**Case Western Class of 2011**

[hybridvigor]

Anyone else?

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[pomdemonium]

Count me in!

 

[WitchDoctor]

me too!

 

[PZMO]

how about a trying-to-decide? It's a strong possibility though.

 

[pomdemonium]

how about a trying-to-decide? It's a strong possibility though.

Glad to have you, too! I think most people haven't completely decided yet, anyway. Good luck with your decision--I saw the other thread you started on Case vs. Pitt. I basically had the same decision as you last year (except with a different state school), and I chose Case. (I was accepted for the Class of 2010, but deferred a year.) Feel free to ask or PM me if you have any questions (though I'm from Illinois, I lived in Pittsburgh for a few years)!

 

[PZMO]

thanks for the support! since you were accepted for 2010, did you go to last year's second look weekend? just wondering what to expect.

 

[hybridvigor]

Did they tell you a date yet for the second look weekend? There's a chance I'll be out of the country at the time, but more than likely I'll see you guys there.

 

[pomdemonium]

thanks for the support! since you were accepted for 2010, did you go to last year's second look weekend? just wondering what to expect.

Yup, I went to Second Look last year, and was really impressed. I felt that Case was by far the best fit for me, and was really amazed at the faculty's dedication & commitment to students. A couple dozen clinical faculty had lunch with us that Saturday, and about 18 deans/faculty/alumni opened their homes to us for dinner that night. None of the other Second Looks I was invited to had anything like that on their agenda!

Second Look last year was mostly paid for by Case (not sure if that's true this year)--they paid up to $175 for travel & put us up in the Intercontinental (2/room) for free. (I was traveling with someone & thought it would be a bit weird to room with another prospie --they were really cool about paying for 1/2 the room, instead--it came to about $45/night. Not bad for such a nice hotel!)

Second Look was March 24-26 last year, hybridvigor--not sure about this year, yet. I think they sent us "Save the Date" cards in Jan.

I'm really bummed that "Doc Opera" (the student-run musical with spoofs and skits to benefit the Free Clinic) won't be on the agenda this year, though. They moved it to Dec. because it takes up a lot of time and used to be in March right before USMLE. It was fun watching the deans and some faculty members participate, too, even if I didn't get all of the inside jokes!

 

[pomdemonium]

Good luck deciding! You can't go wrong, either way!

 

[hybridvigor]

Hey all,

I'm also a "strong maybe" for Case. I, too, was thinking Pitt > Case as I entered the application season (there seems to be an echo in here), but after visiting both schools, I think I may prefer Case. We shall see.

Frogs

I get the feeling from reading previous threads in this forum that many students choose between Case and Pitt. I interviewed at Pitt a few days ago (wanted to see for myself) and came away feeling like FroggieBet described. I mean, Pitt has some extremely good aspects to the school (especially NIH funding), but I just didn't get the same feeling I got with Case. I liked their WISER center, but its not like you spend alot of time there. I also liked Pittsburgh a little better than Cleveland although I didnt get a chance to see downtown Cleveland (which may make me unqualified to comment, but such is most of the advice on this site). The topic came up during my student interview, which went something like this:

me: what other schools were you considering?
him: I was deciding on here and Case western.
me: really? I'm looking at those two schools as well. what made you choose pitt over case?
him: well, I interviewed at case but didn't get in.
me: *blank look*
him: i liked that case was truly pass/fail and that they don't have class on thursday. thats huge.
me: *more blank looks and wondering why he is selling me case* yeah, i guess so.
him: we have honors/pass/fail

...proceeds to tell me how honors/pass/fail actually does breed competition (he was upset that his 93% didn't make honors by 2% points), which is against the premise of the non-grading system.

For me, having Thursdays off may be the biggest deciding factor between the two (even though there are some things scheduled during this time with the new curriculum getting established). I heard that Stanford kids love having their Wednesdays off. Less class time also lets me do somethings in the afternoon (research, hangout, etc). Now, I don't want to start a war with the Pitt people - especially because the only things I mention above are subjective to one's own feelings and can therefore be argued for one way or another. Good luck in you decision - hopefully some people already at Pitt and Case can answer some more of your questions. I hope they don't schedule their second-look weekends on the same day like they have in the past.

