<p>We missed visiting campus during yesterday’s admitted students day. For those of you who did attend, what were your take away impressions of the campus, of the university, of the activities during the day? We will be visiting in a couple weeks. Any recommendations or suggestions?</p>
<p>I don’t think you missed much that you can’t duplicate on your own, preferably on a sunny day (the weather was awful).</p>
<p>At the opening session a senior student, Pres. Reinharz and the Admissions Director addressed the masses of kids and parents–not much of substance from any of them. Next there were separate sessions for students and parents, which we skipped, because they seemed to be more of same. The remainder of the day you set your own schedule, choosing from campus tours, selected open classes, open houses by each academic area (arts, sciences, etc.) and panel discussions. We enjoyed the classes and the panel.</p>
<p>D had opted for an overnight. She is a prospective Theater Arts major and was surprised and amused to be paired with a science major junior (her overnights at other schools have been with students with similar interests). The girl for some reason had lots of extra beds in her suite and hosted a total 3 admitted students. (It appears that the dorms are underpopulated–another suite in the dorm D stayed in had only one occupant, and when I asked about forced triples, the tour guide had no idea what the term meant.) D would have preferred to meet more current students rather than several other visitors. The highlight of her stay was a drag show in the evening. (Not on he official list of events!) She came away with a positive feeling about Brandeis, but is still undecided.</p>
<p>I’m an alum who hasn’t seen the campus in many, many years, and I have to say I was disappointed in its appearance. What used to be open space with pleasant vistas has been filled in with many buildings, including a massive and dominating science complex, and the result is an almost urban feeling of congestion. There seems to be no cohesion of architectual styles–its pretty much a hodgepodge, and they don’t really work well together. More disturbing is the lack of maintenance. Some sidewalks were broken up, many of the older buildings were badly in need of a powerwashing, signage was in disrepair, exterior and interior finishes were worn. I imagine it’s a lot easier to get donors to cough up funds for a new building (a new admissions center is under construction) than it is to convince them to pay for ongoing upkeep. But I don’t remember the place ever looking that neglected.</p>
<p>Our interest piqued by the recent (and ongoing ) controversy, we stopped in the Rose Art Museum. In my 4 years at Brandeis neither I nor anyone I knew ever stepped foot in the place, and I was one of the few people who felt no regret that it might have to be sacrificed for the good of the school’s academic mission. Lo and behold, on a day when the campus was flooded with 1700 visitors, we were the only ones in the place.</p>
<p>A headline on the front page of the student newspaper, The Justice, was a bit dismaying–applications to Brandeis this year were down quite a lot (I forget the statistic), and the admittance rate was 40%, up from 32% the prior year (a combination of fewer applicants and a desire for a larger freshman class). You might want to read the article online.</p>
<p>As for your visit, I’d recommend trying to arrange a meeting with the relevant department head. An overnight would also valuable, including a chance to accompany the host to some classes the next day.</p>
<p>I’m an international student , because of the distance , I can not visit the campus … Thanx for your post Mommaj, but I think I’m a little disappointed , I have expected Brandeis to be a more beautiful , more selective school …
Right now , I couldn’t not decide between Bryn Mawr college and Brandeis … Anyone has any idea where I should go ? please help !!!</p>
<p>AlinaQ, which country are you from? I’m an international student from Nepal. Your name sounds very familiar in my language. Hope to meet you in Waltham this fall. :)</p>
<p>MommaJ, it’s certainly fair to look at Brandeis with a critical eye as an alumnus (I am one too) and on behalf of your D who is a prospective student. To give you some perspective on this year’s admission stats, in that same article you cite, the Dean of Students pointed out that “the academic quality of the applicant pool and the accepted students in general has improved in terms of SAT scores and other indicators.” That’s what counts in maintaining the vibrant intellectual/artistic environment that you and I both enjoyed as students. Also, by all indications, the 13% decline in Brandeis applications is temporary and based on the economic downturn as evidenced by the fact that other small but excellent liberal arts programs have experienced similar or more severe declines than Brandeis in total applicants this year–e.g. Williams College–down 20%, Middlebury down 12%, Bates and Colby each down 7% etc. </p>
