@bopper had a call with our Case admission counselor yesterday. Here’s what we were told:
How are spring admits handled? Is there orientation? Is there any special support?
They have the same experience as Fall cohort - orientation, housing (smaller subset of selections). They wouldn’t divulge a number or % when I asked what the typical cohort looks like
How did Spring admission go for the 2-18/2019 admission cycle? Did they have issues? What will be done differently if anything? They didn’t have any issues in the past looks like. Students don’t seem to find it that hard to settle in
Can I (the student) talk to other students who have done spring admission before? Didnt ask that question
How does it work signing up for classes? Will they be available when I need them? Yes, very similar to Fall and they asked to work with Undergraduate studies
What am I allowed to do for Fall semester? Can I attend Community college? Will those credits transfer? Typically students study abroad or community college (for credit courses that can count towards your degree, again work with Undergraduate studies on courses), no restrictions on credits but they don’t want you enrolled as a continuing student - just credit only. They also suggested full time employment, internship. We’re allowed to talk to study abroad department if we need more info
Will spring admits get freshman housing with the rest of freshmen? Yes they’re paired with other freshmen. We did ask them why spring spots open up and we were said its mostly due to study abroad, enrollment forecast etc. They did say its a smaller cohort than fall. Case apparently just released their first round of waitlist for spring on Friday. Fall waitlist hasn’t moved yet. They said we’d know more towards end of April, early May. They’re unable to predict the probability right now.
For #4 i am just wondering if you would usually take say, Circuits 1 in Fall of Sophomore year but you are still finishing up Freshmen classed will Circuits 1 be available in Spring of Sophomore year too
It’s decision time, and the Case’s strengths over another school under consideration are 1. flexibility choosing majors, and having double majors or minors, 2. campus culture, and 3. student support. Is there anyone here who is a current student, or has a son/daughter who is a student at Case and can shed some light on the following questions?
How much tutoring support is available, and is it easy to access? (The other school under consideration has limited tutoring and students need to register for it early or it gets filled.)
How available and approachable are professors?
How helpful are sections/recitations (smaller breakout sessions with grad students to supplement lectures)?
Somewhat surprised you consider campus culture a strength. Our child considers it a weakness. Very driven students but not much going on besides studying and not much school spirit. They all seemed very intense and stressed out. We visited twice and same impression both times. I agree with you about the other strengths cited.
Peer Tutoring
Peer Tutors are fellow students who are trained to work with you on an individual basis. They can reinforce what you already know, model new ways of learning, and connect notes and readings. https://students.case.edu/academic/tutoring/peer/
Study Group +1
Students can strengthen their understanding through discussion of course content in a peer tutor-supported study group of no more than 5 students. It allows students to utilize their collective knowledge to achieve the shared academic goal of student understanding. https://students.case.edu/academic/tutoring/studygroups/
Supplemental Instruction (SI)
Supplemental Instruction (SI) is available each semester in selected undergraduate courses in mathematics, sciences, and engineering. SI Leaders are trained and experienced peer educators, each of whom has been successful in his or her assigned course. SI Leaders attend the course to which they have been assigned and conduct weekly study sessions designed to give students the opportunity to actively engage in course material.
Spoken English Language Programs
Spoken English tutoring is available for improving pronunciation, conversational, and fluency skills. Appointments are on a first-come, first-serve basis for undergraduate and graduate students.
Writing Center:
The Writing Resource Center (WRC) provides individual support for academic writers across the university. http://writingcenter.case.edu/
Personal Librarian:
Personal librarian: Each student is assigned a personal librarian to guide you with research assignments, help setting up a computer and more. You’ll receive your personal librarian assignment before the start of classes, but your navigator can also connect you to your assigned librarian. Librarians are assigned by residence college, but you can also view a list of librarians by academic department. http://library.case.edu/ksl/services/personallibrarian/
Academic Inventory
This tool will help you assess important academic skills like time management, goal setting, and note taking. It can help identify what’s going well and possible areas for improvement. https://students.case.edu/academic/resources/inventory/
Printable Student Resources
These one-page PDF resources are designed to help students improve their study habits and academic performance. Download and and save or print them for easy reference. https://students.case.edu/academic/resources/onepagers/
I’m planning on calling Case’s accessibility services this week to find out more about support services. After having these types of conversations with two different schools, I now have some points of comparison. I’m specifically looking for skills coaching.
In terms of academic support, our tour guide told us that kids receive 5 free tutoring sessions/week. There’s online scheduling via tutortrac. He also mentioned the personal librarian. When we visited the library, which was beautiful and centrally located, we saw a drop-in tutoring desk. Our tour guide said freshman spend most of their day on the engineering quad, rather than north residential village, and tutoring usually happens on the main campus. SI sessions were held in available classrooms. I did not get a sense of how available professors were, and ratemyprofs has drastic inconsistencies in the MechE dept.
Thank you for sharing the information. Very helpful.
One big question we have is whether the spring admission student will be able to catch up and graduate at the same time as the fall student. I know it is a fully loaded question. And related to that is class selection - with spring student have access to the same set of classes as the fall at the get go?
Yes, thats correct. That’s the question we have on our minds as well - given he’s on Pre-Med track. He’ll be emailing Dean Of Undergraduate studies today with specific questions. It looks like he may be able to do Calc and Chem at community college and transfer them over to spring - this is what we heard from several faculty members from the admission event last Thursday / Friday. He may be behind on 1-2 courses and need to catch up next summer to fall in line with the sophomores. The biology professor at Case thinks its doable. He’s up for the challenge since he really wants to go to Case. We need to clear these with UG Studies and move forward. We also received an email from Case that they’re assuming that we’re interested in Spring and we no longer will receive emails gauging waitlist interest for fall and he’s in consideration for Fall admission if a spot opens up. Fingers crossed!
We went to Case last week. We were there close to 2-2.5 days. The campus seemed friendly, we saw constant patrolling and it didn’t feel unsafe near the campus area. Outside of the campus, it’s a different feel, but I don’t see a point for students to explore those pockets. Culture wise, the students seemed intellectual and friendly. They did seem focused and driven with strong academic focus. We stopped at Mitchell’s icecream and we did see Case students having fun, laughing and having a good time. My son felt like he’d fit right in there. Stress is what the students make out to be - they did mention students sometimes get burnt out because they take way too many credits than they can handle and burn out. I think this is very subjective and students need to find their sweet spot with managing studies while having fun at the same time.
Our daughter started at CWRU in 2018, pursuing premed (maybe a bio-chem?). Made long-lasting friendships during orientation week in 2018. She did not arrive with any college credit (no AP and no IB).
She easily switched her major during 2nd year to Communication Science and later picked up a second major in Psychology. She truly enjoyed some great professors.
Covid was disappointing, obviously.
She now enjoys living in a nice residence hall suite with 4 of those same friends from 1st year orientation. She is soon graduating after 4 years, but could’ve graduated in 7 semesters, if she wanted to push it. She chose to stay to enjoy fun with friends and earn that 2nd major.
She studies hard at Case, is quite involved in Greek life (good leadership skills developed there), was involved in clubs, dabbled in performing arts, loves volunteering at Rainbow hospital, and is having fun in Cleveland. She has grown and developed so much in almost 4 years!
She applied to 7 grad schools and received 4 admission offers. Case’s reputation for student preparation is legitimate. As her parents, we are thrilled with her experiences and opportunities at Case.
From our perspective, everything you are asking about is possible at Case. I wish you and your student the best as you make your decision.