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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm an alum and I loved it - albeit I'm originally from NE Ohio. I am female and have a BS in Chemical Engineering and graduated in '01. What would you like to know? [/quote]

For future people who search this thread here are my thoughts in no particular order:

1. I was a kid who needed/liked a lot of structure. I got a full ride plus stipend to Ohio State and a Provost scholarship to CWRU for my ACT score (32 in 1995). I chose CWRU because a small school suited me better and 4 of the top 10 in my HS class, including myself, went to CWRU. I wanted to go to Carnegie Mellon, but they gave me no money.

2. As a woman, I liked that the engineering classes had decent male to female ratios and I made lots of female friends in engineering.

3. Because it was smaller, I felt like I had a lot of help and support. I struggled with calculus and had free drop-in tutoring from grad students and office hours. I really struggled with 1 engineering class that was known as the one class hardly anyone got an A in. I went to every office hours and extra study session. The professor actually talked to my other professors to make sure I was still doing ok in their classes. I really felt like my professors knew me and cared about me.

4. I was a fairly nerdy kid. I found my peers at CWRU and still felt cool because many people were into the same things I was. I joined a sorority and it really helped me make friends with people I wouldn't have known otherwise - music majors, art majors, nursing majors. At the time, sororities at CWRU had a higher average GPA than the general population and gave me an outlet for structured community service. They are not like the big southern sororities and are very supportive and inclusive. Also, at the time it was cheaper to live in the sorority house and be on their meal plan than on campus housing, even after dues.

5. It is an urban campus, but it is not in downtown Cleveland. It is on the border of Cleveland Heights and you can easily walk to the art museum, natural history museum, and botanical garden from campus. I always felt safe, while using normal common sense judgement like not walking alone at night. In recent years CWRU has invested a lot in developing the area around campus and building nicer dorms. I went on a tour a few years ago at alumni weekend and I'm jealous of how nice it is.

6. It used to be the go to school for small town valedictorians in Ohio and Western PA / Wastern Indiana. Since getting more national attention after hosting the vice presidential debate in '08, the student body has become more diverse. Last year the incoming class had something like 13 kids from TJ and plenty from other top area HS.

7. As an engineering major I didn't take many non-engineering classes. I took technical writing for English, Logic which cross lists as Philosophy as my humanities/social science and Environmental Engineering as my elective sequence (instead of business or Econ). Check the curriculum now, but for me I chose what some would consider a less than well rounded path.

8. I did the co-op program and for 2 semesters I got paid $16/hr to work at a local company. It was a great experience and I was able to pay my own tuition and rent senior year.

9. There are a lot of rich kids that go there - Saudi and Chinese kids from the New England boarding schools, Indian kids from TX with oil money, kids from the DC and NYC areas who were certainly rich compared to my upbringing. But there are also lots of really bright "farm" kids from the Midwest and I think anyone could fit in because the cost of living is low. That's farm as is cows and corn, not free and reduced lunch.

10. I landed a great job right after graduation and so did most of my peers despite graduating in the midst of the tech bust. I felt like the career center gets great companies to interview on campus and really helped me prepare for interviews. I've heard it has only gotten better since.

11. I was not a stellar athlete in HS. I did 3 varsity sports, but was a solid 3rd place finisher. I was able to walk on to the cross country team and it really helped my transition freshman year. It is not a big sports school. Students don't really go to football and basketball games, although many students play intermural and club sports.

[/quote]

Thanks, really helpful. We'll see if my kid gets in. It's not looking too hopeful.[/quote]

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