Case Western Reserve University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Majors: Computer Science and Economics double major
Minor: Artificial Intelligence
Student Self Identifies as: East Asian Heterosexual Male
Summary
[I have a leadership position] in the Chinese Student Association and help run the CWRU China-U.S. Summit.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience? In what ways?
Background
Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: East Asian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Private international school in Shenzhen, China on an American curriculum. There was a culture of going to college in the United States.
First-Generation College Student: No
Majors: Computer Science and Economics double major
Minor: Artificial Intelligence
Extracurricular Activities: [I have a leadership position] in the Chinese Student Association and help run the CWRU China-U.S. Summit.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience? In what ways?
I joined the Chinese Student Association early on. I think it’s very important to share what’s going on in China today to expose the conflicts in China and talk about the misconceptions of China. We hold events that bring students closer together and we invite international students and domestic students to them. With the CWRU China-U.S. Summit, we invite politicians, entrepreneurs, and other leaders to join a conference that is totally run by students and we talk about some very important topics. It’s been great because students can talk to these wonderful people and learn from them.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your majors?
Economics and Computer Science are in two different departments of the college. For Computer Science, the programming assignments take up a lot of time and make up the bulk of the grade. For Economics, we now have a lot of exams and research projects where you need to analyze data and understand it. If we have trouble understanding the data, we can talk with professors.
Is there anything you feel your majors’ departments do especially well or poorly?
With the Computer Science department, the professors are more focused on what’s going on in the industry and students can get their hands-on stuff like virtual reality machines and 3D printers. We’re able to focus more on shifts in the industry and what’s trending, which is a positive.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s not too competitive because we only have about [5,250] undergraduates here. For the students pursuing higher degrees like law school or medical school, it is more competitive. But, I think most students are collaborative and are willing to help each other.
How accessible are your professors?
For me personally, I think the professors are very accessible. Sometimes you can just walk into their office without an appointment. Because there are not many students here, I feel like I can reach out to any professor at any time and they reply to my emails very fast.
How was transitioning academically as an international student? Were there any resources that helped you adapt?
For international students, when you get accepted there is a big gap between what you think college will be like and what it actually is like. At the beginning, I pushed myself very hard to join a circle of American friends and try to adapt to the culture because the culture’s totally different. I adapted by myself, but I believe there are resources that the college has that can help, like the wellness center.
Why did you pick your majors? Are you happy with your choice?
I’m really happy with my choice. In my job that I start in January, I am going to use a lot of computer science, mathematics, and economics because I will use data analytics and economic knowledge. The reason I chose the majors is that I think it will be a promising combination for the future with the rise of technology.
Reasons to Attend
1) It provides a very solid education.
2) The people are friendly and inclusive.
3) The places around us are good. If you are a medical or dental student, there is the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospital here and the college has relationships with them.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) If you cannot stand the severe weather conditions here. It is snowy and windy.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Norton House in a double. It was very nice.
Sophomore-Senior: One-bedroom apartment in University Circle
How was transitioning from Shenzhen, China to Cleveland, OH in terms of location?
Shenzhen is a very modern city and the weather is very warm, but Cleveland is very cold and is pretty small. I don’t see many people here, which I think is good because I don’t want too many distractions. [The population of Cleveland is about 384,000.]
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
Personally, I have never encountered a robbery or anything like that, but I do get email alerts about when things happen and you need to avoid a certain area. I get that maybe every two weeks, so there are frequent events happening around us.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I like to go out and do outdoor activities. In the winter, there is skiing and ice skating and when it’s warm there is kayaking, hiking, and rock-climbing sites. There are a lot of clubs that go out and do that, but I also have a circle of friends that I like to do that sort of stuff with.
What have been some of your favorite events at Case Western?
One is the Chinese Festival where we have hundreds of students come to a dinner. It’s held by the Chinese Student Association and it’s a time where everybody, no matter their race or gender, can join and enjoy some very nice traditional Chinese food. My other favorite events are when Case Western brings in famous speakers.
How happy are you with the weekend options? Is there anything you would change if you could?
When I was a freshman and sophomore, I spent my weekends here in Cleveland. But, after junior and senior year, I got fed up with Cleveland because it’s not a big city, so if I want to spend a weekend out, I’ll go on a trip to Chicago, New York, or another city.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I met my friends mostly through orientation, people who lived in the same [freshman year] residence hall as me, people in my classes, and people in my organizations.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Case Western Reserve?
Since the weather’s cold, people don’t go out much and do social events. That’s why we host events to gather people together [with the Chinese Student Association]. In general, I don’t think people socialize much. When people are freshmen and sophomores, they are very open, but when they get older, they don’t want to leave their social circle.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I think that would be a big pro for CWRU because it has been focusing on diversity and inclusion for many years. That’s a core value for this college. I don’t see any microaggressions or racial discrimination in public or private encounters. People here are very friendly to any race, where they’re from or what background they have. For example, we played volleyball and some students couldn’t reach the net or give a strong serve, but nobody blamed them for that. In that sense, the environment is very inclusive. It’s very common to see diverse groups of friends on campus. [The undergraduate population is 43% White, 4% Black, 23% Asian American, 11% Hispanic, and 13% international.]
To what extent do international students and domestic students mix socially?
That gets tricky because international students make up [13%] of the student population here and most of them are Chinese, so it’s a great ratio for Chinese students. I would say there are two groups of international students, the Chinese students and the rest. The Chinese students prefer to hang out with the Chinese students and the rest of the students are pretty mixed. [See Crain’s Cleveland article, “The China-to-Case Western Reserve University pipeline is flowing at full speed.”]
To what extent do students in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I do have friends in Greek life and I’m not in Greek life. Greek life is very common at Case Western but they also have friends outside of Greek life. [About 28% of men are in fraternities and 36% of women are in sororities.]
As an international student, were there any parts of Case Western, or American university in general, that surprised you when you arrived?
Nothing surprised me because I went to an international school where we received a similar education as students in the U.S. and watched films from the U.S. It was all pretty reasonable.
Do you think people are generally happy with their choice of Case Western by senior year? Do you think people leave loving Case Western?
I think during freshman year want to transfer because Cleveland is too cold and there isn’t much to do here. They like the school, they just don’t like the city, and they stay in Cleveland probably because they have to. I’m happy because I think life outside of school is important, but I think school is the most important.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
The alumni association has events in China that I’ve been to.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
For the Computer Science majors, I’ve learned a lot of programming languages, such as Java, C, C+, and some robotics languages.