Your high school almost certainly offers biology and physics. It’s far less likely to offer a course in neuroscience, biomedical engineering, or computer-aided design. If you’d like to test one of those fields before you build a college list around it, the Case Western Reserve Pre-College Program is worth a look. Its five courses were designed by Case Western Reserve University faculty and staff. They let you explore medicine, engineering, science, and even social entrepreneurship from home, on your own schedule. Below, we’ll walk through each course, how the program works, what it costs, and whether it’s a good fit for you.
Case Western Reserve Pre-College Program at a Glance
- Format: 100% online and asynchronous, with no live classes
- Eligibility: Ages 13 and up, in high school or within one year of graduating
- Courses: Neuroscience, biomedical engineering, engineering design, astrophysics and evolutionary biology, and social entrepreneurship
- Time commitment: Roughly 30 hours per course
- Session lengths: 2 or 4 weeks, plus 1-week intensives at certain times of year
- Cost: $1,595 per course
- Credential: Certificate of Completion from Case Western Reserve University (non-credit)
- Financial aid: Need-based scholarships available
What is the Case Western Reserve Pre-College Program?
The Case Western Reserve Pre-College Program is a set of non-credit online courses built specifically for high school students. Each course packs video lessons, module assignments, and a final project into a 1-, 2-, or 4-week session, with start dates throughout the year. Everything is asynchronous, so there’s no need to log in at a set time. You work through the material whenever it suits you, as long as you finish by your session’s end date.
As for the university behind it, Case Western is a private research university in Cleveland with about 6,500 undergraduates. It has long been known for engineering and the health sciences. (It ranks ninth on our list of the Top Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Programs.) For a closer look at the school itself, including recent admissions trends, see Case Western Reserve University: Inside the Numbers.
What courses does the Case Western Reserve Pre-College Program offer?
Case Western currently offers five courses. Four are online STEM courses for high school students with an eye toward medicine, engineering, or the physical sciences. The fifth is a business course with a social conscience. If you’re weighing a future in any of those areas, this STEM pre-college program gives you a low-stakes way to find out whether the interest holds up.
Neuroscience and Medicine: Inside the Brain and Nervous System
Your brain contains roughly 86 billion neurons, and this course explains how they keep everything running. You’ll study the structures of the nervous system, how neurons pass electrical and chemical signals, and how those signals shape movement, emotion, learning, and memory. From there, you’ll survey neurological disorders such as epilepsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s, along with the treatments researchers are developing for them. Your final project is a medical presentation on a hypothetical patient, covering the disorder and the diagnostic tests behind it. If you’re leaning toward medicine, psychology, or nursing, start here.
Related: Best Pre-Med Summer Programs, Top Undergraduate Neuroscience Programs
Biomedical Engineering: An Introduction to Medicine’s Future
Joint replacements, prosthetic limbs, and implantable devices all come out of biomedical engineering, and this course shows you how the field works. You’ll study how the body moves, how motion-capture technology measures that movement, and why some materials can safely go inside the body while others can’t. Later units cover how sensors, imaging, and artificial intelligence collect data about the body, along with newer technologies like neural interfaces. The final project is refreshingly hands-on: using household materials, you’ll build a device that lets someone with a below-the-elbow amputation play cards with one hand. (Yes, the required materials list includes a clean sock and a deck of cards.)
Related: Top Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Programs
Engineering: From 2D Sketch to 3D Model
If you like to build things, this course introduces the design skills behind careers in engineering, architecture, robotics, animation, and video game design. You’ll start by learning the language of design and sketching objects in 2D, then turn those sketches into 3D models and simple prototypes. Along the way, you’ll get comfortable with Tinkercad, a computer-aided design (CAD) program. For your final project, you’ll design a 3D model of your choosing, anything from a desk organizer to a custom piece for a hobby kit. If you have access to a 3D printer, you can even print it.
Related: Top Undergraduate Engineering Programs
Astrophysics and Evolutionary Biology: The Origins of Life
How did the universe begin, and how did life emerge from it? Most high schools split those questions between a physics classroom and a biology classroom. This course puts them side by side. You’ll study stars, planets, and black holes, tour the solar system, and consider how scientists search for life on distant planets. Then the focus shifts to evolution, from the rise and fall of the dinosaurs to the origins of our own species. For the final project, you’ll design a board game or poster inspired by the course, which is about as fun as STEM homework gets.
Related: Top Undergraduate Astronomy & Astrophysics Programs
Social Entrepreneurship: The Business of Helping Others
Can a business make money and do good at the same time? This course makes the case that it can. You’ll learn how social ventures differ from charities and nonprofits. Then you’ll practice the core skills of any startup: writing a value proposition, identifying customers, and pinpointing a problem worth solving. The UN Sustainable Development Goals serve as your guide as you look for problems in your own community. You’ll finish by building a value proposition for a social venture of your own. Future business majors and aspiring nonprofit leaders will both find plenty here.
Related: Best Colleges for Entrepreneurship
What is a Case Western Reserve pre-college course like?
Each course is divided into modules, and each module ends with an assignment. Everything runs through Canvas, and you’ll get access by email at least two days before your start date. There are no live classes or Zoom calls, so you can watch lessons at midnight or between practices, whatever works for you.
You won’t be on your own, though. Every student is paired with a mentor (a real person, not an AI chatbot) who answers questions and gives feedback on your assignments and final project. Many mentors are current Case Western students or recent graduates in the course’s field. Two of the neuroscience mentors, for example, conduct research at the Cleveland Clinic.
Assignments are marked Complete or Incomplete rather than given letter grades. To earn your certificate, you’ll need to complete at least 70 percent of your assignments and submit a final project. You’ll also keep view-only access to the course for a month after your session ends.
