Pitt or Rutgers-Camden

[Ninja1]

Am I the only one who thinks that OP declining the original offer makes this entire conversation pointless?

It probably is pointless, but I guess it's good from a hypothetical perspective. Plus I've heard of a few people getting back into places they withdrew from, sometimes with new scholarships. That whole "playin' hardball" thing.

[Sergio]

I agree, it probably is pointless.  But when you get offered off a WL, you really need to decide quickly and I never got a chance to visit the school.  I was in their first group offered from the waitlist at Pitt, and if I came back and said I thought about it and would like to put down a deposit after visiting, I can't imagine them not even thinking about it.

I have visited Camden's campus - THREE times.  Not horrendous, but not far from the "ghetto" areas of Camden.  Plus, I'd probably have to live in the Victor, because that's the only decent place near campus, and although people keep saying the area is revitalizing, for some reason some of the restaurants on the first floor seem to be closing up shop.  You really have to go into Philly to find anything decent to do.

Seems that Pitt is mainly a Pittsburgh school though.

[Aristone07]

Well it's good that you have visited the campus.  Also, you shouldn't go by the restaurants at the bottom of the Victor.  The pizza place there is unbelieveably expensive for Camden.  On the other hand, the Victor pub actually offers some good/reasonable food and Hank's (down the street from the Victor) is kind of a safer dive bar with bar food.  Other than that, you can head either way for good restaurants - two stops into Philly and you're at 8th and Market.  Take a car about five minutes the other way towards Cherry Hill and you have places like Aldo Lambertis, Cheesecake Factory, Chipotle, and some other cheap eats or good food. 

If you are looking near Campus...the Victor is pretty much the way to go.  Some students do live right off campus in the townhomes, which are patrolled pretty heavily.  As for the "ghetto" areas of Camden...you honestly need to walk a distance to the other side of the Ben Franklin  Bridge.  That's where things get seedy.  Why you would need to go beyond the R-C/Aquarium/City Hall area would be beyond me.  I know many kids who have been there three years and never ventured nor seen that other part of Camden.  It is what you make of it, I guess. 

Only cons about the Victor...its pricey for Camden and (if on the lower floors) you hear a lot of noise from concertgoers and the Riverline.  Other than that, I've been in about five of those apartments and they all seem big, clean and safe.  If you look towards Cherry Hill, you may be able to find something cheaper and within a very commutable trip to Rutgers. 

Goodluck.

[Sergio]

I wasn't implying that I will have to venture into other parts of Camden...I was worrying about the ghetto areas being so close to campus that it won't be that hard for the thugs to wander a few blocks - I hear that Camden has just had its 30th murder victim of the year, and Philly had 6 murders in the past weekend.  I grew up in the area and it is getting as bad as ever. 

One worry I also have about Rutgers is that it seems to be a commuter school, making it harder to meet people outside of class.  Don't know if this is necessarily true, though.

[john jacob]

One warning about Pitt.

Pittsburgh is one of the few major metro areas to lose population. It has one of the highest concentration of lawyers in the country...

Basically, it's a dangerous mix of local prospects, continued supply from Duquesne and Pitt, and declining population. So don't get too deep into red for the degree.

[jfields32]

I wasn't implying that I will have to venture into other parts of Camden...I was worrying about the ghetto areas being so close to campus that it won't be that hard for the thugs to wander a few blocks - I hear that Camden has just had its 30th murder victim of the year, and Philly had 6 murders in the past weekend.  I grew up in the area and it is getting as bad as ever. 

One worry I also have about Rutgers is that it seems to be a commuter school, making it harder to meet people outside of class.  Don't know if this is necessarily true, though.

Im also from the area and I feel that Camden is the worst place to live in the tri state area.  I couldnt spend 3 years of my life driving into Camden everyday. I did decide to attend Newark, mainly because it just felt like a better situation. The only thing is that I hear that Pitt is horrible place to live and is very weird culturally.  Seems like your stuck between a rock and a hard place. Be safe and live in weirdo Pittsburgh or go to Camden everyday...its on you