<p>HI, I am racking my brains out trying to figure out which school to choose to go to next fall.
I'm interested in majoring in BME as a premed with a possible minor in Psychology and Spanish. Both schools gave me the same amount of money - Rochester gave me the Rush Rhees Scholarship (half tuition), and I was also a Renaissance Scholar finalist (full tuition); Case gave me a slightly better financial aid grant that's a little over half the tuition, BUT has to be renewed every year. Please, please, please help me. I'm having a very hard time trying to choose between the two!!</p>
<p>UR has much more lenient requirements for keeping your merit. BME is a difficult program and if Case’s offer has high GPA requirements, you could lose your merit award if you have a rough landing in college. (It happens to a lot of kids.)</p>
<p>UR doesn’t have core requirements–which gives you more flexibility in selecting your electives so you can more easily minor in Spanish or psych or both.</p>
<p>2 years ago I was exactly in this same position of having to chose between Case and Rochester. My own was a bit different in that I had more money coming from Rochester.</p>
<p>To be quite honest with you, I will say that you will not go wrong with any choice that you make. Since I started the college decision process, I have been very much fixated in the higher education and from the knowledge I acquired 2 years to now, I can honestly say that Case and Rochester are the two most similar colleges I have seen. They compare to each other in almost every measurement I have looked at. </p>
<p>One thing tho, Case’s BME is one of the best in the nation. Even though Rochester’s BME is still highly regarded, if you are dead set on BME, just have that in mind. At the same time, I can attest to the flexibility that the Rochester curriculum offers. This will really come in handy when you are in college and realize how much you don’t care for certain areas of studies.</p>
<p>As someone mentioned above, equally consider the GPA requirements to keep your scholarship from Case.</p>
<p>Visit both schools if you can and choose the one you like best. You really cannot go wrong between Case and Rochester, especially when both are similar cost to you.</p>
<p>Students can keep the Rush Rhees scholarship if they maintain a 2.0 GPA. That’s probably the most lenient requirement around. That may make a huge difference at the end of your first year, particularly in a difficult major like BME. The requirement also allows you to experiment a little - you can take a course because you like it and not worry about how well you’d do in it or you’ll lose your scholarship.</p>
<p>What’s Case’s requirement? If it’s higher than a 3.0, you may want to think again.</p>
<p>My nephew had to make the exact same decision at this time last year. Their family went into the decision thinking that, on paper, Case was the better school, until they visited both of them. Case being sprawled over city streets (urban campus) just didn’t feel right to them, and they like UR quite a bit more.</p>
<p>Apparently, each has a very different feel (personally I’ve never been to Case).</p>
<p>D is currently trying to decide between the same two schools as well. I am somehow getting the feel that if you are focused on a major (say engineering), you would be better off in Case while if you are rather undecided and would like to explore options, you would be better off in Rochester. Can anyone confirm this? She’s currently thinking biology/neurosciences, perhaps a pre-med track.</p>
<p>I think students that have already settled on an intended major do very well here because they have the flexibility to focus on that discpline from the ‘get-go’. They don’t have to spend as much time completing required courses before being able to focus on their major, so many students that have already determined what it is they would like to pursue long-term choose Rochester for that reason specifically. </p>
<p>I know very little about Case, but I do know that students that have already identified a passion will have no trouble finding a home here - in fact, this place is in some ways designed for that type of student.</p>
<p>This time last year DS had narrowed his choices to UR and Case. We visited both (and met with MConklin) and UR has more of a classic college/university feel. Case, while not downtown, is right next to the massive Cleveland Clinic and all it’s research opportunities as well as many museums and has more of a research/tech feel. Both schools allow students to move between departments and majors fairly easily and allow dual or even triple majors as well as minors. However, the BME program at Case has a fairly high number of required courses that don’t leave a lot of room for additional majors or minors. Also, the Case BME program is highly ranked, but can be more challenging for premeds than other majors (Bio/Chem).
Think back to when you started the application process. Isn’t it great to have two really good choices?</p>
<p>Mike - didn’t mean to imply that Rochester was not good for those who have determined what they want to do. I just feel that Rochester is a better place for those who are undecided - offers way more flexibility than Case does.</p>
<p>AVHS Dad - yes, Case does seem to have the tech feeling about it. We spoke to one student there who told my D that if she was interested in engineering, Case was good - but don’t come there if you wanted liberal arts!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>LOL! At this point, I am ready for her to make the choice - narrow it down to 1 please!!</p>