<p>Are you happy?
If you had a choice to leave Brandeis would you?</p>
<p>I am very happy here and I would not leave Brandeis, if given the option.</p>
<p>I too am very, very happy. I wouldn't want to transfer for any reason. PM with specific questions, if you want.</p>
<p>I've been less than satisfied with my experience at Brandeis. There have been some good things about being here, and some pretty happy times, but also some downright miserable ones as well. I got tremendous financial aid, so transferring was never an option, but even if it were I still think I would have stuck it out here. As it is I'm graduating in 2 months, and I did reach my goal of getting into medical school, so I'm not too bitter. But I really don't think I'm going to miss it here all that much.</p>
<p>For potential '10ers and younger students, I want to emphasize that things here have not gotten better over my 4 years here. If anything they have gotten worse. I don't think we're keeping up academically with other schools of our caliber, our social scene is bad no matter which school you're comparing us with, and the administration which is always "calling for student input" is really a dictatorship that makes final decisions without much regard for either our views or the faculty's, and in the sciences, at least, personal attention is nonexistent. (case in point--I had a professor who wouldn't let us come for extra help unless we had documented proof that we had already seen the TA first) If I thought Brandeis was on the up-and-up I'd probably recommend coming here to most of you, but I think it's going the other way (or at least not keeping up with other schools of similar quality/prestige).</p>
<p>That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Before you 'Deis lovers sic your pit bulls on me, keep in mind that I am set for a successful future so I'm not trashing Brandeis out of revenge. I just think you potential students out there should hear both sides of the story. I wasn't that lucky four years ago.</p>
<p>deispremed, thanks for your post!! I found it pretty helpful!</p>
<p>I'm glad you found it helpful, but there's one thing I need to say.</p>
<p>No two people's experiences here are exactly the same. Maybe Brandeis is the right place for you, and I don't want you or anybody else out to take my opinions as gospel (I know, not a very Jewish term) and not come here because of what I said. Every year there's an open house for accepted students in the spring. I think it's coming up in early April. I strongly recommend you come--not only will you get to meet some of your future potential classmates, they have so many people staying overnight that they can't all be hosted by the sycophants who are in lockstep with the Admissions office. Instead, you'll probably get to be with a regular student, attend classes, and do whatever you want (some people will throw parties, which you guys aren't "supposed" to go to). Hell, they even let me be a host a few years ago.</p>
<p>So, in conclusion: come to the open house in a couple weeks, hang out and bunk with students who aren't being paid by Admissions to sell the school to you, and judge for yourself.</p>
<p>deispremed, students who works for admissions are volunteers. (tour guide, chatter, overnight host, ambassadors, etc.)</p>
<p>deispremed, i definitely agree with many of the things you said, though i'm only a freshman. I, too, came here SOLELY because of financial aid (i really did not like brandeis when i visited it)... I came very, very close to just taking out the loans at the place i had my heart set on... but ultimately my parents convinced me not to put myself in that financial position, and so i "chose" brandeis.</p>
<p>i really do highly suggest visiting. I'm not going to tell you that NO ONE is happy here, because that's obviously not true - there are many students here who are very happy. However, there are a frightening number who are not. I cannot tell you how many people I know who are applying to transfer - I am one of them. This year has been very difficult for me, as I have known for awhile that I really, really want to transfer. Though I did not want to come to brandeis, i can assure you i did not intend to transfer - i never thought i would put myself through the application process again. I figured, once i was here i was here. However, I quickly realized that Brandeis was not what i wanted. My parents told me that it was probably just the college adjustment; however, i am now halfway through my second semester and my feelings about brandeis have not changed. </p>
<p>I have also spoken with older students who regret not transferring. Many have told me it gets better after freshman year... basically because it can't get any worse. </p>
<p>I really don't know EXACTLY why so many people here are unhappy, but I think that the number of students applying to transfer speaks for itself. None of my friends from home know as many people as I do at their schools who are trying to transfer. Also, one thing that really gets me is how few people I know who really wanted to go to brandeis. Many, like me, came here because of financial reasons, and many others simply didn't get into the places they wanted to go to. I honestly have hardly met anyone who said brandeis was their first choice. I know that these people do exist, but i think that the large number of people that didn't really want to be here is also important.</p>
