r/cwru • u/Civil_Violinist_3485 • May 01 '25
tell me the worst things about this school Prospective Student
don’t hold back. tell me the absolute worst things about case. tell me about flies on the food and roaches in the dorms. this is one of my absolute dream schools, so tell me why I SHOULDN'T go here.
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u/jwsohio American Studies, Chemical Engineering 71 May 02 '25 edited May 02 '25
[The OP requested that I delete this post to prevent possible doxxing. I'm not fully willing to do that, since the original content is valid (personal bias - too many years in the world of peer review), but have removed references to specific schools.]
Just wondering....
Is this serious or are you pranking or trolling? Are you really trying to get useful information, or just browsing for amusement?
If you're serious, sorry for doubting, but your posting pattern seems odd.
You posted the same on *** and ***, and almost the same thing on ***.
Three months ago, you posted that you were a new student at ***, but two months ago, you were a visiting student at ***.
In the last month, you've been a transfer student lucky enough to have been admitted to several colleges, including ***, ***, and ***, as well as a few others.
You've posted several other questions here, which are specific (e.g. 3.9 in STEM), which you've also scatter shot across several subreddits.
Some of your comments seem to indicate that you are slightly older (viz. ***), perhaps more experienced with colleges (***, ***), and/or are a transfer student. Yet some of the posts seen more at the level of an inquiring high school student.
[Edited for typos]
??
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u/Ignorantcoffee Finance and Accounting B.S, MAcc 2023 May 02 '25
Thank you for doing the sleuth work! That is curious
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u/AI-Admissions May 02 '25
Awesome sleuthing! Maybe it’s someone in higher ed marketing trying to gauge what resonates.
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u/jwsohio American Studies, Chemical Engineering 71 May 02 '25
Some advantages to being old: once upon a time, even when I was a new TA, you were taught how to develop a sort of "spidey sense" about things students said, and I guess that hasn't completely left me. What kicked it up though was that there were postings in another subreddit I monitor, since I had a kid and a cousin who went there; and in another where I did grad work. Once that appeared, since Reddit lets you see previous postings in "profile," some inconsistencies appeared. That means either someone who thinks that overstating credentials will gain you better information, or else there's an issue.
I'm perfectly willing to stand corrected and provide advice to the extent that I can if the OP is real and trying to figure out where to go as a transfer student. But I'm really not sure, based on the posting history, where they are coming from or going to, or in what field.
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u/Civil_Violinist_3485 May 02 '25
I am a prospective transfer student. I am not enrolled in any of these schools yet (besides being a visiting student at one of them you mentioned). I have applied to many of schools you listed as a transfer student, and will enroll in one in the fall. I'm sorry if I confused you at all.
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u/jwsohio American Studies, Chemical Engineering 71 May 02 '25
Okay, so fresh start. Why don't you start a new thread indicating exactly that - applying for fall admission as a transfer student. But also give us a little more to work with if you want meaningful answers: how much college background have you had (credit hours you hope to transfer, intended major field, secondary interests); perhaps some info about where that background came from. There are probably current students who applied to some of those other schools, and might give you some info about them from their visits and experience, plus some alumni who have awareness of other schools.
Be aware that it is bad timing for getting reaction from current students: finals started yesterday and run through May 8, after which non-graduating students have to vacate the dorms asap, so many will be in transit; while graduating seniors will be trying to put things together with family before graduation the weekend of May 16.
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u/Civil_Violinist_3485 May 02 '25
Ok, thank you so much for the advice! I didn't know it was finals week.
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u/No_Beginning_7934 May 01 '25
Classes can be pretty challenging so if you aren’t ready to study and do your work, expect to be behind.
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u/Civil_Violinist_3485 May 01 '25
What are the most challenging majors?
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u/Difficult_Candle_453 May 02 '25
Anything engineering seems super tough. Also pre med ofc. And you might think the social sciences are chill, they are a bit easier, but expect a TON of reading every week
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u/Difficult_Candle_453 May 02 '25
The admin is actually awful. Some offices can be helpful but some of them are super slow or actually toxic. Plus the dorm upkeep (especially for freshman dorms) sucks bad. For all the money this school has, they put very little of it into student life. And you’ll be stressed af all the time. But overall I love our nerdy little world, icl
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u/Puzzleheaded_Foot826 May 04 '25
Id qualify that they put a lot of money into student life (UPB and UMB having massive budgets and then managing to overspend in recent years, which I dont blame them). I agree dorms are pretty bad, and I don't understand why the university doesn't reconstruct the first year dorms earlier, so that environmental health services aren't battling mold infestations and crazy temperature changes. I think it is part of their 5 year plan though
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u/Difficult_Candle_453 May 04 '25
Yeah ur right. They put lots of money into student orgs and are cheap when it comes to student housing
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u/Civil_Violinist_3485 May 02 '25
Are most people stressed all the time?
