**Case Western Class of 2011**

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
They just sent a group e-mail out to several of us who had responded, saying that Second Look Weekend is full and we have been placed on a waiting list. Argh! Waitlisted again! ;)

Members don't see this ad.
 
I just got waitlisted too (to 2nd look, not the med school, thank god.) Boo! I hope they figure out some way to accomodate more people.
 
There's a waitlist for 2nd look, what brilliant ideas will CCE think of next? :rolleyes:
 
Members don't see this ad :)
To ease the confusion of figuring out who people are, I created a facebook group for the Case Second Look Weekend. The facebook group is called "Case School of Medicine Second Look Weekend 2007".
 
Does anyone know who to contact about the second look weekend? I think today's the last day to sign up (if only for the waitlist), and I don't have the letter with me here at work. I want to see whether I can come to Cleveland and at least attend the social-type events to meet people and check out the area, even if I can't do all the second look activities.

Thanks!
 
Reverend Doc,

You need to email your RSVP to Ms. Nicol at [email protected]. Include in your email your name, daytime phone number, what nights you need overnight accomodations, gender, age, whether you have any special needs, and when you will be staying until on sunday.

Joey
 
Thanks for the info, Joey.

I just sent an email to the office, BDD. I'll let you know what they have to say. (I just realized I owe you a pm. I'll get on that soon.) :)
 
Hey guys, it turns out that I won't be able to make it to second look weekend. A family emergency has come up, and I'll be out of the country. So the waitlist should be moving, if only by one spot :laugh: ! I hope you all have a great time.
 
Hey guys, it turns out that I won't be able to make it to second look weekend. A family emergency has come up, and I'll be out of the country. So the waitlist should be moving, if only by one spot :laugh: ! I hope you all have a great time.

Sorry to hear about your family emergency. :( I hope everything turns out okay soon! :luck:
 
I RSVP'd for second look on Feb 3, but I never heard back from Case. I'm not sure what to think guys! For those of you that are going, did you hear back from Case, or only those on the waitlist?
 
I RSVP'd for second look on Feb 3, but I never heard back from Case. I'm not sure what to think guys! For those of you that are going, did you hear back from Case, or only those on the waitlist?

They sent me a confirmation email with more info.
 
They sent me a confirmation email with more info.

Me, too!

cagey--you should probably call and check to make sure nothing's gone awry. Here's Barbara Nicol's phone number: (216) 368-5515. Hope the email just got spam filtered or something!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Just thought it might be fun to meet some of you in person! I completely understand if you want to preserve your anonymity, but if you're up for saying hi (and/or want to have someone you "know" to talk to at the beginning of the evening ;) ), let's meet up!

The reception on Friday starts at 6:30pm, so how about 6:45pm (unless the dean is speaking or something like that)? Since the reception is at the hotel, maybe we could meet by the porter's podium by the front door? Anyone else have any other suggestions? Who's with me? :)
 
Sorry to hear you guys have been waitlisted for Second Look! :( I hope you're welcome at the social events, including the reception! If not, then maybe some of us could meet separately for coffee or something (IIRC, the InterContinental Suites has a great flourless chocolate cake! :) ) between registration and the reception?
 
Dear rev.doc,

Although we would like to open the Second Look Weekend to everyone, we are not able to accommodate more people than are on our list of registered students for the weekend events. Just a few of the issues involved in the weekend include space, food and transportation. We, Dr. Mehta, Christian Essman, Dean Ornt and I, discussed this thoroughly and are really unable to make it work for more than the 130 students currently registered.

Our waiting list is 25+ and most of those people have the same requests you do; wishing to get their own room and attending the events. We will be happy to send any printed material passed out during the weekend to you if you would like.

Sincerely,
Barbara

It seems like we could still set up an informal gathering for those of us who cant get into the second look weekend. Meeting for dinner/drinks/brunch somewhere would be fun.
 
Just thought it might be fun to meet some of you in person! I completely understand if you want to preserve your anonymity, but if you're up for saying hi (and/or want to have someone you "know" to talk to at the beginning of the evening ;) ), let's meet up!