<p>I'm really not trying to scare you! As I said above, Brandeis is a good fit for many good, smart, motivated students... however, for some reason, many of us here find that it isn't the place we want. And for fellow students at Brandeis who are happy - I am not saying brandeis is a bad school! I will be the first to admit that brandeis is a good school with a good reputation... there are just many things about it that I (and many people that i know) do not like.</p>
<p>......wow......</p>
<p>starcatch -it would be more helpful to others if you listed a few specific things that make you unhappy at Brandeis.</p>
<p>I definitely agree that we should hear specifics, but to me it sounds like the majority of students are unhappy with thier experiences at Brandeis. It disappoints me because Brandeis was one of my top choices...</p>
<p>What schools are you applying to transfer to?</p>
<p>I don't doubt Brandeis wasn't a good fit for you, star. I'm sorry to hear that. However, for your post to have any significance, you are going to need to list specifics. (You didn't have one)</p>
<p>I am a first-year and I am happier here than I ever have been in my entire life; many of my friends feel the same way. I applied ED and NEVER regretted the choice.</p>
<p>Academics: Top-notch. Our professors have a litany of prestigious honors, but, more importantly, are accessible. They want to cultivate meaningful relationships with students. Every week, we call our Journalism teacher's home phone to go over the project to get the most out of the class. That's something you don't find at other schools where the crem-de-la-crem spend their time with their own research or grad students. We only have like 3 or 4 classrooms built to accommodate 100+ students because there are so few classes of that size. (Intro Psyc, Intro Sociology and Intro Chem) </p>
<p>Clubs: Go to my.brandeis.edu/clubs the list of clubs speaks for itself. It's so easy to get involved. Sophomores and Juniors hold most club leadership positions. I'm a first-year and I'm very, very involved in the Newspaper- The Justice. </p>
<p>Student Body: We're generally much more down-to-Earth than any other student body.</p>
<p>Social Life: Everyone does what feels comfortable to them. You like drinking? You'll have no trouble at all finding parties. There are 5 frats and 2 sororities off-campus. There's drinking in the dorms and whatnot. You don't like drinking? You will NEVER be pressured to drink. You won't be looked down if you go out to parties and choose not to drink (unlike most other schools, my friends report). You say you heard Brandeis has nothing going on? Utter lie. See <a href="http://my.brandeis.edu/btime/day-view%5B/url%5D">http://my.brandeis.edu/btime/day-view</a> Let's see what's going on Today: Softball and Baseball games, display of faculty artwork at our very own Rose Museum, URINETOWN the musical, a fashion show and THREE DANCES (Dance Around the World, Bashment Jam!! and Deis-a-thon). Don't like any of that? Go to Chum's, our coffeehouse that has campus bands performing, good food, board games and a great atmosphere. There's the city of Boston nine miles to the east, which brings me to...</p>
<p>Location: Best of both worlds. Safe, beautiful, suburban campus with easy-access to the greatest city for college students. Free shuttles take you into Cambridge (Great stores, restaurants and opportunity to meet kids from other colleges) and Boston Th.-Sun. There's a commuter rail stop on campus. Change at North Station to go ANYWHERE in the city. Quincy Market, the Pru, the giant multi-plex at the Commons, nice restaurants, etc. We are in the suburb of Waltham. Waltham is known throughout the Boston area for its ethnic and high-quality restaurants. It's easy to get into Waltham, the BranVan runs 8AM-2AM 7- days-a-week.</p>
<p>If you have any other questions, PM me. In summary, Brandeis is an awesome university.</p>
<p>sulsk, I'm happy for you that your academic experience has been great so far, but I have not found the positive things that you have here.</p>
<p>First, the vast majority of science professors are not accessible at all. To them, teaching undergrads is their last priority, behind running a lab, working with grad students, getting grants, family, and hobbies.</p>
<p>And "few classes of that size?" (100+) I can name some others I've been in besides those--Orgo, Physics, General Bio, Philosophy of Law, Intro to Econ (although I really liked that class), and even more between 75-100 students. </p>
<p>Everybody, here's the conclusion that I'm going to make based on my observations. Humanities majors by and large are much happier on the average than science majors. I'm going to guess that sulsk is a humanities major based on crude probability. Also, I think a lot of students (myself included) come here because of the merit aid the school throws at us. So basically there's a large group of students, inc. myself and Starcatch, who only came for financial reasons, rather than because this was their dream school. Moreover, some of us got into our dream schools but had to turn them down in favor of Brandeis.</p>
<p>As I said earlier, all you pre-froshes should come to open house. It won't tell you everything about Brandeis but it'll give you more of a picture.</p>
<p>I'm a prefosh, but I think anyone who is considering Brandeis should just go and visit the campus. Just because someone likes/dislikes it doesn't mean you'll feel the same. You'll find unhappy students at every school, not just Brandeis. <em>shrug</em></p>
<p>sulsk.... you are my life!
