I also posted in the University of Rochester forum. We just got back from a visit from Rochester. While S likes Cleveland better than Rochester, there are a few factors where Rochester potentially edges out Case so would love some feedback.
Students appeared to be more engaged and collaborative with each other and greater school spirit in general. We don’t have a fair comparison here as we did visit Case in June when it was not in session but I am also basing these observations on other comments as well that I have read about Case.
Economics program at Case not as strong as at Rochester (or as at BU which we are also heavily considering). CS program also potentially stronger at Rochester (not sure about BU).
I’ve read ALL the posts (I think) but I’d like to hear from people who may have been considering both schools. The Rochester thread is much more active - not sure if that is any kind of indication either.
Case Western offers collaborative computer science projects in solar energy, wind energy, medicine and aerospace. It is a very collaborative school for computer science. http://energy.case.edu/frontpage
Professor French hires undergraduate CS majors to work on worldwide durability of solar panels: http://engineering.case.edu/centers/sdle/ with strong ties to First Solar of Ohio. Because Cleveland has more industries that need computer scientists, and NASA Glenn is just a few miles from campus, Case Western offers better industry and government experiences for computer scientists. Case offers a specific program in Health informatics,
which is combining computer science with medicine: http://engineering.case.edu/eecs/node/466 Your son cannot go wrong at Case Western, its a highly collaborative research institute with good ties to many industries. Check out NASA Glen, its a major research lab minutes from Case Western: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/home/#.VS0RILrb_TQ
Because of all these industry and government ties, Case Western has the stronger engineering programs, compared to Rochester, except for optical engineering. For CS, Case wins hands down because of the collaborative programs in place.
Case offers SOURCE, which is an undergraduate research program. My son just won a summer grant in economics to work with a faculty member on a project. The program includes research seminars to help the students meet each other, and learn research techniques, it requires a detailed research paper and requires students to present at a conference, and also offers travel money to the student. I cannot say enough good things about Case, economics department. http://www.case.edu/provost/source/index.html
There is also the Inamori Center at Case for ethical studies, which awards leadership conference grants: http://case.edu/provost/inamori/
This is an interdisciplinary program. Case is a VERY interdisciplinary university. Bioinformatics is a strength and ties to Cleveland Clinic are very strong. Cleveland Clinic is on the level with Mayo Clinic but more focused on heart health. So the most advanced hospital for heart care is minutes from Case Western. This leads to a lot of CS opportunities in bioinformatics for Case Western students. http://www.lerner.ccf.org/qhs/biostats/
Case students work at Cleveland Clinic on computer science projects both during the semester and summers.
Case students are actually quite collaborative, and also really love their school. So, I think the issues of engagement, collaboration, and school spirit are not especially relevant.
Personally, I would base this decision on cost and personal preferences, with cost taking the higher priority. CWRU and Rochester are very much peer institutions. Both have hospitals and med schools, for example. As a consequence both have a high percentage of pre-med students.
As suggested by others, CWRU has the better engineering school.
Rochester has a nicer campus, but Cleveland is the more interesting city.
I keep hearing that CWRU students are overloaded with work. UR is very demanding, but I know a student there, majoring in physics, and he does not complain about being overworked; only about how hard it is.
More about economics at CWRU. Economics at Case is part of a larger business program. I would say Case’s economics department is ranked well by Businessweek, read here: https://weatherhead.case.edu/about/rankings
If a person is combining CS and economics, Case is ideal. Rochester is more of a PhD research type economics department. I would say Case is the better fit for a CS/economics major, unless the student likes Rochester better. Rochester has a slightly safer campus, is the one positive about Rochester. The food is way better in a city like Cleveland though, and even though the weather is cold in both places,Cleveland is slightly less cold, and more rain, Rochester, a ton of snow, if any of those things matter.
I believe Case’s program is much bigger, and many engineers pay their way through CWRU and get real computer
science experience at the same time! But check out Rochester’s program too, to be sure.
Thank you so much for all the feedback. I will say that Rochester kept touting it’s research but did not say much about work opportunities. S does not care about a ‘campus’ feel but I was wondering if that lent itself to a more cohesive student body. As of now, I believe he is leaning towards either CWRU or BU. Many more differences between these two.
coloradomama. I laughed when I read your post about school spirit. Where did you come up with this? Case has almost no school spirit. I don’t know anyone who knows the fight song or who cares about homecoming.