It's Admitted Student Program time at Case Western Reserve and prospective students are everywhere. Tours are running non-stop, classes are as full as ever. Sometimes "prospies" stick out like a sore thumb, others fit in pretty well. There are typically ways to spot a prospie in a crowd, some more obvious than other, but here are 9 things that only prospies do while on the CWRU campus.
1. Walk around campus with a map in hand
At this point in the year, all students (hopefully) know their way around campus. If you see someone someone walking around campus with a map in hand, you're probably looking at a prospie.
2. Look at all the buildings as they walk by
It's understandable, after all. Prospies have likely seen the Case campus very little before and probably prefer to take in as much as they can while walking from point A to point B. For students a walk across campus is not much more than a routine.
3. Ask for directions that seem obvious
Asking for directions is perfectly normal. Sometimes reading a map can be more difficult than just finding a destination and heading there. For Case students, questions like "how do I get to Fribley?" seem silly, but not everybody goes to Case. It doesn't help that some buildings at Case Western Reserve are not exactly easy to find or navigate - I'm looking at you, School of Nursing.
4. Pronounce Thwing incorrectly
To be fair, it really does look like it should be pronounced like "thing" but with a w. That's not the case, however, and typically prospies will make the mistake once or twice before being corrected.
5. Confuse the Tink with Veale
As a Case student it is very difficult to confuse the Tink and Veale, but for people visiting, it may be a bit confusing to see both a Tinkham Veale University Center and a Veale Athletics Complex. I recently hosted a prospective student who actually knew his way to Veale only because he accidentally went there instead of the Tink for part of Open House.
6. Explore the dining halls
After months of going to Leutner and Fribley Case students generally know where everything is in the dining halls. Prospies often roam the dining halls for a few minutes before returning to one area to get food. They also tend to try as much as possible to get a feel for all of the food.
7. Shorten Case Western Reserve University incorrectly
Saying Case Western Reserve University frequently would be very tedious, so we often shorten it to Case, CWRU, or Case Western Reserve. Prospies often make the mistake of saying just Case Western instead of Case Western Reserve, which is understandable. But you wouldn't shorten Ohio State to just Ohio, would you?
8. Take pictures in front of the buildings
Case has some interesting buildings, most notably Kent Hale Smith, the Tink, and the Peter B. Lewis building. Before leaving Case and heading home to make a college decision, many prospective students will stop with family and friends to get a picture in front of CWRU's most memorable buildings. For students, these buildings are just everyday sights; for prospies, these buildings are potential selling points of the university.
9. Be attentive in class
This may be less common, but in some cases prospective students will actually be more attentive in class than some actual students. Seriously, sitting in class and watching New Girl on a laptop may be normal for some students, but many prospies actually want to get a feel for what CWRU classes are like.
Over the next few weeks, prospies are going to be everywhere at CWRU. Sometimes prospies blend in, but if you look for these actions you will be able to pick them out from the crowd.
