Case Western Reserve University Top Questions

One thing I'd change is the Sages program - it's a good bit of work and the program has no standards, it's just whatever the professor feels like doing. People have two reactions when I say I go to Case: "Where is that? Is that military?" or "That's an excellent school." Most of my time on campus is spent walking/in my dorm. Middle of Cleveland (= ghetto). Case's administration is disconnected from the student body, has no idea what's going on.

I like the size of the school. Not big enough to get lost in, yet big enough that you can always be in a class with new people each semester. People don't react when I tell them I go to case-at least outside of cleveland. Everyone in cleveland will think you're a genius when you tell them you go to Case but once ur outside of Ohio, people will say "what??", "Where's that?" You need to make your own entertainment here at case. I'm not a big drinker, i therefore don't enjoy most of case parties where there is nothing but beer and everyone there begun pre-gaming 7 hrs before. So i've come to note that I need to find things around cleveland to be a part of. Coventry is a nice place to be and they usually have events that cater to college students. My many extracurriculars keep me busy. I usually am performing at certain events or attending to support fellow schoolmates

If you are in Ohio, you mention Case and people automatically go "OOOOOOOOOO, you must be smart" which is a nice reaction. Cleveland is awesome. The campus is long and skinny so its a long walk to classes, but I love the size of the school. You don't know everyone in the college but it doesn't feel like you are simply in a sea of people where you will never have a unique identity.

Case Western Reserve University. A long name for a fairly small school. Located in University Circle in Cleveland, Ohio, there is always something to do, both on and off campus. I love that on Saturday night I can go to a fraternity party, attend a concert right on campus, get a cheap meal in Little Italy, or head downtown to see a Broadway play.

Case is in the University Circle part of Cleveland, it is spread though out University Circle so you really get a sense that you are a part of the community. It is not a very large school or a tiny school, there are enough people that it feels like a college, but still small enough that you don't feel lost in the crowds. Case has a lot of opportunities to get involved with all kinds of neat things, you just have to actually get involved to enjoy some experiences.

There are things to do and ways to have a great experience if you are willing to seek them out. The search isn't even that hard if you don't mind venturing outside your residence hall. There are something like 160 student groups so there is something for everyone. Don't spread yourself thin though because the academics are nothing to scoff at and it's easy to get behind (trust me on this one). One of the most underrated aspects of Case is the size, this is consequently also my favorite part about the school. It's hard to walk across campus without seeing at least one familiar face, and it is easy to get involved in big ways with campus organizations.

Everyone at Case is an overachiever in their own right, and they aren't afraid to brag about it. A lot of people have more than one major and several minors as well as being on a pre-graduate school track. I would consider myself the epitome of a Case student: Biology and Geological Science majors, Chemistry and Evolutionary Biology Minors, and I am pre-med. I think that because everyone is so driven and academically oriented that it creates an environment in which many students thrive in and fosters many to succeed and realize their ultimate professional dreams. That said, the school is most certainly not for everyone. Case is located in the eastern part of Cleveland, Ohio; a not-so-nice-part of Cleveland, Ohio. It seems as though the school is continually at war with its surroundings considering that world renown research is being conducted in the labs on campus on a daily basis into which millions of dollars of grant money is being poured while a quick (very quick, mind you) walk down the block in almost any direction will land you into some of the poorest and most crime ridden areas in the nation. An interesting dichotomy exists between the school and its neighborhood and the solution seems to be for the University to buy up as much land as it can and "push back" the ghetto. Don't get me wrong, there is a large effort to reach out to the community but this effort is fleeting and often selfishly motivated not only on the part of the administration, but also the students, who use the impoverished hoods as a prime feeding ground for volunteer work that they can put on their resume for a few months and then go on with the rest of their lives without looking back.

