<p>Hi, i’m considering Brandeis as one of my schools.
However, i am an Asian student so I don’t have the chance to visit the school to get a rough idea of how it is like.
Can someone give kinda highlights/overview of Brandeis?</p>
<p>From what I heard, Brandeis seems to be very intellectual because of the strong Jews culture there. I’m an Asian so i don’t really know what it means by ‘Jews culture’</p>
<p>So can someone explain it to me?
Thanks</p>
<p>hbrad8002, I responded to your parallel post in the 'would I fit in" thread. I’ll post here as well to make sure you see it. </p>
<p>Brandeis is a great school but is not a religious institution like a Georgetown or Notre Dame. It always has been a secular school, although founded in the tradition of Harvard, Princeton etc by a religious-affiliated group. Currently its Jewish population is actually less than 50% and around 25% of the student body is minority and international students. And even the students identifying themselves as Jewish are from diverse backgrounds. So, ultimately the school is quite diverse and continues to strive for increasing diversity. If you’ve heard that brandeis has an intellectual culture that is attributable to its connection to the Jewish community, I couldn’t deny that there is truth to that, but I believe that assertion is more of a feeling based on its commitment to academic excellence rather than something that can be supported by evidence.</p>
<p>Brandeis’ secular culture is not “white bread.” It strives to be accomodating of all cultures and has been very successful at that given its short history. At this stage, its the nature of its student body is very similar to other schools with significant percentages of Jewish students that you might not single out as “Jewish” because of their founding–e.g. Barnard, NYU and Penn. These examples suggest that Brandeis is not unique among top schools 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. Here’s a link to a thread where this view and others are discussed: </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brandeis-university/784393-non-jewish-students-brandeis.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brandeis-university/784393-non-jewish-students-brandeis.html</a></p>
<p>thank you very much B77 :)</p>
<p>yet, I want to ask about the academic rigor of Brandeis. When people say that Brandeis students are very intellectual, do they mean that Brandeis students just study all the time?
And I’ve seen that Brandeis has a close relation with UChicago, which is a very academically rigorous school.
So what is your opinion about this?
Because I’m not the type of study/read/write person. I spend more time hanging out and getting involved in activities than reading books.
the reason i like Brandeis is its location and its recognition around the world</p>
<p>If you are not a “study/read/write person” and “spend more time hanging out” then I really don’t think college is for you right now.</p>
<p>Perhaps you should take a year or two off and figure out what you want to do and the type of education you would like to get, etc.</p>
<p>The reason Brandeis and schools like it have the recognition that you like so much, is that they attract those “study/read/write” people that you apparently are not.</p>
<p>I wonder if there is a bit of a cultural gap here — hbrad, are you looking for a school that has a balance, where students do things besides study? Or are you really just not interested in schoolwork? If it’s the first, then I would think that Brandeis would be fine. The students will study hard, but also be involved in activities and social life. </p>
<p>Also, just for the sake of improving your expression and not risk offending anyone, I would say “Jewish” culture not “Jews” culture. The latter has a more derogatory tone to it, even though I know you did not mean it that way.</p>
<p>hmm i see. and i’m sorry if I’ve offended anyone here. Because i’m an Asian student so I really don’t know anything about the Jews and Jewish culture. I’m really sorry.
Yea, i’m looking for the type of balanced school. but actually if a bit more of activities than study would be better for me. </p>
<p>and yeah, i now realize that Brandeis is well known actually for its academic rigor and intellectuality :)</p>
<p>then I think i may not fit in this school… sigh</p>