2008-2009 Case Western Secondary Application Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Status
Not open for further replies.
amph, you coming to case then?

Members don't see this ad.
 
Honestly, why NOT put down the extra several hundred bucks for a Mac? In the long run what is 150k in debt versus 150.7k?

Oh, and we will be having poker tourneys. I've played for a long time. It's been several years since I played Starcraft though.

Oh man, reminds me of the countless nights I spent playing poker under the stairs in the dorms during my freshman year. Half the time it was frustrating as hell, half the time it was awesome - I think I've broken even over the long run. Thank goodness. Count me in for a couple of these games, although the buy-in CANNOT be more than allocated in the student finaid budget :smuggrin: Speaking of that, where the heck is my finaid report?!

Starcraft.. it's like learning how to ride a bike - you never forget. Well, maybe you might forget whatever tech trees there are, but heck man, nobody forgets how to 4pool someone or tank drop people. :smuggrin: Although Starcraft is the last RTS game I can remember ever playing. I've never touched Warcraft 3 or WOW.. or even games at all for that matter. Maybe I'm missing out. I do remember spending a lot of time during my junior year of HS playing Unreal Tournament more or less competitively (Capture the Flag was a lot of fun).
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I think... haha.

seriously though, if we're gonna do any sort of group gaming thing, i say that we stay away from the massively multiplayer stuff, and stick to stuff thats quick and dirty (i.e. shooters) otherwise we're all gonna fail our way out of case med, lol.
 
seriously though, if we're gonna do any sort of group gaming thing, i say that we stay away from the massively multiplayer stuff, and stick to stuff thats quick and dirty (i.e. shooters) otherwise we're all gonna fail our way out of case med, lol.

Agreed! FPS and RTS only!:laugh:
 
So what are we discussing here, LAN parties or something? Although we'd be using our Case-purchased laptops rather than bringing in desktop computers into some poor guy's apartment in the Waldorf.

Haha. I just got a really great mental image in my head of what that apartment would look like.

LAN parties would be sweet, and I would add left4dead to the list. Great, great game.
 
Haha. I just got a really great mental image in my head of what that apartment would look like.

LAN parties would be sweet, and I would add left4dead to the list. Great, great game.

i can already forsee all the alliances, treachery, backstabbing, ganging up and merciless events that are gonna go down at these LAN parties.
 
i can already forsee all the alliances, treachery, backstabbing, ganging up and merciless events that are gonna go down at these LAN parties.

Ha.

Lets hope all the hard feelings don't carry over to our small group sessions....
 
I imagine the championship as an 8-person versus map with the best two-person team from each academic society.

Speaking of academic societies does anyone else wish they had something better for placing us in the different societies than a random number generator? I wasn't the biggest Harry Potter fan in the world, but since we already have the different houses, I'd be interested in pushing the allegory further. Besides, the sorting hat was cool.

Actually I wouldn't mind the random number generator as long as there was theater around it. I think of the whole student body gathered together while one is called up to the front where s/he puts on the honorary WHITE COAT. The white coat has a wifi connection and a speaker, and tells you what society you're going to. The house cheers, you take off the coat and hustle over to them, repeat.

These are the things I think about when I don't have anything to memorize...
 
I imagine the championship as an 8-person versus map with the best two-person team from each academic society.

Speaking of academic societies does anyone else wish they had something better for placing us in the different societies than a random number generator? I wasn't the biggest Harry Potter fan in the world, but since we already have the different houses, I'd be interested in pushing the allegory further. Besides, the sorting hat was cool.

Actually I wouldn't mind the random number generator as long as there was theater around it. I think of the whole student body gathered together while one is called up to the front where s/he puts on the honorary WHITE COAT. The white coat has a wifi connection and a speaker, and tells you what society you're going to. The house cheers, you take off the coat and hustle over to them, repeat.

These are the things I think about when I don't have anything to memorize...

I still want a sorting hat that fights with you over which society you'd be better in! It seems like they don't have all that much playful interaction between them, so maybe we should up that a little... :laugh:
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Can we keep the posts in this thread to subjects actually pertaining to Case Western (i.e. I got my financial aid and this is why I love Case)? Love to read about the fantasy LAN parties and all but....really!?! I too can imagine all of you living in an apartment together it is freaking hilarious!!
 
