Case Western Reserve University | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Miriam

Class: Senior
Major: Engineering
Gender: F

High School: Woodland Hills High School
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

The best thing about Case is being around so many driven hard working students, which really helps you to focus on the academics. Sometimes it would be nice to have more social events that are for fun. Case is a small school which is most well know for its Science and Engineering. Most people outside of a two hour radius that are not in Science or Engineering have never heard of it. The most common reaction when telling them that you go to Case Western Reserve University is "You are in the military?" Case is planted right in Cleveland, so there is not much of a college town since there is a lot of stuff around anyway. It makes it nice since you get more of the activities you can only get in a city. This year Case inducted a new president. The last president had made some unwise financial choices which got him booted. So far the new President has been reconnecting with the students and alumni. She hopefully will be able to better handle the job. There is not much school spirit, the athletics is not really paid attention to. Most students bond in the effort to pass classes and handle the work load. My best memory of Case was when it hosted the Vice Presidential debates last election. The entire campus became teaming with people and activities from the school, media, and outside community. It was a really fun time. The nicest thing about the campus is that all of the museams of Cleveland are within a short walking distance of the school.

Academic Life

Most professors will know your name. Although some freshman classes are very big (~200 people), once you get into more major specific classes, the student to faculty ratio is 15:1. My favorite class was my freshman Physics class, the professor who taught it was awesome and really cared about his students. My least favorite was a computer methods class I took. Students usually study and do homework 4-8 hours a day. Since classes are small students have the opportunity to ask questions if they want. Many students have nothing but intellectual conversations, quite a bit of students are not very good at small talk. One good thing about Case is that it is not as competative as some academically centered school. Students help each other out with classes and work together on homework and projects. I am an Engineering Physics major, so a majority of my time is spent in the Physics department. The professors are very approachable for the most part. Both professors in the Physics and Engineering have Office hours and are readily available. Departments have social events where students can get to know professors outside of class. The academic requirement are very heavy, and much is expected of the students. Unfortunately, the liberal arts department is not very large in Case.

Student Body

Case has a variety of people and moderate leanings. There are just as many religious groups as LGBT groups on campus. Neithr are very prominant though as most people tend to stay in the middle of the political spectrum. I have many friends in both groups and neither provoke each other. Most students are focused on their work more than anything else. There is a decent size Indian and Asian student body, however the African American student body is pretty small. Students are jeans and T-shirts people. A lot of stuendents come from the middle class, although you get a range of students since Case gives great financial aid. Students tend to make friends with people in their academic department or residence hall since those are the people they see most. Although, there are not really distinct cliques, people divide themselves into three types. Those that are very social and party people who are miserable here, those who are social but enjoy Cases quieter party scene, and those that are anti-social and play nothing but video games. Most students do not care about being super rich as the do about being intellectually versed. And we all share the bond of being a poor college student.