Beginning a new graduate program can be daunting, and a common question posed by incoming students to the University of Pittsburgh Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) program is what current students wish they knew before starting. We asked several first-year DC students for their advice!
Getting Around Town
“Something that I wish I knew before I started the program at Pitt is how easily accessible it is to really get anywhere in the city as a Pitt student because we get free public transportation. I live up on Mount Washington which has the Incline (a funicular railway), so we take that transportation down to the city level and then we can take the bus anywhere throughout the city. There’s also “the T,” which is Pittsburgh’s subway, so you take that almost anywhere. You could go to baseball games on the North Shore through it, too. It’s very nice that Pitt supplies us with this awesome benefit.”
— Mark Sullivan (DC ’28)
“Before starting the program at Pitt, I wish I knew the Pittsburgh roads better. Traffic around here is a little bit rough sometimes, especially during rush hour, but they’ve got great public transportation, which is free for Pitt students, and I also just started using the POGOH city bikes which are also free for us to use.”
— Steven Samuelson (DC ’28)
The Program
“I knew it was going to be fast-paced and vigorous, but I do wish I would have known what exactly I was getting into in terms of the core schedule. It really is a lot, and it takes some mental preparation and some time to think about this new life, this new chapter that you’re starting and whether it’s the right fit for you. But I’m glad I chose to stick it out and it all worked out. So, definitely the mental aspect and making sure you’re ready because the classes, they’ll get you. It’s a lot of work, but it’s so worth it.”
— Alyssa Reyes (DC ‘28)
“One thing I wish I knew before starting the DC program at Pitt is that there is no parking in downtown Oakland. In all seriousness though, I think there is. I really think this program prepared me well for what it offered. There was nothing that was advertised that has not been put into practice. Everything that you will hear from current students and faculty is exactly how the program is, and there isn’t really anything that I would change based on what information I heard prior to getting here.”
— Matt Boyle (DC ‘28)
“I wish I’d known how fast-paced it was going to be and that it’s important to take the time for yourself and give yourself adequate time to get assignments done. You don’t want to fall behind.”
— Justin Kosovsky (DC ‘28)
“I think coming in, it’s definitely hard to gauge how hard a program is going to be. This program, since it is condensed down into that two-year, eight-month program length, is rigorous and time consuming. But if you put the time in and the hard work, it’s super rewarding. After every semester I look back and I’m like, wow, I didn’t have those skills or that knowledge coming into that semester. And it’s just been great and rewarding seeing how far I’ve come in eight months since we started.”
— Jules Ryan (DC ‘28)
You Can Do It
“I wish I would have known just how much support there would be. I expected to be kind of thrown to the wolves and for it to be really intense and really scary. And it’s been the complete opposite. I felt nothing but encouragement and support, and I feel so much more confident now in my ability to be a chiropractor.”
— Taylor Nabb (DC ‘28)
“Some future advice I would give to a prospective student is to take a breath. There’s a lot of material and it can be a little bit daunting, but you have to understand that your professors are here to help you, your classmates are here to help you and not to rush yourself. It takes time to learn all of this information and it will come out just great.”
— Aneisa Boyd (DC ‘28)
I wish I knew that I could do it. Sometimes, you may have doubts about yourself going into a grad program, seeing the course load and all that. It’s possible. Keep a good mindset and don’t get yourself down when things get hard.
— Dylan Mayer (DC ‘28)
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