Is there anyone who knows CWRU and Cleveland?

[Easel]

Hi, everyone. I will have an interview of Case Western Reserve University at Friday. But I hear a lot of negative opinions about the school's administration system, the road, the food and the conservative and antiforeign people .More incredibly, someone even deems Cleveland as a dead zombie city, because lots of people are moving out. Is there anyone who knows CWRU and Cleveland?

[latte thunder]

Hi, everyone. I will have an interview of Case Western Reserve University at Friday. But I hear a lot of negative opinions about the school's administration system, the road, the food and the conservative and antiforeign people .More incredibly, someone even deems Cleveland as a dead zombie city, because lots of people are moving out. Is there anyone who knows CWRU and Cleveland?

I do! I did my undergrad at Case and am heavily involved with the Alumni Association so I might be able to help you out.

1. The schools administration wasn't that bad? I've dealt with worse from grad schools I'm applying to. There was one woman in undergraduate affairs that i absolutely HATED, but that's about it.

2. What do you mean about the road? Last I was in cleveland there was a lot of construction on Euclid, but from what I understand they're building a more student friendly retail complex (more food, more bars, cheaper apartments). Also, Cleveland has a glorious public transportation system, and the was rapid (rail) stops on both end of campus, as well as a zillion bus stops on Euclid/Mayfield/Cedar. You do not have to drive to go to school here.

3. Case's food is bad. However, the dining hall nearest the graduate housing is the better of the two. Now that I think about it, it wasn't THAT bad. They had a swipe and go meal program that could be good at times and involved a varierty of items (sushi, for example). There were some abominations in the lunch hall (egg and zuchini pizza?) but I had comparable food when visiting friends at other schools. The South end of Campus is very close to a Dave's grocery store, and the north end has a food co op, so you could easily cook for yourself.

4. Case Students did tend to me more conservation than the typical college kid, but not uncomfortably so. I don't remember having any political discussions and although there were probably more conservatives, there were plenty of liberals. 60/40 i'd say. It was definately NOT anti foreign. It is majority white, and alot of students are from northeast ohio, but there were a good number of Indian and Malaysian international students students (I believe Case does some type of program with Malaysian highschools). I can't say for certain if other students were international or not, but there were alot of other asian and african students and of course african american students. I must admit there isn't much of a hispanic presence though. Cleveland has plenty of medical stuff going on, so it's not uncommon to find Asian/Arab immigrants in the city. Also, the west side has a sizable Puerto Rican population.

5. Dead zombie city? Maybe a little? Not nearly as bad as detroit, but there is alot of urban proverty, The suburbs however, are full. I believe the metro area is around 2.4 million, so you won't get lonely. Case is in a poorer area of the city though. It's on the border of Cleveland and its (somehow) even poorer suburb, East Cleveland. I'm not sure what you background/comfort level is with poverty , but you may feel uncomfortable walking off campus. It can get a little unsafe off grounds and I would NOT advise walking east, north, or west off campus at night, male or female, even in a group. This isn't to scare you, you'll be fine on campus (or if you're driving around/on the bus) but this may be were the zombie city thing is coming from. Crackheads sometimes have a zombie air to them =)

Oh! Actually, you should definately be OK with a poorer area if you attend here. Now that I think about it, there are people begging for change on campus daily. Expect to see a few on your walk to class. None are dangerous though, and all the ON CAMPUS security alerts I remember were non violent. Most actually just sounded like a homeless guy asked for change, and some kid gave them their wallet and ran, lol. Just give people respect, and you'll get it back.

Anything else I can answer for you?

[Easel]

latte thunder, Thank you very much. The infornation you gave is so comprehensive.

I did bad in the interview. But I've received admissions with a little money from WUSTL and NYU. I don't know which school to attend.