Can we keep the posts in this thread to subjects actually pertaining to Case Western (i.e. I got my financial aid and this is why I love Case)? Love to read about the fantasy LAN parties and all but....really!?! I too can imagine all of you living in an apartment together it is freaking hilarious!!

Aww, see! You enjoy it too!

I don't suppose you've gotten your finaid package yet, have you?

I'm still waiting. The regular newsletter email this morning nearly gave me a heart attack.:cry:



(And one last message on the gaming front: 10% of young gamers pathologically addicted)
 
Last edited:
Aww, see! You enjoy it too!

I don't suppose you've gotten your finaid package yet, have you?

I'm still waiting. The regular newsletter email this morning nearly gave me a heart attack.:cry:



(And one last message on the gaming front: 10% of young gamers pathologically addicted)

i just got a genius idea, :idea:

ill spend my 4 month thesis working on pathological addiction in video games (that wal ill have an excuse to play video games for 4 months straight, im so clever :laugh:)
 
(And one last message on the gaming front: 10% of young gamers pathologically addicted)

thank goodness I'm not young!

I actually do have something germane to add too. I had a couple issues with my financial aid letter so I called the office of financial aid and thought I'd pass along my info:

1) The first line indicates your current educational loan debt. This line may be incorrect (it was in my case), but this number has no effect on your award.

2) They also include a form to be sent back to the office with statements like "I am a new Medical Student and have completed the Student Entrance Counseling online and have chosen _______________________________ as my lender." The Student Entrance Counseling is not available yet and won't be until May 1st. The office told me that I don't have to worry about the 10 day deadline (I guess not until May 1st).

Protoss4eva!
 
i just got a genius idea, :idea:

ill spend my 4 month thesis working on pathological addiction in video games (that wal ill have an excuse to play video games for 4 months straight, im so clever :laugh:)

I get at least second author on that paper.:laugh:


C'moooooooooooonn finaid!

Timeline for computer specs says they should all be visible by Monday. Anyone want to place bets on that?
 
i just got a genius idea, :idea:

ill spend my 4 month thesis working on pathological addiction in video games (that wal ill have an excuse to play video games for 4 months straight, im so clever :laugh:)

You're right, that IS a genius idea. You can even use the funds from MSR to buy yourself some super sick Alienware gaming rig. Well I don't even know if Alienware still exists but in high school it was the hottest thing on the block ;)

thank goodness I'm not young!

I actually do have something germane to add too. I had a couple issues with my financial aid letter so I called the office of financial aid and thought I'd pass along my info:

1) The first line indicates your current educational loan debt. This line may be incorrect (it was in my case), but this number has no effect on your award.

2) They also include a form to be sent back to the office with statements like "I am a new Medical Student and have completed the Student Entrance Counseling online and have chosen _______________________________ as my lender." The Student Entrance Counseling is not available yet and won't be until May 1st. The office told me that I don't have to worry about the 10 day deadline (I guess not until May 1st).

Protoss4eva!

Thanks for the information, and yes protoss is pretty sweet unless you are a carrier noob :smuggrin: Zealot rush ftw. Though I can't remember that many other effective strategies.

I get at least second author on that paper.:laugh:


C'moooooooooooonn finaid!

Timeline for computer specs says they should all be visible by Monday. Anyone want to place bets on that?

I believe it'll happen. But right now I just want to see the price tags on these specs.

And most of all, I'd like my finaid report!! :cool:
 
You're right, that IS a genius idea. You can even use the funds from MSR to buy yourself some super sick Alienware gaming rig. Well I don't even know if Alienware still exists but in high school it was the hottest thing on the block ;)



Thanks for the information, and yes protoss is pretty sweet unless you are a carrier noob :smuggrin: Zealot rush ftw. Though I can't remember that many other effective strategies.
We'll all work on remembering.:thumbup::laugh:

I think alienware got bought by dell, hence the XPS machines.


