Founded in 1826, Case Western Reserve University. is a Private college. Located in Ohio, which is a city setting in Ohio, the campus itself is Urban. The campus is home to 5,152 full time undergraduate students, and 6,512 full time graduate students.
The Case Western Reserve University Academic calendar runs on a Semester basis. In the school year the student to faculty ratio was 11:1. There are 782 full time instructional teachers. Degrees awarded at Case Western Reserve University include: Bachelor's Degree, Masters Degree, Post-master's certificate, Doctor's degree.
Quick Facts
Acceptance Rate
35%
Application Deadline
Application Fee
0
SAT Range
1280-1490
ACT Range
30-34
Admissions at CWRU are considered More Selective, with ,38% of all applicants being admitted.
In the school year, of the students who applied to the school, only 5 of those who were admitted eventually ended up enrolling.
99% of incoming freshmen are in the top half of their high school class. 92% were in the top quarter, and 63% were in the top tenth. You can apply online.
STUDENT LIFE Reviews
We asked, and students answered these important questions about student life at Case Western Reserve University.
8%
“We”re apathetic”
35%
“We know about current events and vote”
54%
“We participate and encourage others to get involved”
3%
“There”s nothing we won”t protest”
2%
“We save it for the classroom”
15%
“Sometimes, but not often”
49%
“There”s usually intelligent conversation to be found”
34%
“All the time, including weekends”
8%
“I”m always terrified”
24%
“I only go out in groups”
48%
“I usually let someone know where I”m going”
20%
“I feel extremely safe”
76%
“We don”t play sports”
0%
“We play recreationally”
22%
“We bought the gear”
2%
“We live for the big game”
14%
“It”s not really our thing”
43%
“Occasinally we gallery crawl”
37%
“There are a variety of opportunities”
6%
“We”re a very artistic group”
3%
“Haven”t met them”
9%
“Available in class”
57%
“They keep regular office hours”
32%
“They”re always available”
1%
“No greek life, but other groups to join”
23%
“There is some involvement, but not a lot”
59%
“Plenty of people join a sorority or fraternity”
18%
“It”s everything. If you”re not greek, you”re a geek”
3%
“We”re not into drinking at all”
24%
“Maybe a little, but it”s not a big thing”
65%
“We only party on weekends”
9%
“There”s some drinking happening every night”
14%
“Never, we”re here to learn”
61%
“There might be people who do”
22%
“People are known to partake on weekends”
3%
“There”s a huge drug scene”
8%
“We”re apathetic”
35%
“We know about current events and vote”
54%
“We participate and encourage others to get involved”
3%
“There”s nothing we won”t protest”
2%
“We save it for the classroom”
15%
“Sometimes, but not often”
49%
“There”s usually intelligent conversation to be found”
34%
“All the time, including weekends”
8%
“I”m always terrified”
24%
“I only go out in groups”
48%
“I usually let someone know where I”m going”
20%
“I feel extremely safe”
76%
“We don”t play sports”
0%
“We play recreationally”
22%
“We bought the gear”
2%
“We live for the big game”
14%
“It”s not really our thing”
43%
“Occasinally we gallery crawl”
37%
“There are a variety of opportunities”
6%
“We”re a very artistic group”
3%
“Haven”t met them”
9%
“Available in class”
57%
“They keep regular office hours”
32%
“They”re always available”
1%
“No greek life, but other groups to join”
23%
“There is some involvement, but not a lot”
59%
“Plenty of people join a sorority or fraternity”
18%
“It”s everything. If you”re not greek, you”re a geek”
111 Students rated on-campus housing 3.6 stars. 10 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate off-campus housing?
82 Students rated off-campus housing 3.3 stars. 0 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate campus food?
114 Students rated campus food 3 stars. 6 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate campus facilities?
117 Students rated campus facilities 4 stars. 29 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate class size?
117 Students rated class size 4 stars. 36 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate school activities?
116 Students rated school activities 3.8 stars. 33 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate local services?
116 Students rated local services 3.4 stars. 17 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate academics?
117 Students rated academics 3.7 stars. 36 % gave the school a 5.0.
Case Western Reserve University REVIEWS
What's your overall opinion of Case Western Reserve University?
37 Students rated Case Western Reserve University
Anaiza
College04/10/2025
I love Case Western Reserve because it brings together students from all over the world and the staff and professors are very friendly and always willing to support, giving students a supportive learning environment. CWR has strong partnerships with local clinics, which provides opportunities to shadow professionals and gain hands-on experience in the medical field which is great for a pre-med student like me.