The reception on Friday starts at 6:30pm, so how about 6:45pm (unless the dean is speaking or something like that)? Since the reception is at the hotel, maybe we could meet by the porter's podium by the front door? Anyone else have any other suggestions? Who's with me? :)

I'd be down for that. Anytime and any place is fine by me. Remind us a little closer to the date ...
 
Just thought it might be fun to meet some of you in person! I completely understand if you want to preserve your anonymity, but if you're up for saying hi (and/or want to have someone you "know" to talk to at the beginning of the evening ;) ), let's meet up!

The reception on Friday starts at 6:30pm, so how about 6:45pm (unless the dean is speaking or something like that)? Since the reception is at the hotel, maybe we could meet by the porter's podium by the front door? Anyone else have any other suggestions? Who's with me? :)

yeah I'm down for that too
 
I would be up for that also. I will probably be getting into Cleveland on thursday night, so any time friday works for me. If it is easier, I created a facebook group for the 2nd look weekend. It is called "Case School of Medicine Second Look Weekend 2007". It might be easier to plan stuff if you know who you are talking with.
 
Are any waitlisters planning on visiting Cleveland during the same time as Second Look? If so, we could meet during a time we're all available (probably between registration and the reception if that works for everyone). If not, it's probably easier to meet up at the reception the first night.

If you're a waitlister and you'd like to join us, please post or PM me! I'd love to meet you, too! Thanks! :)

If I don't hear from any waitlisters by Tuesday night, I'm going to assume that there aren't any who are interested, and I'll post confirming time and meeting place (tentatively at the beginning of the reception).

Can't wait to meet you guys in a week! :D
 
Are any waitlisters planning on visiting Cleveland during the same time as Second Look? If so, we could meet during a time we're all available (probably between registration and the reception if that works for everyone). If not, it's probably easier to meet up at the reception the first night.

If you're a waitlister and you'd like to join us, please post or PM me! I'd love to meet you, too! Thanks! :)


My SO and I will be in Cleveland to walk around campus and look at neighborhoods. We don't get in until Saturday morning, but I would love to meet up with anyone who's around.
 
My SO and I will be in Cleveland to walk around campus and look at neighborhoods. We don't get in until Saturday morning, but I would love to meet up with anyone who's around.

I'm sorry I'll miss meeting you and your SO! :( But Second Look programming is pretty packed on Saturday, and I'm probably leaving right after the brunch on Sunday. I hope you have a great time exploring, though! :thumbup:

My hubby and I are in the process of closing on a house right now, so feel free to PM me or ask any questions (that goes for anyone)! :)
 
Some of you mentioned that you might start looking for housing around Second Look weekend--here are a few links I found that I thought might be useful (I am in no way affiliated with any of these sites):

http://rentalhouses.com -- has listings on houses, apartments, and duplexes

http://www.cleveland.com/realestate/ -- the main local Cleveland paper's (The Plain Dealer) real estate section

http://studentaffairs.case.edu/living/services/aloha/ -- Case's off-campus housing listing service

http://www.freetimes.com/ -- local free paper with real estate listings

http://www.sunnews.com/index.htm -- another Cleveland paper with real estate/rental listings

http://www.roomster.net/ -- not that much traffic, but has a few listings

http://www.pluggedincleveland.com/housing/ -- another local Cleveland site

Hope this helps someone! We wound up buying a house, but I had looked into renting in Cleveland Heights/Shaker Heights/University Heights prior to that. I'm not from Ohio, but I'd be more than happy to answer any questions, especially about realtors/buying a house! Good luck, everyone! :)
 
Hey pom,

Thanks for the links. We're probably looking to buy, though we'd start later on this summer. I haven't totally decided about Case yet; we just wanted to get a better sense of what the area would be like to live in.

Sorry to miss you and your husband. I hope you have a great time at Second Look -- and please post how it was afterward. I'd love to hear what it was like.
 
Hey pom,

Thanks for the links. We're probably looking to buy, though we'd start later on this summer. I haven't totally decided about Case yet; we just wanted to get a better sense of what the area would be like to live in.

