Prospective Student looking at CWRU (Case Western)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Case Western Reserve University
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Hi, I’m a prospective student, and after looking at a lot of threads on Case, I’m not sure what to think about the school. I have a campus tour and interview scheduled soon, so I will be able to see the area, but I have questions for either current students, alumni, or people that will give an honest view of the school that you can’t get from tour guides.

I’m a female wanting to go into ME, and I’d ideally like to do activities in college centered around engineering and music. In most of the threads, Greek Life seems to be a huge theme, but I am unsure if it’s actually big on campus or it just happens to be who’s posting. I’m personally not really interested in Greek Life and partying, but I get that for a lot of people, that’s really important, but it’s just not my thing.

Something else that concerns me is about the number of people that find it necessary to post about the attractiveness of the students that go there. I get posting about the personality in general of the students that go there, but the fact that there are so many comments on the attractiveness of students makes me question the type of people that go to Case.

Also, I’ve read mixed reviews on the safety of the campus. It sounds like the campus itself is safe, but the campus is near an area of Cleveland where there is a considerable amount of crime. Although there is much to do on campus, does the fact that there are unsafe areas surrounding the campus ever feel restricting or make you feel uneasy?

Any other insights into the school would be appreciated! The academics at Case seem pretty good, but if the social aspects and safety of the campus don’t really fit my personality, I want to know before I choose to apply.

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Hi,

I’ll do the best I can for you. I’m a triple alum (BA 1995, MA 1996, MD 2008) and my wife is BS 1995, MS 1996 - both civil e). Currently my nephew attends (sophomore now in Mech E) and both my parents are alums as well. My son is applying this year - it is very high on our list.

I have lived in Cleveland (ALL OVER, though west side for last 18 years) since I was a freshman in 1996 (save a 3 year “break” to attend law school in New York City). I’m currently a physician with the Cleveland Clinic.

The campus is long and thin, with the “North side” (location of the freshman dorms) bordering on the city of East Cleveland. The north side extends a bit further north if you include the Cleveland Insitute of Music (where it sounds like you may spend some time). East Cleveland is rough - there is no sugar coating it. But the border is exceedingly clear and only a very small part of campus touches it. Moreover, you will never have cause to cross over that border. So it is NOT AT ALL restrictive.

The concern (if there is one) is that people will occasionally walk through campus from the East Cleveland neighborhood. Which is why there is a heavy security presence on that part of campus, and there is a full blown police station just about 500 yards from that spot. My wife lived in the north side dorms for two years (then two years on south side) and she never felt unsafe, even at night. AND, frankly, it was less safe back then. The areas abutting the other borders of north campus are SIGNIFICANTLY more built up now than they were then (with additional, modern off campus housing, recreational venues, eateries and museums). It’s an urban campus though - I would counsel my daughter to walk in groups at night. If I am being totally honest, I would offer that same counsel to her no matter WHAT campus she is on.

I don’t believe Greek life is much of a factor at Case - it certainly wasn’t when I was there. My nephew doesn’t mention it much in any event. And, frankly, the Greek houses on the south side are just dorm buildings (or seemingly so) with Greek letters on them. The kids in them live like they do in dorms. They’re just as dorky as the rest of us. They still play Fortnight, collect Magic the Gathering cards and throw gliders made out of card stock off the parking garages. I guess the Greeks in the converted mansions on the north side are different. Honestly, I think they are there if you want them - but you could ignore them for 4 years and never know they exist (as my wife and I did). This should be a non-factor in your decision.

I think comments about the attractiveness of the students say a lot more about the commenters who post them than about the people who attend Case. It’s 8000 random people between the ages of 18 and 25. In my opinion, they looked the same as just about any other cohort of 8000 young people who have decided to spend their winters in Cleveland.

If you are not interested in Greek life or partying, I could not think of a better fit than Case. It is, by and large, for serious students to work hard and learn.

