Case vs. Brandeis vs. U Rochester

College Search & Selection
1

I’d love to hear thoughts on the relative strengths and weaknesses and general vibes of these three schools from anyone who has visited/seriously considered at least two of them, or attended one of them.

Some things that are clear on paper:

Population (very round numbers): Rochester has the largest undergraduate population, ~6,000, along with a robust ~3,500 grad students. Case has a somewhat smaller undergraduate population, ~4,500, but is overall larger, with ~6,000 grad students. Brandeis is by far the smallest, with ~3,500 undergrads and ~2,000 grad students. I’m curious about how that plays out in the feel of the school. Do they each find ways to make the school feel smaller? How? To what extent to the graduate schools extend and inspire the undergraduate experience vs. overshadowing it?

Male/Female balance: Not hopelessly skewed at any of them, but almost exactly balanced at Rochester, 55:45 male at Case, 57:43 female at Brandeis. I don’t know how those weigh for my kid at this point, but I imagine it changes the dynamic somewhat.

Student faculty ratios seem roughly equivalent. Will look into the distribution of class sizes.

Brandeis has zero Greek activity. Rochester around 20%, Case around 40%. Overall, my kid prefers less rather more, but my sense is that it’s not oppressive at Case. Thoughts? If it really dominates, that could be a deal-breaker.

All three seem to be in roughly the same range in terms of the academic qualifications of the students they attract.

All three are either in or reasonably close to major cities.

Softer impressions:

Brandeis seems to have a clear social service mission. Case and Rochester seem to be more pre-professional.

Campus impression from first visits: Case felt sprawling but exciting – the new student center crackled with energy, Brandeis much smaller, but very pleasant, and Rochester somewhere in between. The only dorms I recall were at Brandeis, and they seemed small.

There’s more, of course, but this is a start.

Specific areas of interest:

  • Kid is, at this moment, interested in studying physics, so the quality of mentoring, opportunities for undergraduate research, etc. are important. (All three schools seem to have reasonably robust undergraduate physics course offerings.)
  • Kid plays an instrument, and would like to continue with it -- but not at the major/minor/conservatory level. Accessibility of instrumental ensembles for the more casual player are important.
  • Food? Good, bad, indifferent?
  • Political atmosphere? Would prefer active, engaged students interested in the world around them ... but not one firmly predominant doctrinaire set of beliefs. Generally liberal ... without being hopelessly PC.
  • Preference for collaborative/supportive vs. competitive. Which schools do a notably good job of fostering a sense of community and engagement?
2

We looked very closely at CWRU and Rochester (cannot comment on Brandeis as S did not apply there) and both are very comparable. Ultimately placed Rochester over CWRU (though S did not end up at either, partly for cost reasons) for the following reasons: student body seemed more cohesive and engaged, programs S was interested in (CS and Economics) were more highly ranked, campus is beautiful, food was decent with an international twist (Goan fish curry?). Main downside for Rochester - location was less accessible for us (higher airfares, very long car ride) and the town is a bit depressed and a bus ride away. An urban environment ended up being a primary qualifier for S. There is a university ‘town’ that has been built with the usual Chipotle, bookstores, coffee chains etc a bit of a long walk away (I’m sure they have shuttles going there). Of people we know (not well) who have attended Rochester, the university is great but the area is boring over the four years. One transferring after two years for this reason. They both have Greek and it is not a dominating feature in either university. Both seemed collaborative.

Music - of course Rochester has the well-known Eastman School of Music - but it is not on campus and you have to take a bus into the city. That being said, there were many opportunities for ensemble playing on campus. Opportunities with the Cleveland Institute of Music would be easier to take advantage of as they are right on (interspersed) with CWRU.

While S did not apply to Brandeis, he was admitted to BU and just loved Boston, the university, and the campus area. Had the cost been not so much higher than the other options, I feel he would have attended BU.

3

On undergraduate research, Brandeis and Rochester both provides excellent opportunities (based on what we learned in our visits and experiences from a few students from our high school).
Brandeis meets full financial need. Rochester and Case offer some good merit scholarships.

4

I would definitely say that Brandeis is the most politically active of the three. It was literally founded on social justice. Brandeis is certainly predominantly liberal, but I wouldn’t call it hopelessly PC (though that’s somewhat relative). I think the social justice element also fosters a collaborative and non-competitive atmosphere - when I toured there, the main thing students I spoke to talked about was how kind and supportive everyone was.

I think all three of them have good opportunities for music, but in different ways. Rochester has Eastman and Case is connected with CIM, but as these are world-class conservatories, it might be harder for a more casual player to take advantage of these connections. Brandeis, while not affiliated with a conservatory, appears to have a strong music department - Leonard Bernstein once oversaw it. I spoke to someone who had been actively involved with music as an undergrad in a variety of ways and was very happy with his experience. A benefit of this kind of music department is that your kid wouldn’t have to compete with conservatory students for teachers/ensemble seats/etc (though I believe Case and Rochester both have ensembles separate from the conservatories as well).

