<p>I know these two items are unrelated, but the second helps me make this decision more tangible....</p>
<p>My son, after an agonizing process, has decided to accept his admission to Case.<br>
We both love Boston, so it is painful to accept Case over WPI (near Boston), Northeastern and Tufts, but the feeling is that Case has the right combo of size, breadth of civil engineering and opportunities for co-ops, that it makes sense (and the merit aid offered was pretty sweet too). He also got the sense that there would be the most students like him: smart but not nerdy, athletic but not into football and basketball (more ultimate frisbee and ice hocey), interested in world affairs. It's the only place I would encourage him to join a fraternity because they also seem "different." He chose Case over GA Tech and VA Tech (in state) Rose-Hulman and several others. (in our defense he was the first of our kids to go through this process so he applied to too many schools). . So two questions:</p>
<ol>
<li> Can someone validate our choice and say YES - this sounds like the school for you! (and why)</li>
<li> Is anyone aware of the geographical distribution of students (are there other students from the DC metropolitan area? ) Would he be able to ride share with other students, or are there economical travel options? Train and Plane look expensive!</li>
</ol>
<p>1) It’s the perfect size. Big enough for the opportunities like internships/coops, and small enough so that you won’t get lost in the crowd either in the classroom or the dorms.</p>
<p>2) A diverse and balanced student body, not just by the usual metrics (race, M/F, etc.), but geographically, academically, socially and economically.</p>
<p>3) Reputation - Among top graduate schools and employers, CWRU is well-known and respected.</p>
<p>I think it’s a great choice also. My daughter almost wound up at Case for graduate school but ended up choosing Notre Dame. She is a frequent visitor to Boston and loves the city, but was surprised at the amenities available in Cleveland. No, the Hub and Cleveland are not interchangeable, but there is plenty to do in and around Cleveland (a lot of activities are found right next to Case in the University Circle area). </p>
<p>Regarding travel, while Cleveland Hopkins isn’t served by an AirTran Shuttle, flights from DC to Cleveland can be had for less than $100 one-way with a little planning. Chances are good that by soph year (or sooner) your son will have made contact with fellow Balto-Wash students who can provide the option of alternative transportation.</p>
<p>The Akron-Canton airport has AirTran, but then you need transportation to Cleveland through car rental, etc. Not sure would be worthwhile but worth looking into.</p>
<p>This definitely sounds like a great choice for your son! Many of the engineering majors that I know applied to, and turned down, the exact same schools your son did, so he’s definitely in a great place!</p>
<p>I know a ton of people from the DC/VA/MD area, so he’s definitely not alone! The best travel option for anyone in the middle states (I’m from Philadelphia) is to fly from Cleveland to Baltimore on Southwest (typically between $59 and $80 each way with free bags) and then take the Amtrak or MARC from BWI (airport) to wherever you’re going! Some people at Case have cars, but unless you know someone you probably won’t be able to get a ride! Flying is super easy though- the RTA (Cleveland train) takes you right there for free!</p>
<p>Thus far, the Admissions Office has received enrollment confirmations from students hailing from 46 states (all except North Dakota, Delaware, Wyoming and Nevada). Top states are: OH, PA, NY, IL, NJ, CA, MI, TX, FL, MA. Also good representation from MD, WI, IN, MO, CO and VA. There are also about 80 international students who have accepted their offers, too. I wish other schools would put their new students on a map like this.</p>
<p>We were in same boat till yesterday, between Case and Gatech/Georgia Tech (thats what I assume you mean by GA Tech). We visited both places over the last 2 weeks. My son wants to do Biomed Eng so he end up choosing Gatech over Case.</p>
<p>I still think both colleges are pretty good and if we had little better offer from Case in terms of financial aid, the tables could have been turned, since graduating with a lesser loan trumps #2 vs #10 ranking. In our case, the difference is about 5K/yr (Gatech is 5k/yr more than Case), so its relatively manageable for a 4yr degree.</p>
<p>Thanks. I keep telling him (it’s a cliche but…) that college is what you make of it. We got nothing $$ from Georgia and a lot from Case, so Cleveland made more sense than Atlanta. I was disappointed he didn’t go for Virginia Tech (we had the prepaid plan), but I think he really will do better in a smaller environment, and we can transfer the plan to his little sister.</p>
<p>MPlunn,
our D12 chose Case also, for what sounds like a lot of the same reasons as your S. We live in MD, not too far from DC and I would bet there are quite a few kids from here heading to Case. A</p>
<ol>
<li><p>YES. You chose a great university. I’m a Case undergrad and one of the most gratifying things is to be part of a university that’s going places. The university has been growing in leaps and bounds is every respect and students here joke around that their degrees are aging like fine wine. </p></li>
<li><p>As far as travel goes, flying in/out of Cleveland can be a little more expensive since CLE isn’t a big airport. However, if you can get home with Southwest Airlines, flights will become very affordable. I save around $100 per flight with Southwest and it’s nice to have two free checked in bags. If you’re willing to fly into BWI, Southwest flights will be around $59 each way nonstop. We have a lot of students from the DC area so you should have no problem finding carpools either.</p></li>
</ol>