<p>I was wondering if current Brandeis students could list pros and cons for Brandeis University. Thank you!</p>
<p>CONS:
there isn't much to do in waltham, science classes are cripplingly difficult and work sometimes leaves no room for much anything else, there's a gym requirement (but you can place out of it), food is eh, there's CONSTANT construction, the president is annoying, the school's on a hill so you have to walk on an incline to get to class, some of the dooms need to be renovated and being in a forced triple sucks, some of the programs here aren't as great as advertised (my roomate is a disenchanted music major), the campus sometimes feels more like a research facility than a college, lots of people are here on scholarship so some are pretty bitter, if you live on campus, you're forced to have a meal plan, the school enjoys taking your money, what they say about attractiveness is true, although that's definitely getting better. there isn't much of a sports scene, or much school spirit</p>
<p>PROS:
great transportation system, "branvans" run continuously and take you to the supermarket, CVS, and into town (moody street is great for eating off campus), free shuttle to boston, excellent faculty who will go out of their way to help you (but you have to seek them out first), most classes are small and have great student/teacher interaction, strong friendships form quickly, not too much drinking/drugs, frat/sorority scene is off campus (a pro for me at least), lots of campus events going on, student events brings bands like third eye blind, regina spektor, flogging mollly, it's cool when you tell people you go to brandeis and they're like "wow!" it's easy to get involved in lots of clubs, there really isn't much of a core curriculum -- just a few classes, i've loved every professor except one, it's easy to change majors if you want (i did), it's also easy to make your own major if nothing pleases you (i know a couple people who did that), students are politically involved but not suffocatingly so, excellent career and grad school placements (one of my friends just got into harvard law school), and i couldn't imagine myself anywhere else.</p>
<p>brandeis is really an acquired taste, so i'd STRONGLY encourage perspective students to visit and maybe do an overnight. the overnight coordinators are great people, and it'll give you a chance to really see if brandeis is the place for you. i applied early decision based pretty much on what i saw in the viewbook. i love it here, but there were definitely some moments where i was expecting more out of the school because i had fantasized it in my head based on their admissions literature. of course admissions literature is going to make it sound amazing! look at it yourself and decide.</p>
<p>people talk a lot about the jewish presence, and that can either be a pro or a con. it's REALLY not oppressive or anything. lots of people walking around in yamulkes, and the school kind of shuts down for yom kippur, but there's lots to do on weekends (something i was concerned about) and absolutely none of my friends that aren't jewish feel weird or anything about it. i guess a visit will help you see this for yourself.</p>
<p>hope this helps! I'm going to be a sophomore, so I can answer lots more questions. PM me with anything :)</p>
<p>also, the library subscribes to a lot of periodicals, so it's really easy to get journal articles online for research papers.</p>
<p>when you said: "science classes are cripplingly difficult ", are you speaking as a science major? My s will be a physics major and is concerned about the workload. You did an awsome job with your pros and cons.</p>
<p>i did come to brandeis as a prospective science major, and have since changed my mind, but maybe my comments in this vein should be taken with a grain of salt, as i was an interesting kind of science major. in my high school, there was an independent science research program where you'd get together with a professor at a nearby college and send projects to competitions like siemens westinghouse and intel and isef, etc. i was never really a science person, but i did participate in this, and i think that i sort of fell into being a prospective science major because of it. i've since found out that it wasn't particularly brandeis that made me decide to change my idea of what to major in, (it's really not a cutthroat school) it's just that science wasn't really the right choice for me in the first place. i can say though, that i do have premed friends who spend lots of time in the library and are not looking forward next year to taking bio and orgo together in one year. (labs are 4 hours long, and if you take two of them, that's a huge chunk of your week, and lab tests are notoriously difficult.)</p>
<p>in the end, i would certainly not discourage anyone from taking the science path at brandeis. I'm speaking with only my knowledge of the gen chem classes, but I can say the classes are extremely informative; i've learned a TON and i'm not even really that good with science. just don't be unprepared that you certainly will have to work. i worked extremely hard for an A-. I did EVERY problem in the textbook and went to office hours every week, as well as class. It was a lot of time that I spent doing science. I expected the science classes to be more concept based, like they were in high school, than math based. Chemistry and Physics are both very math based, so if you have an innate love for physics, you might really enjoy the classes, it's just not something I was expecting.</p>
<p>On the other side, I found that brandeis encourages you to take classes outside your major, so it was easy to find a subject that was actually pretty perfect for me, and i'm happy to now be pursuing that path. so, if you love physics, go for it. freshmen can take physics first semester. if you end up not liking it at first, don't get discouraged. professors are very helpful if you talk to them after class, and are willing to sit down with you to go over things in office hours (or at least the ones i've had). also, there are definitely other classes that you can take, even in the same vein. I have a friend who switched from physics to neuroscience and he's loving it. </p>
<p>if any of that wasn't clear, or you have any other questions, i'd be happy to answer! I can also give you email addresses of friends who have taken physics if you want.</p>
<p>Another con that I think isn't always mentioned: you're not guaranteed housing junior and senior year and from what I know it's very easy to find yourself having to look off campus. </p>