thank you! you reestablished my love for deis and faith that im going to have a great time there next year! </p>
<p>deispremed and starcartch... eh im sorry you don't like it... but i think you really just need to chill out. if you go into something assuming ur not going to like it and plan to transfer or whatever you are most deffinately going to have a miserable time. so i feel like you put yourselves in the possition. i highly doubt that you don't have friends who care about you and i highly doubt that you're teachers don't care about you and your success either.</p>
<p>Yes, Linnea, just go ahead and assume that I'm wrong just because you didn't want to believe what I said. I hope you do enjoy Brandeis, but I don't think someone in your position should tell me to chill out. I'm a senior, and I think four years of being here makes me more of an expert on the school than you, who hasn't even registered in a first-year USEM yet. I can tell you if I had that attitude this year when talking to fourth-year medical students at interview days, I would have made quite a few enemies there.</p>
<p>Also, I never said I don't have friends who care about me, so please don't put words in my mouth. And don't expect all of your professors to be your friends and parents rolled into one--as far as they're concerned you're near the bottom of their list of priorities. </p>
<p>Also before you arrive please learn how to spell "definitely." In college some professors will mark off for things such as spelling errors. And when they do their word is final, and there's nothing you'll be able to do about it. Welcome to the grown-up world!</p>
<p>OK, I am not a Brandeis student....not in any shape or form. However, my son's closest friend is a sophomore at Brandeis, and they are always chatting about the school.</p>
<p>Son's friend absolutely loves the school and was trying to get my son to go there. His experience is very different than deispremed. This friend is an American Studies major and is working closely with one of his profs. He is active in several student organizations, including Hillel. Brandeis was not his first choice, yet he has nothing but praise concerning his own experience. He's had a summer internship in Washington D.C. and eventually plans to go to law school. </p>
<p>He gave son just one word of warning.....he was not as postive about those Brandeis students who were pre-med. Son's friend felt they worked their tails off and some had very limited time for much outside the classroom. He also felt there was a lot of competition between the pre-med students and some of it wasn't pleasant.</p>
<p>When my son visited the campus last summer (and this was before he'd discusssed things with his friend), he also sensed a significant difference between the experiences of the Brandeis pre-meds and the experiences of most other students. It wasn't the workload that bothered my son --- he'd just spent the summer at U Chicago working from early morning till evening in the lab. His fear was that the profs at Brandeis kept their distance while the process of weed-out was going one. Despite son's hesitation, he applied to Brandeis since the school had many attractive features, plus he was not sold 100% on a bio major. I don't think my son would have any hesitation majoring in something like history at Deis. </p>
<p>As a mom, it's hard for me to judge all this. It seems that pre-med is universally more difficult, whatever school you attend. To expect something different at Brandeis is perhaps unrealistic. But the one thing I will say is that, when son was at Chicago, he had a lot of positive feedback from his profs. They were very approachable (in addition to being hard as blazes in the classroom!) After seeing the campus and talking with his friend, he was less sure about the sciences at Deis.</p>
<p>It would be nice to get the perspective of another science student at Brandeis, either on this thread or when/if you visit the campus. If you aren't in the sciences, this will probably be of less concern.</p>
<p>true... I should have checked my spelling. </p>
<p>and I wasn't putting words in your mouth I was just saying that I'm sure you have friends who care about you and I thought that might make for a good experience anywhere.</p>
<p>Since Brandeis has a different type of social atmosphere, I strongly suggest one visits to make sure that the environment is a fit for them.</p>
<p>I visited all types of schools and Brandeis definitely had unique qualities for me. Sometimes you get that gut feeling regarding the compatibility of a school in meeting your needs and interests.</p>
<p>It is a great school for many students. This forum confirms the importance of fit based upon the varied experiences students have.</p>