<p>I posted this in the Brandeis forum, but I'm posting it here in hopes of getting more response:</p>
<p>So, on Friday I got a call from my Brandeis Admissions Counselor telling me that they've accepted me off the waitlist. I've been in a sort of limbo ever since; I never thought that I would actually make it off the waitlist considering that I'm also waitlisted at NYU.</p>
<p>For a month or so now, I've been comfortable with the idea that I was going to a very good but unknown nationally school near my home (John Carroll University). I got a lot of financial aid and I was prepared to study my butt off to get into an amazing graduate school. My best friend and I actually found out that we had both picked the same school and we've been growing even closer. (I know that a friend is a dumb factor for deciding between colleges, but I can't help it.) Even more stressful is the fact that John Carroll's orientation is the 27th and 28th of June and I have 10 days from the time I receive my Brandeis letter in the mail to decide! (Which hopefully will come on or after Monday so I can go to orientation.)</p>
<p>I'm going to visit Brandeis on Thursday and Friday this week, and I'm hoping to be able to go to John Carroll's orientation so I can compare the two. (By the way, is there anyway I could ask for a delay in my receipt of my Brandeis letter or a few days extension for my decision, or is that unheard of?)</p>
<p>I guess I'm asking a general what should I do question and also how Brandeis is ranked beside other colleges and universities. Is it in a high tier? What other schools is it comparable to? Is it worth going to over John Carroll?</p>
<p>If it helps, I'm undecided, but I'm interested in Humanities and Sciences. Any response at all would be greatly appreciated! I'm on the verge of a breakdown, haha.</p>
<p>For John Carroll, I’ll be paying around 20k a year. I haven’t gotten my package from Brandies yet, but I’m hoping that since my parents will be paying, price won’t be a huge factor.</p>
<p>When I got into Emerson, I didn’t get any financial aid, so my parents wouldn’t let me go, but that was because it’s an art school - I think Brandeis will be different.</p>
<p>Um…but you realize your parents might see this differently, right? You really need to have a frank talk with them about the Brandeis option, and how much more it would be worth to them and you than John Carroll.</p>
<p>I made it sound less probable than it really is - money isn’t a real factor because if it was, I’d be going to John Carroll. I’m looking for a comparison aside from the cost.</p>
<p>(And it’d be great if my question about extending my 10 days to decide could be answered.)</p>
<p>Brandeis has a superb English Department, and I gather its other humanities departments are comparable. I don’t know much about John Carroll. It doesn’t have nearly the same reputation nationally as Brandeis or NYU. That may or may not matter depending on what you think you want to do afterward.</p>
<p>Lily, I just saw your post in the Brandeis forum where you say that nobody where you live has heard of Brandeis. I now see your question in a whole new light.</p>
<p>This may be both a problem with the people you’re asking and a problem with Brandeis. I think that in general, most highly educated Americans have heard of Brandeis, and know that it’s a more selective, richer and more prestigious university than John Carroll (which, frankly, I’ve heard of only because my parents used to live in what I assume must be your area). But one problem that Brandeis has is that a lot of people know rather few names beyond “Harvard,” “Yale,” and “University of the State I Happen to Live In.” Such people, obviously, haven’t heard of it. (Brandeis isn’t by any means the only institution with this problem, of course. I have a sister who’s an Oberlin alum, and she experiences basically the same problem, especially now that she lives a long way from Ohio. Oberlin’s a very good college, but the name doesn’t travel as well as my family thought it would when she went there.)</p>
<p>If you apply to graduate or professional school, the name “Brandeis” will probably mean more to the people who read your application than the name “John Carroll University” would (and, on the other hand, less than the name “Harvard” would).</p>
<p>And to answer your question more directly, if you were my kid and I could afford the difference in cost, I’d tell you to go to Brandeis instead of John Carroll–no disrespect to the Blue Streaks intended.</p>