<p>A.G probably received a Wien International Scholarship which is indeed very generous (I had one myself eons ago).</p>
<p>Absolutely agree on the commuting issues, whether Brandeis or Harvard. As for financial wherewithal, folks, nobody is arguing that Harvard isn’t richer than Brandeis and, for that matter, all other colleges and universities, large and small. That is not dispositive as to whether Harvard is the right fit in each case and, specifically, in this case, for the OP’s daughter. I would say that Almighty God knows, but, I assume you Harvard folks would disagree since in this topic he appears to favor Brandeis. (LOL!)</p>
<p>Almighty God says, “Oh, my god! Even Romeo knew that there ain’t anything in name², but these Harvard folks…” ;)</p>
<p>gadad, LOL. :D</p>
<p>marite, I am selected as Wien International Scholar and Physical Science Scholar. </p>
<hr>
<p>²
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.</p>
<p>William Shakespeare, “Romeo and Juliet”</p>
<p>Hi everyone!! This is the D who’s future you’ve been so actively debating </p>
<p>I wanted to thank everyone for all their advice – aside from a few unnecessary and snide comments, I found everything that people have said over the past couple of days to be extremely insightful and very helpful. It’s made me think a lot not only about the next few years but also about grad school and even beyond that.</p>
<p>It’s become obvious to me from reading this thread that there’s isn’t any one right answer. Undoubtably, Harvard has a lot to offer, but for me, I think Brandeis is a better fit, for a variety of different reasons.</p>
<p>So that’s that… I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you all in person (well, at least somewhat in person…) for your input. It’s certainly been very enlightening!!</p>
<p>Thanks for telling us! And have a great college experience.</p>
<p>Would you mind explaining a little bit as to why brandeis was a better fit? Just to better understand Brandeis’s charm i guess?</p>
<p>Ummm sure… I think…?</p>
<p>Part of the decision was that there are a lot of programs at Brandeis that I’m really interested. One of these is a combined BS/MS program in both biology and biochemistry (and other subjects, I’m sure) that allowes undergraduates to complete a Master’s degree as well as a BS in only four years. Also, many of the biology and biochemistry classes are open to both graduate and undergraduate students, so I feel like if there’s plenty of room to challenge myself if I feel like the undergraduate classes aren’t enough. There are also tons of research opportunities at Brandeis, despite it being substantially smaller than Harvard. </p>
<p>Another thing that really attracts me to Brandeis is that there really accomodating to people doing multiple majors and minors and really diverse subjects – everything through to a triple major with a triple minor has been done, as I understand it. I’d be really interested in doing a double major in biology or biochem and study art, and maybe a minor in a language or something. I believe at Harvard I could technically do a major in bio with a minor in art and a “citation” in a language, but still in terms of flexibility of major and minor-ing Brandeis seemed stronger. </p>
<p>There were a couple more programs that caught my idea, such as the Lerman-Neubauer Program my dad mentions in the first post and Russian classes tailered specifically to native-speakers who feel like they’re losing the language (which would be me…), among other unique programs. </p>
<p>Also, though the kids at Brandeis may not be nearly as smart or talented as the ones at Harvard, many of them are still turning down great schools for Brandeis: the “what schools I gave up fro Brandeis…” thread on the Brandeis Class of 2013 Facebook group lists schools such as RPI, Wellesley, Chicago, Rice, Carnegie Mellon, Tufts, Wesleyan, and URochester, to name a few, so I would still be surrounded by students who were accomplished and interesting, not to mention really open, friendly, and warm. </p>
<p>This probably doesn’t sound like enough of a reason to turn down Harvard, but the rest is hard to but into words – kind of like a gut feeling, when you can just “tell” if something’s right or not… While we were still deciding, thinking about going to Brandeis made me happy; I’d already started to think about specific class, clubs, etc. that I’d be interested. Whenever my parents brought up Harvard, on the other hand, I’d involuntarily start feeling anxious and antsy. I just couldn’t imagine myself there, as incredible as Harvard is. </p>
<p>2good2b2rue, I don’t know what you’re position is… if you’re a high school student considering schools (and actually even if you’re not…) I highly suggest watching the interview with Greg Petsko that B77 mentioned earlier… I’m not very good with words and explaining stuff, but Professor Petsko talks about Brandeis exactly as I see it and will explain to you probably why I chose it. I watched this interview the afternoon before I sent in my decision, and it confirmed all the gut feelings I’d been having about my feeling better as Brandeis.</p>
