Can't shake bad feelings about Case.

Colleges and Universities A-Z Case Western Reserve University
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<p>I am the parent of a HS senior and am intrigued by Case also, but share the OP’s concern about the environment. I also agree that fit is extremely important to a successful college experience, and to overlook it because of strong academics is not a good idea. I comb threads like this often, trying to get a sense of “fit.”</p>

<p>I think the OP has learned as much as possible from this distance and will likely get a better feel not just through a visit but from an overnight, as walking the campus and eating in the dining hall is not a close-up enough experience to answer your questions.</p>

<p>OP, my assessment from the students’ posts here is that kids with well-defined interests and the confidence and drive to seek out others who share them do great at Case. Those who aren’t sure of themselves or whose interests are more vague may find it harder to fall into great opportunities. As a freshman years ago, I was the latter, and went to a “serious school” and hated it because I spent the year waiting for fun to happen. I never joined anything and had a miserable time. I transferred to UW Madison where it was easy to find fun without showing much initiative. I was happy there. As you can imagine, I’m encouraging my son to pursue his interests and not be a lump on a log, as I was. </p>

<p>So the real question you might need to answer concerns your son, and not Case. What are his interests and how strongly does he pursue them? If he’s an avid rock-climber, for example, he’ll have no problem finding those on campus with that interest, if he’s willing to dig around. But if he’s like many boys of this age and tend towards vague activities like “hanging out” and playing video games, he might find Case (or any of the “serious schools”) challenging.</p>

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<p>beastman, your advice rings true, and I will share it with my son. I think we will end up visiting Pitt, Carnegie Mellon, and/or Rochester at some point, so an overnight at Case could be in the cards, as you suggest. Thanks for your thoughtful reply.</p>

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<p>beastman, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but I kind of laughed when you implied that students at Case don’t play video games much because so many Case guys play video games. Actually I do a lot more hanging out (I’m not into video games but tons of my Case friends are) than structured activities like rock climbing. My freshman hall shared very little in common other than living location and yet we just hung out all the time, went out shopping, to dinner (out or at the dining hall), played games, etc. together. And I did nothing other than just happen to be placed on that hall.</p>

<p>Case students study for sure, but we also hang out all the time (I mean, you have to occupy your time somehow if you’re going to procrastinate on your homework, right?)</p>

<p>mantori.suzuki: As far as visiting goes, I applied to way too many schools my senior year so when it finally came to look at visiting Case the only weekend I had left was Easter weekend of my senior year. I had to be a bit more organized about my visit, contacted students from organizations I was interested in and met up for a coffee, but it worked out just fine.</p>

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<p>Case is AWESOME! The reason…the people. Case has a very unique culture that is hard to grasp without spending some time. The first thing to realize about the culture is that we LIKE to make fun of Case at nearly every opportunity. Case students pick on Case because well, to stay here you have to be willing to put in the effort and complete all of your assignments. Those that kill themselves attempting to get a 4.0 will hate Case, in most departments it just is not possible to get a 4.0. The fortunate thing about Case is you probably dont need a 4.0, and a high 3 will work just as well, Case is well known and respected in industry and academia and has connections that will get most students jobs before graduation (even now).</p>

<p>Those that obsess over grades are the grouches that we all imitate, but most of us do our work and then have some fun with others. Extracurriculars at Case are huge, many student are a regular in about two activities and dabble in a few others. Those that dont put the computer away hate Case, but those that put it down and find a regular thing to go do, will enjoy it.</p>

<p>Part 2 of Case culture, Case kids are smart, in the Engineering Circles a typical discussion will encompass Quantum Physics, Religion, mideast politics, thermodynamics, how much we hate the Case Beurocracy, US politics, and the meaning of life. (Yes these can go on till 3 am and often start over dinner) The liberal arts students also have similar discussions (just substatue the appropriate literary piece where you see a technical term). Case students are nerds and geeks and proud of it. There is nothing we want more that to hear the band play Star Wars at Halftime.</p>

<p>Part 3. The student body is diverse. Name it we probably have it, cheese-club to comedy troups from building large model aircraft at AIAA DBF (Shameless Plug) to literary criticism groups. If it floats your boat then there are some people at Case that will join you to do it.</p>

<p>And by the way talk to the students when you visit, or better yet, walk into Prof Kenny or Prof Buttler’s freshman chem and math classes. Those are prime examples of case, its hard work to do well, but we are always laughing at some point.</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

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<p>I was at Case earlier this year for a college visit and had to say I was pretty impressed with the atmosphere at Case. Most of the students there looked happy to offer information about their classes and general facts about the school. I had so much fun just being there.</p>

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<p>I enjoyed my visit too.
I’m from a big city so I liked the fact that it was close to a central city atmosphere but also has the college campus feel. I’d run the risk of getting bored without a city bustling around me since I’m so used to that.</p>

