<p>WayOutWestMom, thanks so much for your prompt and helpful response (while I ran off to go out to dinner here on the east coast :-). I’m not 100% clear on how to extract merit-only aid from this data; is it reported?</p>
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<p>I believe that Rochester looks favorably on those who visit and interview on campus. Like Case, Rochester has some generous merit scholarships. They do appreciate it if you make the effort to visit before applying.</p>
<p>The UR does take the “Shown interest in school” component very seriously. If you cannot visit for financial reasons that is not a problem - but let them know that. Also, to be seriously considered for merit based aid - you must interview. They have several open houses coming up that may make it more worth your time.
Cleveland is roughly an easy 4hr drive but NOT one I would recommend in heavy winter months. The route is directly along the “lake effect” snow belt.
visited both, agree with the first posts on campuses.</p>
<p>Just-started Case freshman here. I got 20k a year merit and was told not to apply for need-based by my college counselor, which turned out to be a mistake as I’ve met a bunch of people here in my family’s income range that are getting very nice need-based packages. Don’t come here if you don’t like walking (I’ve probably averaged an hour every day I’ve been here). I’ve heard from several upperclassmen that 2015 is the best class in a long time, mainly due to the 52/48 male/female ratio (a huge improvement, apparently). I’d definitely encourage visiting over the opinions of books or even recent graduates, as it seems to have changed a lot in just the last 5 years or so.</p>
<p>UR only has guaranteed merit for NMFs. They don’t have automatic merit scholarships for any other category.</p>
<p>Rochester does take the demonstrated interest very seriously, but you don’t need to interview on campus. Interviews thru traveling admissions reps or thru alumni or even phone interviews with your admission rep receive the same weight as on-campus interviews.</p>
<p>MisterK - Thanks for the update on merit awards - sad news if true (I’ve quoted the old info on other threads). Is the max published online somewhere? I never found it when researching for my son (hs class of 2010). </p>
<p>It was easy paperwork (Common App paperwork), and DS received a postcard waiving fee (maybe due to NMSF)… so he decided to apply without visiting based on info of EA applicants getting generous awards. At the time I thought the max merit scholarship was $22,500… so the $27,500 was a pleasant surprise - making COA less than our state flagship.</p>
<p>Colorado Mom - I haven’t seen anything specific on their site. We visited Case, and discussed merit aid with the admissions representative. The story we were told is that they’ve reduced the top award from close to $30k down to $17k, and they’ve spread merit dollars around to a greater number of students. So the pie has been flattened. This year’s freshmen are the last to enter under the old system. There still may be competitive scholarships that could produce additional dollars, but of course, they’ll be hard to get.</p>
<p>It’s a disappointment, because even with a max award, it won’t be price competitive with my state flagship. Both Case and the flagship offer solid quality programs, and Case would be a nice choice to have. But it also needs to be a rational financial choice, so the gap can’t be too large.</p>
<p>Interesting reading. Thanks again for thoughts. I’m going to check to see if these schools will have representatives at a local college fair in early Oct.</p>
<p>Money will be an issue as this son wants med school afterward and our personal economy is a little bit shaky, but we’ll see what happens.</p>
<p>Two schools that D was very serious about last year. It finally did come down to these two schools and she chose Case. Thus far, very happy with her first two weeks there.</p>
<p>Campus - the descriptions I’ve seen here are spot-on. U of R is a gorgeous campus - feels like what a university should look like. Case, on the other hand, is in University Circle (not downtown Cleveland) - a very long campus, with dorms at the north end and the engineering/science buildings at the south end. </p>
<p>First visit to both campuses and D decided she liked U of R much better than Case. She was so sure that if it came down to these two schools, she was going to U of R. </p>
<p>She got merit scholarships at both - Case was much better than U of R. So, she visited both again. Second visit, this time with acceptance in hand, she evaluated everything a little bit differently. She felt that Case offered way more in terms to things to do around campus, volunteering/internship opportunities at the Cleveland Clinic/Rainbow Babies etc. She also decided that she liked the somewhat urban campus way better than the typical college campus. Access to Cleveland and Case was also better when compared to access to U or R. She explained all this to us while telling us why she wanted to go to Case rather than of U or R. Was a tough tough choice for her, especially since she still really liked U of R. It came down to her understanding what she needed from the school and what school could better provide that. [ Honestly, IMO, she would have done well at either school].</p>
<p>Last year, merit scholarships were capped at 20K at Case - although I did hear a few students getting off the wait list were offered more :)</p>
<p>We love Case, do not know anything about Rochester. Also, if money is an issue, Case is very well known for huge Merit awards. However, most people do not like Cleveland. On the other hand, D. turned down Norhtwestern for Case, she did not like Chicago either. Case is also very well known to be great for pre-meds and engineers. I believe, it is very personal, visit is a must.</p>
<p>BTW, if you need non-urban location, not many places can beat Miami University, Oxford, OH, just plain gorgeous in a middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>I am a west coast person who recommends consideration of both of these schools. These exemplify great opportunities that may be overlooked by some in error.</p>