I’m a prospective freshman, and Case is really high on my list. However, I’ve read some really terrible things about the school (how the workload is completely undoable, it’s socially awful, the students are all antisocial…). It broke my heart to read this because Case was really one of my top choices, and they even gave me a very generous scholarship. If a current student could chime in, I’d be extremely appreciative.
Is Case really that bad?
If you could start all over, would you choose Case?
What are the best things about being a CWRU student?
@premed98 Have you taken advantage of doing an overnight visit with a current student? I know they offer the opportunity to do this for accepted students (not sure about those who haven’t applied yet). Overnight visits really give you a better sense of ‘life’ at the school and an opportunity to ‘try them on’ for fit. If finances are an issue, I believe there are a handful of accepted students the school has even sent plane tickets for them to visit.
If you really are interested, it’s worth your time to go visit & ask questions of the students that’ll be around you without administration around - get the real deal, so to say.
@jumbletumbles I have received the information for the overnight visit, however, I don’t know how realistic attending one is for me. Cost aside, missing another two days of school might be a problem since I’ve already missed quite a few days.
Remember that people post hear because they have strong opinions…they love it or they hate it.
Also if you are an engineering student or a pre-med student, you will have a lot of work (no matter what college you go to.)
Some of the advantages of CWRU:
*Single-door admissions policy…once you are admitted to Case you are able to major in anything you want…you don’t have to “apply” to the engineering or business school…you can take classes in any of the major schools within the U.
*Located within the University Circle…you are surrounded by culture…if you love music go see the Cleveland Orchestra across the street. If you are taking Art History go see actual art in the Art museum.
*Balance —the male/female ratio is fairly balanced (esp. if you look at other engineering schools) and the liberal arts departments are full fledged departements
*Access to a city - just a short train ride to downtown…and you get a free rail pass
*Surrounded by other academically focused students
*Keeping up with technology…Case was one of the first campuses to have broadband…now they have the ThinkBox for inventing
I went to Case way back in the day…I would still pick it. If you want research opportunities or more practical coop opportunities, they are there. 5000 students seems like a good sweet spot for me…a critical mass of students where you have enough students for departments and activities, but not so many you are lost.
I just attended an admittted student reception in NYC, and I found a group of smart, friendly, focused students.
@premed98 I am the parent of a freshman. Not sure if you made your decision yet. When we went to the local accepted/attending student day last year I was struck by the quality of the students. Everyone was academically qualified and did something else interesting - sports, music, theatre, arts - and were accomplished in their interest.
My son is very happy at Case. I don’t think he would in any way describe it as “that bad”. He was able to AP out of some large introductory courses but he did have a couple with hundreds of students. His sages class was small and he actually enjoyed it very much. There will be a mix of large and small in your first year. Classes are challenging but the workload is manageable. He was on Deans list first semester and expects to repeat that this term too. He is active in Greek life and music as well as a number of other campus activities. The double major has a demanding schedule but he absolutely has social time on the weekends. He has been to Cleveland symphony many times, most of the museums (which are free to you as a student), goes out around town. There is a lot to do in Cleveland.
Like anything in life, it is what you make of it. Answer to 1) No. It’s actually pretty good. 2) Yes 3) See above, but in summary - an accomplished and interesting student body and lots of opportunity to pursue your interests. You might even find something new. Wish you the best of luck
I just graduated from Case with a degree in engineering. I loved Case, and it has great academics. The workload, like any reputable engineering school, at times can be heavy and time management is important. There are all types at Case, yes, there are some who are anti-social. However, that is the majority. The majority are social and like to have fun, albeit definitions of fun vary. Many people are in Greek life and there is a fraternity/sorority for everyone. That is, you’ll find one where the people match your personality and will have great friendships through that. There are plenty of non-greek groups too, through which you’ll make friends.
I did a 3+2 year program with a liberal arts college. The liberal arts college I attended was very socially oriented; when I came to Case, I never regretted it and made great friends.
Case is a great school and is on the up-and-up. There are amazing research opportunities available to students, stellar academics, professors who care, and a culturally rich area. Also, the schools in University Circle have a reciprocity agreement. As a Case student, you can take one class per semester at the Cleveland Institute of Art or the Cleveland School of Music with no additional
Also, Think[Box] is amazing, check it out. It has received a lot of attention. Through it, and other resources, many starups have emerged from Case.
My son was a popular and social soccer player in high school who plays horn in an orchestra, with solid grades and an IB diploma . Case is a perfect social fit for him. Lots of division 3 athletes and while my son does not play division 3, his friends do! There are all kinds of kids at Case. Nurses, business majors, its certainly not all engineers. My son is not an engineer.
Hi, im also considering Case and i have the same concerns- all i’ve been hearing about is the heavy workload and it’s antisocial. However, i think i would be able to handle the workload better if i was having a good time there. So, is it a social school, really?
It is absolutely not antisocial. There are tons of things to do, groups to join, and places to go. Unless a particular student is antisocial, there is a place for everyone. You will have as good a time as you choose to.
The curriculum doesn’t line up well with industry at all in engineering and is quite rigorous. You spend a ton of time and effort learning skills and techniques that are outdated.
