If anyone (current students, professors, alums, parents, etc) has any advice for a rising freshman that would be awesome! I’m looking for everything from dorm information, to clubs, to which professors are good (for engineering), to what food is the best, to internships, to research, to orientation stuff, to class scheduling, to study abroad, to networking, to what to explore in Cleveland, to opportunities on campus. Basically ANY helpful information to make college the best! Also, if any of you have advice of what NOT to do or what to avoid that would be really awesome too! Thanks!
Also, any helpful information/ advice about SAGES would be appreciated!
I am a CWRU parent, with a rising junior. My son took SAGES classes in Darwin and Evolution, and Biology and Genetics and both seemed to be solid. SAGES are writing classes and if you are undeclared major, you will get an advisor from the SAGES program. In Cleveland I like the West Side Market, Coventry, and Little Italy. Ask your parents to pay for the extra pre orientation, which means you get to campus three days early and explore Cleveland with other Case students. Alternatively, you can do a camping trip in Western Pennsylvania too! Its a good way to meet other students, but it does cost extra. Don’t worry too much about freshman dorms, they all look exactly alike and they are all in the same part of north campus. The PreOrientation includes upper classmen who go with you on your explorations, so its a great time to get to ask more about Case and get advice. Be on the lookout for the subsidized trips over Fall Break and Spring Break. In my son’s freshman year there was a trip to Montreal, a trip to Toronto and in sophomore year, it was New York City. There was an on line sign up and the first 80 students got to go. Case picks up a good deal of the tab for hotel and the bus fare. Check out the Inamori Center for Ethics, and the Ethical Leadership Club. They offer scholarships to attend leadership conferences: http://case.edu/provost/inamori/
Finally learn more about SOURCE, which offers $3000 grants for undergraduate research in all fields of study:
http://www.case.edu/source/
This program includes a poster session for participants and a weekly research seminar for all undergrad researches to meet each other and learn more about the research process.
@Coloradomama THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
Random not well known stuff:
Bring a fan for your freshman year. Bring shoes for showering. Take gym as early as possible. If you can, take two the first semester and two your second semester (it’s super annoying to take later). Avoid taking gen eds early on and take other major requirements instead. This will help avoid having to take 5 300 level engineering classes at the same time later. Check rate my professor for information on professors. It is really accurate. If they have a 2.5 or less, avoid them if possible. If we say the professor is bad, they are typically horrible. Declare a major as soon as you can freshman year. It’s better to have an adviser in a field you might do than a random adviser. Go to the activities fair and check out all the clubs. If you are remotely interested in them, go to their events. You will figure out quickly what is clubs are good for you. Make sure to do as much fun stuff as possible freshman year. You won’t have nearly as much free time later on, so make sure to make the most of it. Don’t go to East Cleveland at night (even if you have lots of people with you) and avoid walking through the quad alone at night. There is a ton of good food around Cleveland. It shouldn’t be hard for you to find good restaurants. However, most of them are off campus. Most restaurants around campus close early, so if you get hungry at 2:30 am you will have no food options. You should have some food to eat in the dorm when you get hungry at night. The dining halls don’t really care if you steal food. However, the food is not that great to start with.
Thanks @ohiokid1234! Do you need 4 gym credits to graduate? Also, does joining a club sport count as a gym credit? I was planning on joining club tennis… How safe is the campus at night and in general? You said not to walk around on campus alone at night… could you explain? Also exactly how bad is East Cleveland and how far from Case is it?
Gym is 0 credits. You need two full semesters of it. It is pass/fail and classes are half semesters. Only varsity sports get gym credit. If you are on one side of campus and walk around that side of campus at night, it is fairly safe. Walking through the quad at night is a bad idea. You will still probably be okay. East Cleveland is super dangerous at night and kinda dangerous during the day. It’s really obvious where the bad places are, so avoiding them is really easy. Case’s campus is very close to East Cleveland, but if you stay on campus you will be fine. It is not hard to figure out when you are in a dangerous place in Cleveland. As long as you’re not being stupid, you should not have issues with safety.