<p>Question though, for an engineer at Case.
What’s most of this huge workload? Labs? Problem sets?
How would you say the workload breaks down in %s in a typical engineering/science class? What percentage of science classes will be lab-based?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

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<p>Great to finally see some unequivocally positive posts about Case! I was beginning if anyone genuinely liked the place. Thank you for continuing to post even though the thread is getting old. I’m genuinely interested.</p>

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<p>homerslippers: The bit of coursework that individually required the most time for me has usually been problem sets. However, problem sets for me include a lot of looking back to my book and notes (for me, reading textbooks and doing the problems are not really distinct). Labs are usually time-consuming but mine have usually been part of separate (as in, separate grades) lab courses and the most time-consuming part of a lab is often the write-up (my actual in-lab time usually hasn’t been more than 2 or 3 hours a week for a particular course). If you count computer programming as lab-work, the classes in which you are introduced to a particular programming language will require a lot more “lab” time, but I usually think of that more as problem solving since that’s something you can do on your own computer on your own time.
Sorry if that was ambiguous, I’ll tell you a little more about my personal experience. Let me preface this with the fact that I did not follow standard scheduling since 1) I came in with a lot of credit and 2) I knew from before I started college that I wanted to study abroad and therefore massively rearranged which courses I took which year. Also, I way over studied 1st year, got better my 2nd.
1st year: 95% of my engineering/science coursework was problem-sets (including reading and working through problems that were not assigned because that’s the way I learn best). Recitation or problem-solving classes are usually not required, but depending on how easy you find the class, may be helpful. The only “lab”-work I did was Introduction to programming, the programming was pretty simple, average maybe a couple hours a week on actual programming (and I spent more time than many). However, most engineers would also take a chem lab (I passed out of it, never really heard complaints about it, so it was probably simple) and Physics (for the amount of complaining I heard about that lab–usually lab report writing-- it was probably very time-consuming/difficult, but complaints tend to be exaggerated here so I don’t actually know how bad it was).
2nd year: In terms of labs, fall semester I had one class that I learned Matlab in, but the “lab”-sessions were optional, I probably spent a good 6 hours a week on that lab. I had one lab class that met 2x a semester (1 credit hour), I also took Circuits, which had a 2 hr lab each week, usually pretty straightforward, required maybe a couple of hours a week outside of lab, if that. In the spring i had one lab class that met 2 hours a week–sometimes the programming associated with processing that data was difficult but not usually. Other than that, my 2nd year was all coursework.
3rd year: I studied abroad, so not really applicable.</p>

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<p>Casegirl, what class did you learn Matlab in? Also, do you learn JAVA or C++, preferably both?</p>

<p>Are there internships/coops available?</p>

<p>Does anybody you know work with NASA?</p>

<p>Do you need a car?</p>

<p>How brutal are the winters?</p>

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<p>I personally learned some C++ in high school, and JAVA in ENGR 131 (a core class that all engineers take usually in the first year). I heard that ENGR 131 is being switched to Matlab, although I have seen no solid evidence to back that up, just heard it from a fellow-student (so he may have actually meant it as a conjecture). I personally have never actually used JAVA since ENGR 131 (and never used C++). I don’t really know much about the programming that other engineers use (or even other BMEs), other than the fact that many don’t use Matlab exclusively and I’m sure Electrical Engineers/Comp Sci would use a lot more programming than I do. In the BME curriculum–as it was when I entered Case–Signals and Systems, a 3rd year class (I took it sophomore year)is the first time you would officially learn Matlab. It was a great (and pretty intense) introduction, I was a programming dunce and now I’m <em>fairly</em> proficient. But if you are a BME and work in a lab before then you will most likely have some exposure to Matlab, and although I complain about it, it’s a great language to know and not that difficult to pick up on. I program mostly to process signals and images, which Matlab is great for, so…</p>

<p>Internships/co-ops…yes they are available. I personally did not do one so am not the best authority on them. However, I have done research in a professor’s lab, as do tons of students at Case, professors are usually pretty approachable. I’m really happy with what I do, my professor tries to make my work stimulating and challenging so I’m not just a little errand-girl/test-tube cleaner-type. I have heard doing a co-op is a little scary since Case doesn’t provide great administrative support with that (as in, you have to arrange it with the company yoursel), but if I had done one I am sure I could have gotten some advice from professors or my advisor. And I know tons of people who have done internships/co-ops so I could always get advice from them.</p>

<p>Does anybody you know work with NASA? I feel like someone I know was an intern there or co-oped or something, but I can’t think of who.
A car…I’m a rising senior and don’t have one. It would be nice, but I wouldn’t use all that much and insurance for me would be a lot and I’m a girl and don’t want to deal with the problems that I just KNOW would happen with my car. If I had it, I would probably only use it 2-3X a week, maybe more, but for those things I can usually get a ride anyhow. </p>

