<p>I know that Brandeis is historically a very Jewish school. If a non-Jew applies, is it a hook or something working against you?</p>
<p>um no... they love non-jews</p>
<p>Of the Jews I know, few were admitted even though they are very qualified. I was waitlisted at Brandeis but accepted to Cornell and Brown (go figure). I think they want more non-jews and more non-standard (those that are not white from North East) applicants to become a more diverse school. They are also trying to get away from being a big pre-med school. This should benifit the school in general, but in the meantime they are shafting people who want to and are qualified to attend. I myself am trying to craft a letter to the admissions committee that puts this more elequently, as I feel bad for people I know who wanted to go to Brandeis but were rejected, in all likelihood because of being Jewish.</p>
<p>well that was a much better way of putting it! :D
you basically said everything i was going to say but figured he would hear/see for himself at the open house.</p>
<p>Do you think being a Lebanese is a hook or it would work against me? I guess you all know that Lebanon and Israel are basically still in war and not at peace, so I don't know how that would work with them..</p>
<p>brandeis is desperately trying to shed its image of a haven for only northeast rich jewish students, and therefore is really focusing on diversity these days.</p>
<p>aww Jorje, haha, don't fear!
being interntional is a hook at almost any school, especially brandeis.
Brandeis is definitly very tolerant and its affiliation with Israel will have no effect on their decision to admit you.</p>
<p>Actually I think being non-Jewish is an advantage in terms of admission. :-)</p>
<p>Brandeis is estimated (but it's not clear on what basis) as being a little more than half Jewish in the undergraduate student body. Being non-Jewish might be somewhat of a hook, depending on your other qualifications, possibly more of a hook if you come from outside the Northeast.
But no-one can say for sure.</p>
<p>If what Neal says is true, Brandeis is shooting themselves in the foot. I mean, if they want to improve the quality of the school, they have to be bringing in the best applicants. Someone who's good enough to be accepted to multiple Ivy League schools should not be wait-listed here for presumably weaker candidates to be accepted, just because the Ivy, etc. acceptees aren't as likely to come. If anything these people should be offered scholarships. I'm in favor of diversity for sure, and I even as a Jew would like to see this place be a little less Jewish in character, but it is incredibly STUPID to reject or wait-list your best applicants, regardless of race/ethnicity, unless Brandeis' goal is to move our school down and out of the first tier universities.</p>
<p>As for the comment on making this school less pre-med, let me tell you that only about 5% of graduates in a given year go on to medical school. Brandeis does an excellent job making us "less pre-med" just by running a generally crappy pre-med program. And here's some food for thought--wouldn't it be beneficial to produce large crops of M.D.'s who make a fair amount of money and then be able to donate back to the school? As it is most of our donations come from Jewish philanthropists who have no actual personal or family connections to Brandeis, e.g. the Shapiros. The heirs of these families could easily decide to give large sums of money elsewhere considering they have no real connection to the school.</p>
<p>In conclusion, I have to say I fear for Brandeis' future, because in terms of academics, social life, $$$, and other factors, the administration seems to be doing everything it can to change the school for the worse. In 30 years when I'm at the height of my career, I don't know if I'll even want to put my Brandeis diploma on my wall if things continue this way.</p>
<p>Nealc9999,</p>
<p>Really glad you're doing a letter like that. I'm Jewish. I got into Brandeis but didn't get any merit money. I was kind of surprised because everyone says Brandeis awards scholarships to a quarter of its class. I used the same application and essays plus my regular supplemental stuff on drama and poetry and sent it off to U Rochester. They flew me up to the school to interview for a full tuition scholarship....the top 50 applicants out of 11,000 students. (I didn't get the full scholarship, but did get a large merit award.) I was also accepted at U Chicago, Emory, Tufts and U Va (echols scholar); waitlisted at Brown. </p>
<p>Not only am I Jewish but I applied as a bio/pre-med student. The really ironic thing is I've already decided not to do pre-med, but to focus on the humantities...maybe philosophy or history. If I don't get off the Brown waitlist, I'll go to Chicago or Tufts. </p>
<p>I'm just saying all this because I still wonder why Brandeis gave me nothing. When I saw your post, it made me wonder. From what you indicate I may be lucky even to be admitted.</p>