Charlotte
10/17/2024
It is a great school filled with incredible faculty members and students! The atmosphere is ideal for learning and the staff is very supportive of my educational journey. The HEC especially is such a beautiful and well thought out building that I love to spend time in.
Alyssa
03/29/2023
I think Case Western Reserve University has its pros, such as reasonable class sizes, and ability to get research opportunities for those seeking, also its proximity to hospitals and state of the art healthcare building. I think the food is better than some other colleges, but the dining halls has it's good and bad days. There really isn't a huge party scene, but there are parties when you're looking.
anonymous
01/21/2022
There's a lot of shit at this school but college is what u make it. I found the good stuff here.. Took a lot of effort but hey im happy.
Todd
04/15/2021
Everyone here is frustrated in one way or another. Anyone who is academically driven wishes that they got into their dream school and anyone who wants a social life is constantly faced with the fact that nobody here wants to party. Most people who want to actually enjoy themselves go to Ohio State or Kent to actually go wild. And anyone who wants to succeed academically tries to transfer after getting a 4.0 GPA. There are certainly a lot of amazing people at CWRU, and if you find the right group of people you can make very close friends, bonded by a hatred of shared homework.
sofia
04/10/2021
Case Western is an interesting place. Lots of smart people that aren't always the most socially aware definitely makes for an interesting campus. People can be very competitive, so I would recommend it for people that feel like they always want to do the best. It's expensive but provides a good education.
Crystal
07/21/2020
Overall I would say my experience at Case Western has been pretty good so far. The teachers are great. The dining hall food could be better but it's decent. Unfortunately, we are not very big on sports and we could use some more school spirit but I believe what made my experience at Case so enjoyable were the people I met. Most of the people I met there have been so nice and friendly as a whole.
Jen
06/26/2020
CWRU is a great place to learn, but not much else unless you join one of the greek organizations on campus. They really nickel and dime you to death here too. Be prepared to pay $18 a meal swipe your first year and nearly double the rent of nearby neighborhoods if you live on campus. They don't care too much about anything besides research and money. You do leave with great education and plenty of research opportunities though.
Nina
06/01/2020
An amazing institution that promotes research, debate, and the application of education outside of the classroom. All the students I've met are kind and are willing to use their learning to benefit others in the future. The location in Ohio and proximity to the Cleveland Clinic is great, and the area is filled with museums, foods, and nature that can be enjoyed by visitors, educators, and students.
GAVIN
05/23/2020
CWRU is a very academic school where students are focused on their schoolwork, but also provides many extracurricular opportunities. The people are what make any school great, and I have found that the faculty care a lot about their students. Additionally, the students are supportive of each other.
Jessica
09/20/2019
If you want to go do med school, engineering, or the hard sciences, then it\'s the school for you, otherwise, give it a passing thought. The freshman dorms aren\'t the greatest, the on-campus food is decent at best, and the neighborhood around is full of over-priced merchandise and dangerous. The kids here are alright, some of them are great, but a lot of them that I\'ve met either act like crackheads or are crackheads. Honestly, if you haven\'t found your group of friends within the the first two months, you\'ll have a hard time finding them since it\'s not a big undergrad class. To be completely honest, the only thing keeping me here right now is the fact that it\'s a top 50 school.
Ellie
07/27/2019
CWRU is an excellent school if you’re looking for smart, responsible students. The faculty is very helpful and is almost always available to help if you’re looking for tips to studying. It’s very easy to make friends since there are so many clubs. It’s right outside of Cleveland, so traveling for a night out only takes 16 minutes.
Megan
06/13/2019
Case Western Reserve University is located in University Circle in Cleveland, which is home to many artistic and medical institutions including four hospitals, the botanical gardens, severance hall, and the art museum. At Case, there is an abundance of pre-meds and engineering students
Elizabeth
06/12/2019
The first month I came to case I absolutely regretted it. I wanted to transfer and actually filled out applications to do so. The social life from my freshman perspective was non existent, and school was kicking my a**. HOWEVER, all these people who claim case has no social scene and isn’t a party school have one reason for saying it. They do not know enough people. After about my 3rd month on campus and beginning to socialize more especially with Greek life I found myself going to parties/bars every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I never had a problem finding something to do. As for the academics they still are super hard but I’ve learned to adapt to them. By the end of the year I LOVED case. Your time here will be what you make it. I promise case will prepare you for the real world and you’ll have a ton of fun doing it.
