<p>I know that Case advertises a lot about how most of its classes are taught by professors, not grad students and small class size and closer interactions, etc.</p>
<p>Right now I got into CWRU but would like to ask: Is there any major differences between going to Case and doing an honor program at a state school, with mostly honors core courses?</p>
<p>Is there anything else special about Case (Yes I know about it being a heavy science univ., and I am going there for the pre-med program).
Any replies would be helpful.
Thanks guys.</p>
<p>Case is just like an honors program. Courses are rigorous, challenging, taught by profs. It just isn't called honors. If Case had an honors program, everyone would be eligible due to the academic standards of the school.</p>
<p>I'm a sophmore, and up to this point i don't think i've been taught by anybody other than a professor for lecture classes (although graduate students run the biology labs).</p>
<p>As a science student, I can tell you that your intro science classes will not be small- I know intro bio and chem classes generally have about 300 students as there are so many premeds with the same basic requirements.</p>
<p>I don't know too much about honors programs, so I can't really compare- but the science and engineering classes in particular can be pretty rigorous. Also, i'll mention that the professors are pretty willing to meet with students outside of class that need extra help.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. I got admitted to both Univ. of Texas (regular) but will be taking some honors classes. I am trying to compare the academic caliber versus Case. That is all.</p>
<p>I went to Case 20 years ago. At that time, Case was famous for it rigorous curriculum. My son attends Case now. From what I observed, it has not changed much. It is still viewed as one of the most rigorous science and engineering program in the country. The good news is that all the hard work does pay off. Case graduates are in high demands. I know that because I try to hire a few every year. I am sure that UT is a fine institution. However, in my opinion, there is no comparison between the two in academic caliber. When it comes to academic caliber, Case is in the league of MIT, Johns Hopkins, and Carnegie Mellon. If you decide to come to Case, be prepared to be challenged.</p>
<p>Thank you GWEM27 for your opinion. I enjoyed it. And of course, if CWRU maybe advertises itself better in other states it can maybe rise in ranks... But then again, I don't want to sound snobbish or loathing... but I am still weighing my choices... people around Texas loves Rice VERY much!!! And I got rejected there. But I did get admitted into Haverford College. So I will still be comparing these three institutions. I do like how CWRU is 5 times smaller than Texas in undergraduate size, though.</p>
<p>Haverford is an excellent institution. Both Case and Haverford will prepare you well for the medical school. I don't know much about UT. Case has a large pre-med population. It has a strong pre-med advising program. It also offers may medical-related research/internship opportunities for undergraduates (an expereince will help your application). Case, of course, has a highly regarded medical school. Case medical school does give admission preferences to its own undergraduates.</p>
<p>Yeah, again, GWEM27 thank you for your inputs into my requests. I'll make a campus visit to determine whether CWRU or Haverford will be right for me. And as for right now, I am still waiting for the fin aid package from the other school (though most likely not as generous as Case's).</p>
<p>Research opportunities!!!! All my pre-med friends have substantial opportunities to do research with professors, UH, and Cleveland Clinic down the street. I think one of my friends is working at Cleveland Clinic this summer. With that said, Pre-med (as it is at every school) is very competitive. </p>
<p>Most pre-meds at Case major in Bio, Chem, or Biochem I believe. In 2006 (The most recent stats I have access to), 53 people planned to go to graduate school, the vast majority of which I assume went to med school. 48 people went to med school, if that makes sense. </p>
<p>Some of the Med Schools students went to:
CWRU
Columbia
Harvard
Mayo Clinic
WUSTL
John Hopkins
NY Medical College
Rush Medical College
UMich
UPenn
Rochester
Stanford
(That's just from those three majors)</p>
<p>Honestly, they say pick a unique major to coexist with the pre-med curriculum, but I don't see any advantages from Case. It may be the people. You've got to have a high GPA no matter what.</p>
<p>In terms of honors for Case...there's honors math classes for engineers...that's all.</p>
<p>I have to say though. It seems like a lot of students go to Case's Med School. I haven't been following recent developments, but I believe Cleveland Clinic may be cutting off ties with Case. This doesn't mean that there won't be research opportunities there, but in terms of Med School itself, where a lot of Case students go to Case Med School, it may be getting worse by losing a connection with one of the top hospitals in the world (#1 for cardiology). However, if you apply yourself, and do well, I think you can go to any Med School you want. I'm sure a lot of the reason people go to Case Med is because Case probably gives more aid. I would investigate further into this.</p>
<p>And also,I believe that Case's medical school will be great by itself, after all, It will still have university hospitals and other hospitals in the cleveland area.
And I don't think that CC would do itself a favor if they were to ally themselves with Columbia, since Colum is so far off from them.</p>
<p>And also, sachmoney, you mentioned great medical colleges in your list, but watch only like one person enters a college from the list from cWRU, so stats can be deceptive.</p>
<p>Yeah, multiple people went to Case Med School though...not that it's a bad thing, but I don't know if you'd want to stay in Cleveland for that long.</p>
<p>To answer the question above, no. Most professors I have had are pretty awesome about getting back to me some get back to me within hours. When was in high school I came for an unplanned visit and stopped by one of the engineering departments, the head of the department chatted with me and my mom for half and hour. </p>
<p>If you really want to compare calibers of schools, look at the credentials of the professors, you might be surprised.</p>
<p>That being said, I cannot quite judge between Case and your other choices. Ive been to Case and I love it. As much as I love Case I think I could have been happy at a state school and done well. My dad went to not-outstanding-state-school for undergraduate then got an NSF grant for his PhD at MIT. Also please, please do not let pamphlets and tour guides influence your decision too much (after all, youor your parentswill be footing the bill). If you can excel at a school you will be alright, even in large classes. Before coming to college I was very worried about large lecture classes, but theyre not that bad. Sure you may have to try a little harder if you need to get to know the professor but do the work well, stop by office hours (there probably will be SOMETHING you dont understand sometime) and some of the graduate TAs are really helpful and feel a little more like peers than do professors. </p>
<p>Well, good luck. And if you do decide to come to Case, well be glad to have you!</p>
<p>P.S. I dont know where youre from, but weather might actually make a difference. You may not think so, but to some people snowing in March is extremely difficult to handle (I personally think Case would be just about the most perfect school ever if I could transplant it somewhere warmer).</p>
<p>As a biology student (looking to go on for a PhD), I thought i'd point out what I think is one of Case's great strengths. I think Sach may have mentioned it already, but this is an awesome place to gain research experience as an undergraduate. Case has a very large graduate division, so there are a lot labs- especially in biomedical research. Since there are so many labs, the competition to start research early isn't nearly as ridiculous as it is at other institutions (particularly those with much larger undergrad populations relative to the grad division).</p>
<p>The summer between freshman and sophmore year, I started contacting lab PI's (people running the labs). I was actually able to get a volunteer position for my sophmore year with pretty minimal effort. Now i'm close to finishing my sophmore year with almost a full year's experience- I've gotten a well-paid summer internship in a genetics lab here at Case. I also already have research lined up for next year.</p>
<p>The point is, there's so much research going on at Case, the science students really benefit from the huge amount of lab space there is around here
hope this helps a bit.</p>