<p>Our son is now choosing between American and Brandeis and really on the fence between these two great choices. Brandeis seems to have superior academics and faculty, a better fit intellectually; AU seems more activist in nature, which would also be great, as our kid loves American politics and will be majoring in political science and government on his way to law school and public service. Brandeis has much higher "rankings" but we can't figure out how much weight to give that. What is being measured? And college life in DC or Boston? Internship opportunities at AU or Brandeis? What about social life at these two schools? what resources are there to help freshmen transition to college life? What are the strengths of each place? How important is location, class size, diversity? Alumni relations? Costs are the same so not a determining factor. Thanks for any insights you might have.</p>