Hi, I’m a senior who just got accepted to CWRU, Tulane university, the university of Michigan, (as well as a few other schools which are off the table). I’m hoping to major in neuroscience/cognitive science and want to be able to get involved in research. Specifically, I want to look at how changing chemicals/matter in the Brain changes human behavior. I know case has “cognitive studies”, Tulane has “neuroscience” and Michigan has a lot of different options. I got a good scholarship from case, and am in tulane’s honors college with a presidential scholarship. Nothing for Michigan, and given that it’s such a big school, I’m leaning more towards Case/Tulane which might give me more research opportunities because I’m a more introverted person and might be able to stand out more on a smaller campus.
As for environment, I’m not a big “party” person, but I do like to have fun! I’m Catholic and plan on getting involved with my school’s Newman center on campus. I also enjoy theater/culture. the political atmosphere of the campus won’t bother me too much, as long as there is some diversity in POV, and different clubs where I can get involved in issues that I find meaningful. I’ve never been a big sports person, although I do enjoy going to an occasional game. Honestly, my motto is work before play, but I do want to be at a college where there are fun things to do on the weekends.
If anyone has any advice about which school’s program/environment would be the best for me, that would be fantastic! Thanks!
I commend you for your outstanding high school record and for being so self-aware at your age. I would do some research as to what “cognitive studies” really means at CWSU, and if it also involves the effect of chemicals in the brain on human behavior, then you are down to “feel.” If you have the resources, visit both Tulane and Case Western. I do know that Tulane has a separate residential arrangement for neuroscience majors and related fields – – I believe it is referred to as the “Brain Wave Residential Learning Community.” Here is a description:
“Brain Wave is focused on health and wellness. Students will have access to fitness trainers, wellness apps, healthy activities, mindfulness instruction and nutritional support. Residents will also take part in community engagement projects with staff from the Neuroscience program. Students with interests in Neuroscience, Public Health, or just leading a healthy lifestyle would be good fits for Brain Wave.”
I know that one of Tulane’s major selling points is its ability to provide good undergraduate research opportunities. As far as stats for the class of 2020 are concerned, they are very close for all three of these schools, so that should not affect your decision. In any event, you are in really great shape with the choices that you have, and you have a wonderful future ahead if you keep up the good work. Best of luck to you!
I think based on your description you’d like tulane the best. Tulane, I assume, is giving you money so it should be pretty affordable. Tulane definitely has parties but they should be avoidable if you don’t want to go to them, but New Orleans definitely will be a place with theater and culture, like you said.
I think from how you describe yourself, Case would be the best fit. Definitely has a more intellectual vibe than Tulane and is known for strength in science. Tulane has quite the reputation as a party school which it seems as if you are looking to avoid. Cleveland has opportunities for culture and since Case is a Catholic school, that fits as well
@Collegefinder54, when you go down to Tulane, be sure to contact Neuroscience Chair Dr. Jill Daniels at (504) 862-3301. Her research is right up your alley, involving lab work on rodent models to understand mechanisms by which estrogens and androgens impact areas of the brain important for cognition. I’m sure you’ll also be able to get the details on the Neuroscience Residential Learning Community, with which the departmental faculty interact. I believe there is also an honors residence as well, in addition to several other specialty living arrangements grouped by interest. Have a productive and enjoyable trip!
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of cognition and related concepts; it draws from neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, linguistics, anthropology, computer science and other fields. It has a distinctly humanistic field that neuroscience and even psychology don’t have - you will take classes in philosophy and in the arts at CWRU as part of a cognitive science major. In addition to studying more scientific properties of thought and how thought patterns occur, you’ll also tackle broader questions about the meaning of thought, how thought/cognition affects human evolution, culture, and art, and the bidirectional relationship between language and cognition. There’s also lots of focus on artificial intelligence from both a computer science and philosophical angle: is what AIs do real cognition? How is it different from human cognition? How can AIs be improved to mirror human cognitive patterns, and do we ethically want that?
At Case Western you can concentrate in neuroscience or design your own major within cognitive science to focus more on neuroscience (according to Case’s own page about neuroscience). But the coursework mostly focuses on cognitive neuroscience, or how brain structures and substrates affect cognition (thinking) and related conceptions like attention, memory, emotion, etc.
Honestly, I think New Orleans is a much more attractive city than Cleveland in terms of theater and culture. However, the on-campus offerings and such might be pretty similar when you start to investigate. I have a couple friends who went to Tulane and it seems to really fit what you said you like in a school, but I don’t know anyone who went to CWRU, so that might fit too.
From your description, I would say CWRU is a great fit for you (though I don’t know anything first hand about Tulane). While Cleveland is not New Orleans, I do just want to point out that I am not sure posters are giving CWRU / Cleveland enough credit for the vibrancy of its arts and culture scene. Not only are there an awful lot of world class art offerings in Cleveland (Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Museum of Art, Playhouse Square – 2nd largest performing arts center in the U.S. outside NYC city, Cleveland Play House – which is celebrating its 100 years anniversary this year and last year won the Regional Theatre Tony, House of Blues, plus many, many others), but the arts are extremely accessible to CWRU students both in terms of proximity and price. The Cleveland Museum of Art and Severance Hall where the orchestra play are literally adjacent to campus (along with several other museums in University Circle). The Art Museum is free and the Orchestra regularly has really affordable student tix. Cleveland is a very busy and popular stop for national touring shows for both music and theatre. Playhouse Square and downtown are about a 20 minutes bus or rapid transit ride away and CWRU students receive transit passes as part of their student fee. Cleveland also has tons of arts and culture street fairs all through the warmer months (though of course students may not be in town during that time). There is also an emerging maker culture (google the Cleveland Flea for a fun and funky monthly event) and great restaurants in neighborhoods throughout the city (although some will be less accessible to CWRU students either by price or location).
Sounds like you have 3 really great options and can’t go wrong.
I would probably go with Tulane since neuroscience seems to be more what you’re interested in than cogsci (which has a more psychology bent), and because NO > Cleveland. But you can’t go wrong with Case either and as the link from #10 shows, CWRU’s cogsci program allows you to add a heavy neuroscience component.
Congrats either way.
I attend Tulane as well. And although there is a huge Jewish presence within the school, the catholic presence within the community of New Orleans is insane. There is also obviously a catholic center on campus. But if that is a huge deal for you, there are ample ways to get involved with service and what not in New Orleans through your catholic roots such as tutoring at high schools and stuff.