Disclaimer: I have only visited Brandeis. I just noticed your first sentence - sorry! Hope my comments are still helpful.

5

Case has an orchestra not associated with CIM. You have to audition for it but it’s designed for their students not those majoring in music.

6

@porcupine98 where has your child been accepted so far?

7

@lalalemma - No worries, of course your comments are helpful, and I take it back … I’m interested in hearing from anyone familiar with any of these schools… just PARTICULARLY from those who’ve had an opportunity to compare and contrast.

8

Brandeis has a very significant Jewish population @50%, which is the largest percentage for a non religious school. That would be a distinction between the 3 schools.

9

The University of Rochester is distinguished in this group by its classically arranged campus (in Greek Revival and Georgian Colonial, I believe), located on the edge of its medium-sized city. In this physical sense, UR has some very recognizable traditionally collegiate aspects, which may be important for some students. All of which you’ve seen for yourself, of course; this is simply an additional perspective.

10

What I can add to this discussion is that I know 3 adults who graduated from Rochester. All 3 would be described as intellectuals who are very liberal and have a love of travel. Two of the three are in professions where they are helping others. All 3 speak very highly of Rochester. All 3 are voracious readers and are incredibly interesting and fun to talk to. All 3 are super nice people.

One thing I would consider is where each of these schools are located and who attends. At Case you will probably find a more laidback, midwestern vibe that you won’t find at the other schools, which I think attract more northeasterners. All 3 schools have great reps. Good luck!!

11

I considered U of Rochester / Case and toured Brandeis - I only ended up applying to UR - while I didn’t attend, I still to this day have a very high opinion of the school, and everything you described in what you want fits U of R. I would say its the clear choice. I can’t provide much more information beyond what others have, but I really loved their curriculum designs with the idea of concentrations and a way to allow students to really choose their classes.

For the record, the Brandeis vibe just didn’t fit me at all, and for Case I didn’t like the location enough to apply. Both are good schools and certainly comparable to U of R. I am currently attending Northeastern - U of R was my second or third choice - it was in competition with BU and WPI.

12

For physics, Brandeis undergrads have infinite opps for research, and many of them end up at Harvard, Chicago, Yale, Berkeley, MIT, Brown, Columbia and Princeton for graduate school. They even list where their kids go on the website somewhere, I believe. Boston is a more attractive city than Rochester or Cleveland. You cannot go wrong with Brandeis, although it does have a very Jewish orientation, and the Jewish students pretty much segregate themselves from the rest.

Case is a fine school. Less liberal artsy and heavy engineering. That is a culture issue. Went to high school not far from there. Classmates who went there ended up at top grad schools, Yale for Chemistry, Chicago for political science, Chicago for physics, and Yale for law school, for whatever that is worthy.

13

Within phyisics, if interest is in optics the choice is obvious. Rochester is not a depressed city. Nearly every other upstate community is but not Rochester. And Yes Brandeis has a very Jewish orientation It was established to have one.

14

This is all very helpful, thank you. My perception of Case is that the humanities are a bit more of a sideline, but I don’t know if that’s really true. It certainly feels very STEM-heavy. Rochester I think less so? Though wasn’t on campus myself. As for Brandeis’ Jewish history and flavor, that seems mostly a potential matter of social vibe with one broad population (in all its variety) predominating, but my sense is that that’s just one piece of the social puzzle and I can’t tell if it will have any impact on my kid, pro or con or neutral, until he spends some time there himself.

Current interest is astrophysics or quantum mechanics, but that could change.

15

I think Case may be less STEMy, or more LAy than you think? Hopefully you’ve seen this thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/case-western-reserve-university/1834760-ask-questions-about-cwru-here.html

16

Beyond STEM, Rochester is strong in music, psychology, economics, political science, English, history, business . . . so pretty balanced overall.

17

Yes, Rochester is formidable in optics. World #1 in all I have read. Brandeis insists it is non-sectarian. It should just own up to the truth and stop waving that banner around. People would respect it more.

18

@cutepug Brandeis IS non-sectarian. Yes, it has been and continues to be sponsored by the American Jewish community and has a large Jewish population. That is not the same thing as having a religious affiliation. It is Jewish in the same way that just about every other non-affiliated university in the country is Protestant. And plenty of people respect Brandeis; I’m sorry that you don’t.

19

@cutepug :

That is the truth. What data do you have to support your contention that it is otherwise?

Signed,
Brandeis Graduate

20

@soze Thank you for weighing in. From everything I can see, Brandeis’ self-description as “non-sectarian Jewish-sponsored” is pretty accurate.

That said, it also seems plausible that the “Jewish-sponsored” piece of it has SOME social and cultural impact, just as it would for, say, a school with a strong Jesuit influence. Whether that’s a pro or a con or straight up neutral would, I imagine, depend on the kid.