I LOVED Case. It was the best years of my life. I had my first serious girlfriend there, met my wife there, had my first job there, and my wife and I enjoyed rigorous undergraduate (and then graduate and professional) educations that slid us easily into first jobs and lasting careers. And we never tire of seeing it grow and expand.

Where would you be coming from?

Judd

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Greek life is not dominating Case Western, but it is about 35% membership. Women do join sororities but then live in dorms or off campus, if they don’t like the sorority house. I think Mechanical engineeirng/Aerospace engineering is one of the strongest engineering departments at Case Western. There are ties to Space X in California from that department, NASA Glenn is in Cleveland on the train line, for jobs, and many other job connections.

My son went to Case to study physics. He was a high school athlete, (soccer) and he tried a business oriented fraternity. He did not like it, and dropped out, as that particular frat had no house and a lot of fundraising activities to buy a Greek house. He ended up socializing with nursing students and engineering students, as well as other math TAs and had a very healthy social experience. He joined an ethics club and met students that way too.

Have you seen Think Box, be sure to tour that, its the maker space at Case. Whats unique is that Case has a law school and apparently, there is help to file patents at Think Box, too, and it has a strong entrepreneurial spirit.
There is a Case undergraduate student who invented a new airplane engine, that is more fuel efficient , for instance, and started a company to design and manufacture his new engine.

Upper classmen at Case who are not in a Greek house, live on 115th Street in suite style apartments or in very low cost off campus apartments near 115th street. its all very walkable, and the buses are safe to take to the Lake Erie waterfront, and the trains go to West Side Market, and the International Airport.

There will be safety emails sent to you weekly if you enroll at any US university, including Case Western.

I think Case takes safety seriously and there are Greenie buses that run to all buildings at night, both warmer
in the winter and safe to ride. Yet, I have walked as a middle aged woman from South Campus to North Campus at night and felt it was not overly dangerous.

The areas that are not safe today are to the west of campus, in between University Circle and the International Airport, on 55th Street, Thats not walkable. East Cleveland is close to Little Italy and I walked there at night as well, but going in a group is best until you are familiar with the area.

I would not worry at all about blogs about student attractiveness, as most Case students are too busy to blog
and those blogs are just random kids who care about that, and not representative of the very down to earth nice
midwestern students who are attending Case Western. There is a balance of international students, mainly from China and India also attending Case and quite a few from New York State, New Jersey and Texas. West coast kids are discovering Case too.

Also the SAGES seminars are required for nursing, liberal arts, engineering and business students, so
you will mix with other students in those three required reading and writing classes.
Freshman housing at Case is themed by interest (service, arts, sustainability etc ). So you will meet
like minded students. The service freshman house is very social.

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Thank you @Plimpington2 and @Coloradomama! These were both very helpful. I’m from MA, so Case would definitely be a change, as it seems that there are a lot of students from the Midwest, and maybe not as many from the Northeast, but I’m sure it wouldn’t really be a problem. I will definitely look at the thinkbox while I am there, I have read up on it and it sounds like a very well-equipped maker space. I do not know Cleveland well at all, so hopefully my time there will allow for some exploration of the city too!

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Regarding safety: Another thing Case has is the “greenie” buses …once green but no longer…but at night they will do door to door service…pick you up and drop you off anywhere on campus.

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I’m confused about where you’ve been reading about the “attractiveness” of its students? Are you referring to the really long post by a male student (it’s not brand new, but fairly recent - so I can’t tell if that student is still there).

Anyway, Greek life - is not that serious. This is coming from a mom whose daughter is in a sorority. My daughter dances and is more concerned with her dancing commitments than the Greek ones. Greek life at CWRU is more about the philanthropy than the stereotypical sorority/fraternity life. If you don’t want to join, you won’t be missing out. My daughter’s closest friends are either in different sororities or not in one at all.