<p>I'd like to reiterate that the Jewish presence isn't oppressive at all if you're a gentile. I am, and I'm sure all through schooling there was at most two Jews in the entire building. But, I didn't have a problem "adjusting" at all to Brandeis. The only difference it made is someone's last name, you'll end up knowing alot of Ariels, walking to Einstein's on Saturday morning you'll find yourself in the middle of a group of guys in yarmulkes and girls dressed much nicer than you are, but nothing that sent me into a identity crisis.</p>
<p>I wouldn't say the political climate is oppressive, however there are a couple activists (only a couple in a sea of hundreds) who kind of spoil the entire batch. I'm sure you'd find that anywhere, I think Brandeis just allows them to be more vocal!</p>
<p>I'm very pleased with Brandeis academically. I've loved all my classes except for French, which got better anyway. My professors have been outstanding and I feel like I can take pretty much any class without worrying if the instructor would be good or not (I'm an English major btw). There's no restricting requirements, but enough that you may find yourself taking an interesting course you wouldn't have anticipated taking. Unfortunately alot of classes are not offered regularly and are often even scratched from the catalogue completely. In my personal experience "English industrial fiction" doesn't seem to be the most popular thing on campus but whatever, you deal. :P</p>
<p>The arts community is VERY strong on campus. I love it. There's also a thriving undergraduate-run theatre community--it's easy to get involved just for the fun of it. There seems to be a different show playing every weekend. </p>
<p>Something completely minor, but because mdhopeful mentioned student events bringing bands--this semester Ian Mackaye came to campus. When I saw that I was seriously all "what the...?" You don't see that any day. The announcements e-mail quoted Joe Strummer, I wanted to fork out my heart and die that moment. Brandeis always suprises me to say the least.</p>
<p>
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you're not guaranteed housing junior and senior year and from what I know it's very easy to find yourself having to look off campus
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</p>
<p>housing for juniors and seniors was tight this year and next because they tore down a dorm complex which they are currently rebuilding. prior to that, it was generally claimed that any junior or senior who wanted to stay on campus could -- though they might not get their top choice or might have to wait on the waiting list to see what they got, people who requested housing and were willing to wait, generally got housing. (can't say for sure how many would still end up looking off campus to avoid housing issues, ie not wanting to wait to see what they might or might not get).</p>
<p>once the new dorms open, there will be more on campus beds than there were before the old dorms were demolished, so things should get easier for juniors and seniors looking to stay on campus.</p>
<p>Here are mine which may help you out.</p>
<p>Pros:</p>
<p>Excellent location --> Brandeis has easy access to the commuter rail for getting into Boston and Cambridge, which of course are hot spots on the weekends.</p>
<p>Faculty --> Even as a science student, I feel that the professors are exceptional in that they truly care about the students in the learning process. I'm a double major in Biology and HSSP (fancy name for Health Policy) and find that regardless of the major you find professors are very respectful of the students and are very available for office hours. There are very few professors I know who are at Brandeis simply for the opportunity to do research who despise teaching.</p>
<p>Little social pressure --> At Brandeis you aren't pressured to join clubs or organizations you don't want. This is especially true with fraternities & sororities. One of the factors for me choosing Brandeis was that I wanted little or no Greek life. The only way you would know there is Greek life around Brandeis is that you'll see people wearing hoodies with their letters, but their houses are off campus and not recognized by the school.</p>
<p>Courses --> Brandeis was one of the few schools I looked at that had courses with very creative topics or designs. For example, next semester I'm taking a class called Italian Films, Italian Histories as an elective, which discusses 19th and 20th century Italian history as seen through the films produced during that time. The versatility of taking classes in different departments is also very important to have. By the way, sciences at Brandeis are challenging, not really crippling in my opinion, because despite all the work the pre-requisite courses are curved.</p>
<p>Tufts BA/MD Early Assurance Program --> Brandeis participates in an early acceptance program with Tufts University School of Medicine that you can apply to during sophomore year. I was accepted to the program, and while I stay until graduation I feel a lot less stress than if I would going through the traditional application process. The MCAT is required but no minimum score is needed and you don't need to deal with flying around the country for interviews. If anyone has more questions about the program feel free to pm or e-mail me, as I could write a whole lot more hehe.</p>
<p>Research --> If you want to get involved in research, scientific or not, as an undergraduate, Brandeis is very accomodating.</p>
<p>Moody Street --> If you're looking to gain the freshman 15, do it in style! :)</p>
<p>Cons:</p>
<p>Weekends --> Being so close to Boston and Cambridge makes Brandeis a dead zone on the weekends, especially on Saturdays. </p>
<p>Food --> While I've visited friends at other colleges where food was worse, I have been to others where the food was better. You can't opt out of a meal plan unless you are living in a dorm with a kitchen in your suite or apartment (this will be my second year living in the Charles River Apartments). </p>
<p>Branvan --> Despite what people may say about the reliability of the campus shuttle, they have a very bad policy in the evenings when you go out with a group of more than four people. Bring up a car sophomore year and if you don't have one, find someone who does :)</p>
<p>If you have any other questions, feel free to message me over AIM (same screen name as my user name here) or pm/e-mail me.</p>