Found this online and I think it’s incredibly helpful:
You will have arguments with your roommates. It's normal. You're stuck in a little cement cell with almost no room to stretch. Make sure you start the year with a good conversation about things. Figure out how your lifestyles line up. You'd think the surveys would find you a perfectly compatible roommate, but that survey was taken by a high school student at home, not a college student living in a 10 x 10.
Learn to live and let live with your roommate. You may be best buddies, and you may agree on nothing. Either way, respect your roommate's space in the room, demand respect of your space. Respect your roommate's sleep schedule, and demand respect of yours. You will probably end up on different sleep schedules. It's not hard to be nice.
Work out with your roommate how to deal with sexiling them. Seriously. Everybody has different expectations on how this should be handled, and arguments can run deep over it. However, if you have a system, and follow it, its almost never a problem. Try to rotate between using your partner's and your room. Even if your roommate may seem cool with giving you the room, frustration definitely builds up.. Figure it out before it's an issue.
Get the "Track the greenie" app. It is your best friend. Specially when it gets cold. Walking to class is a great exercise, but not at 8:30 in the morning with 2 feet of snow. And this is coming from someone from Buffalo, NY.
You will be staying up late. You will need food and coffee/energy supplements. Microwave food is great at 2 am unless you mess it up and wake up the whole building. You will be thoroughly shamed. I can promise you that. The vending machines will run out near the exam time. Going to WalMart (have someone organize a trip or drive you) and stocking up on stuff like this is a great idea. (buy some extra fans while you're at it, my room had a total of 5)
Don't be that guy/girl that has sex in the shower with your significant others(and/or anybody else who wants to have sex with you in a shower). I should not even have to say this. Girls, you WILL be known as 'that girl,' and guys, girls will know you, and many will avoid you, as 'that guy.'
If you ignore the advice of #6, don't be surprised when literally everyone else hates you.
Consider the study rooms off-limits for sex as well. Please, people do sometimes need a room to study at 2am. And please don't use the ping pong or the pool table, they will break and people will hate you for it. And if you do make a mess, please clean up.
Be considerate of your floormates, and they'll typically do the same. You're all adults now, so act like it. Your RA won't hesitate to MAKE you grow up if you decide to be an immature little punk. If your RA doesn't, there's a solid chance the rest of your floor will.
Register your bike with security ASAP to get a free U-lock. Chain locks are way easier to cut through.
Security alerts happen. You live in Cleveland now, and with big cities comes the occasional crime. Do not go by the pond outside the Art Museum across from the library. It is below street level, so no one can see you. Most of the security alerts will be about people getting assaulted, mugged, etc at Wade Park/ Wade Lagoon. In the evening, travel in pairs or packs, use SafeRide (store the number in your phone for security and safe ride.) If you're at the library, there are people in yellow jackets that will walk you back to your dorm if you're studying along late at night. Don't spend your life running scared, but be responsible for your own safety. It's no different than any major city.
Case offers a self-defense course in Veale at the beginning of each semester. If you can, try to enroll in it. It's not for credit or anything, and it's only once a week.
USE. THE. CAREER. CENTER. College is about getting a job. There are career fairs in the fall and spring, with the spring having an emphasis on internships. Have the Career Center help you put together a resume, practice mock interviews, and look for networking opportunities. Your end goal of college should be to come out as a young professional that can impress.
If you're an engineer, check out the Co-Op program. It lets you take a semester off (you pay no tuition, you retain your scholarships, and you are still considered a full-time student) in order to work. Most students make enough money to cover some or all of their tuition for the semester or two after they return. Attend the info session when you arrive in the fall, and start trying to plan for it later in your college career. (If you have a lot of AP credit, it's easier to plan. If you don't, you may take a class or two out-of-sequence in order to Co-Op- and that's totally fine. You aren't the first or last student that needs to do that in order to Co-Op.)
