My daughter is making her choice this week, and we’d love any insight! She’s does not yet know what she would like to major in, though currently she seems to be leaning towards environmental studies/policy/planning. She’s a very bright and think-outside-the-box kid, a little bit shy and sometimes a little bit anxious. She values real-world “doing” outside the classroom as much as deep-diving into academe. We hope she will find a place to build a wonderful cohort of friends, a place that will feed her brain and allow her to engage in lively and deep conversations, and a place that will encourage her to be bold and explore new things. Also, I should add she intends to defer one year for a gap year, as she’s a year younger than her peers, and that Brandeis accepted her as a mid-year, for a spring semester start. Which school would be the best fit for her? Thank you!!
Would she prefer a gap semester versus a gap year? If she prefers a gap semester, then the Brandeis spring start may be attractive to her.
She may want to go through the course offerings of each school in the areas of interest to see which offers more of what she is interested in.
Does cost differ or matter?
If she attends Brandeis, she’s opt for the gap year + the semester. (Brandeis has some really nice fall semester options she could do, which would allow her to meet a handful of other mid-years before arriving in the spring.) 'Costs work out to be similar enough among the schools that it isn’t a major factor. Thanks!
If she hasn’t do so already she should be sure each of her options allow students to defer.
FWIW my friend’s D had a spring admit at Brandeis (she did the fall semester in Europe on a program sponsored by Brandeis-- I forgot where she went in Europe) and it worked out quite well.
Thank you! Yes; she’s confirming that deferring is an option at each. Glad to know the fall travel / spring start worked well!