Thanks Case Western Reserve University!

I'm in lovely Ohio this week to visit schools and attend that National NACAC Conference.

Today I got to visit Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, an exciting opportunity! As anyone can tell from Naviance, we have had a tough time at ElRo cracking the code of what students would fit best at this school. After spending the day there, I think I have a little bit of a better sense of who would be happiest there and what direction the college is moving in.

Frank Gehry designed the School of Management (aka Business)

CWRU evolved from two different schools (Case and Western Reserve) and has the reputation of being rather 'STEM-y.' But, they actually have four undergraduate colleges within the college: Engineering, Business, Nursing, and Arts and Science. I would categorize the school as pretty research-centric and the physical location being near four hospitals (including the world renowned Cleveland Clinic) only adds to the reasons it is a good fit for a student interested in science, pre-health, or both. What sets it apart? For one thing, the students were described as very focused. This is not an exploratory place for the liberal artist. This is for the student who already has a general direction. (It is ok if that direction is the humanities -- they have easy access to art museums, concert halls, and historical sites). 

think[box]

Materials at think[box]

A highlight of today was getting to see the think [box] a maker space on campus that is designed to be an incubation place for innovation. Students (and community members) can use the tools and materials there to create anything they can imagine. This includes things on 3-D printers, embroidery machines, woodwork, electrical circuits, and really anything you could think up.  This kind of creativity is encouraged and it was nice to see such a fully formed and well run place for people to try out their ideas and build truly anything they can think of.

Perhaps the most confusing aspect of Case Western is the notion that there is a single door entry point -- meaning that any student admitted to Case Western can major in anything Case Western offers. That means that students do not need to meet individual criteria in order to change majors once they are here. It means that if you get into Case Western, you have your choice of any of the programs offered (one exception being Music--an audition is required). This policy though isn't to be confused with the idea that Case Western doesn't pay attention to what academic course of study you list on your application. They are still a functioning school, after all, and they need their school to have balance. As one might expect, Engineering is the most popular area of interest and it is also one of the programs with the highest standards. Two thirds of students are majoring in a STEM field.

This school has seen a tremendous amount of growth in the past ten years. As in going from under 8,000 apps per year to over 23,000 apps per year. The acceptance rate last year was about 35%, so more people are getting denial letters than any other sort. They also used to be a school that pulled students mainly from the state of Ohio. Now only 22% of students come from the Buckeye state.

So why would CWRU be attractive to ElRo students? For one thing, they offer merit aid. And starting this year they plan to be need aware but meet 100% of demonstrated need for all admitted students. (Being need aware will most likely impact those on the margins --admissions wise-- the most). That means middle income students should be given a much more fair shake when it comes to financial aid packaging. Loans will be reasonable and students won't be gapped. Then when it comes to merit scholarships, even higher income homes can potentially see discounts in tuition. The location is also very very attractive. Coming from NYC, the Midwest can be a hard pill to swallow for some. But the flight here was under an hour and fifteen minutes! It sometimes takes me that long to commute to ElRo! With a little over 5,000 students in an urban area, Case Western offers the best of a lot of worlds. There is Greek life, but this isn't a party school. I think our students who find themselves looking at places like University of Rochester, University of Chicago, and Carnegie Mellon would also benefit from looking at Case Western.

I hope we can start hitting our stride with this school. Cleveland is a wonderful city and one that I think many ElRo students would be very happy with for their college experience. 

On to Oberlin tomorrow!