<p>Hey there just wondering if anyone else got the mid year acceptence and if they knew what it was exactly. Really I am wondering what I would do during those three months if I decided to go to Brandeis. Does anyone know what others have done in the past?</p>
<p>I am a freshman at brandeis now. From what I've heard, most of the midyears went to local universities or community colleges during the first semester to get credits that transfer. That way, they could graduate on schedule with the rest of the class. Some traveled, and others worked full-time to earn money for Brandeis. If you have other questions, let me know. Congratulations on your acceptance!</p>
<p>Well I'd like to know more about your experiences at Brandeis. How the first year adjustment went and so on.</p>
<p>I love Brandeis. They make the transition into college really easy with orientation activities etc. Everyone is so excited to be there that it makes it really simple to make friends and find your place. I started in the fall so I can't tell you first hand about what what its like starting 2nd semester but I can tell you what I've observed. Midyear students seem to have had the same reaction has everyone else in terms of ease. There were pluses and minuses as you may have guessed. This year, the midyears were placed together in there own dorm. This made for a really special, close-knit community that formed right away. Instead of having to go out and try and break into a group of friends, they already 99 other peers going through exactly what they were. Its made them really really close. They also really appreciate being at Brandeis because they see the difference between it and their local universities. The only complaint I heard was that they felt seperated from the rest of the class. Like they identified themselves as "midyears" instead of "firstyears." Overall, my experiences have been overwhelmingly positve mostly due to the amazing professors and the outstanding quality of the student body.</p>
<p>Here's an article from the Justice about midyears.</p>
<p>Thanks Astroalex for the two articles in the other thread, but the second one was brutal, after reading that I'm not sure I would advise my daughter to go to Brandeis Mid year.</p>
<p>Yes, but judging from the two opposing opinions, it is a pretty subjective experience.</p>
<p>If you are attending the open house on April 13th, I would suggest taking time out of the day to ask questions specifically about the topics addressed in the con piece. Ask if the school is making more of an attempt to integrate midyears and such.</p>
<p>Good luck to you and your daughter. No matter where she ends up I'm sure you'll both be happy. :)</p>
<p>That's good advice, astro, and in fact what I planned to do.</p>
<p>I've already communicated with the writer of the more negative piece, a very nice, articulate young woman who wrote back to me immediately and said that she was less disappointed with the whole midyear process than she came across in the article. The other more positive article was written by her roommate and they intended the two articles to present the pro and con views of the midyear situation.</p>
<p>In fact, she said, she has trouble now even remembering that she's a midyear. Living together, all of the midyears shared their experience which made them a group. For a complete view, she advised taking the two articles and combining them.</p>
<p>Apparently, from reading other sources, this was the second year of the Midyear program and changes had been made from the first year to the second, like keeping the students more or less together in a residence hall. </p>
<p>Today I also intend to also contact Michelle O'Malley who directed the Winter Orientation program and ask what changes, if any have been made for this year's students to address the remaining problems.</p>
<p>I'm glad I was able to help you get information on the whole midyear thing. I always log on to read the Justice, so I usually see any articles on student life they are featuring that week. lol</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thejusticeonline.com%5B/url%5D">http://www.thejusticeonline.com</a> for anyone else interested in reading the justice.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thehoot.net%5B/url%5D">http://www.thehoot.net</a> is another student-run Brandeis paper.</p>