Brandeis worth the money?

My DD is a student-athlete(softball) and has narrowed down her choices to Brandeis & Muhlenberg. In both cases, she has had a pre-read and will be accepted. Muhlenberg already told her she will receive $20k in merit and can apply ED or RD. Brandeis will require her to apply ED and will not say if there is merit or not. She wants to go to law school and we feel Brandeis may be the better choice but without merit, we are bound to over $70k a year. Anyone have feedback on either school? Her first choice is Brandeis, she says it’s a better fit for her but is not opposed to Muhlenberg. Brandeis also seems to have a more competitive schedule for softball.

What is the after-merit cost of Muhlenberg?
(You say Brandeis will be over $70k a year, but compared to what?)

Not to be a Negative Nancy but injuries happen and academics are still front and center so my question would be which school seems to be a better fit without softball. My DD has seriously considered both schools and actually revisited one of them today. I think their overall feeling and academics couldn’t be more different. Not to mention, the GPA and test scores of enrolled students at each one are significantly different. I would check the common data set for both and see which students are closer to her ability. If she isn’t challenged academically (or feels like she is always behind), she may not be able to look past that no matter what the athletic situation is.

My son is at Brandeis now, a freshman. We are very impressed with the academics. He’s pursuing sciences and the faculty in his area is terrific, courses quite rigorous. He wants to go to graduate school and I have no doubt that if he succeeds academically at Brandeis, many doors will open. The campus has been very welcoming, they did a wonderful job with orientation, and he is really enjoying it. It’s a great fit for him. If rigorous academics is important, then Brandeis is likely the better choice. The issue is: if she is accepted ED, and you get no merit aid, then can you turn down the offer based on financial constraints? For comparison, our son received did receive merit aid from Brandeis in RD, and from 2 other colleges to which he was admitted. One of those was almost a peer to Brandeis, and did offer him a bit more, but it wasn’t enough to choose against Brandeis. A second school offered him 8K more annually, and the tuition at that college was less, but the academics were not nearly as strong in his area of interest. Ultimately, we determined that the overall value at Brandeis was greater, when you consider his future options for graduate school and career. A career in the sciences is certainly a different path than a legal career, and often on CC you’ll see that it is largely GPA that matters for law school admission, but I think graduating from a top school opens doors. Good luck with it! I know how hard these choices can be.

Muhlenberg is a very fine college!!

Thanks for the feedback! @helpingmom40, injuries definitely happen! She’s currently dealing with tendonitis so we have had that discussion and she would be good with either school without softball.

Why does she have to ED to Brandeis? If she applies regular she can make the decision and weigh all her offers.

This seems like an athletic recruiting situation.

It is related to athletic recruiting. In order to get full coach support, she has to apply ED.

Sbmom, that is difficult and vulnerable to apply ed and not know the price. Too bad they are in the driver’s seat and not you. It is tough. I don’t know what to say. My daughter is applying to both Muhlenberg and brandeis and hoping for merit money.

I believe Brandeis’ merit scholarships are very competitive. How do her academic stats compare to the top students at Brandeis? If she is getting in due to the softball boost, my guess (and just a guess no real knowledge) she may not get much. I know you can get out of ED due to not enough financial aid, but not sure about merit money.

The question is whether Brandeis is worth $80K more over four years (discount to Muhlenberg). Both are good schools, but with a very different vibe.

My oldest was a NMF with very high test scores but his grades did not put him in the top 10% of this HS. He got no merit from Brandeis, which he loved, but ended up at a peer school that gave him a lot of merit money. It just wasn’t worth the difference in cost.

I know people who have been very happy with both schools so it comes down to a mix of personal preference and affordability. It really is a personal decision.

IMO the questions to ask yourselves are:
–Can you afford paying full freight at Brandeis fairly comfortably (no huge loans, no hardship)?
–Does your D plan on attending grad school? Is that affordable if she goes to Brandeis with no scholarship?
–How much does your D prefer Brandeis?

Have you talked with Brandeis admissions and financial aid regarding a financial aid and/or merit pre-read? It is a tough and vulnerable position to be in, knowing that your D will get merit at Muhlenberg but not knowing net COA at Brandeis.

Consider reaching out to the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid (Jennifer Walker) https://www.brandeis.edu/admissions/about/staff.html Really, it is their job to help families work thru these issues.

Good luck.

@twoinanddone your thoughts as they relate to the athletic recruiting and requirement to apply ED at Brandeis? With no financial aid pre-read?

We have talked this through so much. We can pay for Brandeis in full if we had to but it won’t be easy. My daughter intends to go to law school but she knows that is on her. We are definitely leaning towards Brandeis and plan to make a decision by this weekend. I appreciate all of the thoughts and insight!

@SJ2727 Muhlenberg will be somewhere around $45k with the merit aide offered.

I think if Brandeis is requiring ED for coach’s support, they should give you a financial pre-read. It’s not like it is a big secret how much aid they will give to an athletic and it is just a timing thing whether they tell you now or tell you in Dec/Jan. Have them tell you now.

This is not an unusual request. Tell the coach you need to know before applying ED to compare it with other offers. The coach should understand that it is a $20k or more x 4 years decision. That’s a lot of money for most people.

You can make it clear that Brandeis is your first choice but finances are a consideration.

$80K towards law school would tip it at our house.

Both are great schools, and either will set her up well for law school.

@SBmom0702 : I posted on a different thread, but wanted you to know of our experience with our daughter being a recruited athlete who landed at Brandeis: current first year student. Ask the coach to support you in doing a financial pre-read. Our daughter’s coach suggested it when I balked at committing to paying for something without knowing the cost up front. Worked out great in our case and the estimate we got back from student financial services was just about spot on: actually got a bit more $ in the official offer after getting in ED. I would add that if the coach won’t support your request, he/she has made the decision for you about which school is best for your daughter. For if the coach won’t be their kindest, supportive self before your daughter has committed, that won’t change after your daughter has committed (advice we got from a friend).
FYI: Technically, D3 schools don’t offer athletic scholarships, so any funds you do get aren’t contingent on athletic participation at that school. Therefore, there are no funds available to attract a student/athlete and there is no binding commitment from that student to take the spot the coach is offering (IE: letter of intent signed by student). So ED is the only way a D3 coach knows if the student will be taking a spot on the team.

Assuming no grant aid money from Brandeis, the difference per year is about $27,000. Over four years = $108,000 difference. Law school is expensive.

Does she really need the admissions boost for Brandeis ? If not, then apply RD to several schools including both Brandeis & Muhlenberg.