@astromae2001 They’re not even bad schools, but the people that tend to go there don’t care about their education. OU is renowned as a party school!
@ab2002 “…but the people that tend to go there don’t care about their education.”
So, how many of the “people that tend to go there” do you personally know? Just curious.
@VeloDude Well considering I live in central Ohio and 73 out of the 81 who applied from my school got in last year out of the 350 of the latest senior class, it’s not selective at all. I actually know 40 people who got into OU last year and guess what? The majority are C average students who often party and drink. I don’t want to hear the excuse “Well maybe they’re trying there best!” They’re not. I assume you’re asking because your D was considering OU and applied there?
@ab2002 As a matter of fact, No my D didn’t apply to OU or OSU. I think you do way too much assuming, which you have made quite obvious.
@VeloDude Observations / stats are not assumptions. It’s my personal opinion, you don’t have to acknowledge it. From my own experience, OU students tend to be extremely lax about their grades and I am sure there are students who are serious about their studies. My previous comment came off as pretentious, which I did not mean to convey.
@ab2002 lol. So you know 40 students out of 23,000 undergrads and you think that is sufficient for your “conclusion”.
For me, this has nothing to do with OU. I have no feelings/investment in OU. It has everything to do with collectivizing the entire student body (or any “group”) based on your “observations”.
Pretentious… You said it, not me.
@VeloDude Did you comment on this thread just to start an argument? This is about my Case visit and I inserted my opinion. I’m sorry, but a 23 ACT average and a 3.48 W GPA average kind of says it all. It’s the same exact observation you would make looking at a Harvard student. You wouldn’t think, “Wow that kid doesn’t care at all about their schoolwork.” Also, if you’re so wise, then how do you think someone assesses the reputation of a school? I can’t meet every student and I am basing this off of, once again, reputation and observations. How else do you think about a school? You can’t study at a school for year and hop to another one to “get a good feel.”
@ab2002 - my S attends Case and has had the opportunity to ramble around campus, and off campus. His experience confirms what labegg says: campus is quite safe. There are multiple layers of security. Walking around by oneself late at night is not recommended, but S does it anyway without incident. In short, you should in no way feel deterred from visiting.
Walk to the north or northeast for 15-20 minutes, and you will quickly sense a change. But of course, the University is pretty keen to keep the crime that might be associated with urban poverty off the campus - hence, the security. The students are well aware of this and typically, joke about it with their youthful cynicism.
Anyway, long story short, it is a safe campus for those who live there, and certainly, visitors.
@ab2002 I visited my student at Case about seven times, from 2013 to 2017, and took public transportation including the Healthline Bus and trains. The area to watch for is 55th Street, which is no where near Case Western but in between the airport and University Circle, if you are driving in from the west. East Cleveland is not as bad actually and not a ghetto. You need to be comfortable on public transportation to attend CWRU without a car, but I think car thefts are not that common and all my son’s friends leave cars in front of their off campus apartments and there are no problems.
I agree with other poster U of Penn is near West Phili which is way worse than Cleveland and the downtown area
of Philadelphia near Drexel U and U of Penn is just pretty bad. Philadephia is really edgy and crime ridden. You have Camden New Jersey spilling into Phili and its both poor and crime ridden. You have Chester PA and thats not great either . There are more jobs in Cleveland and people are happier. Its also a small scale city compared to Philadelphia.
Also what do you want to major in? Penn can be a really high stress school with an edgy social environment. Case Western is more relaxed. The students at Case are nicer, in fact. Ivy League is not all its cracked up to be. It can be much more isolating. Case is friendlier environment and more supportive for your goals, I bet.
Why do people say such crazy things?
A lot of US cities that were extremely dangerous in years past are much safer now. I have very good urban radar from my own life experiences. Cleveland and Philadelphia are great places to go to school.
- Case feels safe. It is not Madison Wisconsin, but there seemed to be a lot of security around, a lot of people areound, and the neighborhoods near by looked fine. Sure, parts of Cleveland are still very rough and forlorn, but the CWRU you will attend is not in the 1980s.
- Same with Drexel and Penn. The surrounding neighborhood is fine. Sure, Philadelphia has some rough parts, but again, you will not be attending Drexel in the 80. The schools take security very seriously. Camden? Irrelevant.
- Please stop talking about whether your high school teachers went to good colleges or not.
