Case Western vs Ohio Wesleyan vs Cornell

laurapb23
Sat, 05 Apr 2014 23:57:53 +0000

I am a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan and an active alumni. They have an very, very high rate of students being accepted into med and vet schools. It is a small school but I loved it. Lots to do on campus and is more of a “traditional college experience.” So, of course I am biased. They will work with you if you need more aid. OWU was also in the highly acclaimed book “Colleges that change lives” because of their focus on service and global learning.

My daughter also was accepted at CWRU (she did not want to apply to OWU because of the size) and we are going to see it in a couple of weeks. Cornell is of course Ivy but I have never suggested my kids apply to a school just because it is Ivy.

So, your daughter really cannot “compare” the schools as they are all completely different. It really comes down to who she is and what she wants from an experience. All will give a solid foundation for her if she wants to go to vet school.

OWU- small, not nationally known much outside of Ohio. However, great for a student who really can have dinner with her professor, explore a wide variety of majors, enjoys a small campus (although I will admit it is not the most beautiful campus- my dad really wanted me at Denison) and has a great pre-professional program. School spirit is very strong and they have a very good sports culture. Near Columbus but not close enough that kids can get there easily.

CWRU- known for being a research institute, students perceived as more “nerdy” and very diverse (about 45% of the students are non-white) and in a city that can get very cold in the winter. Not as much school spirit and a strong sorority/fraternity system that seems to be the center of a lot of social stuff. Applications have gone up 200% since the new president started in 2007 and this past year was another record year. up 18% over last year. I personally hope that my daughter will seriously look at CWRU (especially since I was the one who suggested it) but right now she is leaning to either Villanova or BU). Cleveland has a little bit of every thing for everyone.

Cornell- big name, big school, considered the least competitive of the Ivies, but still no slouch. My daughter’s HS typically has 10-15 students going there each year. We are NJ based. Gets cold there too!. Much wider range of stuff to do, but not really close to a major city. Has great graduate schools and I believe they do use TAs.

In a way, her decision may be a little easier in the sense that they are really not comparable schools in terms of size, location, reputations, etc. Good luck!