 

[pomdemonium]

I had a similar impression last year--Pitt is a great school, but it just wasn't for me. Initially I really thought that if I got in, I would probably go, but after going to Case's and Pitt's interviews and Second Looks, I just couldn't see myself at Pitt.

Your conversation with the student interviewer from Pitt was too funny! My student interviewer also told me that the H/P/F system was stressful, and that being graded on a modified curve wasn't much fun (he said the average of their last exam was in the high 80's, and you have to score 1 standard deviation above that to get honors). When I went to Pitt's Second Look, some of the students had generously volunteered to drive prospectives to a social function at the Andy Warhol museum. However, they didn't go to the event itself--a bunch of them sat in their cars and studied, instead. I asked if there was an exam in the next week or 2, and they looked at me like I was crazy and said no. At dinner during Second Look, one of the women kept muttering under her breath that maybe there would be time to make flashcards when she got home, and the other current students at my table chided her and said they had made a pact not to talk about school at the dinner. However, that made it a bit awkward, because as a prospective, I wanted to know more about their school from their perspective! Maybe it was just the people I ran into at Pitt, but these experiences didn't make me feel at home. I definitely expect to study a lot during med school, but I don't want the feeling that everyone has to study every single second in order to score a few points higher in the hopes of getting honors. This was just my experience, though--I know others have had different encounters and experiences!

Also, this is just my opinion, but I also felt that Case was more organized and had more administrative support. Pitt's Second Look weekend was a bit less structured and mostly student-run (they posted a schedule online but changed it at the last minute, they forgot to introduce the keynote speaker and almost went on to the next thing without having him give his talk , the current students had a disagreement with the waitstaff at dinner, and we were held hostage for 45 minutes while they worked out the bill ), but Case's was very organized and smooth--the administration took care of everything. Personally, I liked the feeling that the administration were there to support you, but I never felt like I was being smothered (unlike another school to which I was accepted). When I asked for my deferral, Case told me that as a matter of course, I could apply to other schools during the year off. I was startled by that--when I spoke with the then-Assoc. Dean of Admissions, she said that they wanted people who were enthusiastic about Case. If things had changed in people's lives or they didn't think they'd be happy there, she felt they should have the chance to go elsewhere if they wanted (but they'd still keep their spot open for the next year without any regrets). She even went so far as to volunteer to talk with the Dean of Admissions for another school at which I was waitlisted to explain my situation and tell them that they should consider accepting me. I was so impressed by the administration (not just the Dean, but that's one example)!

The non-competitive atmosphere (especially for the pre-clinical years) and having lots of unscheduled time were also key factors in my decision. When we asked of current students, "What's the one thing you wish you had known earlier about the school?" lots of students mentioned wished they had taken better advantage of the unstructured time, like taking classes for fun (IIRC, you can take undergrad classes and some grad classes for free).

These are just my personal opinions, though! Of course, I'm biased, since I've already committed to Case, but I feel people have to go with what makes sense for them and also where they think they'd be happiest in order to do their best. Case isn't for everyone--when we had a little down time, one of my fellow interviewees said that she couldn't see herself there. She said, "Everyone here is so friendly...and I'm not." Other people didn't like Second Look, because they felt it was too structured and they wanted more social events (though we did have 2 nights of events at restaurant/bars). Good luck to you all in your decisions, and I hope I get to meet you during Second Look!

 

[Schaden Freud]

Hey guys, I'm coming to interview at Case in a few days and have one evening to see as much of the area as possible. I've never been to Cleveland, and have heard rather mixed reviews, so feel it necessary to really get a glimpse of where I may be spending four years of my life. Considering my time constraints, where should I venture in the city? I imagine I'll do a bit of exploring around the University Circle/Little Italy area- but I should bother going downtown? Any other areas where med students typically flock to that may be of interest?
I appreciate any advice!

 

[pomdemonium]

Schaden Freud--I PM'ed you a link to a Case student website they gave us last year and a couple people to contact. I'd be happy to PM these things to anyone else who asks, but I didn't want to post the URL publicly here (there were concerns about student privacy last year, since it's not a password-protected site).

I have an electronic student guidebook that people might find useful, but it was too large to attach here.

