Occidental or Brandeis?

Hi! I’m a senior and I live in NJ. I got into all my top schools and narrowed it down to Occidental and Brandeis. I was fortunate enough to tour Brandeis, however due to
covid-19 I could not tour Occidental. Both of the schools gave me the same amount of money and seem (around) equal academically. I am okay with going to either distance wise, as I want to stray from home.
If anyone can help me understand certain aspects of the school, that would be greatly appreciated!

  • the social scene
  • greek life (if I am not part of greek life, or sports @ oxy, will it be difficult to make friends)
  • balance between social and academic life
  • will going to Occidental make it harder to find a career/attend graduate school
  • major differences between the SCHOOLS (excluding location)
  • insight on which is a better college city: Boston or LA
  • anything else that might seem relevant

Thank you all so much!