<p>I’m the parent of a HS junior who’s very interested in both Brandeis and a year-long program in Israel between HS and college. We’re supportive of both interests, but we have some questions that others must already know the answers to:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>We’ve heard that it’s best for students not to tell colleges that they intend to defer enrollment for a year if admitted. True, truthy, or old wives’ tale?</p></li>
<li><p>If a student is admitted under early decision, can he still defer?</p></li>
<li><p>If a student is admitted and awarded any kind of merit aid, does she have to forfeit the aid if she defers? Can she then be considered for aid again with the class that she actually enters with?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I think it’s actually relatively common for some Brandeis students to defer because they decide to spend a year in Israel on educational, religious or military programs, so I would not worry about your first question and I’m sure that Early Decision students can defer as well.
For some reason I can’t find most of the official info on deferral on the website, I’m sure it used to be there but they have also changed the website around.
This is one piece of current info I was able to find was here:
[Merit</a> Scholarships | Office of Student Financial Services | Brandeis University](<a href=“http://www.brandeis.edu/sfs/scholarships/meritschols.html]Merit”>http://www.brandeis.edu/sfs/scholarships/meritschols.html)
But I would definitely contact admissions and the Financial Aid Office for more info. </p>
<p>I found this on an archived version of the site from 2006, I don’t think it’s changed very much:
"First-year students may defer admission to Brandeis for one year only.</p>
<p>If you are interested in deferring, you should apply to Brandeis in your senior year. If you are admitted, then file an enrollment deposit of $500 to commit to attending Brandeis. There is an additional $800 deferral deposit required to hold your place for the year. While both deposits are non-refundable, the $1,300 will be credited to your first semester bill. Your deferral must be approved; please request a copy of our deferral policy statement and agreement from the Office of Admissions. The strict deferral deadline is June 1."
[Applying</a> To Brandeis » Brandeis University Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://web.archive.org/web/20060903211107/www.brandeis.edu/admissions/applying/defer.php]Applying”>Applying To Brandeis » Brandeis University Undergraduate Admissions)</p>
<p>Just to clarify the answers to your questions Sikorsky: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Brandeis has a lot of defers, and it really doesn’t matter if you tell us you intend to defer or not. It won’t change how we review your application. This may be different at other institutions, but at Brandeis, it doesn’t matter to us whether or not you intend to defer.</p></li>
<li><p>Early Decision students are more than welcome to defer for a year, and many do.</p></li>
<li><p>If a student is awarded a merit scholarship, this scholarship is awarded for the next 4 years. So if a student defers for a year, they will receive 3 years of the merit scholarship. At many other institutions, a student would lose the entire merit scholarship, but at Brandeis, you’d only lose one year (for one year of deferment). </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I hope this information helps.</p>
<p>Jeff Wong
Admissions Counselor
Brandeis University</p>
<p>Jeff, thanks. WRT deferrals, these are the answers I pretty much expected, but knowing feels much safer than just expecting. Thanks, too, for the information about merit aid. I don’t know whether it’ll actually be relevant, of course…</p>
<p>Since Jeff Wong gave the official answer to your questions, I will digress a little and tell you my experience with a one year deferral. My son was accepted early to a top university (not Brandeis, but he is now a PhD student at Brandeis) and he came to my wife and I and said he would like to defer one year and go to Israel. After some discussion, we agreed as long as it was an “organized” program. We later came to learn that “organized program in Israel” is somewhat of an oxymoron, although in our case the result was very positive. </p>
<p>So my son enrolled in Young Judea’s Year Course. While it was more disorganized and loosely structured than I would have wished, the end results of deferring were very good. First, my son became reasonably fluent in Hebrew (he went to a day school through 8th grade and so had a decent background, but he certainly was not fluent). He worked for a number of months at a dairy on a kibbutz, which forced him to speak Hebrew outside of his Ulpan since very few Israelis who work in a dairy can speak much English. His improved language skills had far reaching consequences since he never considered himself strong in languages but this spurred him on to bigger things, and he later became reasonably fluent in Arabic as well. He is now truly multilingual. </p>
<p>Second, the experience of living in another country at age 18 was very beneficial. He actually had his own apartment for the last few months of the program and, by the end of the year, his level of self confidence and maturity had soared. Third, because the drinking age in Israel is 18—he could drink legally and therefore he and his friends bypassed much if not all of the irresponsible underage drinking behavior so prevalent on US college campuses. The bottom line is that he was much more prepared to start college after that year than he otherwise would have been. </p>
<p>Finally, his connection with and understanding of Israeli and Middle Eastern culture was immeasurably increased. While the academic portion of his program was not all that challenging, the educational benefit of living abroad made up for it. </p>
<p>So I recommend deferring so long as the student has firm plans to return and start college after the year. Also, I recommend checking out the program exhaustively. Based on my observations, most are pretty loosely structured by US standards. Good luck.</p>
<p>Oh, Bonanza, please don’t tell my wife that “loosely organized” thing. That’s just not the kind of thing a Jewish mother wants to hear!</p>
<p>Year Course is actually the program we’re considering most seriously, and we’re hoping to get most of the benefits you listed: a year of growing up and living more independently, shoring up Hebrew skills, and learning some Arabic. When I started teaching, my first job was in summer school. I got six weeks to make a lot of mistakes, but I didn’t have to live with any of them for more than a summer. I sort of hope a gap year is a similar opportunity to make some boneheaded 18-year-old mistakes, but not have them follow you around for the next four years.</p>
<p>But a LITTLE organization and supervision would be OK…</p>
<p>one thing I would inquire about is credit transferring from gap year programs (especially ones in israel) to brandeis. kids that have previously done the program im doing next year have gotten credit at most of the nation’s top schools (gwu, emory, berkeley, michigan etc) and even places like mcgill. they dont, however, get credit at ivies and, surprisingly, brandeis. the rationale given to me was since so many kids study in israel, oftentimes at yeshiva-like places, its really difficult to award credit. </p>
<p>so, if youre looking rationalize the cost of a gap year program with the potential for credit, i’d look somewhere other than brandeis.</p>
<p>It’s actually quite common for colleges to condition deferral of acceptance on the student agreeing that no credit will be given for any academic work done during the deferral period. Deferrals are granted for a variety of reasons, but trying to pad a transcript with with less expensive credits is generally not one of them. Also, the academic quality of many “gap year” programs is not at the level of top colleges or universities.</p>
<p>Deferrals are granted for a variety of reasons, but trying to pad a transcript with with less expensive credits is generally not one of them.</p>
<p>It certainly makes sense when you put it that way!</p>
<p>Transferring credits has never been the point for us. The point of the gap year would be to do some additional growing up before beginning college, and to become proficient in Hebrew.</p>
<p>I was just accepted ED to Brandeis, and I want to do a gap year. I received an Alumni and Friends Scholarship. Would that be considered merit-based aid that I could only get for 3 years if I took a gap year? (I’m not even sure if it’s a four-year renewable award.)</p>