StudentsReview :: Case Western Reserve University - Extra Detail about the Comment
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Case Western Reserve University

How this student rated the school
Educational QualityD- Faculty AccessibilityB-
Useful SchoolworkC Excess CompetitionC
Academic SuccessB Creativity/ InnovationB-
Individual ValueB- University Resource UseD+
Campus Aesthetics/ BeautyC- FriendlinessD+
Campus MaintenanceC Social LifeC-
Surrounding CityC+ Extra CurricularsC-
SafetyB
Describes the student body as:
Broken Spirit, Closeminded

Describes the faculty as:
Friendly, Helpful

Male
Super Brilliant
Lowest Rating
Educational Quality
D-
Highest Rating
Academic Success
B
He cares more about Educational Quality than the average student.
Date: Oct 28 2007
Major: Political Science (This Major's Salary over time)
I chose to come to Case because it seemed like the best of the schools I got into. In other words, I "settled" by being here, and came in with very low expectations. I will admit that, having spent half a semester here so far, it is a good bit better than I'd expected. But, like so many other students here, I hope to transfer elsewhere for next year.

Academics:

The school speaks so highly of its academics that you might mistake it for the University of Chicago…until you sit in on a class. I do next to no work, taking mostly upper level classes in a varied array of subjects, and based on my midterm grades, should have a 4.0. People complain about how hard the introductory science classes are here, but taking 200-level bio as a non-science type, I've found it to be easy. Honestly, if you're halfway competent, as a good number of students here are, you should have a decent GPA, no matter what your major.

Class size and department quality varies greatly. My smallest class has 7 people in it, and my largest has roughly 80. But there are classes with a few hundred students, particularly in the sciences. And yet, the natural sciences and engineering are the only really strong offerings Case has. Nursing and business are both also decent, but tend to attract many of our weaker students, rather than people genuinely interested in those fields. Anything pertaining to the humanities or the social sciences is abysmal at best. Students interested in such areas would do well to look elsewhere.

Teachers are a mixed bag, with some clearly assigned to teach classes they know nothing about. And in subjects like math, there are several who know little English. But I've been fortunate, finding most of mine to be very flexible and available for help.

Room & Board:

As far as housing goes, it varies widely. Generally, the dorms are quite small. And, while freshman rooms are chosen very freely and easily, they do very little to tell you about the differences. First floor singles in Smith are by far the largest places on the entire campus, bigger than doubles or upperclassmen housing. Most of the building are dated, and you'll most likely experience a few maintenance issues when moving in.

The food isn't bad. It gets alot of flack, which is understandable given the cost, but I seriously doubt we're worse off than most other schools. The food is quite redundant, and the cafeteria hours are bad, especially on the weekend. The best way to change it up is by eating out, for which many options should exist in Cleveland. But the only free money most of us have is CaseCash, which is taken by a very small pool of food places.

Clubs & Social:

It seems fairly easy to start a club here, and a decent number do exist. But people here are generally apathetic, so unless it is an ethnic/religious group, or something involving free food, numbers are weak. Clubs that should exist, like the College Libertarians, tend to fold every few years. I think the College Republicans have fewer than 10 members on a campus of 4100 undergrads.

A few clubs, namely Model UN and Mock Trial, are fairly large, but are often poorly run, to the point where it is easy to fall out of the loop and be forced to end involvement with them. But those are the exception, rather than the rule.

Sports here are weak, and very few people them. Being DIII, interest is low. Football has gotten a huge boost this year because of its record-breaking win count, but that is a fluke. IM sports are bigger, but are largely Greek, with some frats too weak to pull such teams together.

Greek life isn't too bad. Roughly a third of campus is Greek, with 18 frats and 6 sororities. For Jews there is an AEPi chapter, which is very small, and a ZBT chapter, which is openly anti-semitic. A few frats, namely ZBT and FIJI, are known for their love of date rape, drug dealing, and near-lethal binge drinking. But generally, most of the frats are responsible, and their members contributory to the campus at large.

As far as socializing goes, the only real parties are thrown by frats. The open ones are totally dry, and usually lame as hell. The closed ones are better, but are obviously limited, such that having an on-campus social life requires being Greek. Going off campus or to other nearby schools creates more options. Downtown Cleveland has alot of bars that don't card at the door, so you can have others buy for you, but it is nowhere close to campus, so you need a car, and a safe place to crash. The nearby area has some decent food, and the RTA system gives you a few more options, but generally you're limited in what there is to do. Much of this comes from safety concerns. Case is surrounded by some of the most impoverished ghetto areas of the city, such that most people don't want to be out too late in most of town. Having been out at 3 or 4 AM, I can attest to having run into gangs, though my personal safety was never at risk.

Other:

  • Supposedly, Case is more than 10% Jewish. But most don't identify as such, and many are afraid to, as the campus has become alot less friendly to Jews in recent years, especially after Alice Bach got tenure.
  • The software center, which includes a number of expensive pieces of software legally licensed by the school, is very good. There is room for improvement, but I've gotten some excellent software that way.
  • The network is one of the fastest in the nation, but is down too often. And they seem to throttle connections every once in a while, even for standard internet use.
  • This school is expensive…roughly $47,000 a year now. I still can't figure out how they waste most of that money.
  • If this sounds like your type of school, then by all means apply. If you'd otherwise get in to a top 25 school, they will buy you off, by giving enough aid to make you pay roughly what a state school does. Otherwise, look elsewhere, because you won't be happy (the Princeton Review agrees).

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