Kasey
06/10/2019
My overall opinion of Case Western Reserve University is very positive. After my school year at CWRU, some of the aspects of the university I rave about the most are the professors, resources, and student life. At CWRU, professors are required to partake in research and hold office hours, making them incredibly accessible and easy to develop a relationship with, even in larger lecture hall classes. In regard to resources on campus, plenty of options such as peer tutoring, SI sessions, and TA office hours enable students to find extra help outside of the classroom. Other offices are available for counseling, finding research, preparing for study abroad, discussing post graduate-planning, and so on. Additionally, I absolutely love the students on campus. CWRU students are collectively friendly and driven, making it a great environment to feel included and learn. However, students on campus also love to explore, and we take advantage of the many on-campus events, extracurriculars, and Cleveland-area activities around us. I feel like I truly belong at CWRU.
The fall 2020 acceptance rate for Case Western Reserve University is 35%. That means, out of _____ applications received in 2020, _____ students were offered admission.
What should every freshman at your school know before they start?
Don’t be afraid. I know you’re shy and nervous, and while locking yourself in your dorm room may seem comfortable, it’s not a good idea. It might be hard to force yourself to meet new people, but try. Otherwise, you’ll just get lonely as the year progresses, when everyone else has already made friends. But also don’t worry too much if you can’t, you’ll find friends eventually.
No one will be there to make sure you do your homework. In fact, usually no one will even check if you do. Do it anyway—the extra practice will come in handy. Try to study with a friend if possible, so you won’t be tempted to slack off. You’re a good student though, so even if the workload and material might seem daunting, you’ll be fine. And there’s plenty of help available if you’re still worried.
Finally, make sure you do something other than study. Once again, don’t stay in your room all day. Take a break, and try to join some clubs, learn new things. Don’t end your first year with any regrets.
Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?
Some. Stereotypes come from people and surveys and the people who fill out the 'I hate Case' surveys are mostly people who sit in their room not looking for the fun and excitement that is constantly going on around Case.
The administration of this school is entirely incompetent. It seems like everything they put in place turns into a disaster. The SAGES program is so worthless and so badly put together that it's already being considered for cancellation (they've already dropped it for engineers) after only a three years of its full implementation! Their public relations campaigns cost the school millions of dollars and only seem to make more people angry. Nobody knows what the rules are or what you need to do to get what you want done, so you have to figure everything out yourself. It's a lot more work to go to school here than it's worth, and that doesn't even have anything to do with the classes themselves.
The political science department is pretty small, so most of the professors I've had class with know my name. The classes range from extremely boring and useless to pretty darn good, but it's not consistent across the board. Most of the professors here don't really like to teach and are just here to do research, especially in the maths and sciences. Most students here think they are a lot smarter than they really are, and walking around campus you'll hear lots of people talking about classes or how dumb their professors are. The truth is though, that Case accepts more than three-quarters of their applicants so they don't really weed out any of the dumber kids. I feel like my education is geared towards learning for the sake of learning, because there sure isn't any help getting a job for kids in the social sciences.
Here's your chance: Say anything about your college!
Case Western Reserve University maintains a strong pre-professional focus while also emphasizing the undergraduate experience. Furthermore, the university is unique in that it is relatively small yet has a large impact in both research and service. Finally, Case Western Reserve University successfully assembles a diverse class of students each year, and promotes classes that engage different students in meaningful discussions which facilitate the growth and expansion of ideas.
What's the most frustrating thing about your school?
I would say the most frustrating aspect of Case is the difficulty in getting bookkeeping or other, non-academic activities done. Case is trying to go totally digital for all their admissions and such, but it's not well implemented and very confusing.
People who want to work hard academically, want a school which prepares you for graudate work, and also want to be in a cultural center of the city of Cleveland.
CWRU is best known for its academics. Our sports are not strong, and at times we study on Friday night. Many students value high academic acheivement, and often their scholarships are maintained by a high GPA. It does not mean you cannot enjoy your college years, just that the fun will not compromise your study. Besides the typical college experience of fraternities, football, and bars, there are ocal cultural institutions and opportunities to work or study abroad. College is what you make it. Explore and enjoy!
What is the stereotype of students at your school? Is this stereotype accurate?
Case is viewed as the geek school. There is also a feeling that there are no parties here. This is NOT TRUE! While there are "geeks" here most people are what you would call normal, however most people here are very smart! Also there are parties here, I went to more than one last weekend!
All students must apply yearly for financial aid. This process starts with the FAFSA.
Though financial aid deadlines vary by school, it is a good idea to apply as soon as possible. For the upcoming school year, you can apply as early as October 1 for the FAFSA. Additional school aid will be dependent on the FAFSA results.
82% of students attending Case Western Reserve University receive some sort of financial aid.
15% were awarded federal grants.44%received federal loans. Many students do also need to apply for additional private student loans.