<p>Winters…depends where you’re from. Then again my friends from Texas seem to do just fine. I’m from an area that gets cold, but usually never snows more than 6 inches at a time, often 3 in or less. Winters do stink and they’re cold and miserable but if you get a good pair of boots, and bundle up it’s not all that bad. And at least businesses are used to snow, as in, stores don’t close with a measly 10 inches of snow. Most of the snow is in the 2nd semester, if that makes a difference at all, it can sometimes get a little depressing if it’s been freezing for a couple months. Ehh, you’ll live (you may not always feel like you will, but…) and it makes hot cocoa taste that much better :stuck_out_tongue: Seriously, though, I think the weather is a good thing to consider, maybe go to the history on weather.com or check this out [Cleveland</a> snowfall totals year by year Cleveland Ohio Statistics & Demographics | Data Central - cleveland.com](<a href=“Cleveland snowfall totals year by year - cleveland.com”>Cleveland snowfall totals year by year - cleveland.com)
if you’re the type that gets depressed when it’s super cold, Case is a bad place to be. On the other hand, if you like snow-ball fights or snow-football or any other snow game you’ll have an awesome time here.
Hope this helps, feel free to ask more questions or message me.</p>

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<p>Thanks, casegirl, for all your help. Getting down to the wire. Case Western is staying on the list. </p>

<p>Do you have an opportunity to choose your humanity/social science electives that may be a part of degree requirements, or are they assigned to you?</p>

<p>How is the placement in jobs right after BS for BME? Do most people who don’t go to med school go to grad school, or is there any percentage that goes directly into industry?</p>

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<p>I don’t know whether or not things have changed since I entered Case but I can take any humanity/social science electives I want, as in, I could do only one class in each department I chose. I <em>believe</em> science majors have a little less freedom, as in, I think they half to pick 1 department in social sciences and 1 in humanities and just take classes from there, but I really don’t remember so don’t quote me on that, I just know that it’s not very restrictive. Also, Case does not have a language requirement, but if you do take a language, you must take at least 2 semesters for it to count towards any requirement.</p>

<p>Job placement. I don’t know too much about job placement directly after BS because I always knew I wanted to go to grad scool, other than the fact that a good number of Case students do get jobs out of college. I always felt that stopping at undergrad would be difficult for Biomedical engineering in particular because BME has to touch on so many different aspects of BME that it can’t dig too deeply into many things, but like said, many Case students do get jobs right from undegrad, so maybe I have no clue…</p>

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<p>My cousin went to Case and liked it. He is now getting a doctorate at Berkeley.</p>

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<p>My brother’s at Case now and loves it. He made a lot of great friends on his hall and I would definitely say that they hang out and have fun (go out theatre productions one friend is in, go out for wings, play video games etc.). Granted I haven’t experienced it myself, but everything he’s said is positive, enough so that i applied there myself. I ended up not going but that had more to do with academic interest (I’m not sciency which is Case’s strength) than anything wrong with Case.</p>

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<p>My S and D both attend Case. We live in the Pacific Northwest. We did a college road trip during the summer before his senior year. He had a few criteria. Trees. Mountains. Aerospace Engineering major. After we visited many, many schools with the above qualities, the last school we went to was Case (on the drive home). When we got into the car to leave, he announced that that was where he wanted to go to school (trees, but no mountains I reminded him…). He absolutely loved the idea of living in an area that had symphony, theater, museums, nobel laureates and engineering all in one square mile. He is in his third year and still loves it. His sister visited him in her senior year and decided to go there as well, even though she is a major in the liberal arts area. She couldn’t wait to get back there in the fall.</p>

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<p>My son is a freshman this year trying to decide between Computer Science and Computer Engineering. He loves Case and is having a great time. We were lucky to find a school so close to us that met all his needs.</p>

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<p>This thread has surpassed my expectations. I had such a hard time finding positive reviews of Case, but what I’m hearing lately is encouraging. Since Case is strong in science, gives great financial aid, and is in an interesting area of Cleveland, I’m pretty sure my son will want to apply there.</p>

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<p>Bumping up this thread… despite the original title, there is some excellent feedback here! Student/Parents - Any more feedback from this year?</p>

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<p>My daughter has been accepted by CWRU. All I can say is that when we toured the campus last Summer we all loved it and it is my daughters 2nd choice out of 10 schools (she is still waiting for a very big reach Ivy). I wrote a campus visit report if you’re interested in our experience. </p>

<p>I think the bottom line is what many people have already mentioned: It is what you make of it. Seems to have great academics and a very good reputation. Not known for a party school but certainly there are plenty of social opportunities with 6000 young men and women living in the same community. I thought the campus was safe (very important consideration for my daughter, wife and I). Generous merit / FA. My daughter will probably attend CWRU.</p>

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<p>My son also applied to CWRU. The things attracted him are the good science and medical education, merit scholarship, PPSP program and location not far away from home. I heart a lot of discussions about “fit” of universities for a undergraduate student. I believe that son will have several unversities to choose in April. What other things do you consider “fit” or not “fit” in addition to academics, special programs, locations, and finance. Thanks.</p>