<p>As for your view of the physical campus, I can understand that nostalgia for the more rural Brandeis would color your view of the building boom that has occured since you graduated. Personally, I think the new buildings are tremendous assests for the student experience and that the campus retains its natural beauty. To take the fabulous new Science Center and the relatively recent student center as examples, these are hallmarks of a first-rate university, important for attracting top faculty and students. The architecture is of course a matter of personal opinion. Although not as bucolic as it once was, the campus is hardly “urban.”</p>
<p>MommaJ, thanks for your insights. I’m not going to respond to everything but I wanted to acknowledge a few things as somebody who spent four years at Brandeis.</p>
<p>1) you’re right about the campus. Brandeis doesn’t have the most beautiful campus. if your number one priority is a pretty campus, then you should go elsewhere. however, what makes Brandeis Brandeis is not the physical plant but the amazing professors, staff, and students. i hope you saw that at ASD. if you weren’t wowed, then I’m sorry.</p>
<p>2) in terms of the empty beds in a suite, i assume your D stayed in Ziv which is suite style living. the reason why ziv seems empty is because it’s mostly for juniors and a 40% of juniors go abroad. rather than force people to live together, ResLife allows for students in a suite to leave rooms vacant when their friends go abroad. </p>
<p>3) you’re right–lofted triples are a reality at Brandeis, and I’m surprised your tour guide didn’t acknowledge that.</p>
<p>I was really pleasantly surprised at what I saw at Brandeis. The campus wasn’t as bad as everyone seems to think, and I even thought that it would be downright beautiful when covered with snow or when the trees were in bloom. I would have liked more grass, but it didn’t feel “urban,” exactly. I can see how the style of the campus wouldn’t be for everyone, although it worked just fine for me. </p>
<p>Was it a little dull at night? Sure, if you didn’t know where to look. I also went to the drag show and to a club meeting, and had so much fun. Even just playing games with other pre-frosh/ current freshman seemed like a nice way to spend a night. </p>
<p>The people I met there were (with one or two exceptions) truly pleasant, really intelligent, and enthusiastic about the school. This last one was really important to me- I always liked Brandeis, but it was never really my first choice, and it made me feel much more confident to meet so many people who never really planned on going to Brandeis… but still loved it anyway. </p>
<p>I LOVED most of the classes I visited. I sat in on six in total (I couldn’t drag myself away ;)) and only two were kind of duds (but I think part of that was just because the classes were slowed down to let the visitors “catch up”), and even those two would still be tolerable. </p>
<p>All in all, a pretty good day, and I’ll most likely be attending next fall… if I can convince my parents to give up scholarship offers at other schools/ let me go so far away, that is!</p>
<p>Alina Q --if a beautiful campus is important to you, you would be happier at Bryn Mawr.</p>
<p>Brandeis provides opportunites for informal, casual contact with men as neighbors and friends in suites and dorms. Bryn Mawr offers the special camaraderie and “sisterhood” of a women’s college. If you’re planning to be a science major, Brandeis might be a better choice than Bryn Mawr.</p>
<p>Thanx everyone , I think I’ll go to Brandeis this fall 
Almighty God ,I think our countries are not far away from each other …lol , guess where I come from ~~are u going to Brandeis this fall ? hope we could meet ~</p>
<p>‘Namaskar!’ AlinaQ,
I’m definitely going to Brandeis. They just bought me with the scholarship they are giving me.
(Was my guess right?)</p>
<p>nope , but close, I’m also from a really big country ~~~~~~~give your one more chance ~</p>
<p>China (Only after looking at your FB profile!) LOL</p>
<p>We saw Bradeis a few days ago.I thought the campus looked a little office-parkish, but I wasn’t disturbed by a lack of green space. I loved the new(ish) student center - not so sure about the science buildings which we only saw from the outside. It’s not a charming old New England campus, but it’s basically attractive. I thought signs and sidewalks were in fine shape except immediately adjacent to ongoing construction. The only building we saw that truly needed a facelift was the Castle. Our tour guide said you should get housing requests in early to make sure you weren’t put in a triple - so no lying there!</p>
<p>For those of you who couldn’t make it to Admitted Students Day, we videotaped most of the events throughout the day and we’ll be posting the footage online by April 27th. You’ll get an e-mail about the video and I’ll give you a link here when it gets posted.</p>
<p>Jeff Wong
Admissions Counselor
Brandeis University</p>
<p>anyone saw the Video metioned by the Brandeisofficial ? I’m really looking forward to seeing it !!!</p>
<p>Sorry for the delay. Here is a link to our video with highlights from Admitted Students Day.</p>
<p>[YouTube</a> - Admitted Students Day 2009](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8g5nI5PeMs&feature=channel_page]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8g5nI5PeMs&feature=channel_page)</p>
<p>Enjoy everyone.</p>
<p>-Jeff</p>
<p>because of some problems , ppl in China can not get on YOUTUBE …can you put it somewhere else so students from China can see it ?
thanks so much</p>