Since the location of Pittsburgh is such a crucial let of the book, I really wished they'd done even the tiniest bit of research before filming this... The University of Pittsburgh is not called Pitt State or Pittsburgh State by anyone either from or outside PA.
Such a great movie but that really agitated me and I'm shocked no one else commented on it here!
The college in the movie is fictional.
Actually, it's not! The book and movie both take place at Schenley H.S.(which is now closed but was a real Pittsburgh-area high school) and the college he applies to, and eventually goes to, is the University of Pittsburgh.
"Pitt State" is a real college... in Kansas. The whole story (both book and movie) is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In the movie the college is fictional. Specifically, it's a fictional "Pitt State" that's located in the Pittsburgh area. We know that because there's no Pitt State in the area, and the college he's applying to pretty clearly isn't in Kansas.
I don't remember if they "fictionalized" the high school. Did they ever say the name in the movie? Perhaps. Of course, if they didn't say any name, it's not unreasonable to say that therefore it "is" the real place it was shot.
Of course, films that take place at fictional schools are often shot at real ones ... Stadium High School is not Padua High School (nor is it in Seattle), Mt. Si High School is not Twin Peaks High School, the University of Oregon is not Faber College, etc., etc.
Incidentally, to the extent you're
shocked no one else commented on it here!
Don't allow such things to "really agitate" you. It could be a red flag telling you to chill the *beep* out.
Just my two cents...don't like it, just toss it on back.