Case Western

[geochic]

Anybody else starting at Case this fall? How about those of you who've been in programs recently/currently? Any advice, suggestions, interesting tidbits?

[ScreamingHairyArmadillo]

If you don't mind sharing, who will be your advisor? I was an undergrad geology minor at Case, so I know a few of the profs. I don't know much about them as advisors, but the ones I took classes with (Drs. Harvey, Matisoff, Hauck, and McCall) are all very smart and good professors. They take their material seriously and all of them run a good class. McCall is lovably goofy and Harvey is just awesome.

The department has a monthly (maybe twice a month?) seminar that is always well attended. The talks are usually good, but omg the pizza they get is amazing! Seriously, it's really good and they always get a ton.

I really love the Case campus, but there is still a bit of construction going on in the surrounding hospitals. It's not too horrendous, but can be annoying. The entire campus if very walkable; I didn't bother much with the shuttles which never seemed to be there when you wanted them.

Utilize the Health Line bus if you can. It goes down Euclid very frequently (every 5-15 minutes depending on the day/time) and there are a few stops that are along the campus.

The library system is great, I never had a problem finding what I needed. There's the big main library, KSL, and two others connected to the hospitals. You may not need those though.

Winters are very, very...bad. Very cold, very snowy. The sidewalks are usually kept up, but the wind is miserable. The other seasons though are very lovely.

Depending on what you're working on, you may find yourself at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Dr. Hannibal is a real character.

If you feel like ponying up the money for a gym membership, I highly recommend the on campus gym 1-2-1. Lots of good classes and a good workout room. I joined my last semester and wished I had gone longer. It's a really good mental break and start to the day.

Let me know if you have more questions I might be able to answer.

[Billy L]

If you don't mind sharing, who will be your advisor? I was an undergrad geology minor at Case, so I know a few of the profs. I don't know much about them as advisors, but the ones I took classes with (Drs. Harvey, Matisoff, Hauck, and McCall) are all very smart and good professors. They take their material seriously and all of them run a good class. McCall is lovably goofy and Harvey is just awesome.

The department has a monthly (maybe twice a month?) seminar that is always well attended. The talks are usually good, but omg the pizza they get is amazing! Seriously, it's really good and they always get a ton.

I really love the Case campus, but there is still a bit of construction going on in the surrounding hospitals. It's not too horrendous, but can be annoying. The entire campus if very walkable; I didn't bother much with the shuttles which never seemed to be there when you wanted them.

Utilize the Health Line bus if you can. It goes down Euclid very frequently (every 5-15 minutes depending on the day/time) and there are a few stops that are along the campus.

The library system is great, I never had a problem finding what I needed. There's the big main library, KSL, and two others connected to the hospitals. You may not need those though.

Winters are very, very...bad. Very cold, very snowy. The sidewalks are usually kept up, but the wind is miserable. The other seasons though are very lovely.

Depending on what you're working on, you may find yourself at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Dr. Hannibal is a real character.

If you feel like ponying up the money for a gym membership, I highly recommend the on campus gym 1-2-1. Lots of good classes and a good workout room. I joined my last semester and wished I had gone longer. It's a really good mental break and start to the day.

Let me know if you have more questions I might be able to answer.

Thank you so much for your post.

_________________

Watch Vampires Suck Online Free

[Sevi]

Can you give me an idea of how bad the winter weather is? Like on a scale from 1-10? I've lived in Texas all my life and I'm weary of committing for 5-7 years to Cleveland in fear that I'll freeze to death during my first year. Considering I'm use to weather ranging from 40 degrees to 110 degrees, I don't know what I may be getting myself into if I decide to go to Case Western for a PhD. What's the warmest it usually gets in the summer? Any tips for snow-virgins??

[MoJingly]

The department has a monthly (maybe twice a month?) seminar that is always well attended. The talks are usually good, but omg the pizza they get is amazing! Seriously, it's really good and they always get a ton.

Let's be honest here, food choice by a department is a very important thing. And I'm not even joking!

[nhyn]

i went to Oberlin, visited Cleveland a couple of times (its 30 minutes drive from Oberlin - and, well, I fly around a lot so I use the airport more than 5 times a year) and interviewed (for a job) with someone in the Psych/Neuro dept., so I might be able to give you some insights

caveats: im from a tropical country where its 80 degrees all year round. ive been to Houston during the winter and I considered that "cold" lols (it was 40-50 something, i think).

the weather: is atrocious in the winter. Snows a lot! When it snowstorms outside, you can't even walk because the wind will just blow you away (or im just very small). It gets uncomfortably cold around December - November is cold too but bearable. Goes on like that till April. It snowed (!!!) like crazy in April when I was a freshman. So pretty much dreary days for 4, 5 months - although we do have clear winter days. But once you've lived here for 2 or 3 years, you just have to put up with it lol even if ice covers up your doors and windows and your backyard is full of snow you cant take the shortcut to campus

It cannot be nicer in late spring/summer - maybe it's just our school, but all kinds of flowers bloom like crazy the weather is just perfect, in May its always around 60-70, the ideal temperature, i think. it rains often in the summer, but not too bad (again, im from a country where it rains 3 months of the year, almost every single freaking day). The Fall is nice too but towards the end it becomes a little sad with all the naked trees..

From a scale of 1-10, I give a weather a 4. So it's rather unbearable, but if you have enough money to pay for adequate heat and can work from home, you'll be fine. I was so happy when I got a house and could cook from home, instead of having to walk to the dining hall.

