<p>I'm a Junior thinking about applying to Case Western next fall, but unfortunately, I likely won't have the option of visiting. I go to a high school in NY that sends very few kids there, and thus, I know little about Case. While I've done some research on the school, I was wondering if you guys could answer some questions about Case Western, and for those of you who visited, give me your overall impression. </p>
<p>-What was the general environment like? From what I've heard, Case Western has a lot of cross-applicants with CMU, a school I really liked. Is the environment as competitive as CMU, or is it more relaxed?</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Case is a relatively small school (for the schools I'm looking at), but some schools, feel larger than they really are. Is Case like that or does it feel smaller than it is?</p></li>
<li><p>I really want to do research in college, and I know CWRU puts a lot of money into medical research. What about research in fields like engineering? (I want to double major in Math & Engineering.)</p></li>
<li><p>How big of an emphasis is put on engineering? Or is it very heavily set on pre-med like JHU and WashU?</p></li>
<li><p>If you have any other overall impressions of Case Western that you learned on the tour/info session that you could share that would be fantastic.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I’m fairly familiar with Case, so I can answer some of your questions.</p>
<p>What is the overall environment like?
Diverse: You will meet people from all over the world and all walks of life.
Science-focused: The most popular majors are biology, chemistry, engineering, nursing, etc.
Artsy: Institutions within a short walking distance of campus include the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland Institute of Art, Severance Hall (home of the Cleveland Orchestra), and more.
Exciting: Neighborhoods such as Little Italy, Coventry, University Circle, and Uptown are right near the campus; you will never run out of things to do.</p>
<p>Does Case feel larger or smaller than it is?
I think that it feels larger than it actually is because of a few factors:
a) Its located in an urban environment and is integrated into the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland
b) There are around 5,500 grad students
c) The Cleveland Clinic is adjacent to the campus, and University Hospitals is pretty much on the campus
d) The campus feels fairly large in size.</p>
<p>How is research in fields like engineering?
Plentiful. Undergraduate research is one of the schools focal points, and I dont think that it takes much effort to obtain a research position.</p>
<p>How big of an emphasis is put on engineering?
Case puts a huge emphasis on engineering, considering that the college does have a distinct STEM feel to it. Engineering is definitely one of the most popular and majors on campus. I think biomedical engineering is particularly strong. </p>
<p>CWRU is very similar to CMU, so I’d strongly recommend that you apply. It’s also a bit easier to get into (though the selectivity has increased incredibly within the past few years).</p>
<p>Hi! I’m a current Case student and maybe I can answer your questions. When I applied, I didn’t see the school, and only went to visit AFTER I had accepted my offer to go. So it was kinda crazy and I remember what you’re going through. Hopefully this helps. </p>
<p>The environment is pretty relaxed, but I’d say it depends on your major. The engineering majors and the pre-meds are definitely the most competitive, but I’m sure it is like that at any esteemed university. </p>
<p>-What was the general environment like? From what I’ve heard, Case Western has a lot of cross-applicants with CMU, a school I really liked. Is the environment as competitive as CMU, or is it more relaxed? Case definitely doesn’t feel smaller than it’s 4,500 students- I’ve always liked that I can walk around and recognize/know about half the students, but have no clue who the other half are. I don’t feel like a number there which is great. </p>
<p>Research is easy to get as an undergrad if you try- most of my friends do it although I am not currently involved (I work elsewhere on campus). Most people do research in psych labs, the medical school, or in engineering labs. Others are TA (teaching assistants) for math classes and other classes they have done well in. All those positions pay at least campus minimum wage, which is $9.50 (trust me- it adds up!) </p>
<p>Definitely not a heavily pre-med emphasized university, there is a definite focus on engineering although the university is doing a good job of trying to give more attention to the business school, the social sciences and the liberal arts. Liberal arts are only about 9% of the university, and social sciences about 12%, so sometimes its hard for them (I’m a double major in both of those so I know, and I transferred from science so I’ve really seen all the sides!). </p>
<p>I honestly just really love Case. It is a hard university- I always tell students that they’ll work hard but they’ll accomplish a lot and be really proud of their work. I also love that I am very close with both of my advisers at Case, which I think is a cool part of the college, since we have a lot of advantages of both small and large universities. </p>
<p>Hope this helped!</p>
<p>-What was the general environment like? It’s a very do-it-yourself school, from academics to social life. Academically, the work load is very intense, especially for engineering and math (I’m an engineer, my best friend’s a math major). Socially, there seems to be dense populations of both introverts who stay in their dorms all day and folks trying to party at a dorkier school. Those in between are deceivingly hard to find.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Is Case like that or does it feel smaller than it is? To be honest, I think it feels a lot bigger than it should, which has disappointed me immensely. For one, the campus is huge and essentially slices the student population into two. With the small student body, you’ll see a lot of familiar faces, but at the same time, there seems to be an overall lack of atmosphere. The classes are also extremely large (save a few) for a school not much larger than my high school. The facility seems a bit…distant than I expected. I kind of feel like a statistic here.</p></li>
<li><p>What about research in fields like engineering? (I want to double major in Math & Engineering.) Research is really good here. Getting research experience is almost no problem. As for double majoring, the engineering and math curriculum does have a lot of overlap, especially for the core classes, but given the rigidity of both majors, coming in with a lot of credit will ease your schedule. I do not recommend taking more than 18 credits or more than 5 classes (which ever comes first) in a semester.</p></li>
<li><p>How big of an emphasis is put on engineering? I’ve found that the engineering curriculum is very physics oriented. For example, the core class Statics is required of every engineering major, which is different from most engineering departments at other colleges. Overall, the curriculum is very science based, which is good for people who want to solely concentrate on their major, but bad for people wanting a multi-dimensional education. There’s also a lot of “busy” work, or at least there is for me.</p></li>
<li><p>If you have any other overall impressions of Case Western that you learned on the tour/info session that you could share that would be fantastic. There’s a lot of other stuff: good and bad. Too much to stuff in one little section.</p></li>
</ul>