Sorry to miss you and your husband. I hope you have a great time at Second Look -- and please post how it was afterward. I'd love to hear what it was like.

No problem--if you do decide to go to Case, let me know and I'd be more than happy to talk with you about different areas, etc.!

Many med students live in Cleveland Heights (Overlook Rd. area)--I spoke with and/or emailed a current student who lives in Cleveland Hts, one who lives in Shaker Heights (the far western end, close to Shaker Square), and one who lives in a condo in Shaker Square. Be sure to check out those areas! :thumbup:

I'll definitely post a recap after Second Look! :)
 
Hey everyone!

Okay--I haven't heard from any waitlisters who can make it, so let's meet at the welcome reception ~6:45pm! I guess we can meet by the entry or the front of the lobby or something. I don't want to post my picture on a public forum, but maybe I'll print out my avatar and pin it to my name tag so people can find me. :) I'm sure we'll figure it out!

See you there!
 
hey pom, i just wanted some clarification .. you've been waitlisted for Second Look Weekend? b/c i've been waitlisted too, and would love for a chance to get to meet some future classmates.

are any other waitlisters, going to attend the information sessions and things where there might not be a restriction on the number of ppl?
 
Hey frozen,

Pom is going to the Second Look weekend. She invited those of us on the waitlist to meet up so we could get to know some people.

Waitlisters for 2nd look not allowed to go to any of the info sessions. I've sent two email asking about the possibility of it, and the answer is unequivocally no. I got this email a couple days ago:

Hello to all who have patiently waited to hear about Second Look Weekend openings. We wanted to let you know that all openings have now been filled and all registration is now closed. This means that even if a change occurs we are not able to add people. Also, because of space limitations and other logistical aspects, we are unable to invite the wait list students to single events or even events that might appear that it wouldn't make a difference.

We do still have a large number of students on the wait list and want to be fair to everyone, so to allow just some of the wait list people to attend events, is really not an option. The information passed out at Second Look will be posted on the web at https://iapply.case.edu/ and you may feel free to contact the admissions office for any additional information you may need.

We look forward to seeing you in July.
 
hey pom, i just wanted some clarification .. you've been waitlisted for Second Look Weekend? b/c i've been waitlisted too, and would love for a chance to get to meet some future classmates.

are any other waitlisters, going to attend the information sessions and things where there might not be a restriction on the number of ppl?

Hi frozenajd!

Unfortunately, rev doc is right--I'm officially attending Second Look, and waitlisters can't be accommodated. :( Rev doc is the only other waitlisted person I know of that's going to be in town that weekend.

I think that some people are informally meeting at ~1:15pm on Friday, though--check out the Facebook page that emt2therescue helpfully set up at "Case School of Medicine Second Look Weekend 2007" for details. I can't make it (we're doing the home inspection thing on Friday before the official events), but it looks like you'd be able to meet a bunch of people there! :)
 
So I had a fantastic time at Second Look Weekend! I thought the school did an amazing job at presenting the new curriculum and being enthusiastic about it. I was impressed not only with the students who were on the panel and Inquiry Group demo, but also with everyone that I met as a potential future classmate.

Anyone else have opinions? Have you made an official decision yet?

Only thing that kinda sucked was the bit about having to buy one of their computers...
 
Sorry I missed you guys at the beginning of the reception--our home inspection took almost 2 hours longer than scheduled (~4 hours total!), and I couldn't get there by 6:45pm. :( But I did meet cubbbie and her SO at the reception. I also think I met Lanced at the breakfast on Saturday. I probably met more of you without knowing it!

Anyway, here's my recap of Second Look, for those of you who weren't able to attend:

Friday
Reception -- Nice buffet, complete with chocolate fondue station and homemade cookies for dessert! (You can see where my priorities are, huh? ;) ) We got the chance to chat with other prospectives, and there were other current students (I met several MS1s, a couple MS2s, and an MS4) and faculty/staff present.