Use tutoring services before you have the grades to prove you need them. You get 5 free hours of tutoring a week and can sign up at tutortrac.case.edu. Sign up in advance to get help on homework, have concepts explained to you in a different way, or just have someone help you review what you covered in class. If you're hesitant because you think it's "uncool" or "shameful," keep in mind that there's nothing uncool or shameful about a better GPA because you took the time to get help.
If you take a bite of something in the dining hall, and you don't think it tastes right, eat something else. You don't want to be sick because of bad food. It happens more often than you think, and always during the worst of times.
Don't lose your room key. They are expensive. Like, 90 dollars a pop.
People may remove your laundry from the washing machine and put it in a dryer or remove it from the dryer and put it on top of the machine. It's okay, don't freak out. People need access to the machines and if you take too long, they have to take action. I suggest setting an alarm on your phone to grab your laundry as soon as it's done if you really don't want other people touching it.
Don't drink/smoke in your room. Bad Idea. Two reasons you will get caught no matter what: noise and smell. The RA's are trained to know when there is drinking going on. The second you have more than one person drinking in a room (don't drink alone, that's just pathetic) you will be loud. You will start talking about alcohol and partying. The thing is, walls are thin and the doors are anything but sound proof. It will be really easy to tell there's something going on. That said, even if you hide all the bottles and glasses when a RA knocks, they will smell it. I guarantee it. You're all smart people and you should know alcohol has evaporates if left out in the open. That means you will reek of booze if you drink. YOU WILL GET CAUGHT. DON'T DO IT. (yes I speak from experience)
That said, don’t live your life in fear. Drink if you want to. Just be smart about it. (learn the RA rotations)
Also, while it isn’t a good idea to drink in your room, if you do anyway and you do get caught DON’T FREAK OUT. This is college and every authority figure we have knows that. They aren’t going to do anything drastic if you get caught drinking once or twice. After two times is definitely pushing it though, and nobody wants to get pegged as a “problem”.
Remember that everyone in your dorm is a freshmen. All this is very new to everyone. Go out there and talk to people. We can tell you tips and tricks, but you guys are gonna have a much better time if you do things together. Freshmen year is when you make friends that last you a lifetime, so get out there and have some fun. Do not close your door while unpacking- it instantly deters people from sticking their head in to introduce themselves.
Greek Life. You’re gonna have some exposure to it regardless of if you join. I am a member of Greek life, and I do believe everything has something to gain from joining greek life, regardless of which fraterinity/sorority. You will make really good friends (technically brothers/sisters) and have adventures that you will remember for a life time. The beginning of the year, you’re gonna hear a lot of rumors about certain frats/sororities. 99% of the bad ones are NOT TRUE. Don’t judge a chapter by the rumors. Go meet some people then decide. You will have friends that join other chapters and that’s fine. Most of my really good friends from freshmen year are in different fraternities. That said, fraternity rush is in the fall, sorority rush in the spring. There’s no contract you have to sign to rush, so go to as many rush events as you can.
Side note: Sorority recruitment works differently. Check it out.
Your politics/religion/beliefs are like your genitals. Keep them in your pants unless someone wants to see them. Then you can wave them around and shove them into said “someone” 's face.
Try to get in good with your RA at the beginning of the year. It might save you from a write up later in the year. That said, offering him drinks and strippers for his birthday in front of 2 other RAs is a horrible idea.
You have a Google account through your Case Email. This affords you a number of powerful resources (Docs, Calendar, etc) that will make your life much easier if you use them. Use them!
It is tempting to join every organization you see - but realize that unless you want to be known as the flake, you have to tone it down, and only commit to a few. Joining eight organizations and trying to hold positions in all of them does not work, and will damage your grades faster than a solo hike through East Cleveland at night. Go to a lot of different meetings at the beginning of the year, get a feel for the clubs, then drop all but a select few. Fellow group members are as important or more important than the activity.