Edit: I found a link for it: http://casemed.case.edu/csr/Guide/guide.html
Enjoy!

 

[TeNa]

Hi,

Do you mind sending me this link also. I'm interviewing at Case in a couple of days and would like to get some more info about the school and the area. Thanks!

 

[pomdemonium]

Hi,

Do you mind sending me this link also. I'm interviewing at Case in a couple of days and would like to get some more info about the school and the area. Thanks!

Check your PMs! There's also a ton of info about the curriculum on this website:
http://casemed.case.edu/curricularaffairs/newcurriculum/index.htm

Good luck!

 

[pomdemonium]

Wow pom,

Thanks so much for your post about Case vs. Pitt! I'm really going to keep everything you've said in mind.

You know, I've often found myself moaning about what a pain in the a$$ it is to travel everywhere for these interviews- and yet, it seems that it really is worth the trouble. I'm still going to keep thinking about it, but I can really see myself choosing Case over Pitt.

Frogs

You're very welcome!

Yeah, at first I was only going to travel for interviews until I was accepted to my state school. But when that happened, I decided it was worth the extra money and time to keep going to interviews of schools I thought I *might* consider. I'm really glad I did--as I visited more schools, I got a better sense of what I wanted and where I felt comfortable. And, as it turned out, I made the crazy decision to attend Case instead, which I never would have done if I'd stopped with my state school!

Good luck to you, and I hope you can make it to Second Look!

 

[PZMO]

Well, I've decided... at least 99.9% sure.... I'm going to Case!!! Can't wait to meet you all

 

[pomdemonium]

Well, I've decided... at least 99.9% sure.... I'm going to Case!!! Can't wait to meet you all

Yayy! Of course, you've still got time to decide for sure, and you might want to go to some Second Looks, but I'm looking forward to meeting you in person!

 

[TeNa]

Hey, has anyone been accepted to Case after being put on hold yet?

 

[pomdemonium]

Hey, has anyone been accepted to Case after being put on hold yet?

I thought I saw someone on SDN whose MDapplicants profile said that he was put on hold and told that he wouldn't be re-reviewed until later, but was called by Christian Essman a few weeks ago and told that he was accepted. I can't remember his screen name, though. IIRC, there were a bunch of people who got off of the "hold" category later in the cycle last year (some time in the late winter/early spring? My memory fails me. ). Good luck to you, and I hope you get in!

 

[hcgonadotropin]

I'm in too.

Can't wait for second look.

How about making a facebook group?

 

[sciencewonk]

Facebook Group now available!
(search for "Case School of Medicine Class of 2011")

 

[pomdemonium]

Happy New Year, everyone!

Congrats to hcgonadotropin and sciencewonk! Hope to meet you at Second Look!

Thanks for setting up the Facebook Group! I've gotta make a profile--that's another one of those things that I've been meaning to do, but haven't gotten around to yet....

 

[Hoooba]

Hey guys,

I haven't been on SDN for a while. Glad to see the 2011 Case thread has been started. I'm currently a first year at Case Med. Feel free to ask any questions you have about Case Med or the Cleveland area Good luck to everyone,

 

[cubbbie]

Hey guys,

I haven't been on SDN for a while. Glad to see the 2011 Case thread has been started. I'm currently a first year at Case Med. Feel free to ask any questions you have about Case Med or the Cleveland area Good luck to everyone,

I like your photos. You seem to be able to make mundane things beautiful. Excellent use of light. I think you should work your magic on Cleveland and present us all with a showing of the exoticism of your (and maybe our) new home.

 

[Hoooba]

I like your photos. You seem to be able to make mundane things beautiful. Excellent use of light. I think you should work your magic on Cleveland and present us all with a showing of the exoticism of your (and maybe our) new home.

Haha thanks. i haven't actually taken any shoots in Cleveland yet. I messed up my camera when I was in Honduras so I recently just got another one. Actually I think Cleveland is a very photogenic city. I like the industrial look that most people don't especially in some of the downtown areas. There's a huge cemetery close to campus that's actually really nice although a bit weird. Although some of the orthodox churches around here make for some nice architectural shots.