@brooklynlydia They talk about it all of the time. So, why can’t I? No one said they’re bad schools, but to compare them to the schools I want to apply to would be completely ridiculous. That’s not being an academic snob, it’s just the truth.
@brooklynlydia While i am a big fan of Case, I would say its an urban campus that may not feel safe to many readers, although I sent my own son and believe it was safe enough for him. He became savvy of how and when to walk where
in Cleveland. Case has got inner city busses running right through it and no boundaries at all, and students living on the other side up a hill , South Campus as well as in the central campus. I would say Camden spills into Phili every single day as well, is the reality of the water district when I visited a few years back. It is relevant that the areas are crime ridden to some parents and students. Still, not too many students are shot dead, if thats the worry. There are robberies at gunpoint though at Case, Penn, and GaTech.
It happens to students, and they must understand where to walk in Cleveland.
With that I sent a son to Case and a son to GaTech and so far so good, not been in a stick up. But each of my sons got daily reports of gun violence in the area. Thats just the truth about Case and GaTech (and Penn from what I hear
from Penn students, lots of gun violence near by, lots of stick ups with students involved. )
It is stressful for today’s students at GaTech and Case Western to get daily reports of gun violence nearby. Its something to think about.
@brooklynlydia The administrations of GaTech and Case Western send daily/weekly violence reports to students.
The reports have content such as exactly where the stick ups are occurring, time of day and how many students were robbed. It happens quite often that students lose their phones and computers and guns are involved.
Its the reality of Atlanta GA and Cleveland Ohio as my sons experienced it from 2014 to present.
I have to say my son feels more relaxed since he has left Cleveland, but it was a good experience for him to
live there for four years including one summer. Those that drive in Cleveland are not getting the full experience, is all I can say. I have taken trains and buses all over Cleveland and it does remind me of Boston in 1978. That does
not mean one will get shot, but it means: graffiti, lower income residents, some racial tensions, shouting of swear words on busses, various stick ups usually late at night and some murders nearby.
That is the reality of urban USA. Since I grew up going to NYC, I wanted my sons to experience city life.
But its not just “safe” as you seem to think, as if you had to read the reports as all undergraduate students
do at Case Western, it will start to wear down anyone, i would tell you. Its not really an option to opt out of
the crime reports at Case Western. Students can choose to ignore the reports but most glance at them.
Students have been robbed at gunpoint at Harvard, Yale, UChicago and Columbia too so if you are that fearful you should go to a college town…except there have been attacks at UVa in Charlottesville too.
From Chicago. Visited case this summer. Certainly safety was an issue. Getting there was a bit sketchy. But once there I saw no real cause for concern. As an urban campus you should be careful. But I don’t think their was significant issues in and around campus. It was in a nicer area. Very park like. Just urban. So take normal urban precautions.
I find this response extremely flippant.
Students and parents should be aware that safety IS an issue at Case. East Cleveland is a dangerous city;gun violence and gangs are major problems.
Case is not an island, anyone can walk through the campus.
I agree with Coloradomama, Case is not as “safe” as some posts would make you believe. My intent is not to discourage anyone, or to overplay the crime issue, but I do feel a little reality check is in order.
I think safe is a relative term so I doubt you are going to get a concensus on Case Western’s level of safety. What somebody from Chicago sees as no need for concern would probably scare the heck out of a lot of people.
Okay well I guess I should ask, do you think car robbery while visiting is possible? I’ve heard that car theft rates are very high in that area. I don’t want to go if I am putting my family’s possession / family members at possible risk by visiting. This may sound dramatic, but I am slightly concerned.
@ab2002 after reading through this it seems clear Case is probably not the best fit for you. Maybe concentrate your efforts and interests elsewhere…
Btw, I am an Ohio U alum. Funny I seem to recall there being many people at OU interested in their academics. Seems that some of my friends from OU went on to careers as diverse as Princeton Physics Professor, newpaper editor in Washington DC, Attorney-Partner at a nationally known law firm, Executive at Coca Cola, MD, Actor on Broadway. Funny our friends from Case went on to some very similar careers, although many more are engineers.
You paint with a very broad brush. Find a place with a big canvas.
@labegg Judging by the Emory logo I’m guessing they already have their heart set on attending there and they are looking for excuses not to even look at other schools.