The worst part about campus is definitely the geography and the quality of the neighborhoods that surround 3/4 of campus. The campus layout, as far as undergrads are concerned, is very narrow and long - as a freshman it took me almost 25 minutes to walk from my dorm to my fraternity house. Additionally, if you walk outside of campus to the North, East, or West - you are instantly in the hood. Many people who come from different areas, particularly rural and suburban, are shocked that such a great school is set next to East Cleveland, arguably one of the most dangerous and impoverished cities in the nation. I do not feel safe walking off campus at night, and even during the day in some directions. However, there are some great neighborhoods to the south including Little Italy (very quaint, nice restaurants) and the Heights - Shaker, Cleveland, and University. There are still mansions from Cleveland's heyday when it was a leader in Oil, Steel, and Shipping in Cleveland and Shaker Heights - very nice to jog through if you live on the south side of campus. I have lived in my fraternity house on the south side for the past two years and absolutely love it!

Case is a name brand school and with a degree form there its pretty easy to get a job after graduation. It's situated in the middle of East Cleveland, near the projects. There's always a ton of construction and the roads are really bad, so if you commute, flat tires are something to worry about. It's not a good idea to venture out on your own past dark because people are always getting mugged. It's a pretty small school, you see the same people all the time....There are still cliques like in high school except now its by race; all the asians know eachother, all the indians know eachother....This school is filled with egotystical nerds who think they're the smartest people in the world and look down on others for not being a mathematician or biochemist....if you're not premed, be prepared to be laughed at. As far as school pride, there is none, nobody goes to the football games, except maybe a couple of parents. The only thing I like about this school is that when I tell people I go to Case, they assume I'm smart and tell me how awsome I am.

I like the size of Case. The teachers know you and care about your success. It is a prestigious school. Many companies hire directly from Case because they know the quality of the education. It is a hard school. You will be jealous of your friends who have little homework at state schools. Expect to do a lot of work, but expect that you will be above the competition when you look for a job. It is not much of a college town. There are places to eat and some things to do, but make friends with someone with a car.

I think that the best thing about Case is that it lets you be who you want to be and to figure out who that is. If I was to change something, I'd say that I personally wish that we had more faculty in poetry (as writers, rather than lit professors) and DMLL (Department of Modern Languages and Literatures). I think the school is just big enough that you don't have to see people you don't like all the time, but small enough that you'll still see a lot of people you're fond of. When people hear I'm going to Case they're either 1) impressed, if they're from Ohio, because it's the best school in the state or 2) "Oh. I couldn't go there--too close to home" if they're from my high school, which is about three miles from campus. It's certainly not what you could call a "college town", but we often refer to it as the "Case bubble" and we mean that pejoratively, meaning that there's enough for people to do on campus that they often forget that they live in a city and that there's a lot of other stuff to do outside of campus (especially if you have a car). As far as the most frequent student complaints...Case students complain about everything. Maybe it's the awful Cleveland weather that gets people going, maybe it's because people stress themselves out too much, but whatever it is people complain a lot, and sometimes make it seem worse than it is. I think the most frequent complaint is about SAGES the mandatory seminar class requirement, but even that isn't as bad as the volume of complaints would suggest.

if your really serious about work then you'll find professors very helpful and plenty of research oppurtunities. If you want to do a lot of partying and study on the side then this probably won't be the best place.

Case is a good size school. The campus is rather large and absolutely beautiful. It is close to downtown Cleveland, and right amongst some of the best hospitals, museums, and orchestras in the world. I am a biomedical engineer and the program is top notch. Most people are unfamiliar with Case, but those that are always very impressed that I go there. Most students are highly dedicated to their studies, but a lot know how to have fun as well. Our division 3 athletic programs are on the rise, and therefore school pride seems to be increasing. Our new president (our old president was run out after some poor decisions) is very engaging and interested in what students have to say. The biggest complaints about Case is that it is too nerdy and that students never have any fun. It is a fair complaint. Students are focused on their work, but you can have fun and have a typical college experience if you seek it out. Cleveland is a great town and a fun and exciting place to be.