It’s tempting to buy restaurant food and store it in your freezer/fridge. Bad idea. Dorm fridges do not keep food good as long as one might think.
Pay attention to SIS! The website contains data about your finances, grades, and schedule here at Case. It is one of your lifelines to the administration and it is expected that you will check it. If you don’t you may miss a charge that was mistakenly put on your account, or not get into a class you were looking at. Stay in the loop and be on top of things.
If you don’t understand something about your major, about Financial Aid, about ANYTHING, remember that there are entire offices and departments employing people who are paid specifically to answer your questions. Make them earn their salaries. Don’t sit on something you don’t know - it may save your ass!
If it’s after October, always carry a light waterproof jacket with you. You never know when mother nature will strike. Being wet and smelling like dog only makes 8:30 am lectures worse 
Bring an umbrella to case and have it in your backpack ALL THE TIME. It can be sunny and 80 in the morning and downpouring and 50 degrees when you get out of class.
Treat community property very well. It’s easy to get caught up in the mentality that someone else will clean up your mess, but you’re an adult (or soon to be) - act like it. Clean up your own damn mess.
Your RA is not the bad guy. He/She won’t hesitate to deal with any problems you may cause, but their main purpose is to be there for you to help you with anything you need. He/She will always be willing to listen to you complain, give you advice, point you in the right direction, and help you learn from their own personal experiences to prevent you making the same mistakes. Remember: Your RA was once a freshman too. They certainly understand your situation and are NOT out to get you.
Always check the forecast before you get dressed/leave your room. Smelling like wet dog in your 8:30 lecture is just as bad as smelling like B.O. on the greenie because your sweater and Uggs don’t accommodate the 80-degree weather in early March. (Yes, this happens. I went to the beach.)
If possible, talk to your roommate before you move in. Sometimes it’s nice to have two mini fridges, but there really isn’t room for two tv’s in one room. It’s easier and less expensive if you divide up the shared items. I bought the fridge and my roommate bought a printer, so sharing was fair and easy.
If you need a moving truck or Uhaul to get all of your stuff here, you have too much stuff. You don’t need anything beyond clothes, toiletries, bedding, school supplies, and maybe some food. Getting trapped in your cave of a room because you hoard everything from kindergarten will not make you any friends…if nothing else than because you can’t find your way out. Leave your yearbooks, beanie baby collection, science fair ribbons, varsity jackets, rollerblades, and winter clothes at home (at least until you need a coat and mittens come December- I suggest bringing them with you after Thanksgiving Break). You and your roommate will thank you later.
For the love of god (and good health) bring shower shoes. I had at least 3 pairs of Old Navy flip flops that I used only for showering.
It’s really easy to get the idea that “I’M IN COLLEGE, I AM SO INDEPENDENT AND CAN DO ALL SORTS OF CRAZY THINGS”. Don’t be that guy. Yes, you are more independent, but seriously, don’t go crazy. I know a LOT of people who couldn’t handle the independence and ended up going dropping out of Case. You might say “that won’t happen to me!”, but seriously - it can. Have fun, but make sure it isn’t impacting your performance in school.
You were the valedictorian? Congrats! So was everyone else who went here! You’re no longer on top of the academic world and can’t breeze through school any longer. Don’t come in expecting that your brilliance will magically carry you through your classes - be prepared to work. Hard. The most successful students first semester are often less naturally brilliant- because they knew how to study and learn when many others just floated through their APs.
Along with the independence is the alcohol. Its there. You can get it. If you opt to drink, do it responsibly. Be safe: about how much you drink, how often you drink, where you drink, and who you drink with. Alcohol can be involved in crazy mischief in good ways, and in bad ways.
Followup on 43: if you have never consumed alcohol prior to coming to college, stick to beers, and count bottlecaps, so you can get a feel for how much you consume without becoming incoherent. For the future, 1 beer = 1 glass of wine = 1 shot (usually).
