<p>Hello,
So I put my deposit into Dickinson, but I got into Brandeis off the waitlist. I'm looking for some opinions on the schools. Brandeis is very Jewish - that's not a problem, I just don't want to be excluded (I'm not Jewish). Also, I've heard that parties aren't even that common... Obviously, I'm going to school for an education, not to get drunk every day, but I am wondering if that is true, and what people do there for fun. On the other hand, I plan to be a biochem major (and possibly pre-med), and people say it would make more sense to go to Brandeis. Plus, I like that its near boston - not in the middle of nowhere like Dickinson. So basically, my qualms are that Brandeis is boring, and Dickinson isn't sufficiently science-oriented. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Yeah. So why’d you apply to Brandeis and Dickinson? :)</p>
<p>Brandeis is not boring.
There are no frats, so the social life is more inclusive and dorm-centered, etc. but far from boring.</p>
<p>As far as “very” Jewish, well only half the students are Jewish and only a small percentage of them are “very” Jewish.</p>
<p>And for undergrad biochem, well it’s about as good as it gets.</p>
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<p>LOL. But so true. Talk about not being very excited about your choices.</p>
<p>Dickinson is a fine small liberal arts college, as you point out, in the middle of nowhere. In contrast, Brandeis combines a nurturing, small liberal arts college and world-class research university-with the smallest student body I believe (less than 800 in a class) of any top tier national research university. And that small student body is matched with high-powered professors who actually teach in small classes. As you can imagine, the research opportunities are tremendous. Plus by being very close to Boston but on its own suburban campus, its full of campus activities and gives you easy access to the city–the best of both worlds.</p>
<p>As I’ve mentioned to others on CC, for undergraduate students, Brandeis is truly amazing. Its intellectual environment is comparable in many ways to its University Athletic Association sister school, U Chicago (perhaps no coincidence that the President of U Chicago is a Brandeis alum). Yet its students are down-to-earth, friendly and non-competitive with one another.</p>
<p>With respect to the sciences, Brandeis is first rate with a spectacular new science center. Also, if you haven’t seen it, you should watch the interview on the Brandeis website with Greg Petsko, Professor of Biochem, who left MIT to come to Brandeis. He discusses his reasons as to why he found Brandeis to be, in his words, “a better place” to teach and for his students to learn. Here’s a link to the “video tour”: [url=<a href=“http://www.brandeis.edu/admissions/videotour/]Tour[/url”>http://www.brandeis.edu/admissions/videotour/]Tour[/url</a>]. Then, you may need to click through to the faculty interviews to find Petsko.</p>
<p>Also, with respect to diversity, Brandeis is very diverse undergraduate and graduate, with a strong international flavor. Brandeis is not a Jewish school. It is and has always been a secular institution. Although founded by the Jewish community in the spirit of other great private, secular schools (e.g. Protestant Harvard and Presbyterian Princeton), its student body is less than half Jewish and about 20-30% minorities and internationals (in fact the majority of The Brandeis International Business School is international students from many different countries). The administration and student body are very welcoming and accomodating of folks from all backgrounds. That is one of the prinicples on which the university was founded.</p>
<p>The nature of the Brandeis student body is very similar to other top schools you might not single out as “Jewish” because of their founding–e.g. Barnard, NYU and Penn Thse examples suggest that Brandeis is not unique in having a significant Jewish population. However, it is unique in providing a truly small and intellectually stimulating liberal arts college environment within a major research university.</p>
<p>On the subject of social life and whether Brandeis is the right fit for you, I believe the kind of person who would feel comfortable at Brandeis is an intellecutal and/or creative sort who is friendly and comfortable with himself or herself and not competitive or pretentious. Intellectual but down-to-earth and friendly I think is an apt description of the student body. Unlike some preppy place or frat-oriented environments where social interraction is based on the “exclusivity” of the frat system, Brandeis has a welcoming, relatively-nonjudgmental environment–yet there are some off-campus frats for those who like what they have to offer. There is no pressure to party, but parties are there if you want them. Often social interaction centers around the numerous clubs and other terrific extracuriculars like theater and music. </p>
<p>Forgive my enthusiasm, but as a Brandeis alum, I loved it! Good luck with your decision!</p>
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<p>Nurturing … world-class research university … high-powered professors? </p>
<p>Wow. You should work in marketing.</p>
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<p>How a school is founded is a matter of history and the history/facts of that period in time. It’s also a non-issue if a school maintains an affiliation. The difference between the schools you mentioned besides being in different leagues (both literally and figuratively) is that Princeton (for example) currently does not have a majority of student that are Presbyterian but has sought and achieved a diverse student body.</p>
<p>Don’t mean to sound like a marketer. I just think that Brandeis is great. As for diversity, Brandeis’ diversity is significant and remarkable in its short history (about 60 years). It surely seeks diversity and undoubtedly is far more diverse than was Princeton after its first 60 years of existence. And unlike so many other schools that were religiously founded and became secular, Brandeis has always been a secular institution. If your focus is religion, Brandeis is not even in the top ten of colleges with the largest Jewish populations. See: [Fall</a> 2007 - Universities with the Largest Jewish Population in North America](<a href=“http://www.hillel.org/about/news/2008/feb/14feb08_topschools.htm]Fall”>http://www.hillel.org/about/news/2008/feb/14feb08_topschools.htm). And with 40% of the total student body identifying as Jewish (and undergrads do mix with grads on the campus), its religious percentages are in line with many other top schools.</p>