Case Western Reserve University Undergraduate Admission

That last email sparked my memory of my junior year of high school. (lots of varsity soccer games, weekly presidential outlines in my AP U.S. history class, and an overwhelming dread that I was making the wrong decisions about college). I knew that I wanted a school with strong academics, in a city that wasn’t too big or too small. And as I paged through my Fiske Guide to Colleges, I often felt like Goldilocks, ignoring schools that fell outside of my very specific criteria.

I went to high school in a small town just outside of Pittsburg, and my college plans were very different than what the rest of my friends were doing. Almost all of my friends, including my best friend, and my boyfriend were staying in the Pittsburgh area. More specifically they would be in Oakland, the Pittsburgh neighborhood where several of the city’s colleges are located. My boyfriend was two years older than me and had been living in Oakland during that time. My best friend (the sat next to her on the bus in fifth grade, spill your guts, laugh until milk comes out of your nose, best friend) was also going to be in Oakland. I couldn’t imagine my life without seeing these two people regularly. But the problem was: none of the universities in Oakland felt right to me.

When I spent the night at Case, I felt right at home. I loved the campus and the students. I sat in on a feminism seminar-style class (7 students) and I was blown away by the group discussion (which they encouraged me to join: a huge deal to my 17 year old self). I prattled on and on to my mother during the drive back to Pittsburgh. Case felt like the right school to me, but I was terrified of moving away from my friends and family.

I obviously ended up choosing Case, but only after months of deliberations. Despite my type A methods for selecting potential schools (see above), when it came time to make the final decision, I went with my gut. And I couldn’t have asked for a better college experience. Yes, I missed my friends, but we did just fine. I learned to write great emails, and I depend heavily on my free night and weekend cell phone minutes. Sonny is still my best friend, she will be beginning her Ph. D. next fall in molecular biology, and I couldn’t be prouder. The boyfriend and I broke up a few years later, but we still get together anytime we are both in town. Picking the place where you will be spending the next four years is scary, but the only advice I can give is: go where it feels right.

Joanie Chase
Economics and Political Science
Class of 2007