<p>I went to exactly one football game in high school - it was senior year and one of my good friends was drum major of the marching band, so I thought I should go and see what he did. I went to a big state university and we didn’t miss a football game. It’s a fun atmosphere - you’re outside in a large crowd, there’s a great band, dancers, cheerleaders, etc. Even if you don’t ever actually pay attention to the game, it’s a fun scene. (Fast forward several decades, my D is on the varsity drill team, so now we have *season tickets *to the high school games; thought I’d never see the day, but I actually now know what a first down is.)</p>
<p>My brother went to USC, and I will say that his experience was great --they are attentive to students and the Trojan Family network is fabulous. He has never been unemployed! </p>
<p>But all of your choices are great ones – congratulations!</p>
<p>I’m willing to bet that you’ll prefer Wash U over Case. IMO Cleveland just isn’t that interesting. I’ve been to both schools–my step-daughter-in-law graduated from Case and my husband taught at Wash U. We lived in University City (right next to the Wash U campus) and then the Central West End in St. Louis. There’s so much going on in the area that appeals to students. I never got that feeling at Case, which just didn’t seem as vibrant. (I know that’s highly subjective.) It was my impression and I could be wrong, but it seemed that most of the undergraduates at Case are from Cleveland and the surrounding areas. (I know my step-dil was–she grew up in Shaker Heights and lots of kids from her private high school went to Case.) Wash U seemed to have more geographic diversity. Good luck! You’ve got good choices.</p>
<p>Case Western is the only one I know and it is awesome for engineers and pre-meds with engineering being very demanding. My D was also accepted there with huge scholarship, but choose to go to a different school with awesome scholarship also.</p>
<p>Bromfield- I’m going to case tomorrow so I’ll have to see. Of course, wash u is giving me no money, and the scholarship from case isn’t insignificant- graduating with less debt wouldn’t be so bad considering I’m thinking about med school.</p>
<p>MiamiDAP- I’m planning on biomedical engineering, and I know it’ll be challenging but I’m really interested in it. I’m not dead-set on med school yet but it’s something I’m thinking about.</p>
<p>I have a nephew at Wash U who loves it–it would be my choice among these, if money were no object. But depending on the size of the scholarship, USC sounds pretty good, too.</p>
<p>Update- I’m home from Pittsburgh (CMU). Honestly, I didn’t really like it. I still think CMU is an awesome place (and I went to an engineering class that was pretty cool), but I didn’t really like the layout of the campus. It just felt weird to me (does that make sense?). I didn’t really like the dining options, either, and there was something about the student body… I don’t really know, I just didn’t feel like I liked the people as much? I guess that’s the best way to describe it. </p>
<p>Hunt- Yea, I did really like Wash U when I visited. My parents have said that I shouldn’t decide based solely on money, but it would be nice to graduate with less debt. The scholarship at Case is ~$22k/yr (so a little less than half the COA); USC covers ~$9k/yr (1/4 tuition; but I could potentially get more scholarships while I’m there). Case Western seems to be the least expensive option.</p>
<p>How much debt would YOU be carrying (from any of these places) upon graduation, assuming costs will increase 5% a year? Then go to [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) and find the loan calculators. You might discover that some of the choices you think you are considering might not be choices at all (or will make your life miserable for the 10 years following graduation).</p>
<p>Med school is going to cost you $200k+. And you will likely have to be paying back some of the loans while you are there.</p>
<p>A neighborhood kid (big guy – six feet plus and works out a lot) went to USC and he said he never felt very safe. Constant vigilance on laptop/back pack etc. We are in a rural area, so it may have been the change to the urban world – but it did surprise me that he felt unsafe.</p>
<p>I’m coming at this a little sideways as I’ve no first hand experience with these schools but I did want to say that D is at an Oxford college which has a couple of Wash U students in residence each year and D says they are phenomenal. They are there a full year, fully integrated into the life of the college - unlike other ‘study abroad’ programmes in which students are at Oxford only for a term or are isolated in separate housing (eg Stanford, Williams students) - D has been so so impressed by the calibre of the WashU people and as a result has a very high opinion of the university which I thought I’d pass on FWIW…</p>
<p>mini- good idea. I’ll definitely try to figure out how much it will cost, and how much my parents will expect me to pay.</p>
<p>HoppingLass- Yes, I’ve heard that USC is “unsafe” too. But I did look at the crime statistics for USC and Wash U and Case, and while USC has more crimes numerically, but it comes out to be about the same number of crimes per person.</p>
<p>So I went to Case, and I really liked it. The campus felt right, and I really liked the people I met. I went to a biomedical engineering info session, and it was really interesting- there are so many different BME “tracks” that interest me (tissue engineering? biomechanics? bioelectrical? COOL!). Plus, I loved that there are hospitals like right next to campus! It also seems like there’s so much to do on and off campus (apparently there’s a SAGES class that’s taught like once a week at the rock n roll hall of fame- cool!). Everything I learned about Case just made me like it more, and made me more excited about it. It’s the perfect FIT for me!</p>
<p>Even not considering money (Case offered me a $22.5k/yr scholarship; USC $9.5k/yr; Wash U $0, Carnegie Mellon $0), Case was definitely my favorite! The fact that it’s going to cost me ~$90k less over 4 years than Wash U or Carnegie Mellon ($52 k less than USC) is just a bonus… a huge bonus! </p>
<p>I sent in my deposit while I was waiting in the Cleveland Airport… yay for WiFi:)</p>
<p>Congratulations on finding the right school for you! You seem like a very bright, thoughtful and interesting person from all of your posts and I think that you will do very well at college and in life.</p>
<p>Hi Molliegym:
My son was accepted to Case and will focus on BME. We have visited and he likes the look, feel, etc. He is still interested in University of Rochester and Lehigh and will wait to see if he gets into those. Can you provide us an update on your experiences at Case. What were the good and bad of this major decision you made. How were the internships, etc. Thank you.</p>
<p>This thread is 5 years old… you probably should try sending a message to the OP (if they are still on CC). And/or start a new thread asking for other opinions… I’d suggest you post the question in the Case forum.</p>