Case vs RPI

Colleges and Universities A-Z Case Western Reserve University
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<p>we still have schools to hear from, but for now these are D's 2 acceptances.</p>

<p>Her strong career leaning is to architecture, but still wants to explore. She is good in math and has flirted with an interest in Civil E, though she is creative and artsy for a tech kid, her interest in architecture is more the tech and social/planning side than pure art. She will be graduating from TJ. She is thoughtful, nerdy, somewhat shy (though she has made great strides) but with an entrepreneurial/activist side. She has ADHD-Inattentive, and is considered a "visual spatial learner". She would prefer a school with architecture, engineering AND liberal arts, and not to large. Her number 1 choice is Lehigh, but she has not heard from them yet.</p>

<p>For now, lets leave aside financial aid considerations.</p>

<p>RPI - Pros - Right size, Excellent accredited Arch program, strong engineering. From what we have seen and heard, good for quirky kids, kids with visual spatial learning style, and for ADD kids. Proximity to outdoor recreation</p>

<p>Cons - Hardly any liberal arts courses, no language courses. Would have to go to U Albany for the LA and Language courses she wants. Architecture program demanding to the point of being stressful (but she's coming from TJ, maybe not so much). Needs to be pretty commited to Arch already. Troy - small and not much to do. Tiny Jewish community.</p>

<p>CWRU- Pros - Right size? Excellent engineering (civil?) Full range of liberal arts and languages (but how good?) Serious, studious culture. Cleveland cultural opportunities. Larger jewish community, in the school(?) but esp in the city. </p>

<p>Cons - No Arch dept, only pre-arch major, possible difficulty combining it with Civil. Cleveland crime. Is the school open to silly, quirky, creative nerd types, as opposed to just studious nerds? Class sizes and faculty enthusiasm for teaching undergrads?</p>

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<p>Your DD and my DS appear to have similar stats (even time at CTY), although mine is going for BME/BioEng. We also applied to Case(admitted), RPI (admitted), UofR (no decision) and WUSTL (waitlisted too).
CWRU seems a much better fit than RPI, with the exception of Arch. That alone would have kept us from applying, but if pre-arch is okay with you for undergrad I’d say it’s a better choice. Crime in any urban area can be a concern, but the Case Police and Security Services seem to do a good job looking out for things. A lot of the incidents I found were theft of unattended/unlocked items and more serious stuff that took place late at night which, again, you will find anywhere. All colleges have to publish this stuff. Check out the following links for Case:</p>

<p><a href=“http://case.edu/finadmin//security/secrpt09.pdf[/url]”>Campus Services | Case Western Reserve University;

<p>[Case</a> Protective Services](<a href=“Campus Services | Case Western Reserve University”>Campus Services | Case Western Reserve University)</p>

<p>The best way to get a feel for a campus is to visit. Do you have any planned?</p>

<p>I’m wondering if you considered Tulane? It seems like that might have been a good fit with a strong arch department.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>tulane rejected her - Maybe because they dont use common app, and she rushed her essay for them. Whatever.</p>

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<p>Brooklynborndad: PM sent.</p>

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<p>“Would have to go to U Albany for the LA and Language courses she wants.” - Check on the logistics of that. I think it is quite a few miles away. </p>

<p>Does anybody know if RPI students can cross-register with Sage></p>

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<p>I am pretty sure they can. Sage does not offer the languages, or the liberal arts areas, that DD is interested in.</p>