In terms of Cleveland...I've heard that CU is in the nicer part of the city, but from what I've experienced in Cleveland, it's a sad-looking city with lots of old, rundown industrial buildings. No one is out at 5pm in downtown - im serious, theres even no car on the streets - but it was quite the same in Houston so I'm sure you're used to that. Also, me being Asian, I was rather miserable with the severe lack of good Asian groceries. We always have to drive an hour or two elsewhere to get our groceries - so be sure you have a car, if you want good food. If you don't care, that's not a problem. Cleveland has some good restaurants

I had 2 phone convos and lots of email convos with this one Neuro prof who was super nice. If you're applying to this dept, I can pm you to disclose who it was but from my impression, it's a nice, small (?) department. I almost went there for a job but I dreaded Cleveland and no longer wanted to stay in the Midwest lols but if you're fine with all the things I said above, I think you'll enjoy CU

[Sevi]

I almost went there for a job but I dreaded Cleveland and no longer wanted to stay in the Midwest lols but if you're fine with all the things I said above, I think you'll enjoy CU

Thank you so much for posting!! I'm pretty sure I'm going to die from all the cold. I might as well just stay in Houston where, although I might melt walking to class, I won't be a popsicle for half the year. If by the time I finish my degree I still feel the need to explore the Cleveland area then I could always find a post doc there!

[latte thunder]

In terms of Cleveland...I've heard that CU is in the nicer part of the city, but from what I've experienced in Cleveland, it's a sad-looking city with lots of old, rundown industrial buildings. No one is out at 5pm in downtown - im serious, theres even no car on the streets - but it was quite the same in Houston so I'm sure you're used to that. Also, me being Asian, I was rather miserable with the severe lack of good Asian groceries. We always have to drive an hour or two elsewhere to get our groceries - so be sure you have a car, if you want good food. If you don't care, that's not a problem. Cleveland has some good restaurants

I did undergrad at CWRU in psychology, and I'm afraid this isn't a very good description of CWRU or the city. Oberlin is VERY far away from the center city and case... I wanna say closer to an hour.

Case is NOT in a "nice" area of the city. Honestly, you should be OK with urban grime is you go to school here. This isn't to scare anyone away, a lot of my classmates were from suburban or rural areas and had a hard time getting used to it. If you're from a large city you should be fine. Downtown Cleveland is NOT empty at 5. I actually worked downtown in tower city. There's actually an entire warehouse/club/river front district that almost always has something going on (not necessary good), not to mention the 3 major sports teams centered downtown. Traffic is only bad during evening rush hour, so its true after 5:30 there aren't many cars, but there is a decent public transportation system so there are always people.

Also, Cleveland has a very well established China town. You should not have had to drive far for Asian grocery. Actually, driving 2 hrs in any direction would have put you in...Columbus? Toledo? Erie? There's CAM Cleveland on Miles rd and a couple of Asian bakery's on the near east side I believe. I'm not even Asian and I had plenty of Asian food!

Winter's ARE very cold and windy though.

[theflash7269]

Will most likely be at CWRU this coming fall, anyone else?

[afae39]

Case is NOT in a "nice" area of the city. Honestly, you should be OK with urban grime is you go to school here. This isn't to scare anyone away, a lot of my classmates were from suburban or rural areas and had a hard time getting used to it. If you're from a large city you should be fine. Downtown Cleveland is NOT empty at 5. I actually worked downtown in tower city. There's actually an entire warehouse/club/river front district that almost always has something going on (not necessary good), not to mention the 3 major sports teams centered downtown. Traffic is only bad during evening rush hour, so its true after 5:30 there aren't many cars, but there is a decent public transportation system so there are always people.

Urban grime? Really?

I'm also a Case student, graduating this year, and I have to disagree (I'm from a suburban area originally). I think that the Case/University Circle area is quite nice - especially with Little Italy and Cleveland Heights right there - however if you traverse to East Cleveland (NOT Case's campus) you will be in a "grimey" area. The new renovations with the Cleveland Museum of Contemp Art, cancer center, and planned new student center should also help brighten up the area.

The main theme of CWRU is that it is what you make it. Don't walk around East Cleveland or the lagoon at night. Find friends who will go out and explore the city/have fun. Learn to love snow - go sledding and have snowball fights. Buy a warm coat, boots, and a scarf and you WILL survive, I promise.

Good luck!

[latte thunder]

Urban grime? Really?

Yes, really. Compared to other Ohio Cities, Cleveland is grimey. Again, if you are from an older major city it's no problem. But if you are from a nicer, newer area than it's something to take note of. Personally, I like Cleveland. But I'm sure you've heard stories from your Classmates like "OMG we tried to get on the bus and I was SOO scared" or 'OMG I can't walk across campus at night." Again, its not really dangerous if you stay on campus, but the LOOK of the campus can make some people uncomfortable.

Also, Little italy and Cleveland heights are just as far off campus as East Cleveland! Not to mention student parking on E118th is about a block away from E Cleveland. Unless there has been a massive change in appearance since the last time i was in Cleveland (last month) there is quite a bit of urban grime in the area. You can pick and choose which suburbs you like to hang out in, but that doesn't deny the others' existence.

Don't believe me? Walk over to the E120th RTA stop. Yeah, you can get off at the University Circle stop and walk a mile to your car if you want, but you can't really deny that this is part of the campus area.