C'mon finaid. I know you're out there. I don't want to hurt you! It's okay! I just want to see you!!!:shifty:
 
My preference was always zerg. A bunch of hydralisks with that cloud thingy from a defiler (assuming you have burrow to hide the defiler) is basically game over assuming you have some zerglings to back up the hydralisks for melee purposes.
 
Amusingly (though you can't schedule), the 2/23, 2/24, and 2/27 dates are still available for interviews.:thumbup::laugh:
 
Does anyone know if there is a difference between the alternate list and waitlist at Case. If they are not the same thing which is better?
 
Does anyone know if there is a difference between the alternate list and waitlist at Case. If they are not the same thing which is better?

There's a HOLD list..which people are placed on after they interview when they aren't accepted, or rejected. At any point during the app cycle, a person can be accepted or rejected from the HOLD list. Sometime later during the app cycle (think around this time), the HOLD list is reduced to an ALTERNATE list, from which applicants are pulled depending on who decides to matriculate or not.

As for which is better..well, HOLD is a wierd position to be in I'd imagine..not sure if you're in or not, any day you could get an email with either a yes or a no. ALTERNATE's a little better, depending on how many people decide to matriculate or not at Case. There's not that much of a difference though, I dont think.

Blatant change of subject, I know..but can any of you guys tell me if these are decent specs for gaming? Not planning on doing too much of that, but I figure I'll keep a couple around for unwinding. It's basically the same as the specs on the notebook page, just with a few upgrades. I was planning on buying a new laptop soon anyway (mine recently broke down and I cant live w/o my lappy so..), and a family friend offered to pay for it:

-Latitude E6500 Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo T9800 (2.93GHz, 6M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB), 256MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M, 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (1 DIMMs...upgradable to 8GB), 250 GB Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive (7200 RPM), 15.4 inch Ultra Sharp Widescreen WUXGA Laptop Screen.

The thing I'm most worried about is the graphics card. I'm not sure 256mb is all that hot, but I dont think you can get a better card w/the E6500.
 
There's a HOLD list..which people are placed on after they interview when they aren't accepted, or rejected. At any point during the app cycle, a person can be accepted or rejected from the HOLD list. Sometime later during the app cycle (think around this time), the HOLD list is reduced to an ALTERNATE list, from which applicants are pulled depending on who decides to matriculate or not.

As for which is better..well, HOLD is a wierd position to be in I'd imagine..not sure if you're in or not, any day you could get an email with either a yes or a no. ALTERNATE's a little better, depending on how many people decide to matriculate or not at Case. There's not that much of a difference though, I dont think.

Blatant change of subject, I know..but can any of you guys tell me if these are decent specs for gaming? Not planning on doing too much of that, but I figure I'll keep a couple around for unwinding. It's basically the same as the specs on the notebook page, just with a few upgrades. I was planning on buying a new laptop soon anyway (mine recently broke down and I cant live w/o my lappy so..), and a family friend offered to pay for it:

-Latitude E6500 Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo T9800 (2.93GHz, 6M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB), 256MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M, 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (1 DIMMs...upgradable to 8GB), 250 GB Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive (7200 RPM), 15.4 inch Ultra Sharp Widescreen WUXGA Laptop Screen.

The thing I'm most worried about is the graphics card. I'm not sure 256mb is all that hot, but I dont think you can get a better card w/the E6500.

I think that one person who got accepted off the hold list (sirius? I forget) a few weeks ago would be able to comment. I thought they took care of the hold list a while ago, though. Alternate list basically sounds like what it is - a waitlist AFAIK. I was lucky enough to get accepted off the bat so I don't really have any more info beyond that.

As for the gaming... I don't think that you need to worry about the specs if you're not going to be gaming hardcore. I imagine you would be able to play most games without a problem, but FPS games might be kind of hairy since you want the highest possible framerate to make it a smooth experience. These are business-class laptops so it should be able to handle games but not amazingly well.
 
Does anyone know if there is a difference between the alternate list and waitlist at Case. If they are not the same thing which is better?

Like others said, you can be on hold or on the waitlist. If you want to get off the waitlist I suggest writing and telling Christian or Dr. Mehta. Christian told us that they keep a spreadsheet of how many times people contact them and it really helps your cause if you let them know Case is at the top of your list. I sent them a couple emails telling them how much I liked case and was accepted soon after, after being on hold. Good luck!
 
