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Case Western Reserve University is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Created in 1967 by the amalgamation of the Case Institute of Technology and the Western Reserve University, CWRU is consistently ranked among the top 50 universities in the United States. Although it’s an excellent school for just about any course, special mention of its Biomedical program must be made. If you’re a Biomed/Biotech student, Case Western should definitely be one of your top picks.
Though Cleveland is a rather nice city even by itself, and you should find anything and everything you need right here, there are a number of places to visit even once you get out. Detroit and Pittsburgh are both 2-3 hours away by road, while downtown Cleveland is just a 20 minute walk away.
Spread over 155 acres, CWRU really is quite a spectacular sight. Some state-of-the-art modernistic buildings complement the imposing ancient architecture, with a lot of greenery everywhere. The library system has over 3 million volumes, and the numerous research centers and laboratories are equipped with all sorts of high-end machines and innovations.
If you’re doing your Masters at Case Western, there’s a good chance that you’ll be living off campus, since that’s where most grad students end up. It’s cheaper, it’s more luxurious, and it certainly gives you far more privacy than living in dorms. Some of the popular areas students move into are Cleveland Heights, Little Italy, Cedar-Fairmount and Hessler. Of course, once you explore a bit, it’ll be clear which ones are affordable and which ones aren’t, but you can be sure of getting more-than-acceptable housing provided you’re willing to share an apartment (and thus also share the rent).
Coming from India, you’re probably not going to like it too much. Yes, the snowy winters will appeal to you at first, but it can get terribly gloomy once the snow just refuses to stop. You’ll need a good supply of woolens, and some sturdy boots as well. Summers can get pretty hot and humid, though not too bad when compared to what you’ve probably seen already. But the worst part about the climate is definitely its unpredictability – weather forecasts are completely useless, you never know what to expect. Students say they get used to it eventually, and while they can’t exactly enjoy it, at least they learn to deal with it.
One thing that you can be sure of at Case is highly knowledgeable, dedicated and passionate professors. The university is involved in very high levels of research activity, and students get more than a fair chance to be part of it. Professors ensure that they encourage students and mentor them in a way that would never be forgotten. But you must bear in mind that the learning process isn’t ever one-way-traffic. Students need to take the initiative, make the first move, develop a rapport. Then you can sit back and watch as the brilliant faculty shapes your academic life into something very, very meaningful.
While it isn’t impossible, by any means, to get some strong scholarships, it’s made slightly difficult by the fact that CWRU is a private university. TAs and RAs are relatively simple to get, but you should aim at applying for (and being worth) some sort of financial aid.
Getting a job should never be a problem at such a good university, but getting the job you desire may not be as easy as you’d wish it was. That’s why it’s probably a good idea to get in touch with the career center early, and sit for as many interviews as possible. The more options you have, the better. And it’s also not a bad idea to keep your acads slightly respectable – you don’t want to be rejected because of your grades.
The first thing that males will complain about, just like they did through four years of engineering in India, is the relative lack of women. Boys outnumber girls by more than two is to one, although the plight isn’t half as terrible as it may have been in an Indian engineering college. While it may not be completely effortless to randomly hook up at Case, it’s far from impossible. And one thing you can count on is the fact that you can find agreeable company to do whatever it is you may like doing. When we say that, we mean day-to-day activities, not the disgusting kinky stuff that might have popped up in your head.
Robert J. Herbold - Executive Vice President of Microsoft. Paul Buchheit - Creator of Gmail and 23rd employee of Google. Herbert Henry Dow - Founder of Dow Chemicals (The Company which caused The Bhopal Gas Tragedy).
It’s widely regarded as the next best thing to Mecca for Biomed students, and pretty good for most other courses too, which is why it should definitely be in your sights if you have an average profile.