<p>I don’t knew if I made the wrong decision by turning down Harvard, and I’ll probably never know, because there’s no going back now. But I do knew that I most definitely did not make the wrong decision by decideding to go to Brandeis… I came home from school yesterday around 4 pm and found myself so unexplainably excited about Brandeis that I spent the next six hours setting up my student account and browsing the Class of 2013 Facebook page and Brandeis website… random Brandeis accepted students have already friend-ed me on Facebook basically with the words “let’s be friends… i’m super-excited about Brandeis!!” or something along those lines. I’m not saying that something similar wouldn’t have happen had I joined Harvard, but this just feels right to me… </p>
<p>So sorry for the really long post, but hopefully now you understand that I’m not, in fact, crazy, as some people try to tell me, and a little bit of why I chose Brandeis. :)</p>
<p>That idea, that you were so excited about Brandeis that you spend six hours setting up your student account, made me smile. I think the fact that you are choosing a school that fits you as an individual says a lot about you, and it gives me the feeling that you are going to have a lot of success in your life.</p>
<p>Sonkae - What a great post and what terrific reasons for choosing a college! I know that people have suggested to you that other colleges may be once in a lifetime opportunities, but the programs you’ve described at Brandeis really are opportunities that are once in a lifetime. And I’m happy to hear how enthusiastic you are about them. It’s clear that you’ve found a wonderful fit for what you’re seeking and you’ll no doubt thrive there. Congratulations!</p>
<p>I just thought I would echo everybody else and say that those sound like great reasons for choosing a school! I don’t doubt you made the right decision, as that’s exactly how I made mine :)</p>
<p>I am thrilled to learn that the student made a well-considered decision and after reading her post#47 I am sure she has made the right decision for the right reasons. I think the ‘gut feeling’ is extremely important as is the palpable excitement about attending Brandeis, and the “involuntarily start feeling anxious and antsy…” when Harvard is mentioned. </p>
<p>In this case, it looks like there was no contest- Brandeis for sure.</p>
<p>I would choose Harvard, I wonder how many students have passed on Harvard for Brandeis.</p>
<p>I respect the considerations you made in your decision, but I would never hesitate before choosing Harvard over Brandeis.</p>
<p>I mean people like southeasttitan will say “omg good for u <3” but imma give you some real talk: what the bullox? BS/MS program? triple major? triple MINOR? If you really considered these things then I’m glad you chose Brandeis…one less paranoid frosh for H.</p>
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<p>As OP already knows but others might not, Brandeis has one of the largest concentrations of Russian Jewish emigre children, a lot of them from the metro Boston area. Harvard would not provide the same opportunity to stay plugged into that community and possibly to have a lot of pre-existing friends as classmates. Harvard of course does have a substantial Jewish population, but it is overwhelmingly out of state, US born, third-plus generation, non-Russian.</p>
<p>Re: Harvard v. Brandeis</p>
<p>@Sonkae: The heart has its own reasons.</p>
<p>These are anecdotes, not data, but I’ll share them just for your pleasure: My Dad turned down Harvard College in l945 on the G.I. Bill and opted for Johns Hopkins U. Newly returned from fighting in a war (!), he craved home life with his family in a modest Baltimore apartment, rather than a Harvard dorm. From JHU, he went on to a fascinating career in law. His entire life people remarked, “You turned down Harvard?!” and he smiled because his life was content and complete, intellectually and personally. His brother chose Harvard that same year, also on the G.I.Bill. His life also turned out very well, although his academic triumphs, also in law, trumped his personal life.</p>
<p>As a college professor (last phase of his law career) my Dad named his two dogs “Darrow and Brandeis” because he so admired Clarence Darrow and Justice Louis D. Brandeis. Walking them on campus, a student remarked, seriously, “I’ve heard of Brandeis University, but where is Darrow?” </p>
<p>Be glad for your decision! Either place would have been wonderful, I believe, but the place you consider more wonderful will work for you. </p>
<p>I don’t know the differences between their science departments, but I respect the posters who’ve participated here who know the departments.</p>
<p>Rather, I am noticing your enthusiasm about college as you embark. I commend you for listening to your heart. Your head will take care of itself. That’s my hunch.</p>
<p>P.S. LOL, when you came on the thread as the daughter being discussed! I call that, “talking about someone in front of her back.” Your parents want only the best for you. I hope they will embrace the daughter who is decisive! That quality bodes well for your longterm future.</p>
<p>ETA: I just reread the OP from parents, and confirmed a sense that in this case, the daughter’s wide-angle lens on college decision variables sounded like a larger list than your parents OP requested. They sought specific data on undergraduate life science offerings at Harvard, for comparison purposes. Please forgive me if I waltzed into a difference in focus between parents and daughter. I was responding to the daughter’s enthusiasm for her finished choice, posted on post #47.</p>