I think that one person who got accepted off the hold list (sirius? I forget) a few weeks ago would be able to comment. I thought they took care of the hold list a while ago, though. Alternate list basically sounds like what it is - a waitlist AFAIK. I was lucky enough to get accepted off the bat so I don't really have any more info beyond that.

I might not be the best source, since I interviewed in October, was put on hold a few weeks later, and was accepted in January, as were a few other people. But from what I remember hearing at the interview, many people are initially put on hold, from which you can be accepted quite awhile before the alternate list is formed. Sometime around mid-March (?), the people still on hold are either accepted, waitlisted (alternate list), or rejected.
 
Like others said, you can be on hold or on the waitlist. If you want to get off the waitlist I suggest writing and telling Christian or Dr. Mehta. Christian told us that they keep a spreadsheet of how many times people contact them and it really helps your cause if you let them know Case is at the top of your list. I sent them a couple emails telling them how much I liked case and was accepted soon after, after being on hold. Good luck!

truth if you are really interested in case, make it known, and make it known emphatically, dont just send them a paragraph or two, send them a letter heck make it a freakin thesis, talk about specifically why. if you dont show any enthusiasm for case why should they show any enthusiasm for you (you know what im saying?). so make it known. the alternate list will start moving pretty soon as people finalize their decision to go to case or some other school (though besides financial reasons i cant imagine why anybody would want to go to another school besides case, lol. but im biased)
 
truth if you are really interested in case, make it known, and make it known emphatically, dont just send them a paragraph or two, send them a letter heck make it a freakin thesis, talk about specifically why. if you dont show any enthusiasm for case why should they show any enthusiasm for you (you know what im saying?). so make it known. the alternate list will start moving pretty soon as people finalize their decision to go to case or some other school (though besides financial reasons i cant imagine why anybody would want to go to another school besides case, lol. but im biased)

I'm going to go ahead and start ruminating on the whole school decision thing. First assumption is that I'm going to get loans for the full COA - would someone on here have the details of a financial aid package like that? I assume you get the full complement of Stafford loans, and I hear that there is a "Case loan" but I don't know how much that is. GradPlus loans are involved there too, right?

I'm constructing a jumbo spreadsheet based on the budgets per semester, calculating/tallying up the interest, assuming 4 year residency and paying everything off within 10 years. I just hope I'm doing this correctly.. lol.
 
I'm going to go ahead and start ruminating on the whole school decision thing. First assumption is that I'm going to get loans for the full COA - would someone on here have the details of a financial aid package like that? I assume you get the full complement of Stafford loans, and I hear that there is a "Case loan" but I don't know how much that is. GradPlus loans are involved there too, right?

I'm constructing a jumbo spreadsheet based on the budgets per semester, calculating/tallying up the interest, assuming 4 year residency and paying everything off within 10 years. I just hope I'm doing this correctly.. lol.
My Case financial aid package (received yesterday) is entirely convered by government loans, so I can readily share the details with you.

The total CoA for the first year is $69,180. First, my familial EFC was subtracted from that. I cannot remember my exact EFC, so I'll just say $9,180 for simplicity, leaving $60,000 to be covered. Next, I was given the usual $8,500 in subsidized stafford loans, along with $36,444 in unsubsidized stafford loans, bringing the outstanding balance to $15,056. Case offered me GradPLUS loans to cover this gap, taking care of the remaining CoA. I received no funding of any kind from Case itself.

I found it to be pretty painful (given that my "actual" EFC is far, far lower), but it is nonetheless a reality that the majority of us must face in deciding where to go to medical school.
 
My Case financial aid package (received yesterday) is entirely convered by government loans, so I can readily share the details with you.

The total CoA for the first year is $69,180. First, my familial EFC was subtracted from that. I cannot remember my exact EFC, so I'll just say $9,180 for simplicity, leaving $60,000 to be covered. Next, I was given the usual $8,500 in subsidized stafford loans, along with $36,444 in unsubsidized stafford loans, bringing the outstanding balance to $15,056. Case offered me GradPLUS loans to cover this gap, taking care of the remaining CoA. I received no funding of any kind from Case itself.