If you could start all over, would you choose Case?
I would’ve picked a school with a more hands on engineering department with better ties to industry. The school I am thinking of is University of Michigan. I would not choose Case again for either Electrical Engineering or Biomedical Engineering.
What are the best things about being a CWRU student?
Strength through unity, unity through suffering. I’ve made some good friends because we are all miserable here.
@marbles321 You have indeed lost your marbles. I’m sorry you have have such a vendetta against Case, it’s very apparent. Your views do not reflect those of many, many others.
@cle4life and @marbles321. As much as a am a Case parent and fan, I do see that both BME and EE are weaker than other majors at Case Western. BME is oversubscribed. EE is just not as strong as many other universities out there, for circuits and computer architecture, for example. , but yes, Marbles seems a little burned out on small school, Cleveland and the negativity that seems to brew at Case with upper classmen. My son’s class, the junior class seems a bit more upbeat and social. My son is planning for a PhD in physics and has none of the dread that other students seem to feel about finding “a job”. He feels pretty sure he can get into a solid physics PhD program after his Case education, and his friends at Case, two seniors have gotten into funded programs in Polymer Sciences at Michigan and Aerospace Eng at MIT.
One problem with EE departments across the country is that they may hire facility in a few areas, like surgery robotics for Case or Power electronics and be weaker in areas they are unable to hire faculty. Ditto on BME.
Also students like Marbles seem unaware that 90% of circuit design jobs require a masters degree, so more schooling that tends to be way more tough than Case to be honest. So sometimes I think kids who are burned out at Case do not belong in EE. Its not for the faint of heart.
Working as a circuit designer is much much worse than life at Case, as there is very little time off from the repetitive arduous task of circuit design. Every engineer we know that does circuit design eventually crashes and burns. School is the easy part!
Cal Poly is much more hands on than Michigan or Case for EE.
A positive plug for Case EE co ops; the local student we know, in EE at Case, was about to work his way thought his EE degree at Case and had three job offers with his co op companies in the midwest. The firms were manufacturing and electrical power oriented and in Ohio and Indiana. This boy was able to graduate loan free and also had job offers. He worked hard and it took him five years because of the co ops in his third and fourth year of the bachelors program.
Another Case senior I know, athletic tennis player, studied at London School of Economics for junior year, double major in economics and Big Data, a new major at Case. He was part of a fraternity, had jobs all summers, the first one at Case, second one in the city of Cleveland and really loved Case!
I think the problem with EE and BME is that the vast majority of students who do not do co ops may need at least a masters degree to be marketable out there.
At Georgia Tech the student body seems a bit more clued in, that co ops are job experience worth having! At Case some negative bloggers like Marbles may feel that they do not have job connections they might have gotten at a larger school like Michigan. Michigan’s program is tough though, and perhaps GPA interferes with some Case students landing a job at the end, not sure. Students without a job offer may need to consider a masters program.
It will help them get more experience in their chosen field of study. Engineering is like that today, need a masters degree for 90% of the jobs out there.
@premed98 I think the other thing I am seeing as I talk with the Case students I know personally , is that the younger students at Case seem more motivated and have higher stats than this year’s current seniors, by a little bit. Students who are in fraternities and sororities seem happier at Case. Students who are athletes or involved in music or clubs are happier. Students who are dating are happier! Students who love their research group are happier. You have to ask yourself, why is the negative blogger writing bad things about Case? The likely answer is, they are not feeling successful there or have not found a job when they expected to find one by now in the senior year. Too bad for them. That will not be YOU at Case. Those seniors griping on line will not be at Case when you get there.
@Coloradomama I disagree with your statement regarding the EE department. Larry Sears has donated close to 50 million to the school. He donated 10 million to the undergraduate circuits lab which is staffed by a full time engineer and has other great opportunities, all of which are free. The people concentrating in circuits are well respected and are hired by Keithley and other top employers (Intel, TI, GE, etc.). Case has been in the past and many of the resources are still in place, been a leader in the field of MEMS. Further, in the area of systems engineering, Case was the first university with a dept. for it and has had many prominent systems/controls professors.
@cle4life Thanks for correcting my misconceptions about Case EE department as far as board level circuit design. I was referring to chip design, but there are as you point out, a lot of MEMS specialists and some are VLSI/chip design experts on the faculty.
I see that a few Case students are commenting on CC about the BME capstone project with counterpoints to marbles now, and students are always much better than parents, (like ME!) for accurate info.
I would like to respond to the people who see me as a bitter senior who can’t find a job. I have had a job offer in electrical engineering for months. I was a biomedical instrumentation track student. I know that the skills that landed my job were do to my EE courses or self-study. I did not find many courses in BME that prepared me for industry. I have opted to self-study and take courses at other schools. We do not have much hands-on design work in the curriculum and my area of study is the weakest of the four tracks and has the lowest job placement.
Case is very expensive from a financial and time investment standpoint. I am not angry about my experience at Case, I just have seen many students only succeed here on their own merits instead benefiting greatly from the BME department.
If you want to talk with EE students here directly and get the scoop, I recommend going on irc. case. edu and using the mibbit to talk with those students.