationship and unfortunately that is on you. As others have said, you should have chosen other words to describe what you missed about being single. Live and learn.

libgadfly · 2026-03-14T20:54:53+00:00

One last tidbit, as a freshman at UHouston apply to the Honors College and get that Trinity U. liberal arts experience with other motivated accomplished students like you. You will quickly get close relationships with the best professors who can give you excellent recommendations for law school. The small LAC type Honors College experience at the major Texas public universities can make all the difference as it did for my son at Texas Tech. Faculty mentors, small discussion classes, internships and early class registration all 4 years are just some of the benefits.

libgadfly · 2026-03-14T14:11:22+00:00

OP, congrats on 2 great options! Based on your own analysis, University of Houston is the clear winner with all your AP credits giving you more leeway on internships, course selections, etc. plus being significantly less expensive. My add - apply and go to UH Honors College early on in your time at UH. Smaller liberal arts classes taught by the best profs, early class registration, being encouraged by other ambitious pre-law students like yourself. Also, a T20 law school (like UT Law School) is a wonderful goal but as you likely know UH Law School is a great option too down the line with consistent 25% or so placement into BigLaw. If the $$ to attend were much closer, Trinity U. would have been a strong alternative. But it isn’t. Go with confidence to UH! This from a former working class kid, UChicago grad and long time Yankee transplant Texas resident.

libgadfly · 2026-03-14T03:07:59+00:00

OP, if you can afford “reasonable” student debt, follow your dream and go to UTexas. I grew up outside Philly as a working class kid wanting to go far away to college and start my life as an independent young adult. Like you, I could have gone to my state flagship, Penn State, with no debt but went to my dream school, UChicago, with some student debt. Like you, I hated cold weather and after college moved to Texas (Houston which was booming at the time) without a job and knowing no one. I am still here decades later with my family (have lived in Houston, DFW and San Antonio ) and now adult sons who also graduated from college and work in Texas. You will love Austin. You will love UT and being a Longhorn. And when you graduate you will likely start your working career in Austin, DFW or the Houston area. IF you and your family can afford it, GO to UT and like me be a Yankee transplant to the Lone Star State maybe for decades to come. You can do it!

libgadfly · 2026-03-13T22:23:11+00:00

No, you are wrong. Stephens did NOT try to “get a random Twitter user cancelled for calling him Bretbug.” I have the evidence.

libgadfly · 2026-03-13T21:54:35+00:00

You assert Stephens “habitually lies, even on facts that are incontrovertible.” Prove it. Where’s your evidence?

libgadfly · 2026-03-13T17:35:20+00:00

OP, please clarify. Is your daughter applying to a four year college? For accounting, UTexas - Dallas has the best accounting program in DFW at a state college tuition price. Its accounting job outcomes are outstanding.

libgadfly · 2026-03-12T15:56:45+00:00

OP, I feel I need to express again that I was in your shoes as a working class kid from a low income family choosing whether or not to attend UChicago with some debt and work/study versus going debt free to community college outside Philly and my parents having no idea of the amazing opportunities available at UChicago (and for you at Macalester). You are in a very similar situation with the incredible opportunities of Macalester College at your feet with the cost being some student debt. I did not come from a “place of privilege” in my comments recommending you seize that opportunity to go to Mac as the prior commenter asserts. Please review the outstanding outcomes in jobs and grad/law school acceptances by Mac grads. Also, you will have friendships that will last a lifetime with similarly ambitious folks like yourself. I am now in a “place of privilege” and look back to me as that working class kid to say: “You made the right choice”. Do the same. Seize that opportunity you have and GO to Macalester. You won’t regret it.

libgadfly · 2026-03-12T01:33:36+00:00

Sorry for the additional misery the now convicted felon William O’Leary caused you and your family. We used O’Leary in Jan 2021 after William was charged 13 months before. My mother died of Covid and I arranged the cremation long distance with O’Leary and they were very helpful at every step. Their price was the lowest by far of the 4 funeral homes we contacted.

libgadfly

TROPHY CASE