<p>There have been some posts on this topic here, but nothing too substantive. I am trying to narrow down the list of schools to apply to next year, and would appreciate a more meaty discussion. Yes, I plan on visiting, but in the mean time I would appreciate info on the topics below. PLEASE BE SPECIFIC WHENEVER POISSIBLE.</p>
<p>Thanks - Da Geek</p>
<li><p>What are the top 3 things you like about ACADEMICS. I don’t not care about the social life/party scene :-)</p></li>
<li><p>Ditto for the top 2 things you dislike about academics.</p></li>
<li><p>How would you describe academic instruction - buttoned down/routine; focused on rote memorization; quirky/free-spirited; etc. Do instructors on average try to make it engaging, or is it a typical “lecture” thing?</p></li>
<li><p>How would you rate the opportunity for interdisciplinary studies? I am mostly humanties-oriented, but I do like art and some of the sciences, and would not mind to get a broad taste of things.</p></li>
<li><p>When are you expected to declare a major? Do you apply to a specific college and then have to major there, or is it wide open, e.g., through sophomore year.</p></li>
<li><p>Are students generally helpful and supportive of each other, or is it dog-eat-dog? </p></li>
<li><p>Did you feel that you had adeqaute internship/practical experience opportunites. Please include your major when responding to this one.</p></li>
<li><p>Does the school feel like it is on the upswing or downswing? Are facilities properly maintained, particularly the library? It seems that some of the smaller schools squander the few facilities that they do have.</p></li>
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<p>Those are great questions! Hope they get answered soon. I am the mother of a Brandeis frosh-to-be. When we visited , we sat in on a course called Intro to Popular Culture--we were very impressed. There were about 100 kids there but the prof was informal and yet incisive and inspiring-he took student responses into account and really answered their questions and encouraged them to think and contribute to the discussion--and for a big course--quite a few seemed to have no inhibitions about speaking to the group. My D has referred to ideas she picked up from that class on several occasions since then.</p>
<p>One of my worries about Brandeis, however, is that some big name popular profs seems to leave after several years for other schools--possibly it is seen academically as a stepping stone to better things? Nevertheless, you can still catch some good younger profs on their way up.</p>
<p>I did a pretty thorough post on this, so check that out. I'll try not to repeat myself and I'll do my best to answer your questions:
1. I've been very happy with my professors this year (save for my math teacher). I really feel like a couple of them are my friends. They want to help you, not torture you. They are knowledgeable and welcome student input during lecture. Students have no qualms about speaking up with questions. They have office hours, they are prompt with email, and they treat you like peers. They're nice. At first you feel kind of intimidated by a hotshot PHD who's lectured all over the country, but that quickly disappears. They're (highly intelligent) regular folk. I also LOOOVE the laid-back requirements (one of the reasons why I chose this college). They are easy to fulfill at any time in college, except for the USEM which is mandatory freshman year.
2. Dislikes...hmm. I guess I hate how sometimes everything happens at once it terms of exams and papers, but that's probably normal for any college student. Also I wish that there were some public speaking courses. I think in the future they are going to make that a requirement as part of the USEM. And I wish that my 5 on the AP English Lit exam could have tested me out of a requirement.
3. Engaging lectures...like I said people speak up all the time. Also many classes can be smaller, like languages. And it's definitely not about memorization, at least in humanities courses. The profs want you to think and back up your opinions, not to spit back what they've told you.
4. Excellent. I'm also humanities and I'm taking math, legal studies, English, Spanish, and a gym. Last semester I took econ, political science, a USEM, and language. My good friend is premed but is interested in art history so she pursues that. Another premed friend is majoring in politics (but obviously taking all the premed courses like calc and chem).
5. I think it's second semester sophomore year. No, you don't have to apply to a specific 'school.'
6. YES. I mentioned this in my other post. Students here do not brag about grades and are definitely willing to help each other out. In my high school there was a lot of grade-grubbing and everyone in the class knew who got the best grade and who got the worst grade. For me that's very personal and it always annoyed me. At Brandeis people are humble about grades and GPA. For my math class my hallmates and I have a study group, and these help so much. If you're taking a large lecture class like economics having peers to help you is definitely useful/more fun because you have people to commiserate with. I see students studying together all the time.
7. I'm a freshman so can't really answer that.
8. There are two libraries: a science and another one and they are both great. I think the facilities are fine. There's always room for improvement but I don't have a problem with them.</p>
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<li><p>I like that we have a prestigious faculty. I like how many classes (not all) have lots of discussion. Class size is very small as student-faculty ratio is the very low 8:1.</p></li>
<li><p>Not so much a dislike, but pick classes carefully. Don't pick what's popular or necessary go with the "big-name" professor. I have been disappointed with a course that is supposed to be "the best." Why? It's mostly lecture, and I much prefer discussions. I wish we could take education courses earlier than 2nd semester of sophomore year (that is only if you're in secondary education).</p></li>
<li><p>It seems like everyone at Brandeis- students and faculty- is unique and kinda quirky. Obviously, every single teacher is different. In general, and this totally true, classes are very, very interesting. we are not expected to memorize things, but challenge material we are taught. (probably not true of science courses, though.)</p></li>
<li><p>You can absolutely take whatever interests you. you'll be more than able to fit courses not apart of your major into your schedule.</p></li>
<li><p>You must declare a major before the end of sophomore year.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes, in general, students truly are very helpful. You can always call a classmate for help, even if you don't really know them. You can always form a group-study session.</p></li>
<li><p>I'm a first-year, so don't have first-hand experience with internships. However, I know our school is huge on "learning by doing." We just had a huge experiential learning fair yesterday with the president, dean of academics, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Upswing without a doubt. We are building a new $154 million science facility, new dorm, parking garage, academic buildings, etc. Our library has 1.25 million volumes, which is a lot for a small school.</p></li>
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<li><p>Humanities classes are more discussion-based and less structured. Sciences are period-long lectures, with at least 90% memorization. Questions are tolerated and answered, although instead of asking pertinent, incisive queries many students use this opportunity to try to brag about some little piece of knowledge that has no real relevance to the material.</p></li>
<li><p>Students are not so competitive, which is nice. However some professors seem to get a sadistic kick out of making 100 students compete for 5 or 6 A's.</p></li>
<li><p>The career center is pathetic. You want an internship, you have to do all the work, and you won't have many connections to help get your foot in the door.</p></li>
<li><p>Downswing. You can say all you want about new buildings, but the administration has become increasingly heavy-handed and unresponsive to student input (think eliminating academic departments and Modfest as an example), and many of the well-known professors are jumping ship for other schools. If you observe closely you just get the feeling that they're running the school for interests other than the students', which is pretty callous considering the way they're jacking up the costs of going here. Also see the answers above. Sorry, I'm calling it as I see it. I really would prefer to have more positive answers. Check in with me next year when I'm somewhere else and I bet I can do it.</p></li>
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