Well to break it all down... The school is a fair size, student wise. Case has recently been expanding by accepting more students; however it does not appear they are capable of bringing their housing standards up along with the increase in students. The south residential village was condemned about 5 years ago but Case accepted more students than they could house so they reopened the dorms after making minimal repairs. As far as the surrounding area...Cleveland is a small city that it attempting to emerge from a economic low. However, they seem to have difficulty improving their image because of an inability to complete renovation plans. Construction began on Euclid Avenue a year before I came to Case. The plan included a new "Silver Line" that would be a rail line that ran along side the road and would allow fast transit across the city. However the "Silver Line" was scrapped due to slow progress and costs. Even with the simplification of the construction, Euclid Avenue has been under construction for 3 years and is planned to be finished in 2011. Euclid Avenue is the main lifeline of the East side of Cleveland and runs through the center of campus. The construction has made life and movement (for cars and pedestrians) very difficult for a long time now and it is a common belief that it will never be fixed. As far as activities are concerned, there is only a small collection of things that can be done on any given day. On the brighter side, Case students do have free access to most of the museums in Cleveland for free at the door. The Rock and Roll hall of fame and the Botanical Gardens are also accessible if you go to the student activities office and get tickets beforehand. Administration is the major negative with Case Western. Financial aid office looses papers and forms and it is very common to have to make multiple in-person visits to the office to correct errors. (They are very nice people, just not the best in terms of organization). The administration is also trying to overcome a bad stigma the previous president gave them because of financial mismanagement that resulted in him being removed by a vote of no confidence. Case Western Reserve University has changed its name twice in 4 years (from Case Western Reserve University to just Case and now this last year back to Case Western Reserve University) The first change was due to a belief that the name of the university should be "brand named" and needed a hip/short/new name that would attract students, but the change alienated the alumni from the Western Reserve, which was the liberal arts and science college (while Case Institute of Tech was the Engineering). Topping that off with the annual 5{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} increases in tuition leads many students to believe the administration does not have the students' best interests in mind.

My favorite thing about Case is the academics and the professors. There's a lot of smart and EXTREMELY helpful people around! The professors actually care about you, even though a lot of them are busy doing research or publishing papers. The classes are hard, but enjoyably. If I could change one thing about Case, I would make the population more balanced between liberal arts and the hard science majors. Case is the perfect size. There is always just the right amount of familiar faces to be seen while walking to class. It's not really a college town, although it is safe and there are lots of 'city' things to do. There isn't much school pride. Getting around campus is a drag - lots of walking. The Greenies (our busing system) are always a big controversy among the students. They aren't very reliable. Case has a very pretty campus.

One of the best things I found at Case, was the community feel on campus. Class sizes have been around 1000/year lately and it's eary to get to know a lot of your class mates and get involved in a number of different student organizations. I was able to be a Class Officer for three years, I served as the Vice President of Public Relations in the Student government, and I feel like it would have been much harder to have held these leadership roles in a larger institution. I also feel that you can get a better education (if you take advantage of it) since you aren't in HUGE classes with 600 or 700 other students, like I've heard of at large state schools. The biggest problem I had, and that took me the longest to get used to, was bring located in Cleveland. I grew up outside of Washington DC, and in comparison, Cleveland is not a very exciting city. Over the years it has grown on me, and I am more familiar with what there is to do for fun around the city, but as an incoming freshman who is unfamiliar with the area and doesn't have access to a car, it can be hard. Also, the winters SUCK. No way around it. Get used to cold, get used to snow, get used to a lot of both!

I like this size of Case (number of students). The campus is poorly planned. Most dorms are a 20 minute walk from the main quad. People from Ohio are impressed when I say I go to Case. People from other states usually are unfamiliar. East Cleveland is not a good college town, but just a couple miles away is "Coventry" which is a good hang out spot with concerts, bars, and restaurants. There's not a lot of school pride. Athletic events are poorly attended. It's mostly a school where the individual comes before the school (in students minds). However, people do help each other out with academics. It's pretty friendly. Everyone I know has friends (from the nerdiest to the "coolest"). People are pretty excepting (I suppose because we all know we are at least a little nerdy).

I love Case. There is plenty to do both on campus and off. If you do want to do something off of campus, there is plenty of free transportation to get you there. There are sporting events that you can go to both on and off of campus

I love the size of Case. Class sizes have increased over the past couple of years but class pride still continues as students are able to relate to more students in their class in their majors. In previous years, if you were a business or liberal arts major, you would start seeing most of the same people.

The school is a nice size. People definietly respect the name "Case" because when people find out I go there they are always excieted. I spend most of my time in my room.