My S is getting down to the wire in deciding where to study Computer Science. He is going to the accepted students day at CWRU tomorrow. I have read many threads about engineering at this university, but none regarding Computer Science. Any thoughts on the quality of the CS program at Case? Other schools that he is accepted to, and considering, are Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, Worcester Polytechnic institute, and University of Pittsburgh, honors program. He was priority wait listed at Carnegie Mellon, and he will hear from Cornell on the 31st. He thankfully received significant merit awards from Case, RPI and WPI, and Pitt as well. I am not sure that he will receive any financial aid from CMU and Cornell, which will put them out of the running I am afraid. We still have one more to put through school! Any information on Case and their Computer Science program is welcomed. Thank you!
Just happened upon your post. Cornell decisions actually come out tomorrow, 30th. Good luck to your son! @sn189144
Thanks STEM2021! If you have an S or D also waiting to hear from Cornell, good luck to them as well. One thing I have learned through this somewhat arduous process is that there really are marvelous opportunities at so many schools of all different levels of prestige. I do not believe there is one perfect option. Down side of that, is that it is tough to make a decision!! Here is to everyone finding their way to happy, healthy and successful no matter what paths they choose!
This topic comes up a lot:
Last year there were 59 graduates and most had jobs or were going on to advanced degrees.
https://students.case.edu/career/resources/survey/doc/2016fds.pdf
So employers and grad schools have a good opinion.
Here is another discussion from 2013:
@sn189144. I have one son who is a Case senior in physics who took a lot of CS classes and has friends in CS. His senior friends in CS, have gotten great summer jobs both on the west coast and in Ohio. The professors are really good in CS, and my son TAed for two semesters for one CS professor and had him write his grad school recommendations. He got into many good computational physics programs and won a three year NSF award for graduate school. Case CS professors are really supportive of undergraduates.
We have looked at both Carnegie Mellon and RPI for our younger son but ultimately he chose Georgia Tech. My impressions of RPI are that it offers less strong humanities, foreign languages or music compared to CWRU. RPI may have slightly weaker students as well, and its student body is more NY/NJ/Massachusetts whereas CWRU pulls students from Texas, the midwest and the northeast, so a bit more diversity. RPI is also in a very small town, without anything to do, whereas Cleveland has theater, music, clubs, museums, apple picking, and good restaurants, for a nicer college experience. RPI does have great funding from IBM, and also offers IT, as a major and more gaming types of activities, than I see at CWRU. It might be a good idea to visit both schools, if they are the same price for you. Finally there is more snow in Troy NY than in Cleveland believe it or not. Cleveland is a bit more cloudy, perhaps, and lots of rain, but not quite as snowy as NY State.
WPI has less of a national reputation compared to CWRU or RPI, but a very good school, more hands on type of school. Both RPI and CWRU are the full theoretical engineering type schools. I prefer the later. So students get to work through all the mathematics and physics at CWRU and RPI. Its tough but worth it.
Carnegie Mellon has the best rank in CS, if he gets in and you can afford it. Its a very small program and has some of the top PhD graduates in the world, but still considered a premier undergraduate experience. However, priority wait list means nothing. My son also got a letter like that from CMU, and we found out that it means “waitlist”.
Both CWRU and RPI are focused primarily on undergraduates, so that is different from CMU which is very much focused on having the best PhDs in the world. Professors at Case and RPI will spend time with your son. At CMU,it depends, probably if your son works in a lab, he will work with post docs and other graduate students. This is a very good experience too, but different than working directly with the faculty. Faculty at CMU are busy people. They are traveling, raising money and often not available. CWRU , faculty is more available to undergraduates.
Very helpful . Thank you!
Also check out the M/F ratio…
Case: 55% Male / 45% Female
WPI: 68% male to 32% female
RPI: 69% male to 31% female
For social life or just learning that the world of tech shouldn’t be all male, Case gives you a more diverse student body.
He does have some good girl friends and works well in groups with them in high school already, but I do agree that gender parity does change the dynamic in a positive way. Thanks again for useful info Bopper.
Bopper, you have provided lots of useful statistics . I am curious to know your back ground if you are willing to share it.
I wonder if Case’s female population isn’t concentrated in their large nursing program , I wonder too, as a CS major , if the ratio in Andrew’s classes would actually be any different than they would be at RPI and WPI.
@sn189144 I am alumna of CWRU…I am an alumni ambassador (do some college fairs, alumni interviews, Receptions) and I have just had a child go through the college process so want to help those who have questions about CWRU. Most everything I post is available on line!