 

[lilold3chordme]

hey everyone,

though i'm not 100%, i'm definitely leaning towards case for the fall. i was wondering, though, if anyone noticed that on the acceptance acknowledgment page (on iapply, once they've received your signed copy of the acceptance), it says that they have the right to rescind your spot if you hold more than one acceptance after may 1st. does anyone know why they go with may 1st when all other schools abide by the may 15th rule? in case anyone didn't notice, keep that in mind.

good luck on the rest of the process, and happy new year...

 

[pomdemonium]

hey everyone,

though i'm not 100%, i'm definitely leaning towards case for the fall. i was wondering, though, if anyone noticed that on the acceptance acknowledgment page (on iapply, once they've received your signed copy of the acceptance), it says that they have the right to rescind your spot if you hold more than one acceptance after may 1st. does anyone know why they go with may 1st when all other schools abide by the may 15th rule? in case anyone didn't notice, keep that in mind.

good luck on the rest of the process, and happy new year...

Hi lilold3chordme!

Congrats on the acceptance!

The acknowledgement page says May 1st because according to the AMCAS traffic rules, schools that start in July (or something like that) can compel people to hold only one spot by April 15. Since Case starts so early (I think around July 9th or so), they have less time to sort out who's actually matriculating and who they need to take off the waitlist. If you're still waiting on info from other schools to make your decision (like financial aid info), you can contact them before that date and keep them informed. They're really reasonable--I hadn't heard back about some important info from one of my other schools by that date last year, but I let them know a bit early and they extended the deadline for me.

Hope that helps! Do you think you'll be able to make it to Second Look?

 

[lilold3chordme]

thanks for the info, it makes sense to me now. and it's also nice to know that the school is generally understanding about people's situations if the need arises.

i've got the 2nd look dates circled on my calendar as we "speak". looking forward to it.

cheers!

 

[hcgonadotropin]

I'm def coming to second look. Cant wait!

Is anyone of you an international student on an F1 visa?

 

[pomdemonium]

Hey guys,

I haven't been on SDN for a while. Glad to see the 2011 Case thread has been started. I'm currently a first year at Case Med. Feel free to ask any questions you have about Case Med or the Cleveland area Good luck to everyone,

Hi Hoooba!

I third the vote for Cleveland pics!

Do you have any suggestions on finding housing in Cleveland? Where do students find info on housing/apartments/rent houses/duplexes (besides the admissions/student affairs office)? When is the best time to look for stuff? Any suggestions on realtors for rental properties and/or regular home sales?

Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

[hcgonadotropin]

When I was there for my interview, I thought I might have heard about the Waldorf... don't know much about it.
Is that where most of the first years stay?

 

[goongirl]

The Waldorf is a building about 10-15min. walk from school. About 35 first years live there currently, I think. The problem with the Waldorf is that it's really expensive (by cleveland standards) for no real reason, generally anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars more to double the price of other places for the same space. I personally didn't like the interior of the building, to me it's like an old art deco hotel but not in a good way, so I didn't choose to live there but there are plenty who really like it. It's a big safe building with a bunch of other students and they always have housing available and there's free continental breakfast in the mornings.

Most first years live in the vicinity of Overlook Rd. (feel free to google map it, the Waldorf's on this road too) & Murray Hill (Little Italy). These places are about a 5-15 min. walk from school, with Murray Hill being the closest. There's a ton of small apartment buildings along Overlook and a lot of apartments for rent on Murray Hill. Many of the buildings on Overlook will be listed on online resources, but you can also just come to cleveland in june and walk up and down those roads and you'll see "for rent" signs everywhere. If you're willing to live a bit farther (20-25min walk or 5 min drive), South Overlook is a popular residential road filled with houses/duplexes and a bunch of people live around Cedar Ave. too. Housing in cleveland is plentiful and cheap. I've got no info. about realtors, but several first years bought houses.

 

[goongirl]

Hey goongirl,
Are there any residential areas within easy walking distance to both Case Med and to a grocery store? Such a living arrangement would preclude the necessity of having a car, thus saving mucho $$$.

Um, depends on your definition of "easy walking distance." The closest grocery store is on Cedar and Fairmount. If you live a couple of blocks from there in the direction of the school, you'll be about a 15/20min.+ walk from school. In general, all my friends w/o cars just go to the store when their friends with cars do or ask for rides.

