<p>There’s a lot of misinformation on this thread about Brandeis. As a Brandeis alum allow me to give you my opinion based on my experience.</p>
<p>Of course, each persons should select a college that is the best fit for them. Just because Brandeis is an academically elite school doesn’t mean one should automatically go there over colleges that are not as prestigious, such as AU or DU. However, along with excellent academics comes an amazing peer group as well as opportunities for personal growth that should not be overlooked.</p>
<p>Brandeis is a special combination of small liberal arts college and world-class research university. It has the smallest student body I believe (around 800 in a class) of any top tier national research university matched with high-powered professors who actually teach in small classes. So, the research opportunities are tremendous. </p>
<p>Brandeis’s intellectual environment is comparable in many ways to its University Athletic Association sister school, U Chicago (perhaps no coincidence that the President of U Chicago is a Brandeis alum). Yet its students are down-to-earth, friendly and non-competitive with one another.</p>
<p>I believe the kind of person who would feel comfortable at Brandeis is an intellectual and/or creative sort who is friendly and comfortable with himself or herself and not competitive or pretentious. Intellectual but down-to-earth and friendly I think is an apt description of the student body. </p>
<p>Unlike some preppy place or frat-oriented environments where social interaction is based on the “exclusivity” of the frat system, Brandeis has a welcoming, relatively-nonjudgmental environment–yet there are some off-campus frats for those who like what they have to offer. There is no pressure to party, but parties are there if you want them. Often social interaction centers around the numerous clubs and other terrific extracuriculars like theater and music. School spirit grows not primarly out of sports, although there is that increasingly (e.g. the basketball teams are nationally-ranked), but out of the pride and privilege of being at such a special school.</p>
<p>Despite Brandeis’s small size and relative youth, its alumni are very distinguished–to name just a few: Nobel Prize winner for chemistry Rod Mackinnon, Fields Medal winning physicist Edward Witten (often called “Einstein’s successor”), 3-time Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Friedman of the NY Times, The Earth is Flat etc; Mitch Albom of Tuesday’s with Morrie (about his Brandeis professor), the Creators/Producers of Friends; actress Debra Messing; Robert FX Sillerman (billionaire businessman–currently owner of American Idol and Graceland), Jeff Lurie, billionaie owner of the Philadelphia Eagles and Christy Hefner, former CEO of Playboy). Also, if you’re into social justice (FYI Angela Davis and Abbie Hoffman are alums) or theater/music/art, Brandeis is a very active and exciting place to be.</p>
<p>The remarks about Brandeis being a “Jewish” school are simply innacurate. Brandeis is very diverse both among undergraduate and graduate students, with a strong international flavor (in fact the majority of The Brandeis International Business School is international students). Brandeis’s social environment is not “white bread.” The university seeks to be accommodating of all cultures and has been very successful at that. </p>
<p>Brandeis is and always has been a secular school, although founded in the tradition of Harvard, Princeton etc by a religious-affiliated group. Currently its Jewish population is less than 50% (about 40% when including grad students), and around 25% of the student body is minority and international students. So, it is quite diverse and continues to strive for increasing diversity. </p>
<p>The makeup of its student body is very similar to other schools with significant percentages of Jewish students that you might not single out as “Jewish” because of their founding–e.g. Barnard, Columbia, NYU and Penn. These examples suggest that Brandeis is not unique among top schools in having a significant Jewish population. However, it is unique in providing a truly small and intellectually stimulating liberal arts college environment within a major research university.</p>
<p>In short, Brandeis is an amazing school, you’re lucky to have the option to attend and you should consider whether it is the right school for you. Good luck!</p>