Re: M/F ratios…But you would have more of a balance of M/F in dorms regardless of major.
Check this out for M/F ratios per major.
http://case.edu/ir/media/caseedu/institutional-research/documents/students/Enr_UG_Major_Fa2016.pdf
From the numbers Bopper points to 82% of Computer Engineering students are male and 81% of Computer Science
Well, you are a wonderful alumni ambassador, your information has been very helpful, bopper . I do appreciate your point about the gender balance in the dorms , despite the fact that it looks like there are more than 4 males to one female in CS! That chart was surprising to me. At our local k through 12 , and community summer camps, so much is being done to encourage females to enjoy and go into STEM, to the point that as a parent of two boys, it was starting to annoy me. However , the stats at the college level, certainly indicate a gender parity problem persists. I am curious now to research why this is. Even the youth camps have many more boys , and sometimes the ones that are for girls only, and discounted or free, still have a hard time filling the seats!
Anyway thank you for your information , despite my female gender, I like to peruse numbers, charts, statistics, and have learned a lot about Case by reviewing your posts.
I will be sharing it all with my son. Thank you!
I am eager to see my husband and son to hear all about the visit!! My son texted , " uh oh, now I have an even tougher decision" My husband said the day was well organized , and despite rainy weather, really liked the campus architecture, the class that they both sat in on, the student organization fair. My husband also enjoyed the cocktail hour for the parents …
I know Andrew talked to many prospective and current students , and picked up information about 7 clubs! He also had the opportunity to talk to a CS professor after class.
Colorado mama provided me with a great list of places to eat in Cleveland, when I mentioned how important the food is to my son. If he chooses Case, I am looking forward to taking him out to eat!! He may not be 5 11 and only 145 pounds for long. 
Andrew is still on the wait list for his original dream of CMU , however, when we lay it all out for him, I do not think we can justify the difference in financial cost for full freight at CMU(if they did accept him off the list) over the other schools in which he is accepted , have solid reputations , offer much in the way of programs, research, and opportunity for personal growth , ,and have been generous with merit money so that he will not incur any, or very little debt for his undergraduate degree. I am so grateful that my son has such wonderful opportunities. And I am grateful for the information provided on this thread. Thanks again! He is going to stay overnight at RPI as well , and then make a decision. .
Food options in Cleveland that we enjoy include the West Side Market, a bustling historic food market: (train ride)
http://westsidemarket.org/
Cleveland’s Little Italy is walking distance to CWRU:
http://clevelandlittleitaly.com/
Coventry neighborhood for breakfast or Asian, longish walk or bus ride to CWRU:
http://coventryvillage.org/types/restaurants/
Presti’s Bakery, walking distance to CWRU:
http://www.prestisbakery.com/
on campus up scale French restaurant:
http://albatrosbrasserie.com/
Provence and Provence Cafe in Art Museum, walking distance to CWRU:
http://www.clevelandart.org/visit/provenance/about-provenance
Colorado mama!! Once again I am reading your information re delicious Cleveland eateries right before a meal… trying to lose 20 before S high school graduation!! You are making it difficult! lol! Thanks for the info.
CS department is small, and some classes have incompetent professors. Overall, do computer science at the school with the cheapest tuition b/c it doesn’t really matter where you go for CS. College only matters for the first or second job, after that, nobody cares.
@qijianzhou Have you taken classes/major in CS at Case? I’m deciding between UMass Amherst honors college and Case Western (and RPI if they give me enough FA), and I’d be interested to hear about your experiences since I plan to major in computer engineering and/or computer science. Both schools will cost me a similar amount (6k/year at Amherst and 9.5/year at Case) and Case seems to have a great engineering reputation (including great rankings), so I’d assume the same goes for their computer science(?).
I disagree with @qijianzhou . The first four years of college are where a student learns skills that last a lifetime, including reading and writing skills, math skills and engineering skills. It does matter where one goes to college and educations are not all created equal. Case Western balances humanities, social sciences and the technical part well. Where you go to undergraduate will also affect which graduate program you get admitted to. Case Western has a good reputation for preparation for masters and PhD programs in engineering, CS, applied math, premedical, physics and chemistry. Students are building skills that will carry them through their entire lives. Its more than just “programming”. Also college is where a student may meet his future spouse. So you want to go to the best college you can afford, to have the most options later, social, academic and career options.
@sn189144 I have a son that will start college in 2018. The schools you list are on our list, would you mind sharing stats?