<p>CWRU is a private, and is around the same price as UC Davis, but it’s all the way in Ohio and I live in So. Cal…</p>
<p>Any opinions are appreciated. Thank you :)</p>
<p>I’ll take a stab at answering this since I’ve actually been to Case Western recently and could comment a bit on it. Without knowing what your interests are, its difficult to make a recommendation. The Midwest is a different sort of beast for someone coming from CA, especially Socal. The winters in the Midwest are daunting and the snow/coldness can be hard to take if you’re used to warmer climates and sunshine everyday (which I’m sure you are!). CA and Ohio are two stark contrasts of each other in terms of environment. Davis can get cold during the winters and really hot during the summer, but the winters isn’t that bad. </p>
<p>In terms of education, you can get an excellent education at both schools. However, if you are interested in biomedical research or engineering, Case is excellent in this area. Case Western is affiliated with the Cleveland Clinic and this is a powerhouse in terms of research done in the field of biomedical sciences and cutting edge research. Their biomedical researchers are top notch and with the Cleveland Clinic being right next to the campus, you can definitely take part in cutting edge research. This is not to say that Davis is a slouch in terms of research. Davis has good biomedical research as well, but not on Case’s level.</p>
<p>I know I rambled a bit on extolling the biomedical science research at Case. But I just want to point out that if you’re interested in biomedical science or engineering, Case would be an excellent place to go. However, I strongly believe that your surrounding environment has a slight effect on your performance in college. Go where you feel the most comfortable. If you haven’t experienced a Midwest Winter before, then it can be brutal and you’ll miss the sunshine of CA a lot. This is something really important to think about before you make a life altering decision like choosing to either go out of state or staying under the safe umbrella of the sun. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you so much! That was very helpful.
Do you know whether students tend to have higher GPAs at UC Davis or Case?</p>
<p>and the workload?</p>
<p>I would pick the one that works best for your major assuming you adjust to both schools</p>
<p>Sorry coll3ges, I am not sure about how people at Case does compared to Davis without really knowing what sort of major/department you are talking about. In general though, how you do in college is up to the amount of work you put into studying/preparing. I would guess that since Case and Davis are similarly ranked that they matriculate the same caliber of students. As for workload, I didn’t go to Case, so I wouldn’t know. As for Davis, again, it depends on what major we’re talking about here. I can give you a much clearer picture if I knew what you’re heading into.</p>
<p>Oh, sorry about that!
I’m thinking about majoring in biology, probably the pre-med pathway.
I know it’s better at Case, but I’m worried that my GPA will be a lot lower there because I heard the average GPA for that area is around 2.7-3.1, which is pretty low, and I know medical/grad schools look a lot into GPA. I made that mistake in high school - I went to a really prestigioius high school, and my GPA was a lot lower than had I gone to my home school because of the rigorous classes and workload, and ended up getting accepted to lower-ranked college than my friends, who didn’t work as hard I did through high school. I want to avoid that, and even though Case is probably more prestigioius in the medical/biology field, I don’t want a repear of what just happened.</p>
<p>repeat* sorry hahah</p>
<p>since rankings seem to matter so much to you, these two schools are very similarly ranked (with davis ranked higher overall). there is absolutely NO WAY that someone who hasn’t attended both schools can give you a credible answer. simply visiting the state of ohio or VISITING the campus doesn’t count. sorry. </p>
<p>since u seem to be convinced that “case is better”, then go there. you’ve made your own decision.</p>
<p>I’m actually leaning more toward Davis, due to the weather/closer distance. The biology programs there are pretty good, if not as good as Case.
It’s not the rankings that really matter to me, it’s just that I want to get a good education AND get into a good grad/medical school. I know I can get a good education at Case, but I’m just afraid that my GPA will be low there and I won’t be able to get into a good post-grad. I also hear a lot of complaints about the weather and boredom in Cleveland.
So basically, Case has a better field in biology/pre-med, smaller class sizes, but more work and possibly lower GPA, and is farther and has freezing winters. Davis is closer to home and the weather is decent, but has large class sizes and is not as good as Case in my major. I just wanted to know is Case was worth it and if the GPA gap is a huge difference.