Speak out. Challenge the system. Don’t accept an answer unless there is a reason behind it. And if you disagree, let it be known. Case can have a culture of apathy sometimes. Don’t fall prey to it.
The Flora Stone Mather Center for Women gives out free condoms. To both guys and girls. In a similar vein to alcohol: if you have sex, be safe.
Pranks happen. Pranks can be fun. If you cause a mess, clean it up. Avoid messing with people’s sleep schedules. Don’t damage people’s stuff, and especially the common shared spaces.
Don’t go under the bridge (at least not alone and not late at night) Travel in groups when you go under the bridge that starts East Cleveland.
We have un-Godly fast internet at Case. It’s awesome for streaming netflix and music and stuff. It would seem as if torrenting at Case would be awesome too. You know whats a bad idea? Torrenting stuff. My friend in Case IT said last year’s class downloaded the most porn ever. They also got record number of cease and desist letters. Guys, that’s not a record you want to beat 1. Don’t torrent, you will get in trouble. 2. See number 1. If you are torrenting something legal (freeware/shareware) try to limit your upload/download to 250 Mbps. You’re less likely to get in trouble if you don’t eat up too much bandwith. Long story short, its tempting but don’t torrent too much stuff, you will get busted. 
Create a study schedule/program. High school did not prepare you to study for college. It just baby sat you long enough to make it here. Work with ESS and your advisors/TAs and make a study program. You cannot cram. People may tell you they crammed and did well. Well, shit happens. Just do it, it’s for your own good.
Don’t trust University Health Services. If you can, go to University Hospital or Cleveland Clinic, especially for more serious problems.
Bring a health insurance card. You never know when you’ll end up spending 6 hours in the emergency room on a Friday night, 400 miles away from home. Trust me, you don’t want to have to pay out-of-pocket for that.
Similarly, have your Social Security Card. I didn’t bring mine because I had the number memorized, but I needed it when I wanted to get direct deposit for my job on campus.
THAT SAID, utilize direct deposit, it makes life a gajillion times easier.
If you have the self-discipline to do so, establish a bedtime. It sounds childish, but you will feel a lot better for getting enough sleep, especially the night before an exam.
If you have a roommate, bring a sleep mask. Mine was the single most useful item I brought with me.
Earplugs are also helpful, if sound keeps you awake. Professionally- made ones run around $150, and you can also get throwaway ones at the drugstore.
Use Freshman Forgiveness. You can drop a class at any time before finals week, and it won’t show up on your transcript. If you feel like you took too many credit hours and are getting overwhelmed, there is no shame in dropping a class and taking it another semester.
Be social, and put yourself out there. Join clubs that look interesting, leave your dorm, lounge in the common area. Hang out with your floor, pick up games of basket ball. And most important, LEAVE YOUR DOOR OPEN. Best way to meet people.
As far as gals and guys go, don’t be afraid to interact with them. Trust me, neither bites. unless you act like a jerk, in which case, well, no guarantees. Just go out, be yourself, and have fun. And don’t take it too personally if someone isn’t interested. Case is a pretty big place, and friends can sometimes be just as much or more fun.
Don’t forget to do laundry. And don’t forget to wash your bedding and towels; not just clothes.
Don’t eat Denny’s every night. That’s a health hazard.
Avoid neglecting your health by occasionally going for a run, doing pushups/crunches in your room, playing basketball in the court next to Denny’s, or going to Veale to do anything athletic. Your health is the most important thing you have.
Consider investing in a skateboard/longboard/bicycle if any of the following describe you: heavy sleeper, poor at time management, slow walker.
Biking: Make use of the less traveled side streets and avoid the common paths. You’ll get to class faster, and won’t hit anyone
Don’t let other people bother you. If you don’t like them, find them annoying etc, stop complaining and just don’t hangout with them.
