<p>I visited brandeis earlier this year and i reallllly liked it. Im a bit worried about turning into a orthodox jew though. im jewish but over the past few years i have become more and more religious and quickly. but im still very reformed, its just now i aucutally go to temple everyonce in awhile and am president of my youth group. </p>
<p>im intrested in brandeis, washustl, brown, tufts, conn college? leigh? are there others where i should be looking…small/med. with good education programs</p>
<p>as a jr.
GPA 3.77 unweighted very challenging courses, but downward trend due to harder classes
AP Euro, APUSH and APAB calc so far and AP BC calc, AP Gov AP Bio and AP Art studio sr. year
i got a 4 on euro
ACT:28
SAT reading 590, writing 610 math 760…im a weird tester</p>
<p>Extra:
Co-founder and president of Art Council
Assisstent teach sunday school (volenteer) and teach and get paid sr year!
social action vice president of my youth group jr year and president sr. year
taking hewbew to have my bat mitzvah sr. year (i never had one)
Amnesty International 3 years
Habitat for humanity 2 years spring break
Youth leadership st louis
Cross-age learning -work with kids in lower grade
sunshine mission -tutor inner city kids</p>
<p>i have done fused glass work for the past 5 years and had 3 peices accepted to a art show.</p>
<p>im intrested in education possibly elementry art…does brandeis fit…can i get in even with my low scores?</p>
<p>Your ECs are super. Your GPA is good. You should try raising your test scores a bit. It's a border-line reach/match. So, definitely show lots of interest. Write a good essay, have an interview, get really good recs.</p>
<p>About the Jewish aspect, nobody will ever try to make you become "more Jewish," if you don't want to be. Nothing is forced upon you. The reform group is very strong and is under no pressure whatsoever "to become more religious." I'm a board member of our conservative group and am friendly with many orthodox students, they are all very nice, and never look down on me for being less observant. </p>
<p>thanks, esp about the jewish aspect thats really good to know. i sat in one of the education classes when i was there and LOVED it. i just need to figure out which majors would fit with my intrests and goals.</p>
<p>I'm also a member of the Conservative group and no one will pressure you to become Orthodox. Even if you want to become more observant, it's possible without becoming Orthodox. I, personally, am an observant Conservative Jew, which means that I keep kosher and Shabbat, but hold the philosophies of the Conservative movement (mostly). I'm really bad at attempting to guess if people will get in or not, so I'm not gonna try. That's really awesome that you do fused glass though.</p>
<p>Your lowest SAT is reading--this could definitely be raised by memorizing vocabulary--do the Real SAT practice book and learn all the words you get wrong in the short answers and all the words you don't know from the reading passages. I notice you have made a number of spelling errors in your post--could be just quick typing , but double check your spelling. Maybe have someone read you passages from the NYTimes, Encyclopedia Britannica and take "dictation", then check your spelling. This will improve your writing score.</p>
<p>Sounds like Brandeis would fit you well socially.</p>
<p>Also, as a back up choice, if you would consider a women's college, Mount Holyoke does not require submission of SAT, has a good education department and good art and a number of actively Jewish students. They would also appreciate your strong ECs. (My D will be a freshman at Brandeis but I went to MHC)</p>
<p>My daughter will be a Jr at Brandeis. She is a history major with a minor in education (for secondary certification) and education studies (policy). She just loves the Education Department. As far as your test scores, you may consider just sending in your ACTs. You will need to submit two SATIIs with your SAT scores.</p>
<p>cassie
cough. You seem to love to learn and you seem also to love to teach. So really any school you chose would be lucky to get you. Brandeis i think would be an excellent way for you to "test the waters" religiously shall we say. you will get to see a spectrum of directions in which you could turn very close up. Just dont be afraid to go somewhere because you think it might influence you. You seem quite stedfast in your ways, so i wouldnt be concerned about feeling pressured to try something you dont want to.</p>
<p>I was thinking of doing that i already know im re-taking the ACT and i just got my SAT II scores back today and there are 2 im happy enough with but im still retaking the SAT this weekend just in case...</p>
<p>thanks a lot manantial thats quite a meaningful observation from the cc website lol. anyway that means a lot to me.. and i think in the end whatever even if my head tries to tlak me out of somthing good, ill go with my gut cause yeah....im not pressured that easily</p>
<p>Im for sure applying ED now and am soo excited
Over the summer i worked at a camp for kids with cancer and autisum
and i got a 5 on APUSH and 3 on APAB</p>
<p>what do you think about my chances...im re-taking ACT but i doubt it will go up (i've gotten a 28 twice and did lots of prep both times..)</p>
<p>cassie, you have a pretty good chance especially since you are doing ED. I visited Brandeis twice and liked it both times, I wll be doing RD, though. Actually I am done with my application, did it almost a month back.</p>