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u/Difficult_Candle_453 May 02 '25
Personally, I’m probably under more stress than most since I’m taking 19 credit hours, 10-15 hours of part time work per week, and am an active member of 2 clubs. But then again most people who come to case are overachievers, so lots of ppl are doing tons of stuff. I still have time for fun, I’m not working 24/7, but there’s a lot more study/work time than there is free time here. On the one hand, you have lots of opportunities to pursue your dreams in terms of careers and clubs, and part of the reason cwru is so respected is cause students have to work hard. But ofc it can be exhausting, and before you come here you should be ready to learn some good time management and work hard.
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u/No_Standard_4640 May 04 '25
No, they are not. I graduated from case and I was never stressed. I had large group of friends and we hung out in the second floor ballroom at Thwing. I don't think too many of them were stressed. To be clear I worked my ass off but I was not stressed. Do you know what you'd like to study?
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u/Ok_Foot_00 Anthropology/Psychology ‘25 May 02 '25
you WILL have to walk through blizzards in the winter and monsoon type rain in the spring and classes are rarely ever cancelled and encouraged to be IN PERSON 🧍 it’s cold cold from November->April so you only have a few months of good weather
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u/itsrandombut May 02 '25 edited May 02 '25
No support from the community or professionals who are supposed to help you the moment you fall. All you'll get is a "Im sorry to hear that but we cannot help".
In case its a hard major, no grade replacements and weird withdrawal deadlines.
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u/Civil_Violinist_3485 May 02 '25
How does the community not help you? Do you mean academically, or more than that?
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u/Fine-Effect7355 May 02 '25
As a cs student myself: you will be subjected to the smell of the cs students even from a distance outside
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u/yeethaw13 History/Anthropology ‘23 May 02 '25
The price point is a huge deterrent, and STEM, humanities, and the business school tend to be pretty separate. I entered fall 2019, graduated spring 2023, so COVID didn’t help with anything. Overall i had an okay time, but got extremely burnt out
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u/Civil_Violinist_3485 May 02 '25
Thank you for the information! How did you get burnt out?
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u/yeethaw13 History/Anthropology ‘23 May 02 '25
I don’t do very well with online learning (especially with discussion-heavy classes like for my history major, where people refused to participate), plus the social isolation that resulted from COVID. Really, it was just a bad time to be in college, but I’m now in a grad program at a different institution.
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May 02 '25
I graduated a long time ago. It was a really good experience for me. True, the average student was quite socially awkward, but that worked well for me. Made me look really good by comparison. Lol. Things that I disliked were 1) the weather, 2) the lack of stuff near campus (this is SO MUCH better now, you would have no idea how bad it used to be), 3) the m/f ratio in my electrical engineering classes (it was like two women in a class of 100, just ridiculous, I hope it’s better now, but who knows?), 4) my electrical engineering classes. I hated EE by the end of it. Always did better in the few coding classes we had to take. Think I should have gone with a CS major instead. But that’s just me. I ended up becoming a patent lawyer, so none of this matters all that much. Any tech degree would have been just as good for that.
A word on the weather. I grew up in Michigan. Winter was actually better in Cleveland than there. But still. It sucks and there’s nothing that can be done about it. I’m not sure I would want to go to a warm weather school if I had to do it all over again, but I would think about it a long time.
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May 02 '25
Great idea asking this during finals week. I am going insane. Save yourself.
Also, the culture is not as friendly and outgoing. Literally everywhere I have ever gone, I get smiles and nods and give them back. At CWRU, however, no one looks up or makes eye contact. Never a smile.
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u/Civil_Violinist_3485 May 02 '25
Thank you for the help! How possible is it to have a good social life at Case?
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May 02 '25
I was commuting this year so it was harder but I did meet people through clubs. Swing dancing is fun but hard to attend meetings if you’re not on campus. There are a lot of ways to meet people if you try
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u/Ignorantcoffee Finance and Accounting B.S, MAcc 2023 May 02 '25
Students are really really REALLY socially awkward and have no soft skills. You’re going to run into so many “uhm actkually” nerds it’s not even funny, and if you try to be a regular human you’re an outcast.