If you’re feeling depressed, overly stressed, suicidal, etc., go to University counseling ASAP. Also important number: 1-800-273-8255. put it in your phone. You never know who will need it (you, friends, dormmates etc). You never know when mental health issues will strike but they should always take number 1 priority.
LEAVE YOUR ROOM SOMETIMES. (Seriously though, even professors make fun of how anti-social some of the case students can be on occasion.) Trust me, we all need our alone time, but we also need time to be social. I don’t care if youi’re an extravert or an introvert, chances are you like to do at least something with other people sometimes. Do it.
Don’t ever feel pressured to do anything you don’t want (drink, go to a party, join an organization/activity, take a class, etc). Each person is different and only you know what’s best for you.
RTA & healthline will get you (some) places, but usually are slow and not always reliable. Downlaod Uber and Lyft from the app store – they are life savers.
Experiment with note taking systems. There’s a lot of recommendations online if you don’t know what to do. Good notes --> good grades (most of the time). Along that line, usually internet and notes don’t mix well –– shut it off and pay attention (or even better, handwrite your notes)
Transcribe your notes from class into a unified and succinct doc. This way, by the end of the semester not only have you studied everything by re-writing and re-wording your notes form class, but you also have a study guides. Having those already assembled will save you much time in finals week.
Don’t do extracurricular stuff during finals week/reading weekend. You will regret it. Also, don’t celebrate until you’ve finished ALL your finals, no matter how tempting it is to celebrate with your friends who are done earlier.
Cleveland has lots of fun things to do. Take advantage of it. If you want to go out at night, that’s fine, but normally that doesn’t start until around 10 pm. That leaves plenty of time to go to the art museum or something like that before you go about your choice of night-life. Grab some people and do something!
Be friendly to professors in office hours/coffee break. Professors love to talk to students (for the most part) and in addition to providing your rec letters/references for the future, they are the best way to learn about life. They don’t even have to be your professor –– if you find one that researchers/ does something you’re interested in, they’d love to talk to you regardless of whether or not you are in their class.
Don’t freak out too much if you fail your first exam in your classes. This is the time to adjust your study habits and visit office hours to get the help you need (if necessary). You can still do extremely well in the class! Don’t let one bad exam grade get the best of you.
This was so long I needed multiple posts haha. But it’s very informative I think.
Get involved and take time to develop friendships - you’ll regret it if you don’t.
Get to know and build a friendship with a prof. or two.
Have fun.
Visit the Cleveland Museum of Art and hear a Cleveland Orchestra concert - both are amazing institutions.
Also, any helpful information about the financial aid process and registration process is wanted!
Financial aid- Basically you apply and you get what you get. Case is very generous with financial aid. It is important to note anything you get financially (ex.other scholarships, win the lottery) will reduce the amount of financial aid you get in subsequent years. There is almost no point in getting extra scholarships if you have high financial aid because you will lose almost all of it in aid. Also, moving off campus or going off the meal plan can significantly reduce your financial aid (up to like 11k a year).
Registration- Rising seniors followed by juniors followed by sophomores followed by freshman register for classes. No one gets priority and classes are first come first serve. If a class is full, you can request permission to join and you will probably get in for your major related classes. Registration for university requirements (sages and pe) are very competitive and requesting permission for them is futile. I would recommend registering as soon as registration opens. Get used to not getting everything you want at registration time. I have been locked out of about 10 classes during my time at Case and everything has worked out fine.
@ohiokid1234 how is financial aid in subsequent years compared to freshman year if you don’t get any new scholarships?
In case it’s relevant to anyone, CWRU’s National Merit Finalist scholarships are renewable. This surprised me because I thought my scholarship would only last two semesters based on [this page](Undergraduate Admission | Case Western Reserve University), but I think it’s going to be $2000 per year for four years.
At least for me, it has been very similar every year (cost has also been similar with no new scholarships). My family did not do as well financially this year, so I’m actually getting the most financial aid this year as a senior. I don’t know how true this is for other people.