You finally made it after four years of hard work! I decided to do this little AMA (ask me anything) because I thought it can help out any prospective students out there with questions regarding case, or college life in general.
A little bit about me: I’m a rising second year student at Case majoring in Biology and Music while doing the pre-med track. I make music, workout, hangout, and read from time to time during my free time. Feel free to ask me anything and I’ll try to answer them to the best of my ability.
*Disclaimer: I’m doing this AMA independently. I do not represent every single student at Case.
I also plan on doing the premed track, and I have a question regarding your experience there.
I’m currently a waitlisted student, and CWRU is (or rather, was) my top choice. If I get off the waitlist, I don’t plan on receiving any form of merit aid, so I’d have to choose between CWRU and a couple other schools that have sent me scholarships (Brandeis and URoch–both of which have great premed tracks as well).
I really love CWRU, but would it be worth paying full tuition to go there?
Would you consider your experience there (regardless of whether you’ve received financial/merit aid or not) worth the full tuition? Are the research/shadowing/intern/volunteer/etc. opportunities plentiful for someone planning to pursue a major in chem or biochem?
@rlyoutofit 1. If you have already received scholarships from Brandeis and URoch, I would not recommend paying full tuition to come to CWRU. However, there are many opportunities to decrease the financial burden if you’re really set on coming here. You can always opt for work study, which many of my peers are doing, or apply for a paid research position, or find a job in nearby restaurants.
Honestly, it's what you make out of college. For me, if I had to pay full tuition for Case, I would say that the experiences I had here were definitely worth it.
I found a shadowing opportunity and volunteering position within the first two months of school. Needless to say, the extracurricular opportunities here are amazing and plentiful. I think 79% of pre-med students got a research position before graduating, or some ridiculous number like that, so no need to worry.
@tguan916 I still have yet to visit URoch (will visit next week), so CWRU is still one of my top choices. It’ll probably come down to the opportunities both schools have to offer. I don’t believe either school can truly outweigh the other, but hopefully I’ll be able to gauge it soon. Do you think a scholarship of $7k/yr is a big enough difference?
Also, what do you mean by work study?
A paid research opportunity as early as freshman year seems a like wishful thinking, but I’d be more than happy to apply for one if it really is possible to obtain this position or something else of similar caliber. What is your experience with this? Or do you know anyone else with this experience?
Ah, it’s good to know that I won’t have to worry about extracurricular opportunities! I’m still not entirely sure if it’s worth the full tuition, but maybe some stroke of luck will grant me some merit aid if I do get off the waitlist somehow.
Thank you for doing this. DD and I really liked the school when we visited but I’m often surprised by how negative some people are about the school.are you happy with your choice? Would you say most of your friends are as well or are lots of people looking to transfer?
Many colleges have freshman seminars like SAGES…the idea is to be writing intensive and to get to know a professor. Instead of Freshman Composition you learn about a topic plus write about it.
@bopper I’m aware that CWRU gives out scholarships to waitlisted people, but I did not receive any email regarding merit aid while others did. Going by that, I’m assuming that I won’t be receiving any scholarship if I happen to get accepted off the waitlist.
@rlyoutofit Work study: “The Work-Study Program is a form of federal financial aid. A portion of the student’s wages are paid by the federal government, and the remaining portion is paid by the university department employing the student, up to the student’s earnings limit. Any wages a student earns through this program are excluded as income for purposes of financial aid need assessment in subsequent years.”
I have already obtained a paid research position for this summer. Like I said, the resources here at Case are abundant; it’s not too difficult to find a paid research position as a first year, as long as you’re proactive.
@smokinact haha. Cafeteria food. Funny thing is, Bon Appetite (the company that monopolized the CWRU food market) usually puts out BETTER food during admitted student days. Don’t expect it to get any better. However, there are many restaurants near by where you can get much better food for the cost of a meal swipe ($11.76). The food honestly isn’t terrible; it just gets bland after a while.
I honestly loved my SAGES class. Your experience with SAGES will completely depend on what professor you get.
@myjanda Overall, I can rate my experience here at Case positively. I had a choice between NYU and Case, and I’m really glad that I chose Case. Not only was it cheaper, but Case’s environment is well suited for me. Most students prioritize studying over anything else, which I find very important. Only 2 or 3 of my friends have considered transferring.
I believe the negativity comes from: lack of recreational events on campus/Cleveland, stressful workloads, and a large population who came unwillingly due to financial incentives.
1)As an Engineering Undergrad : How many hours it is possible to practically work per month and managing the workload and studies?
2)And if it is possible to work (could be campus job or Research Assistant ship) how much a student can actually earn (approximately) including working during summer etc.?