<p>I always thought Case was a good school, but the acceptance rate is high, and they offer a lot of money to try and bring in smarter kids that would be applying to top schools, sort of like a bribe. I look at their rankings, and they're not very high in most things. They're #63 in comp. sci., which is what my S is interested in, which doesn't seem very impressive. </p>
<p>I've heard good things about Cleveland, and not so good things. Some kids really seem to like the school and the area, but the retention rate is only about 91.5%. </p>
<p>After S's acceptance to Case, I spent quite a bit of time trying to learn more about it. It seems like a good fit for him, but I can't get past some of the big negatives I keep reading about. I know that it's kind of nerdy and the weather is bad, but S would actually like that - I know, he's weird. I'm more concerned that the school is not very strong in what he's interested in, and the neighborhood might not be all that safe.</p>
<p>Case is one of my D12 favorites- she’s an aspiring Engine student. Did you visit? Are you close enough to be able to? I was surprised that it came out on top after a summer visit marathon. Wouldn’t have thought that. D12 mentioned teacher ratios/availability, research, neat music places.</p>
<p>We did visit and liked it, but I’m not sure S really got a good feel for the school. He definitely preferred CMU, which is much better for comp sci but much harder to get into.</p>
<p>It’s a great school, and the acceptance rate is high because only kids who REALLY want to go there apply, for the most part. You need great stats and a high tolerance for lousy weather. There’s also good public transportation, both to downtown and to the airport.</p>
<p>That being said, I wouldn’t necessarily go there for CS. Have you looked at UIUC? Among the top 5 in the country for CS, and they give more merit scholarships than CMU.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t call scholarships bribes, however. If your S gets one you may feel differently!</p>
<p>Case is terrific in STEM majors, in general, and the student body is supportive of each other (they’re all geeky.) The only thing I would warn about is think twice if your child is not a good writer, because they make EVERYONE take writing-intensive seminars that don’t necessarily teach you how to write. My S had a lot of trouble with some of his courses…not major courses, but required nonetheless. If you like to write, no problem.</p>
<p>As far as safety, I believe it is better now than it was in the 1980’s when I went there, and I never felt terribly unsafe. I did grow up in Cleveland and followed usual safety precautions - don’t walk alone at night, etc. I liked the area with the nearby museums. My issues were more with the social life of campus.</p>
<p>Everyone I knew was in engineering, so I can’t comment on comp sci. The school’s middle 50% SAT ranges are up to 700 CR and 740 M, so it draws smart kids. If your S is looking to go to school, graduate and get a job, he would probably be fine there. If it is important to him to go to a ‘top’ school, maybe he wouldn’t be happy there. Can you find anything out about what students in comp sci do after graduation? At least in engineering, my friends who went on to grad school felt well prepared.</p>
<p>Good friends’s D2 recently graduated from Case. She loved the school and had no safety issues. She double majored and found the workload challenging but doable. However, friends’s D1 attended Yale and after reading the course syllabi, the books used etc., my friend felt the courses at Case were more challenging and required more than at Yale.</p>
<p>*but the acceptance rate is high, and they offer a lot of money to try and bring in smarter kids that would be applying to top schools, sort of like a bribe. I look at their rankings, and they’re not very high in most things. They’re #63 in comp. sci., which is what my S is interested in, which doesn’t seem very impressive. *</p>
<p>Case is one of those schools that applicants are sort of “self-selective” which affects acceptance rates. Techie/eng’g schools tend to be this way.</p>
<p>As for #63 ranking…that is actually good. Keep in mind that there are probably 2,000+ schools in the US that offer CS (it’s a big country with 4000+ colleges!) With 50 states in the union, there’s going to be a number of very good CS programs. The state of Calif probably has at least 10 schools with very good CS programs!! Stanford, USC, Cal, UCLA, CPP, SLO, Santa Clara, San Jose, CSULB, CSUF, LMU, and some I’m not thinking about…lol)</p>
<p>Cleveland is in Midwest . Case is not that well-known in the other area. I just wonder how difficult the students can find jobs in east or west coast after graduation.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what ranking you’re using, but it’s probably based on graduate programs. If so, I would ignore it, since the strength of the graduate program is not always to the strength of the undergraduate program.</p>
<p>I had the same concerns and questions. I only really learned about Case through CC. DS12 was offered a wonderful merit scholarship at Case, and he absolutely loves the college (we visited last spring). He plans to major in CS. After visiting CMU, Caltech, UCBerkeley, Stanford, etc., he liked Case more than all of those schools because of its location and overall feel. He felt he would get a lot of personal attention there. </p>
<p>However, Maryland just offered him a full ride, and since it was always 1-2 with Maryland and Case–and he couldn’t make a decision–the money ended up speaking. I can’t say I was ever fully behind Case in comparison to Maryland, but I’m glad there was some deciding factor. I’ll be curious to hear where your son ends up.</p>
<p>JenPam, please tell me that DS12 is not your 12th son! Had to look twice at your post before I realized DS12 is probably a dear son graduating in 2012. Gave me a chuckle before I log off : )</p>
<p>Can’t speak about the CS dept. But D is at Case and loving it so far. The campus and its immediate surrounding area is safe - I have heard that some of the areas just beyond are not that great. She knows not to walk out there by herself. Public transportation is really good - she has had no trouble getting back home for breaks or going to Pittsburgh using the mega bus to visit friends. Most of the kids seem a bit geeky, but very friendly. We visited CMU as well - and for some reason, D didn’t like the school. She preferred Case.</p>
<p>(Re: #15) Why/how do they have a bad reputation? I don’t know anything good or bad about CS at Case. I’m just curious where this statement is coming from.</p>
There’s also good public transportation, both to downtown and to the airport.</p>