Artists in Medicine Performances -- Some current students displayed their talents by singing, MCing, etc. My favorites were the "Unplugged" version of Britney Spears' "Hit Me Baby One More Time" sung by two guys in almost a dirge-like fashion and the "Interpretive Dance" of celiac disease, complete with crumpled paper thrown out for antibodies and a Gillooly-esque subduing of the villi. :)

Saturday
Dean's Breakfast for students with faculty members -- This was a great buffet breakfast with faculty. I heard from a staff coordinator that there were even more faculty participating than last year! I sat with a faculty member on the curriculum committee who shared his insights.

He said that overall, things were going well, especially for the first time, though there were a few bumps in the road, which was to be expected. He said that before the change, students were almost inevitably doomed to acting like "junior high students" because of the setup of the curriculum, but after the change, he was very pleased to note that people seemed much more professional and collegial.

He also said that Cleveland's weather didn't usually get over 82 degrees in the summer (he only regretted not having AC for ~5 days a year), and there were lots of great parks nearby for outdoor activities.

Welcome Remarks -- Dean Davis used the "Blind Men and the Elephant" story to illustrate the multifaceted nature of and assumptions about the med school.

The rest of the morning wasn't in the order of the program, but I can't remember the actual order, so the following may not be in the right order:

Relocating to Cleveland Overview -- Christian highlighted the different areas where med students live, cost of living (cheap, compared to where I'm from!), etc. Any housing tips that come their way are posted on the Case student forum, and most students seem to live in Cleveland Heights, Little Italy and Shaker Heights, though some 3rd and 4th years live on the west side of the city if they plan to do most of their rotations at MetroHealth. The best part was the slideshow of other med schools with snow on the ground, as Christian said, "Guess what, it snows there, too!" :)

Case Inquiry Group – Part I
-- Several students and a faculty facilitator went through a case of a 28-year-old marathon runner who collapsed. It was cool to see them take apart the relevant details of the case and tease out the learning objectives. They seemed to work well together (they used to be an actual inquiry group).

Presentation by the Society Deans -- Dr. Ricanati told a cute story about his 2-year old son being afraid of the "Ned" shirt (instead of "Med"). He also emphasized that they write your Dean's letter (it's called something else now), and that they meet with you several times during the year every year, so your Dean's letter is really personalized and mentions your strengths. They also are there to help you on a 24-hour basis with academic and other problems. I was really impressed by the amount of administrative support available to students!

Dr. Haynie told a funny story about a woman who was overweight and had high blood pressure and bad knees as a result, but took umbrage at the resident suggesting she needed to lose weight. He took an unconventional approach, telling her she had an "overactive pentose cycle" which caused her to create lots of adipose tissue. ;)

eCurriculum Demonstration -- A student showed us the electronic weekly schedule, student directory with pictures and student-recorded snippets saying their name, videos of lectures from the "old" curriculum, in case you wanted more information on a certain topic, etc. Then the IT guy told us that we have to pick one of their 4 available computers. (I agree, Piper, that was a little disappointing.) But if you get one of their Dells, you get the warranty that will replace it free even if you close it on a banana or run over it with your car. :scared:

Cleveland Free Clinic presentation -- Dr. Weirich talked about the Free Clinic, and how he volunteered there every Tuesday night, even back when he was working in industry and had to take the redeye from all over the country, because it grounded him so. You can do elective rotations there, or volunteer as a history-taker, HIV counselor, etc. They have a big focus on treating their patients with a great deal of respect and compassion for their psychosocial stressors, in addition to their medical issues.

Unfortunately, I had to go back to the hotel for a personal issue at this time, so I didn't see the Case Inquiry Group – Part II, the Student Panel Discussion, or the Bus Tour of the Neighborhoods around Case and guided tour of the Mt. Sinai Skills and Simulation Center. (But Barb, one of the staff members, is AMAZING--I expected to take a bus back, but she drove me herself! :eek: She's a great example of how dedicated everyone is to the students there!)

Alumni Dinners -- We took vans to the homes of various alumni/faculty for dinner. I was again astounded at how devoted everyone was to the school--truly, this is a highly unusual event for a non-MSTP program. My group of ~6 people hung out at an alumni couple's house, enjoying their home's view of Lake Erie (it was ON the water--just gorgeous). The dinner was delicious, and they answered our questions about Case.