I would have to say that the “feel” of CWRU has been shifting. The first year there was a small, but vocal number of students who felt that CWRU was their “second” choice and they “ended” up there. Some felt stuck because they received financial aid too good to turn down or transfer. For the serious ones - they ended up transferring to schools like NYU, Cornell, Georgetown, USC, and some just went to schools close to home.

Last year, CWRU - actually started charging application fees. It also became need aware. My daughter felt that those first year students were less “I want to be elsewhere” and more “I can afford to go here.” Last year’s class seemed to “party” more than the other classes.

This year - the freshman are super smart and that “this was my second choice” feeling has seemed to disappear. Regardless, I think if you are interested in the program CWRU has to offer - the other stuff seems silly. CWRU is not a party school, it is also not one of those schools were the students are cut throat competitive and condescending. The UPB does a great job offering activities, concerts, trips, speakers, and programs. The engineering is top notch and so are the arts - I know CWRU has a lot of collaboration with the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Personally, I feel like some people just can’t get past “Cleveland.” No, it’s not Boston, New York, or California, but if you are the type of person who can’t get over that and give it a chance, then maybe it’s not for you. Our backyard is UC Berkeley - that’s my alma mater. Yet, my daughter couldn’t wait to get away and do something new. When my husband and I drop off and pickup we try something new. We’ve visited the West End Market, Toured the International Gardens, been to the Art and Natural History Museums. We still have a lot of things on our list - Lakeview Cemetery and “the Angel” comes to mind. Last Spring, I actually felt sad that our time visiting will soon come to an end.

Regarding safety, my daughter works in the Triangle building and sometimes doesn’t get off until 3AM on the weekends. She also does very late nights at KSL (the library) - she uses the greenie and walks with friends, etc. One time, Cleveland PD was helping out with Safe Ride and she rode home in the back of a cruiser. I think common sense and vigilance is key when going to school in any urban area.

I’m hoping that this year there will be less negative posting on this board. Let me clarify, negative, not helpful posting. I think let’s say you are a nursing major and post something like “I enjoy first year clinical, but really wish lab was more up to date.” That’s at least constructive. The CWRU is “not special” and school X is “better” is not helpful at all. There was a poster who used to post about school X a lot and was spent an awful amount on this board bashing CWRU. When I mentioned it to my daughter - she said “oh I bet that’s so-an-so. He’s really bitter because his twin got accepted to school X and he didn’t.” This year out of the blue, my daughter mentioned so and so transferred to X school. Out of curiosity, I googled the poster’s name and he did post his stats to that school’s board. So thankfully, he’s done being negative here.

Good luck with your journey!

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@wildcatmom16 Thanks for this post it was very helpful! I kept reading about the attractiveness on a different thread. One person started it, but it seemed like a disproportionate number of people commented in response confirming his observations. I actually just went and visited Case and I do like Cleveland. It’s a city, but Case isn’t right in the city like other campuses (ex. BU).
It’s good to know that the type of mindset about Case is shifting. It is a very good school, and it shouldn’t just be a place where annoyed and upset students go after not getting into an Ivy League. I was a bit worried after hearing that a lot of students were like that, but hopefully with the new application fees and whatnot the college will have a group of smart students that genuinely want to be there. Again thank you for your input!

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University Circle Cleveland reminds me of Cambridge MA. Same big churches and synagogues on every corner, same east coast architecture, same focus on music, art, and intellectualism, similar ethnic neighborhoods. University Circle is more compact, for getting to world class art and music venues, and Cleveland is very friendly. Also the Cleveland airport has good ticket rates from Boston , Denver etc. I have a son who now lives in Ithaca and he actually sometimes drives to Cleveland to take flights out of there, as they are so well priced. He has other reasons to visit Cleveland (Case friends who stayed and settled there ).
Cleveland State, CIM, and John Caroll University are all in the area. I think some Case students do cross register at Cleveland State in math. There is a lot of cross registration in music with CIM. Not sure on John Caroll.