Merit money / asians

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brandeis University
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<p>I’d always heard Brandeis was quite generous with merit money, but I got full tuition, which was pretty unexpected. (Most of my other schools are only need-based; my familiy doesn’t qualify for that.) Of course I can’t make a decision until April, but this makes things much harder if I do end up being accepted to my other, somewhat more competitive schools. I looked up scholarship information on the website and got some numbers - but basically, do many people at Brandeis go because of merit scholarships, even if they were accepted to more selective schools? You see, Brandeis, which I had previously considered a relative safety, is suddenly a very real possibility. </p>

<p>Again, I do realize numbers aren’t everything, but I noted the Asian population at Brandeis was about 7%, which to be honest is actually much lower than quite a lot of top schools. I’m Chinese; I realize perhaps this helped me in the admissions process. Basically, is the Asian presence on campus noticeable? This is something I was just rather curious about, that’s all.</p>

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<p>what were ur stats?</p>

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<p>SAT I: 2240 (800CR, 760M, 680W)
SATII's: Math IIC (770), U.S. History (750), Literature (750)
class rank: 3/~290, GPA 4.4ish W, maybe 3.9 UW (?)
decent extracurrics, decent recs, pretty good essay</p>

<p>I got deferred from Columbia ED and applied RD to: BU, Tufts, Cornell, Northwestern, UChicago, Wash U, Vassar, and Haverford. My favorite besides Columbia is probably Haverford, although I haven't visited the midwestern schools.</p>

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<p>Congratulations on your acceptance/scholarship!</p>

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<p>Thank you. Did you apply as well?</p>

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<p>I was in a similar situation. I was accepted into UChicago, McGill, WashU, Rice, and UIUC, some of which are considered better schools. The thing to remember is that, while Brandeis' grad school isn't staggering, the undergrads outnumber the grads 3:1. This means that undergrads get a lot of opportunities that they probably don't get elsewhere. I routinely walk into the chem department head's office without appointment, for example. It's insanely easy to work in a lab. That sort of thing. I also expected Brandeis to be easy since it was my safety...it certainly hasn't been that, nor has it been for anyone else I know who was in that kind of situation.</p>

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<p>We "noticed" some Asians on campus when we visited ( 3 times visited all together) I'm not sure if that means they're "noticeable".</p>

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<p>Re: iamtheshoshie - thank you for your input. I know that academically Brandeis is very good, and I've also heard excellent things about their faculty and such. The social critiques don't bother me (they're probably overblown, plus I applied to UChicago after all, ha) and although I will visit again (I went once before; it's only about an hour away) - I have really positive feelings about Brandeis as a good fit for me, and what you've said adds to that. A side note: do you know many other students who are there on merit aid? I remember checking out their lj community and someone asked - there was a really staggering amount of people who were. I was wondering if that's representative of Brandeis as a whole. </p>

<p>Re: pyewacket - sorry, my wording was probably very vague and kind of rude. What I meant was if they had a strong presence on campus, rather - Tufts for instance, or even BU, are known to have an active and relatively large Asian community. I come from a very white high school and was, in some ways, looking to connect with people who came from similar backgrounds and could relate, maybe try repaint my fairly whitewashed self. (Not to say I wouldn't want to meet new people from different backgrounds....)</p>

<p>Right, to blow political correctness to the winds and generalize wildly, usually very good schools tend to have a correlating number of Asians. As for Brandeis - well, I was just wondering. There is so much fuss about the Jewish factor no one asks about other cultural (techinally religious, I guess) groups...</p>

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<p>I applied Blue Ribbon too, but I haven't gotten anything yet. Maybe there will be a letter in the mailbox tommorrow...</p>

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<p>jmw, I'm curious about the Asian population as well (I'm Indian)...How are cultural relations at the school (i.e. is there a lot of interaction, are there multicultural shows, etc.), and are there any events in cooperation with other Boston-area universities?</p>

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<p>There are various Asian clubs and such on campus. I would suggest taking a look at the my.brandeis.edu club center page. To be honest, I'm not sure what our Asian population is relative to other schools.</p>

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<p>Ack, I was all excited about my merit money at first, but clearly there's a disproportionate amount being given to minority students, even though judging by what's been posted so far there have been stronger (and less obnoxious) candidates who didn't receive any money. </p>

<p>I don't know whether to feel oddly aggravated and undeserving or to just feel glad.</p>

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<p>Guy, non-minority Massachusetts native, turned down Harvard for Brandeis on account of merit money. Said he felt he'd get as good or better premed prep at Brandeis with no debt. He was one of Brandeis' tour guides last year.</p>

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<p>JMW -- just feel glad. ALL colleges use merit money to attract whatever categories of students they feel they want to attract -- it looks like Brandeis would like to have more asians. Your opening post illustrates why: maybe they think that well-qualified students like you are turning them down because you feel that it is not a place where you would feel comfortable or fit in. </p>

<p>If Brandeis looks like a good school/good fit for you, then you should seriously consider it, and be thankful for your good fortune in getting a full tuition scholarship. If Brandeis is NOT going to be a good fit and your parents can afford to pay for you to go elsewhere -- then don't be swayed by the merit award. The only way you will figure this out is to visit the campus, talk with students, and compare it to the other excellent options you will no doubt have in April. </p>

<p>Don't worry about the kids with great stats who might not have gotten merit awards because they didn't fit the right category. They still will have the option to negotiate for aid. If they have financial need, they will qualify for need based aid. </p>

<p>Brandeis also probably has a good idea, statistically, of what their yield among asian students will be -- for example, they may know that only 20% of asians they admit actually come, and they may believe that the merit awards they offer will result in a 33% yield -- but that still would mean 2 out of 3 are turning them down, so for every $90K they offer, they only have to pay out $30K. So part of their generosity is built upon the expectation that many of the students will turn them down -- they get more bang for the buck by offering full tuition to students who are wavering than students who are certain to take them up on the offer. </p>

<p>I made up those above figures, of course -- but there is some set of figures that does apply. It's like the Brandeis ad com has gone fishing -- first they cast out their "Blue Ribbon" net, which was sure to attract a lot of kids who wouldn't have applied at all but for the invitation. Unlike the ED pool, which only has students who seriously want to come -- the Blue Ribbon pool is a mix with a large number of kids who have only a passing interest in Brandeis -- so yield is actually probably relatively weak for the Blue Ribbon group. So it is very advantageous to the student if you happen to have the characteristics that Brandeis is willing to pay extra for. This year, apparently, Asian heritage is worth a lot. </p>

<p>It would be interesting to see what kind of merit offers ED kids got -- I'd guess that among the group that was already committed to coming, there would be no advantage to Brandeis to make any distinctions based on race or cultural heritage, so "merit" might equate more directly to stats and accomplishments. </p>

<p>So enjoy the benefit -- there is nothing unfair about the process -- its just that you happen to have what Brandeis is looking for this year: a way to make their college a more asian-friendly place.</p>

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<p>I know plenty of people who received scholarships and were white and Jewish--Brandeis' majority population. Don't feel like race was the main factor. Be proud of your accomplishment.</p>

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<p>Thank you both for your replies - I am doing an overnight visit at the school soon and will definitely have a much better idea of how well it fits me.</p>

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<p>I'm a freshman here and I guess I could be considered Asian. In my opinion, race relations are very good. Ignoring statistics this school is Asian and Jews. Seven percent seems like a very low number-I'm sure that's a misrepresentation. There is also a plethora of cultural organizations like BAASA, SASA, KSA, JSA, etc to get involved in. There are a ton of students from India here. On my hall I have people from Malaysia, Japan, Europe, India, etc. People are very open minded.</p>