There was also an MS1 who was there to answer questions--he was very honest with his answers, not just glossing over everything to sell the place. He said that if you're expecting lots of lectures and to be spoon-fed all info, then Case probably isn't the place for you. But if you want to have more independent time to sort through material and control most of your schedule, as well as learn the material in an interactive way, then it's a great place. He was overall happy with his decision to attend, despite the uncertainty of a new curriculum (they're actively working on improving it further with feedback from faculty and students).

The Corner Alley -- Cute bowling alley downtown. Dr. Mehta was really enthusiastic. :) I was pretty exhausted by then, but had nice conversations with other prospectives before taking the shuttle ("A Touch of Class"...but apparently just a touch :laugh: ) back to the hotel.

Sunday
Wound up skipping the breakfast, since we had house stuff to take care of. :(

Anyway, I hope other people can fill in the gaps and/or give their perspective of the weekend! Feel free to PM me or post if you have any questions! I hope you all had as good a time as I did, and that you decide to attend!
 
Sorry I missed you guys at the beginning of the reception--our home inspection took almost 2 hours longer than scheduled (~4 hours total!), and I couldn't get there by 6:45pm. :( But I did meet cubbbie and her SO at the reception. I also think I met Lanced at the breakfast on Saturday. I probably met more of you without knowing it!

Anyway, here's my recap of Second Look, for those of you who weren't able to attend:

Wow, great wrap up! I'm miserable at keeping journals, so I might just have to cut and paste your summary into my journal so I can better remember this weekend.

It was nice to finally meet you pom! (See what I mean about my SO?)

So he is now very, very enthusiastic about the school, which is great. Even though I really don't know where I'm at in terms of choosing between Case and Columbia (I even had an MS-1 at Case tell me over the weekend that I should go to Columbia. What?!?), I'm glad I went because I do think that, no matter what happens, I will be pretty intimately connected to the school.

BTW, that Dr. Weirich was AMAZING!! Definitely the highlight of the weekend for me.
 
Then the IT guy told us that we have to pick one of their 4 available computers. (I agree, Piper, that was a little disappointing.)

Hi guys,

I wasn't at Second Look, unfortunately, but I've already made the decision to attend Case, so I'm super excited to meet you all in a few short months! Thanks for the details about the weekend. Can anyone further explain the computer situation? At the interview Christian said something like, "the computer is included in your first year tuition... you get to choose between a Mac, a Dell, and a Tablet PC." I wasn't quite sure what he meant by the "included in tuition" part and I stupidly didn't press him to clarify at the time. After snooping around in some of the forums from last year, it is clear that they had to pay for their computers. What exactly is the situation? Do I need to plan to shell out a couple grand in cash for a new computer before July, or is this cost somehow built into financial aid? Thanks!
 
The computers are not already included in the budget, they will be added on additionally. I think they will be included in Financial Aid, but the best person to ask is Christian or the Financial Aid office. I think also the Tablet PC option is no longer feasible. They presented a Dell D620, D820, Macbook and Macbook Pro as the options. Starting around $1500. And dont buy one on your own! Apparently all the computers will be shipped to the school, and set up for you with everything you'll need, and given to you during orientation.
 
to add to piper, we won't have to pay for them until we get the tuition bill. it will be list just like other fees. our fin aid award can we adjusted if we want to purchase one like macbook pro ($2,2000).
just a quickie: has anyone recieved a scholarship offer or an invitation to apply for one?
 
Thanks, guys! I also got the update this morning from Christian on iApply, so the computer situation is a bit clearer, now.

I haven't heard anything about scholarships...
 
Anyway, I hope other people can fill in the gaps and/or give their perspective of the weekend! Feel free to PM me or post if you have any questions! I hope you all had as good a time as I did, and that you decide to attend!

I smell a future class president. ;)
 
I am currently a dental student at Case Western looking to sell my house. If you are interested please check the classifieds here for details.
 
The Latitude D620 is whack...
I was playing with one today and it didn't even have vertical scroll on the mousepad. I don't know which one to pick but I think it'll probably be the D620.
 