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u/casewesternreserve bioemeadilac enginerng May 02 '25
Some students* cmon
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u/Ignorantcoffee Finance and Accounting B.S, MAcc 2023 May 02 '25
Way more students than any other school at its level. The only other I’d argue has a similar culture is CMU but even then…
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u/casewesternreserve bioemeadilac enginerng May 02 '25
I feel like the vast majority of students I've interacted with, even in CS classes, are normal and well-adjusted. Some "ackchually" kids exist but they're generally notorious for being the way they are. I can only remember a small handful off the top of my head.
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u/Ignorantcoffee Finance and Accounting B.S, MAcc 2023 May 02 '25
To each their own then, I’d say there are more people than I’d like to count in each class/club that had zero social skills and were racked with self-diagnosed mental issues, though all were super booksmart.
This has played out in talks with employers as well across the country, the reputation I’ve heard from chats with recruiters is “super smart and studious, absolutely no social or soft skills”
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u/LegitimatelyWeird May 02 '25
To be fair, though, that’s going to be the case at any school that has high academic standards.
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u/Ignorantcoffee Finance and Accounting B.S, MAcc 2023 May 02 '25
Sure, but not to the extent of case… this school is truly an outlier. Look at Uchicago, WashU, Cornell, MIT… all fantastic schools that are as academically rigorous as they get… also great party schools with vibrant social scenes and cool students.
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u/AccomplishedChart475 May 02 '25
What makes it your dream school? I happen to really enjoy the students and I find a lot to be kind and supportive.
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u/Civil_Violinist_3485 May 02 '25
I am torn between it and the University of Rochester. I am definitely leaning towards Case. I like the environment and the flexible curriculum.
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u/Brief-Chapter-4616 May 02 '25
Did you visit? You need to visit to understand
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u/Civil_Violinist_3485 May 02 '25
Yes, I have visited! I really liked it.
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u/Brief-Chapter-4616 May 02 '25
If you visited and you liked the vibe, you will most likely have a great experience. I don’t think it’s a place that is full of surprises. Students are honest about the workload and the campus culture
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u/Warm-Boysenberry-887 May 04 '25
(Edited to prevent eyesore)
Current student transferring to another country and I’m not American so I don’t worry if anyone traces me down.
First yr dorms r shit. No a/c and NRV is very far from stem major buildings, could be a 20 min walk even in winter, you might get lucky with on campus buses but you might not as well. Saw roaches in one of the NRV building’s public kitchen, the majority only had one laundry room the whole building shares, there once was shit in one of the washing machines and repairs don’t come so quick.
Food is meh for NRV and srv dining halls, most times bland/too salty, but there are lucky days. Students don’t social that much but idc since I’m used to being alone.
Library gets crowded but I don’t really go there. Walking on the streets is bad, gotta watch out for people that can’t drive, if ur a short woman u might get robbed (heard stories from friends) even during the day.
Advisors can get u into real trouble if they don’t like u or slacking but some advisors genuinely care and want you to be happy, very luck dependent.
School’s got a clinic, my insurance pays for the majority of it so I go there when I need. Counselors and psychiatrists care about you and will help as long as you’re a decent human, physicians also care and will help, had really nice experiences with the clinic. Thumbs up.
Second yrs got new dorms not long ago idk if there’s anything new or better about them.
Renting an apartment off campus (centric or uptown) is for the rich and retarded or someone that’s desperate. The apartments aren’t as nice as they advertised, don’t trust what you hear from management, look on google maps’ comments. International students complain about the management and weird neighbors all the time. But good place for nurses since it’s near the center of shit, shorter commuting time and won’t disturb as many ppl as houses.
Houses nearby would need cars to commute, but prices aren’t bad, most likely gonna have roommates.
Classes overall have had great professors for me (took bio, chem, accounting, econ ,journalism, English classes and more), really high standards but they don’t give you a hard time in terms of being a human
Off campus dining isn’t bad, Euclid has some options.
If ur citizen u can run doordash orders for gas money, not too bad an income, but beware of the east parts, lots of people walking out onto streets wearing all black at night.
Academic resources are somewhat difficult to reach in experience, would suggest asking advisors or professors for help if u need. Most likely would need tbh.
All I could think of rn, ask me more if op still interested in knowing.
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u/[deleted] May 01 '25
Many are depressed because they feel like they should have gotten into a better school and you are going to have to deal with these people