It appears you’re at Case Western Reserve University for an overnight visit and may be deciding whether or not to come here next year. First, I’d like to say congratulations. CWRU is a great school. I personally really like it here, and some of the things that drew me here are research opportunities, a relatively small undergraduate class size and CWRU not being in Texas (where I’m from.) Before you decide, I’d like to provide some advice about life at CWRU that I’ve gained over my first year here.

First, the people here are generally incredibly nice. It may just be my personality, but I’ve found that the people here are approachable, friendly and nice to be around. You’ll probably be on the meme page at some point, and you’ll find a sense of humor that recognizes the challenges that every student faces.
The dining halls are not as straightforward. The general consensus is that Fribley Commons on South Residential Village  is better than Leutner on North Residential Village as far as the dining halls themselves go. I recommend trying L3 Grill, which has, in my opinion, the best pizza on the meal plan. It’s an occasional habit of mine to order food from The Den by Denny’s at hours better served by being asleep. You’ll be able to find other good food options on the edges of campus as well. Be sure to give Mitchell’s Ice Cream and BIBIBOP a try; both are fantastic.
There are non-food aspects you’ll have to get accustomed to, though. Knowing where to print is a good place to start. Student gets about $20 in free printing each semester, which you can use at WEPA stations scattered around campus. Finding your favorite is key part to getting acclimated. All of this irrelevant if you can’t get to it, however, which brings me to my next point.

Cleveland weather is unpredictable. It gets cold at the drop of a hat here. Really cold. Maybe I’m just a weak Texan who doesn’t understand how to handle weather that’s colder than 50 or so degrees. Still, having a good supply of warm clothes is essential to staying happy.  Wearing layers sounds like simply, silly advice, but you should heed it.
You’re also gonna have to get used to the fact that CWRU’s campus is huge, maybe more than a mile between the Northern and Southern tips of campus. We have buses that will run around campus though, affectionately referred to as “greenies.”  For the most part, getting from building to building in either the Mather Quad or the Kent Hale Smith Quadrangle is easy. You might have some problems if you’ve got consecutive classes between the two.

The professors in these buildings are quite accessible, and many will spend time after class to answer any questions you have. You’ll sometimes have some engrossing conversations that could make you late for your next class. But don’t worry, you’ve got the the shuttles I talked about earlier to help you out.

For the most part, just remain conscious of how you feel on the CWRU campus. Explore, get lost and find Mitchell’s in Uptown for a pick-me-up. Sit in on a class or two. Most critically, remember that your college decision is your own. Choose whatever makes you happiest. Best of luck.

Zubair Mukhi is a first-year computer science major. He writes opinion pieces bi-weekly and is currently celebrating finishing his physics labs for the semester. He probably needs to clean his room, but he’ll claim he’s too busy studying to do it. He’s right about that.