Case Western Reserve University Top Questions

Case is very tough, however for all the effort placed into it, you will get a degree that confuses employers. "Huh? Where's that college? Weird. Never heard of it." Enjoy the mind numbing piles of work stacked atop you by TA's, having three tests on the same day during the middle of the semester, and classes that think an 8 hour homework assignment is appropriate.

The academics at Case Western are good. It is very rare that you find yourself stuck in a class that is super boring or that has a professor that you cannot stand.

I feel like the classes here are very challenging, but it's still possible to do well. Office hours are always available, and professors are very open to students talking to them after class or emailing them. Also, tutoring is always available, as well as sessions by TAs about the course material. In many of my classes, class participation is required, which means the professors and students are very comfortable talking to each other. I feel like Case offers many of the benefits of large universities, all while keeping the general feel of classes as close and personal.

Academics are taken very seriously at Case. Students must stay on top of their work and class responsibilities. Professors and supplemental instructors are very helpful and provide an environment for students to succeed. Despite the high level of work, there is no cold and competitive competition among the students. Everyone is open to helping each other.

My major is structural engineering and mechanics; therefore, mechanics-related courses are my favorite. In my school all students seem to have their own interesting on choice of academic and they would like to spend much time to study on it.

Academics are pretty rigorous, but so far I've managed to handle them and I think most people do. I'm currently double majoring in Classics and History (as well as considering a third major in Women's Studies). One of the great things about being a humanities major at Case is that the classes are small. My professors know my name and some can even recall what my interests are and point me toward research in that direction. Plus my professors are all currently doing research on their own, which means that I have opportunities to talk to them about their research, which can spark my own interests.

School is tough, but definitely manageable. If you can manage time management you can win at college. There is nothing impossible, we have a lot of work but nothing unmanageable, and faculty are generally great and very helpful.

Draining and tiresome, especially with those required to do labs and lab reports.

Overall, I would say that the academics at Case are rigorous. As far as professors go, there is no blanket statement that can be made. I've had professors that are great teachers, and really helpful to all of their students. And then I've had professors that are, well....not. Usually professors that teach smaller, more specific classes are really passionate about what they do, and are just eager for the students to learn about what they are teaching. The less-than-desirable professors tend to be the ones that teach large lecture classes. Sometimes it can feel like you're just a face in the crowd of 400 other students in your class. However, large classes like these often have SIs (supplemental instructors) who are older students who have already taken and excelled in the class. They hold extra, smaller sessions outside of class where students can go to get their questions answered and receive help on assignments for that class. Case also has an excellent tutoring program, and professors have office hours every week. Every student can also get 5 free hours of tutoring each week from a number of different qualified tutors for virtually every class, so getting help if you need it should never be an issue.. Some students tend to get a little competitive, but I've found that most times everyone just has a "we're in this together" mentality. There are so many different classes offered at Case, on such a wide array of topics, that when it comes time for enrollment, I always find it hard to choose between everything that interests me.

The academics are challenging. There are no "blow off" classes. Each professor takes his/her job very seriously and teaches classes to very high expectations. While stressful at times, you definitely learn your material and grow as a person. The University offers a wide range of offerings in terms of majors, but a lot of focus is put on the hard sciences and medicine, since we have such strong roots in research and innovation.