<p>After being wait-listed at Oberlin and accepted to Brandeis, I was set to go to Brandeis in the fall. However, Oberlin just took me off of their wait-list and accepted me into their class of 2017! I am now slightly torn, as I think I would have said to Oberlin if they accepted me earlier, but now I have grown to be excited about Brandeis. While I understand Oberlin might be stronger in the arts, and Brandeis in the sciences, I am interested in pursuing both the sciences AND the arts, which makes this decision very difficult. Oberlin and Brandeis are very similar in some ways, but very different in others. Oberlin wants a decision from me in four days, and without the time to schedule a last-minute visit, I have to make a quick decision! Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Oberlin is strong (if not stronger) in both the arts and sciences. Graduates of Oberlin do very well gaining admission to graduate and medical schools. Life at Oberlin would be different from life at Brandeis. Students at Oberlin value self-expression and liberal causes. And the music on campus is fantastic. If non-conformity is something that appeals to you, Oberlin would be a good choice. If not, you probably would be happier at Brandeis. I would try not to hold it against Oberlin that you weren’t admitted during the first round. Pick the school that seems the best for you.</p>
<p>I think it’s a question of personal taste and not that one is supposedly stronger than the other in some area. Do you want to be in a Boston suburb or in a small college town?</p>
<p>If you look at science/engineering Ph.D. productivity Oberlin has a slightly higher rate and slightly larger total number of doctorates of its graduates.</p>
<p>[nsf.gov</a> - NCSES Baccalaureate Origins of U.S.-trained S&E Doctorate Recipients - US National Science Foundation (NSF)](<a href=“nsf.gov - NCSES Baccalaureate Origins of U.S.-trained S&E Doctorate Recipients - US National Science Foundation (NSF)”>nsf.gov - NCSES Baccalaureate Origins of U.S.-trained S&E Doctorate Recipients - US National Science Foundation (NSF))</p>
<p>I would tell Oberlin that you need to visit. See if you can arrange a visit in the next week before exams are over.</p>
<p>Well…students at Brandeis also “value self-expression and liberal causes”. Don’t make it sound like an either-or situation when it isn’t.
Which school did you think was a better fit **before **your acceptances and waitlist notifications came in?
Did you post your question the sub-forums for each school? You will get more opinions there from people who know those schools well.</p>
<p>My D is a STEM major at Oberlin, has a research position next year and an internship this summer that she got because her Oberlin recommendations were extremely personal. I think that the Oberlin community is much more tight knit than the Brandeis community just because it’s smaller and in a small town. On the flip side, Brandeis is bigger and near a great town. Good luck with the choice. You really can’t go wrong.</p>
<p>I seriously considered Brandeis and my mother is an alum who now works in a creative field. Brandeis is extremely strong in the sciences and places a huge emphasis on artistic expression, maybe not as much as Oberlin owing to the lack of a conservatory, but still a very strong emphasis. The level of research that goes on at Brandeis is MUCH higher than that of Oberlin (that’s the nature of a small research university vs a LAC) but because it’s such a small school, it’s incredibly easy to connect with professors. In fact after graduation, my mom was accepted, with full funding, to a top 5 Econ grad program, and knows plenty of other, much more recent alumni who enjoyed similar success with respect to grad programs or employment. The main issue with Brandeis vs. Oberlin is that many intro classes are likely to be larger lecture courses, whereas at Oberlin they will (probably) be much smaller. Fortunately, even in the most popular majors, class sizes noticeably decrease after the initial intro class.</p>
<p>
wow, that would be news to my non-conformist D, Brandeis Class of '13.</p>
<p>My eldest D – was an arts major at Brandeis (Double Major in English and Philosophy). She found the education to be top notch. Her experience was that the Professors at Brandeis were very accessable and very helpful. In fact, she went on to get her Masters in Philosophy with the encouragement of the Department. </p>
<p>Overall, she had a great experience at the school.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I know little about Oberlin, but have not heard anything bad about it.</p>