I found it to be pretty painful (given that my "actual" EFC is far, far lower), but it is nonetheless a reality that the majority of us must face in deciding where to go to medical school.

I am soooooooo not going to be able to afford this, but I soooooooo don't have a choice.:oops:
 
My Case financial aid package (received yesterday) is entirely convered by government loans, so I can readily share the details with you.

The total CoA for the first year is $69,180. First, my familial EFC was subtracted from that. I cannot remember my exact EFC, so I'll just say $9,180 for simplicity, leaving $60,000 to be covered. Next, I was given the usual $8,500 in subsidized stafford loans, along with $36,444 in unsubsidized stafford loans, bringing the outstanding balance to $15,056. Case offered me GradPLUS loans to cover this gap, taking care of the remaining CoA. I received no funding of any kind from Case itself.

I found it to be pretty painful (given that my "actual" EFC is far, far lower), but it is nonetheless a reality that the majority of us must face in deciding where to go to medical school.

Sweet mother of Mary. I constructed a spreadsheet for my other choice (COA is 53k/yr) and it looks like something in the neighborhood of $3000/month to pay everything off in 10 years post-residency assuming I don't chip away during residency ($5-10k a year). If I chip away at the interest accumulating during residency, it's more like $2500/month for 10 years post-residency.

And that's with the relatively small institutional loan the other school gave me where I can defer interest for 5 years after graduation.

Its pretty clear that if I get what Greonis got (which I've resigned myself to), it's gonna be even tighter unless my parents have a change of heart and at least cover the difference in COA.
 
It might ease the pain, though, to remember what a current Case student said earlier about some of the living expenses (rent, food, transportation, etc...) being flexible, and thus able to be reduced with proper planning. Some schools do offer more money than you actually need, so reducing your total CoA is certainly possible.
 
Can one use private loans to cover the EFC?
 
Sweet mother of Mary. I constructed a spreadsheet for my other choice (COA is 53k/yr) and it looks like something in the neighborhood of $3000/month to pay everything off in 10 years post-residency assuming I don't chip away during residency ($5-10k a year). If I chip away at the interest accumulating during residency, it's more like $2500/month for 10 years post-residency.

And that's with the relatively small institutional loan the other school gave me where I can defer interest for 5 years after graduation.

Its pretty clear that if I get what Greonis got (which I've resigned myself to), it's gonna be even tighter unless my parents have a change of heart and at least cover the difference in COA.

I wish I had some advice about this but I think we're all in the dark. I don't know what the rate of the case loans or gradPLUS loans are but I know the stafford loans are fixed at 6.8% and the majority of my tuition is going to be paid through an unsubsidized stafford loan. That interest is killer. Assuming a $35000 loan, the interest alone is almost $200/mo. Just for the first year. yikes! During school the interest is deferred (meaning it doesn't compound with the principle) but it all gets added to the principle as soon as you are out of school which is very very ugly!

I'm going to take the full offer the first year, meticulously track my expenses and try to live as reasonably frugal a lifestyle as I can. Then, if possible I'm going to shrink the amount I need from the unsubsidized stafford loan as much as i can. This is just assuming that's the loan with the highest rate...if it's not obviously THAT loan gets the most attention first.

I dunno, I've heard Obama giving a lot of rhetoric about the importance of education. it's possible we might see some help from political origins, but I think we're all going to be in a large amount of debt for much of our lives :/
 
Are there still ppl that havent gotten their FA packages yet, or am I the only one? Also, for the ppl that heard back about their FAs, was it through iapply?

Thanks
 
Are there still ppl that havent gotten their FA packages yet, or am I the only one? Also, for the ppl that heard back about their FAs, was it through iapply?

Thanks

no, it was an email from a rep of the financial aid office with an attached pdf.

oh, and my favored protoss strategy was to develop reavers and shuttles asap. reavers can completely decimate a supply line if placed strategically. Unfortunately, reavers have been taken out of starcraft 2, so I'll have to see which race I prefer now.
 