I doubt it can't do vertical scroll...on my laptop that's an option that you have to enable via software that comes with the computer.
 
I doubt it can't do vertical scroll...on my laptop that's an option that you have to enable via software that comes with the computer.

I guess the one I played with wasn't enabled...
Other laptops seem to have a physical area on the right side of the mousepad which distinctly indicates the vertical scroll capability.
 
yeah, there are many laptops that visually mark off the scroll area, but also plenty (like mine) that go with the look of a blank trackpad. Both use software to control the trackpad, but it's by default on in some laptops and by default off in others.
 
It was nice to finally meet you pom! (See what I mean about my SO?)

So he is now very, very enthusiastic about the school, which is great. Even though I really don't know where I'm at in terms of choosing between Case and Columbia (I even had an MS-1 at Case tell me over the weekend that I should go to Columbia. What?!?), I'm glad I went because I do think that, no matter what happens, I will be pretty intimately connected to the school.

It was great meeting you, too! (Even if we did have to stand next to that giant eyeball. :) ) Good luck with your decision, and if your SO and/or you decide to attend Case, we'll be seeing a lot more of each other! :D Be sure to let me know where you guys decide to go, whenever that decision gets made!
 
Pom, thanks so much for the recap of the Second Look! I wish I had seen the Inquiry Group demo -- after so much drama about PBL on SDN, I'd like to see what it's like at Case. I'm pretty sure it would be a great fit for my learning style, but...

My SO and I made an EXHAUSTIVE tour of Cleveland, so if anyone has questions about places other than Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights, feel free to ask me. We checked out Ohio City, Tremont, Lakewood, Bratenahl, Euclid, East Cleveland, and a little bit of Rocky River.

I'm really glad to have gone back. On the interview day, I basically only saw the two blocks between Glidden House and the medical school. Needless to say, it wasn't totally representative of the area!! I'm glad to have a better sense of what I'll be choosing if I do go to Case.
 
Thanks, guys! I also got the update this morning from Christian on iApply, so the computer situation is a bit clearer, now.

I haven't heard anything about scholarships...

can someone post/message the update from iApply? its not showing up on mine.
thanks
 
I saw this on the iApply page:
May 1, 2007 - Multiple Acceptances - We are aware that many students will receive more than one acceptance. We understand that making a final decision is difficult and that many factors enter into the decision-making process. Our office is prepared to be as helpful to you as possible, and we ask that you not hesitate to contact us if we may be of assistance in this regard. For those few individuals who continue to hold more than one acceptance after May 1, we do reserve the right to withdraw our offer of acceptance. Please notify us if extenuating circumstances present with regards to this deadline.

I thought the official date was May 15 (see AAMC link), what's up with this?

http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/policies/applicants.htm


Edit: Didn't read the next rule:

By May 15 of the matriculation year (April 15 for schools whose first day of class is on or before July 30), each applicant who has received an offer of acceptance from more than one school choose the specific school at which the applicant prefers to enroll and withdraw his or her application, by written correspondence delivered by regular or electronic methods, from all other schools from which acceptance offers have been received.

Case starts July 12.
 
second look weekend sounds like it was loads of fun! I wish I could have gone.

As for the new info on iapply, I also had some trouble finding it at first. if you click on the Application Status link in the Additional Info box on the right side of the screen after you log in, you'll find links to the presentations on the very bottom of the page.
 
Just to let everyone know... it's snowing in Cleveland. On April 6th. :D Right after I decided to come when we had beautiful weather last week. Make my decision official... and then Cleveland weather dumps on me again. *sigh* I'm sure it'll be warm and sunny in another week though...

And don't get me wrong, I'm really excited about going to Case! But maybe we could relocate it to Florida...

PS- I grew up in Cleveland, so I know that this is typical, it just stinks to go from 80 degrees and sunny to 30 and 3 inches of snow. :cool:
 
One of my LOR-writers, on hearing that I had decided to go to Case, said, "You have chosen a place with horrible weather, which means far fewer distractions, which is good for complete immersion in your studies. Good choice!"

I feel your pain, though. At least Case has a nice rec facility including an indoor track...:D
 
Top