Thank you guys so much for your help with this!</p>
<p>@coll3ges</p>
<p>If you want to do the medical school route, you should just go to the school you feel would give you the highest GPA possible. Undergrad prestige is not really that important in terms of medical school admissions. At Case, you might have to deal with a new environment so depending on how well you deal with this, it could put you at a slight disadvantage. I’m a UCD alumni, applied to medical school, got multiple interviews, and got accepted into multiple medical schools. Trust me when I say that GPA is more important then prestige.</p>
<p>@calimami
If me giving coll3ges some background information rubs you the wrong way, I’m truly sorry. I didn’t attend Case and I tried pretty carefully not to give him any advice about whether or not to choose Case other then the weather/environment being that I visit Cleveland pretty often. As for my whole paragraph about the strength of the biomedical research/Cleveland clinic affiliation, this is based on a whole presentation that was presented to me during a medical school interview. As it was given by a Dean of the medical school who went into great detail about it, I would say that this source is pretty credible don’t you think? And yes, “Case is better” in terms of biology/engineering, but that was just coll3ges stating the obvious. In terms of all majors there, there are about equal in ranking. I honestly think that it’s counterproductive to contribute little to no information, while trying to shame another person simply asking for opinion. But that’s just me.</p>
<p>bmb2011, for UCD, how was the workload? Some people advised me to go to CWRU because there would be less people in each class and thus less competition, but I feel that UCD would be easier since their courses shouldn’t be as challenging. What is your take on the difficulty of getting a good GPA in the biology/medical field? I visited the campus, and the people there seem to be satisfied and down-to-earth with an all in all pretty decent environment. So what do you think about the student body/working environment/focus on academics? And did you intern at the Davis Medical School for extracurriculars?
Thank you so much for everything. It’s hard to find someone this helpful and who knows both Case and Davis.</p>
<p>The workload at UCD isn’t so bad depending on your work ethic. After 1st year, they expect you to be taking about 3 science classes a quarter which is reasonable. Unless you’re one of those rare naturally intelligent people, you would probably have to study a lot to get yourself into the 3.7+ range that would make you competitive for medical school. Science coursework in college is really different from that in high school in that in college, everything is self-directed. There aren’t that much fluff/random worksheets that helps you stay on track. Professors would lecture and after every 3-4 weeks, they expect you to know the concepts well enough to take the midterm and do well. Sure they’re there to help you if you don’t understand something, but in the end, the studying and preparation is all on you. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t say the courses aren’t challenging. You’re going to get very smart people everywhere you go. I am not quite sure about Case’s class sizes, but considering that it’s a private school, I would guess that they have smaller sizes then UCD (a large public university). Again, to get a good GPA (3.7+), regardless of where you are going to go, you’re going to have to put in a lot of work/studying and make a lot of sacrifices. Besides studying/going to class, you’re going to have to do research and volunteer. This takes a lot of time so sacrifices will need to be made. I’m always an advocate of trying to get medical internships/shadowing in early, because it will help you decide whether or not medicine is for you. If you absolutely love it, then the sacrifices won’t bother you so much because you know that you are working towards your dream.</p>
<p>One thing that I really love about Davis are the students. Most people are down to earth and many will readily help you if you need it. There is none of the gunner attitudes or cut throat attitudes found elsewhere. Again, I only met medical students at Case so I’m so sorry for not being able to give you a good contrast in terms of this between the two. The learning environment at Davis for biological science is excellent and there are many professors who would be more then happy to let you intern at their labs and learn techniques that you would not learn in class. Everywhere you go, you’re going to have professors who are more interested in their research then teaching. However, I find that at UCD, there are many professors who absolutely love teaching and mentoring. For a better idea of how to get involved and what sorts of opportunities, just check out the “Ask a Recent UCD Biochem Grad” thread I started. I went into great lengths about all the medical/research opps available at Davis.</p>
<p>my friend actually attends case and he’s from so cal…</p>
<p>he regrets it so much because of the plane ticket prices and they don’t have heating/ac</p>
<p>it gets really cold (weather, blizzards, etc…) take those into account when you have to walk in freezing weather to your finals…</p>
<p>Does anyone know about the civil engineering programs at either Davis or Case?</p>