Case Western Reserve University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Psychology
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Bisexual Female
Summary
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
Doing a dual five-year program with the Cleveland Institute of Music
High School Experience: Public arts school in Manhattan, NY with a graduating class of about 200 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Psychology
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: None.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
For Psychology, we have mostly readings and projects.
Is there anything you feel your majors’ departments do especially well or poorly?
My main focus in psychology is working with patients with autism, and there’s a very strong medical program at Case Western. It’s impressive how the different majors are able to interact because I’m able to do a lot of autism studies within my Psychology major from the medical school too. You have the resources of the whole school no matter what the major is.
In terms of poorly, they do a bad job with scheduling classes. They sometimes schedule classes at the same time or at inconvenient times.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It can be both of those things. Most of the people at Case Western stick to their studies because everyone has a lot of work to do, but it is a friendly environment as well. If I have a question about something, I can ask somebody and they’ll help me out.
How accessible are your professors?
It really depends on the professor. I’ve had some professors who take three weeks to respond to an email and have had others invite us over to their house.
How is managing both your Cleveland Institute obligations and your classes at Case?
They’re only a 30-minute walk away and I spend time at both campuses each day. It’s hard because I have rehearsals on top of schoolwork, but you find a way to make it work. The professors at the Institute don’t want you to take classes at Case and the professors at Case don’t want you to take classes at the Cleveland Institute, so they aren’t always the most understanding. It’s doable if you put the effort in.
How was transitioning academically as a freshman? Were there any resources available that helped you adapt?
Case Western has a really strong academic program, so it was a little surprising how advanced everyone was, but you get used to that quickly. The resources like the library and the different study groups are really strong and helpful.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I have always known I wanted to major in Psychology, so that’s why I picked it. So far, I’m happy with my choice.
Reasons to Attend
1) It is a very positive and accepting environment for people of different races, genders, nationalities, and sexualities.
2) It has incredible academic resources for a ton of different majors.
3) We have incredible professors.
4) The people around you are really focused and driven. It’s nice to be surrounded by that kind of group of people.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) It can be difficult to reach people in the higher up offices.
2) The campus is really big, so you get lost sometimes.
3) Things close really early in Cleveland.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: I live in a dorm at the Cleveland Institute in a double
How was transitioning from your hometown to Cleveland, Ohio?
It was definitely a big change. There aren’t that many people and everything closes really early. But, it was an easier change that I thought it was going to be because University Circle has a lot of resources and life outside of the schools, which made it a little easier to change over.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I find myself walking home at like 2:00 AM at night and usually feel fine. Case does a good job of making sure we have campus police around and we have the Blue Light System. Cleveland’s not always the safest city, but I feel okay on campus.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
Most nights, I hang out with friends and we go to restaurants in the University Circle area to get food. One of our places to go eat is the Jolly Scholar for burgers and shakes. We hang out with guys in a certain fraternity, and we will go to one of their parties every once in a while, but that’s not really my scene. There are also performances at the Institute that are opera and classical music that I sometimes like to go to too.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
There’s a lot of Greek life at Case Western and there are some that have big parties, but most of the fraternities and sororities are more quiet because a lot of people have such a strong workload. It’s not as much of a party school as other schools, but there is a big Greek life presence. [About 28% of men are in fraternities and 36% of women are in sororities.]
If at all, how has identifying as LGBTQ+ influenced your nightlife experience? Is there much of an LGBTQ+ nightlife on campus?
Everybody at Case mixes really well, so it hasn’t had much of an impact. If you’re part of the [LGBTQ+ community], there are certain events that you will hear about that you know will be more for those people that are a lot of fun, but they happen less often.
What have been some of your favorite times at Case Western Reserve?
I did a trip with one of my classes to the Lakeview Cemetery and we read poetry on graves, which sounds weird but it was really fun. Most of my favorite times have been going out with friends. We went to a midnight Rocky Horror Picture Show screening and party at an on-campus theater, which was really fun.
How happy are you with the weekend options? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I am pleasantly surprised with what we have here. I thought Ohio would be boring but there’s always something to do if you look for it. I also like that things don’t get too crazy here because people are so caught up in their classes that partying isn’t their number one priority. You never have to worry about a party getting too out of hand.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I met them in the [Cleveland Institute of Music]. There are only 50 of us per class and we spend a lot of time together. I’ve met my closest friends at Case Western in class.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Case Western Reserve?
Case Western is interesting because I assumed that it would be sort of a party school because it’s a bigger school and Greek life is a thing, but it’s a lot quieter than I thought it would be because everyone is so focused to be there and work hard. There isn’t a lot of carelessness on campus because people have to study and it’s important to everyone. There are parties on the weekends, but it’s not like they feel out of control.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
People at Case Western mix a lot. Case Western is a lot more diverse than I thought it would be sexual orientation-wise. People are very open with the sexual orientation and there are professors who are open with their orientation too. It’s common to see diverse groups of friends around campus and I’ve never heard of a problem happening with that.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
People in Greek life and not in Greek life mix a lot because of classes. It’s not something that you notice about somebody right away and is not a major part of our school, so people mix without even realizing it pretty often.
How do you like the size of Case Western Reserve in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How was transitioning to a school with [about 5,250] students?
I love how big Case Western is. There are so many options, such huge resources, and you get to meet a lot of different people. You also have a huge, beautiful campus and it’s a bigger life than I would have had at a small school.
Careers
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
I have been to a career fair and I thought it was pretty helpful. It was in a huge room and all on one level. There were professors at different tables who could help you, which I liked.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
I have not and am not sure if I will later on, but I might!