I was so happy to learn that I’ve been admitted to NYU last night!!! Assuming rejections on Ivy Day, it looks like my college choice is going to come down to these two. I want to go for biology and be competitive for top grad school programs (pre med). NYU is closer to home, and I think I am in love with the school. I wonder, however, if it will be on par with Case in the sciences and for grad school admission. Both schools would be around the same cost, with NYU possible cheaper by a couple thousand dollars per year. I also love NYC, and I want to attend a school with a strong campus community, fun social scene, and intelligent student body. Any opinions will be appreciated!
case western would be a better place to experience being an undergrad.
@zobroward why do you say that?
Case would have a strong reputation in the sciences.
Not sure about NYU.
in my opinion being a young person attending school in nyc is not ideal. go to graduate school in nyc. but be a college student in a more traditional college setting! going to college is a once in a lifetime experience! being tossed into the middle of nyc makes that very hard. case western by the way is an amazing school!
If the question was 100 percent about pre-med, then I suppose the answer would be CWRU. If it’s “fun school experience” and “community” than the answer would be “what’s fun for you personally?” and “who do you see as your community?”
I see no reason at all why someone “shouldn’t” be an undergrad in NYC if that’s what rocks their boat. And I’m a big fan of CWRU but I wouldn’t at all think of it as a traditional undergrad experience. Not much school spirit, really … pride and ultimately loyal fondness, as in “we survived it” (like Cleveland weather or a medical residency 
), but not “rah rah CWRU.”
Of course it’s top-notch in the sciences (and has some great nuggets in the humanities too), plus there’s a real chance for mentoring. Not sure about either at NYU. And although it’s definitely a far cry from NYC, CWRU’s particular setting is great – not the campus per se (which is just OK), and not even just University Circle (with the museums and symphony), but that whole unpretentiously arty area where students from CWRU and the art and music institutes tend to live, from Little Italy up to Coventry. Not NYC, but a nice place to live.
As for “intelligent student body,” they’ll both have that! I’d suggest weighing what aspects are most important to you (and all considerations are legitimate) and visiting both again if you can … Congrats on having such good options to pick between!