<p>Case has given my son a $90,000 scholarship, which is hard to turn down. But he's also been accepted to Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon and Northwestern, which I think are in better locations and may provide better overall college experiences.</p>
<p>What to do....?</p>
<p>What does your son want to do?</p>
<p>Engineering…Mechanical at this point, but that could change. He’s planning on getting a PhD in nuclear engineering ultimately, so there is some flexibility in the undergrad major because many majors will lead him to nuclear.</p>
<p>If it were my choice, I’d narrow it to two: JHU and Case</p>
<p>Now then, the fun part…the reasoning:</p>
<p>What is most important to your son…? A big dorm room, a lively city, a presitigous degree, a well-rounded education, future expectations, food, COST, etc.?</p>
<p>(Most of) these are the essential questions to ask when you are making these decisions…</p>
<p>for example, my child applied to JHU and Case as well, (got 90k too from Case) and rejected from JHU :(, BUT EVEN SO, he would’ve gone to Case because money, research opportunites, and well-rounded educations are the top three important things to him.</p>
<p>BTW, Case is world-renowned for its research opportunities for ALL undergraduates (freshmen included), and if your son wants to enter engineering, that may be something to consider heavily.</p>
<p>I haven’t heard from all of my schools yet, but between those I’ve heard from so far, I’m mostly struggling between Case and JHU, too. (I was also accepted to NU, but JHU has a slight edge over NU for me because of convenience of location/my current involvement with the school/etc.) I was also offered a generous scholarship. Good luck to your son in deciding! He can’t go wrong with any of his options.</p>
<p>Go to Case Western for two reasons only. </p>
<p>1) he plans to attend graduated school for masters and then phd. That is two more schools and two more schools of costs. Never turn down a scholarship like that
2) if he plans to attend grad school, he needs to have done research in undergrad. It is pretty much a requirement now. At case western, he will have the option to start research in his first week as a freshmen. All of my friends here that want to do research, find a job within a week. </p>
<p>Please feel free to ask more questions.</p>
<p>In response to The77:
Science and engineering students do not usually pay for Masters and PhD tuition. They receive fellowships, become teaching assistants, etc. So if he is positive that he will stay in the sciences/engineering, paying for grad school should not be a concern.</p>
<p>Congrats to your son. Three excellent choices; there is no wrong answer!</p>
<p>Just considering engineering, CMU beats Case and JHU.<br>
Overall, JHU probably has the best reputation.</p>
<p>Case is a great school, but isn’t particularly well-known outside the midwest. </p>
<p>All three schools are similar in many ways. They are in medium-sized cities but somewhat buffered by parks and museums. They are not pure tech schools, though CMU leans a little bit more that direction. Similar size, good grad schools; research oriented.</p>
<p>Look at it this way: What other options would $90K open up for you or your son son? Early retirement for you? A year abroad for your son?</p>
<p>(Disclaimer: I went to JHU and my son is at Case and loves it.)</p>
<p>casegirl,</p>
<p>Actually master students do usually pay full-tuition. Fellowships are usually not available or very limited for master students. </p>
<p>USN graduate ranking:
CMU/NU: 12th
JHU: 18th
Case: 31st</p>
<p>If graduate ranking is roughly accurate, the difference among them isn’t worth 90K. I’d pick Case. By the way, not sure why this board hype JHU so much, from admission difficulty (even stats are readily available) to engineering program…etc. JHU is ranked <em>lower</em> than CMU and NU in mechanical engineering. Other than premed/medical related fields, JHU has no clear edge whatsoever over other peers in general.</p>
<p>Being from Pittsburgh, I have to say I think CMU is in the best city. The campus is really nice, right near Oakland, which is a great college town.
CMU and JHU have better reputations, and they will continue to be more renowned than Case. The workload with be potentially more demanding at Case.
If it’s just based on the best buy, go to Case. But there are so many other factors in deciding where to go. Most students will have some debt upon graduation, so it’s worth going somewhere that you will be happy. Case is right in Cleveland, while CMU is much more removed. Better public transportation in Cleveland, but the city is a much different feel than PGH. Research wise, I think all 3 offer around the same oppurtunities, because they all are roughly the same size and have great international reputations for engineering. However, many kids drop engineering in all schools, so you also need to look at other departments in case your son changes majors. Case has a great pre med program, and works closely with Cleveland and Mayo Clinic. Case business school is solid, and has many strong science programs.
There are so many factors to consider when deciding on a school, and visiting def. helps, perhaps an overnight visit. You have to make sure you’ll feel comfortable at school, or you won’t do well.</p>
<p>We were concerned about JHU’s reputation as being very high pressure and ruled it out.</p>
<p>90K scholarship? is that for 1 year or 4 years</p>
<p>Would you say that Case is a very high pressure school? Son want to do BME, but as a prelude to a career, not premed.</p>
<p>Montegut,
I read somewhere on CC that Case stresses upon homework, etc. If you’re son is willing to work dilligently on a consistent basis, then Case is a good fit.</p>