How much time does a course take?
Plan on roughly 30 hours of total work, though some course pages estimate a bit less. In a 4-week session, that comes to about 7.5 hours per week. A 2-week session doubles that to about 15, and a 1-week intensive packs all 30 hours into a single week, which works best over a school break. Every version includes the same content and mentor support. The longer sessions run during the school year, when you have the least free time. You can find current dates on the program website.
Do I need any special materials?
For most courses, no. A laptop works best, but you can also complete coursework on a tablet or phone through the Canvas Student app. Two courses are exceptions. Engineering requires a computer (Windows 10 or later, Mac OS X 10.10 or later, or a Chromebook), a mouse with a scroll wheel, access to a printer, and a device for taking photos. Biomedical Engineering calls for a few simple household items for building your prototype.
Who will teach my Case Western Reserve pre-college course?
Case Western faculty and staff design every course and record each video lesson, and the lineup is impressive. In Astrophysics and Evolutionary Biology, you’ll learn from Dr. Glenn Starkman, a Distinguished University Professor of physics and a Guggenheim Fellow, alongside Dr. Patricia Princehouse, who directs the university’s Program in Evolutionary Biology. Neuroscience and Medicine is taught by Ashley Nemes-Baran, Ph.D., an assistant professor of neurosciences at the School of Medicine, and Barbara Kuemerle, Ph.D., a senior instructor in biology.
Biomedical Engineering features Matt Williams, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biomedical engineering who researches prosthetics and assistive technology for people recovering from stroke and spinal cord injury. If you take Engineering, your instructors are Ainsley Buckner and Jason Bradshaw, who both hold director roles at Sears think[box], the university’s makerspace. And in Social Entrepreneurship, you’ll hear from Michael Goldberg, a Weatherhead School of Management professor with a background in venture capital. Megan Buchter, director of the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit, co-teaches the course.
How many courses can I take?
As many as you can reasonably handle. There’s no cap, and you can apply to several courses on a single application. If you take more than one, Case Western suggests choosing different session dates so each course gets your full attention.
Which course should I take?
Start with the field you’re most curious about, then consider adding a second. Pre-med bound students might pair Neuroscience and Medicine with Biomedical Engineering to see both the clinical and technological sides of modern medicine. Torn between engineering and medicine? Biomedical Engineering plus Engineering: From 2D Sketch to 3D Model will help you compare the two. Equally drawn to physics and biology? Astrophysics and Evolutionary Biology already covers both. And if you have an entrepreneurial streak, Social Entrepreneurship pairs well with any of the STEM courses, especially if you’re dreaming up a health or tech startup.
How much does the Case Western Reserve Pre-College Program cost?
Each course costs $1,595 with no additional fees, and the price is the same whether you choose a 1-, 2-, or 4-week session. Tuition is due the day before your course starts. However, your spot isn’t secured until you pay, so don’t wait long after you’re accepted. If your plans change, you’ll get a full refund as long as you cancel at least seven days before your start date.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. Case Western offers need-based scholarships to students who show financial need and high potential. You can request one on the confirmation page right after you submit your application. If you’ve already applied, you can request a scholarship from your student profile instead.
Who is eligible to apply?
You’re eligible if you’re at least 13 years old and either enrolled in high school or within a year of graduating, so gap-year students are welcome. International students can apply too. No English proficiency test is required, but all application materials must be in English.
The courses aren’t open to current college students or adults.
How do I apply?
Applying to the Case Western pre-college online program takes about 20 to 30 minutes. You’ll share some basic information and write a short personal statement about your interest in the program. According to Case Western, that statement is the most important part of the application. No transcripts or recommendation letters are required, and you’ll typically hear back within a week.
Does the Case Western Reserve Pre-College Program offer college credit?
No. These are enrichment courses, designed for exploration rather than college credit. When you finish, you’ll earn an official Certificate of Completion from Case Western Reserve University, which you can list on college applications, resumes, and even LinkedIn.
Will taking a course help me get into Case Western?
Case Western notes that participating in the program doesn’t factor into its own admissions decisions. What a course can do is help you write a more specific and convincing application to Case Western or any other engineering, pre-med, or science program, since you’ll have firsthand experience with the field to draw on.
How do colleges view an online course like this?
Colleges see a course like this as evidence of genuine curiosity and initiative, which are exactly the qualities admissions officers look for. Its impact grows with what you do next. Take Neuroscience and Medicine, then start volunteering at a local hospital, and you have a story worth telling in your essays. Finish the Engineering course and keep designing parts for your robotics team, and the same is true. Your final project gives you something concrete to point to as well.
Case Western recommends listing the course as an extracurricular or experiential activity rather than as coursework, and we agree.
Who is the Case Western Reserve Pre-College Program best for?
This program is a great match if you’re drawn to medicine, engineering, or the sciences and want to explore them before choosing a major. Because it accepts students as young as 13, it also works well for younger teens who want early exposure. The asynchronous format is especially well suited to self-motivated students who like to set their own pace.
Looking for more options in medicine and the life sciences? Our guides to the Best Pre-Med Summer Programs and Best Biology Summer Programs for High School Students include more programs worth considering.
Final Thoughts – Case Western Reserve Pre-College Program
In about 30 hours, the Case Western Reserve Pre-College Program gives you instruction from Case Western faculty, regular feedback from a mentor, and a final project you can point to in your college applications. For anyone curious about medicine, engineering, or the sciences, these online STEM courses for high school students are an excellent first step. You can view current sessions and apply on the Case Western Reserve Pre-College Program website.
Looking for additional resources? Consider checking out the following:
