DS admitted to these schools for engineering. Any insights appreciated regarding education, college life, future opportunities. He also is considering SLO and Purdue!
There is an old discussion, and I have read through it. Curious about current thoughts and if anyone else is working through a similar decision.
Is there a significant difference in net cost between any of the schools?
@happy1
Yes, BU will cost about 33% more.
Go to Case due to the cost.
@Tom. isn’t your reply too simplistic of an answer? If the schools are equal in all aspects I would agree, but isn’t college is more then a cost analysis BS in Engineering 47K vs 76K? What, we want for our son is a great college experience, good education, network, and future opportunities. I want him to succeed and overall be happy! It seems that the BU engineering program is growing, and has some great opportunities from the local industry for internships etc. The industries that Case speaks of (eg. American Greetings, GE, Sherwin Williams) I do not see as cutting edge. I could be wrong, I am not in the tech field. The campus looks nice, however, and their endowment is larger per student (that may be reflective of happiness of alumni and corporate relationships.) They are also recruitng some energetic younger faculty. It has a solid reputation in the medical field, just no sense of the engineering field.
If you can afford the higher cost of BU without burdening yourself or your student with major debt then you are lucky and have the privilege of taking other things into consideration. Case engineering is very well regarded.
@TomSrOfBoston Case engineering is well regarded by who, and what engineering is strongest there.
@decisions02139
Both Case Western Reserve University and Boston University’s ranking in the 2020 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities is #40 (tied).
Case is #51 and BU is #36 in engineering. So both are in the top 5% of engineering schools.
Case is known for Biomedical Engineering but is strong in all engineering.
Case has a co-op program …what type of engineering is your child interested in?
Here is a link to companies who have participated in the coop program:
https://engineering.case.edu/coop/students/employers
If you want to see where CWRU graduates work after graduation: https://case.edu/postgrad/about/outcomes-and-data
So @TomSrOfBoston point that both are top engineering schools but one costs 33% more leads you to strongly consider Case.
Also why did he apply to Case? You don’t seem that impressed by it but is that because of unfamiliarity? Or you prefer Boston to Cleveland?
Check out the stickies in
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/case-western-reserve-university
such as
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/case-western-reserve-university/2081572-cwru-frequently-asked-questions.html
or
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/case-western-reserve-university/2080977-cleveland.html
I’m studying chemical engineering at Case and my sister goes to BU, although she’s not in engineering. I know several people who have gone to BU, as well.
Personally, I would take the rankings with a grain of salt. Many people think of Case as an engineering school, when I have not seen similar thoughts about BU. When I go to job interviews, I am often greeted with “Case is a difficult school.” Depending on what type of engineering you decide to major in, you can go into a variety of different industries. I see regular job postings in the food, oil, chemical, pharmaceutical, consumer goods, and finance industries. Case’s engineers end up working everywhere, from Johnson & Johnson to Lubrizol to Goldman Sachs.
Case has developed a very, very strong reputation in engineering and is a “serious” school. I would say students often see Case as a stepping stone to their more ambitious goals (PhD, top of industry, etc) and are therefore much more focused on schoolwork and academic extracurriculars than having a social life. That being said, you can easily have a social life if you want.
If you have any interest in research, I would say go to Case. I did research my sophomore year, after sending out a couple of emails to professors. Every professor sent a reply back and it only took a brief 5 minute interview before I was in a lab. My sister has been trying to get into a research lab, without much luck, and without so much as a reply. Students who apply to PhD programs from Case often go to top schools; I have friends now at MIT and Berkeley.
I also just want to mention that the faculty in the department know my name and greet me in the halls. There are many department bonding activities and, to celebrate the graduating seniors, the department had pizza delivered to my house!
I realize my post is biased, but I think if you’re serious about being a great engineer, Case is the place to go. When you factor in cost, I think it’s a no brainer.
@rokol2 Thanks for your personal insights. This really touches on many of the reasons I feel Case might be a better fit. I fear that larger schools are not invested in your success, and my hope is that Case engineering will be truly invested, as he will be when he goes. I hope the school has some college spirit. I did not have that in school, nor did his dad. What do you think of the Thinker Space - have you used it for any classes? What year are you, and what area of engineering. My son will need a social life, but he will fill that void with his sport(s). Is there any good ping pong players at Case? Who was your favorite freshman Professor?
@Bopper his is interested in either ME or CS. Yes, unfamiliar to Cleveland despite both his grandparents from there! Boston - very familiar. Love Boston. I really appreciate all the links and will delve into them soon, with my DS. I just wish there was an easy flight to Cleveland!
Thank you both!!! I still wonder Purdue vs Case…
Case actually has opportunites for Research as well as Coop.
The Source program (https://case.edu/source/) helps match up students with Professors doing research.
Case is a Division 3 school, so the sporty school spirit is not going to be like that of a Division 1 school.
The think[box] was after my time but I think it is great that they have tutorials and practice projects for the tools so you can learn how to use them. https://engineering.case.edu/sears-thinkbox/use
@Bopper a remaining question is why is the 4-year graduation rate (65%)on the lower side,
Good question. I will see what I can find out…I wonder if it has to do with students doing co-op programs which makes it take longer.
@decisions02139 With so many engineers, co-ops have a major influence on 4 year grad rates. Also internships, study abroad, research projects, the ability to double major/minor, in certain areas the Integrated Graduate Study and accelerated Masters degrees that are possible in the flexible curriculum at CWRU. All theses things affect 4 year grad rates.
I’m a 4th year chemical engineering student, and will be staying for an additional semester (graduating in 4.5 years). The 4-year graduation rate is low because many students do co-ops and graduate in 4.5-5 years or do an integrated BS/MS program, which has you graduating with both degrees in 5 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone graduate in more than 4 years if not for a specific reason.
I have used Think[box] in my classes to use their 3D printers. As a chem e, we don’t use it often, but I know the Mech Es use it a ton for both class projects and labs.
Case is D3, so there is not a lot of excitement around school sports, although students go to NBA, MLB, and NFL games. School spirit used to be seriously lacking, but it is getting better.
The freshman professors are all pretty good and I don’t think you can go wrong. Corbin Covault was a particularly great professor for Physics 1 and Chris Butler (Calc) is definitely entertaining.