 

[hybridvigor]

Hey Folks-
Your resident technophile here. I figured since Case is such a techie campus, we should embrace technology. I've made some google calendars for our class and the school in general. If you havent tried out google calendars yet, I recommend you give it a try. PM me for write-access (to be able to add events).

These links are also available on the unofficial Case Wiki I made (more on this later): http://editthis.info/casewestern/Class_of_2011

'''CWRU Med School-Wide Calendar'''
To View:
http://www.google.com/calendar/[email protected]
To Subscribe (must have google calendar account): http://www.google.com/calendar/[email protected]

'''Class of 2011 Calendar'''
To View: http://www.google.com/calendar/[email protected]
To Subscribe (must have google calendar account):
http://www.google.com/calendar/[email protected]

This might also be useful:
'''U.S. Holidays Calendar'''
To View:
http://www.google.com/calendar/[email protected]
To Subscribe (must have google calendar account) http://www.google.com/calendar/[email protected]

 

[hybridvigor]

Hi again,
In anticipation of the kinds of questions that are starting to be asked around here (and for future use), there are now Wiki-based "unofficial guides" to both Case campus and Cleveland (info on living, getting around, etc). Most of the information came from Case med students, but this is something that we can work on to keep current and informational. I've added Google maps and links to as much stuff as I could find online. I'll try and incorporate the information that I see posted on here into the site. I hope that you guys can help contribute any information you might know about Case life (must make an account).

There are still many sections of the overall site that are in progress, but I think the guides will help out greatly. I'm working with the official Case Wiki (also in nascent stages) admins to merge the two Wikis, but ya'll needn't worry about that right now.

Unofficial Case Wiki:
http://editthis.info/casewestern/Main_Page
Case Med Wiki:
http://editthis.info/casewestern/Medical_School
Campus Guide:
http://editthis.info/casewestern/Campus_Guide
Cleveland Guide:
http://editthis.info/casewestern/Cleveland_Guide

Cheers!

 

[cubbbie]

Hi again,
In anticipation of the kinds of questions that are starting to be asked around here (and for future use), there are now Wiki-based "unofficial guides" to both Case campus and Cleveland (info on living, getting around, etc). Most of the information came from Case med students, but this is something that we can work on to keep current and informational. I've added Google maps and links to as much stuff as I could find online. I'll try and incorporate the information that I see posted on here into the site. I hope that you guys can help contribute any information you might know about Case life (must make an account).

Wow -- go you!

 

[Hoooba]

Hi Hoooba!

I third the vote for Cleveland pics!

Do you have any suggestions on finding housing in Cleveland? Where do students find info on housing/apartments/rent houses/duplexes (besides the admissions/student affairs office)? When is the best time to look for stuff? Any suggestions on realtors for rental properties and/or regular home sales?

Thanks for any info you can provide!

Hi pomdemonium,

I used the off-campus housing site to find my current apartment. Here's the link
http://studentaffairs.case.edu/living/services/aloha/

It's probably too early to start looking now. When I came in early May to look for an apartment it was a bit early and there weren't many openings. I think the best time is probably starting in late May. If you like to live on the edge, you could come a couple days before school starts and find somewhere to move into but I wouldn't advise that

Some of the popular apartment buildings I know are the Waldorf, the Triangle, and the University Heights building above Quiznos on Euclid. They're all in the high price range though. A lot of the apartments on Overlook rd. have 1 bedrooms in the 650-750 range. I'm not sure how much the 2 bedrooms are though. It's good to have an idea about the housing situation when you come to look but I wouldn't worry about it now. Just enjoy the time you have before school starts again in the summer

Let me know if you have any questions

 

[pomdemonium]

goongirl--Thanks for your post! We will definitely check out the South Overlook area when we hunt for housing!

Hoooba--Thanks for the link and info! Heh--I know it's really early to start looking! But I have quite a menagerie of critters, and I'm not sure we can find anything suitable to rent (or anyone crazy enough to rent to us ), so we might have to try to buy something. Plus, we currently have a house, and we'd like to find a new place before putting our house on the market (preferably before mid-June). It's good to know that rentals are plentiful starting in late May, though--that way, if we can't find anything sooner, we'll have more to look at later!

Thanks to both of you for taking the time to share your knowledge!