I wish I had some advice about this but I think we're all in the dark. I don't know what the rate of the case loans or gradPLUS loans are but I know the stafford loans are fixed at 6.8% and the majority of my tuition is going to be paid through an unsubsidized stafford loan. That interest is killer. Assuming a $35000 loan, the interest alone is almost $200/mo. Just for the first year. yikes! During school the interest is deferred (meaning it doesn't compound with the principle) but it all gets added to the principle as soon as you are out of school which is very very ugly!

I'm going to take the full offer the first year, meticulously track my expenses and try to live as reasonably frugal a lifestyle as I can. Then, if possible I'm going to shrink the amount I need from the unsubsidized stafford loan as much as i can. This is just assuming that's the loan with the highest rate...if it's not obviously THAT loan gets the most attention first.

I dunno, I've heard Obama giving a lot of rhetoric about the importance of education. it's possible we might see some help from political origins, but I think we're all going to be in a large amount of debt for much of our lives :/

Yup. I think you can even give back loan money that you end up not using without penalty as long as its within the one year timeframe, or something like that. At least, that's what I'm told.

If anyone wants the spreadsheet, PM me with your email and I'll send it over. But I warn you that it's pretty hard to follow, you'll probably have to click through to see the formulas and see if they make sense to you.

Are there still ppl that havent gotten their FA packages yet, or am I the only one? Also, for the ppl that heard back about their FAs, was it through iapply?

Thanks

Still haven't gotten my finaid yet either. At this point, I'm just assuming worst case scenario.
 
oh, and my favored protoss strategy was to develop reavers and shuttles asap. reavers can completely decimate a supply line if placed strategically. Unfortunately, reavers have been taken out of starcraft 2, so I'll have to see which race I prefer now.

Nice, reaver drops. Cheap bastard, lol. I hated it when people did that to me. I think you can do that with lurkers too, but I didn't play BW that much. Another BW strategy if you're playing against zerg opponents is to make a lot of corsairs to kill the overlords and then mass attack with DTs.
 
Aaaaaaaaaaaaand I just got my finaid package.


I need to find a rock with, hmm, once startup costs are calculated in, $5k under it.

Suggestions?
 
Aaaaaaaaaaaaand I just got my finaid package.


I need to find a rock with, hmm, once startup costs are calculated in, $5k under it.

Suggestions?

Don't look for a rock with $ under it - look for a rock that's worth $. :smuggrin:

But seriously, it sounds like you may have to get some GradPLUS loans or possibly ask the parents to chip in. Also, you might be able to get by without that extra $5,000 if you live within your means as another poster in this thread posted a while ago.
 
Don't look for a rock with $ under it - look for a rock that's worth $. :smuggrin:

But seriously, it sounds like you may have to get some GradPLUS loans or possibly ask the parents to chip in. Also, you might be able to get by without that extra $5,000 if you live within your means as another poster in this thread posted a while ago.

True! If I do live in the triangle, the transportation savings may balance out or overpower the effect of the exorbitant rent...

Assuming I spend the entirety of the full CoA (just sayin'), I need to have around 7k in personal (non-parental, alas) contributions... and if I manage not to spend any money between now and July, I'll be able to do that...:xf:
 
True! If I do live in the triangle, the transportation savings may balance out or overpower the effect of the exorbitant rent...

Assuming I spend the entirety of the full CoA (just sayin'), I need to have around 7k in personal (non-parental, alas) contributions... and if I manage not to spend any money between now and July, I'll be able to do that...:xf:

Not living in Triangle will save you several thousand dollars. You're paying a premium at Waldorf and Triangle for the convenience. Little Italy and Cleveland Heights have places that are much cheaper and walkable, but you'd have to come a little early to find an apt.
 
Not living in Triangle will save you several thousand dollars. You're paying a premium at Waldorf and Triangle for the convenience. Little Italy and Cleveland Heights have places that are much cheaper and walkable, but you'd have to come a little early to find an apt.

I may actually come visit this weekend.:)
 
r. nope! :p

there was some confusion with my complete status which made my file completion date in the first week in april. i seriously hope that i don't have to wait too much longer...

Oh, boo! Maybe monday?:cry:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top