 

[pomdemonium]

Hi again,
In anticipation of the kinds of questions that are starting to be asked around here (and for future use), there are now Wiki-based "unofficial guides" to both Case campus and Cleveland (info on living, getting around, etc).

Dang! Thanks for setting this up and populating them! (And now I know who to go to if I have a techie question! )

 

[CCLCMer]

Hey all,

I'm also a "strong maybe" for Case. I, too, was thinking Pitt > Case as I entered the application season (there seems to be an echo in here), but after visiting both schools, I think I may prefer Case. We shall see.

Frogs

Hi all,

I'm a first year student in the College program (CCLCM) at Case. I just wanted to drop in and say congrats to everyone accepted. I had the same hard choice last year between Pitt and the two Case MD programs (UP and CCLCM). It seems like both schools wind up accepting a lot of the same people, and I think you really can't go wrong picking either one. If you're not sure what to do yet, wait and see what kind of financial aid packages you get in a few months, and definitely go to the second look weekends so you can meet some of your potential future classmates. Those were some of the major deciding factors for me. Plus I just really liked my program's curriculum the best.

Pom, I'm sorry that you guys won't get to see Doc Opera at second look this year, but you should definitely join the performance next year. It's a really great show.

 

[pomdemonium]

Pom, I'm sorry that you guys won't get to see Doc Opera at second look this year, but you should definitely join the performance next year. It's a really great show.

I'd love to be a part of it, but I can't sing or dance! I guess it's theater crew for me!

Were you in it this year?

 

[Lanced]

Hey all,

Pom and I are both bringing our dogs to med school with us. We've been PMing each other about the possibility of living close to each other so that we can find dog-friendly housing more easily, our dogs can have playmates, we can split dog-walking responsibilities, etc.

Are there any other dog lovers who would care to identify themselves? If so, please PM Pom or me. Folks who don't have a dogs, but think it would be fun to live with them are welcome, too.

Frogs

I'm not 100% sure I'm going to Case yet, but will definitely be there for second look. Definitely love dogs, maybe going to get one now to bring with (probably shouldn't until I'm 100% where I'm going though). I love that lots of Case students have dogs though!

 

[pomdemonium]

I'm not 100% sure I'm going to Case yet, but will definitely be there for second look. Definitely love dogs, maybe going to get one now to bring with (probably shouldn't until I'm 100% where I'm going though). I love that lots of Case students have dogs though!

The topic of dogs came up while I was at the interview (I didn't even bring it up first! ). One current student said that he used to take his dog to classes with him during undergrad, and he wasn't the only one.

What kind of dog are you considering?

 

[JDWflash44]

Just wanted to congratulate and welcome you guys to the Case class of '11. I'm a first year in the college program so we will be graduating with you guys in '11 since our program is 5 years...

 

[TeNa]

Has anyone being accepted after being put on post interview hold this year? Previous year? Case is my top choice and I was just wondering if my chances are slim after being put on hold.

 

[goongirl]

Several of my friends in my class were accepted off the waitlist in may and june, so it definitely happens. Best of luck!

 

[Choolie]

I was accepted after being put on hold last year (and then being waitlisted). I know several people on the forums last year were also accepted off the waitlist.

I actually deferred last year, so I'll be starting in July as well! I'm really excited about it! Does anyone know if the financial aid packets have been mailed yet?

 

[pomdemonium]

Just wanted to congratulate and welcome you guys to the Case class of '11. I'm a first year in the college program so we will be graduating with you guys in '11 since our program is 5 years...

Thanks, JDWflash! Hopefully we'll all be able to meet up from time to time, despite being in different programs!

 

[pomdemonium]

I actually deferred last year, so I'll be starting in July as well! I'm really excited about it! Does anyone know if the financial aid packets have been mailed yet?

I deferred, too! I got an email on 1/19 stating that the financial aid application was up on iApply (you have to log in and click on the "Financial Aid" tab at the top). I'm not sure that we'll get anything separately by snail mail this year--it looks like they're utilizing iApply a lot more these days. Check your spam filter! (And if you didn't get the email, it was sent from [email protected] -- you might want to email them and ask about that, or ask the Fin Aid office/Admissions office to make sure you're on all their email lists.)