<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I'm an international student accepted to both schools and
now I just can't decide... they both sound great from
what I've gathered online, but I just can't decided!!!
any advice will be a blessing!</p>
<p>Thanks,
Izzy</p>
<p>Definitely Brandeis.</p>
<p>What are you planning on majoring in?</p>
<p>The two schools are extremely diferent. To begin with UIUC is a large and impersonal state-run university, with nearly 30,000 undergraduate students located nowhere near a major city. In contrast, Brandeis, a private school, combines a nurturing, small liberal arts college and world-class research university-with the smallest student body I believe (less than 800 in a class) of any top tier national research university. And that small student body is matched with high-powered professors who actually teach in small classes. As you can imagine, the research opportunities are tremendous. Plus it’s very close to Boston, which is the world’s best college town, but on its own suburban campus.</p>
<p>UIUC is a fine university. But, as I’ve mentioned to others on CC, for undergraduate students, Brandeis is truly amazing. Its intellectual environment is comparable in many ways to its University Athletic Association sister school, U Chicago (perhaps no coincidence that the President of U Chicago is a Brandeis alum). Yet its students are down-to-earth, friendly and non-competitive with one another. FYI in a recent Forbes national college rankings survey, Brandeis was ranked 15th among research universities and 30th overall among all private univerities and LAC’s–a testament to its focus on undergraduate education. Larger schools, including some Ivies, were ranked much lower. </p>
<p>Despite its small size and relative youth, Brandeis’ alumni are very distinguished–to name just a few: Nobel Prize winner for chemistry Rod Mackinnon, Fields Medal winning physicist Edward Witten (often called “Einstein’s successor”), 3-time Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Friedman of the NY Times, The Earth is Flat etc; Mitch Albom of Tuesday’s with Morrie (about his Brandeis professor), the Creators/Producers of Friends; actress Debra Messing; Robert FX Sillerman (billionaire businessman–currently owner of American Idol and Graceland) and Christy Hefner, former CEO of Playboy). Also, if you’re into social justice or theater/music/art, it’s a very exciting place to be.</p>
<p>Finally, the school is very diverse undergraduate and graduate, with a strong international flavor (in fact the majority of its International Business School is international students). With respect to the issue for some of the school’s Jewish population, you should understand that less than 50% of its student body is Jewish. Brandeis is a non-sectarian school that embraces students from all types of backgrounds based on merit (in the same spirit as many other great non-sectarian american schools founded by Christian religious groups (e.g. Harvard and Princeton). Unlike these others, however, Brandeis never has had a religious affiliation, although it is funded signigicantly by the Jewish community. </p>
<p>Good luck with your decision!.</p>
<p>UIUC’s alumni are also very distinguished, with 22 Nobel prize and faculty alumni winners, and 20 Pulitzer prize winners. UIUC alums also founded companies like AMD, Oracle, YouTube, Netscape, and Paypal. Also, the current CSA of Microsoft, Ray Ozzie, also holds a degree in Computer Science from Illinois.</p>
<p>I know nothing of Brandeis, never having heard of it until recently, though it sounds interesting from the description. However, UIUC is fantastic in many disciplines, and world-class in engineering. There is quite a large close-knit international population as well, and you would most likely feel quite at home. </p>
<p>I don’t think it’s fair to call it “impersonal.” Students find their niche quite quickly and from what I hear and what I remember, the professors are quite accessible. Calling it “state-run” also sound like a disparaging remark, but this also ensures state funding as well as hefty tuition, even for in-state residents. Therefore, the facilities and opportunities at Illinois are incredible…no doubt to the envy of many small private institutions.</p>
<p>I completely agree with d101parent. UIUC is anything but impersonal. If anything, a big school just means more ways to get involved. Yes, it is “state run,” but it also provides a top notch education. I’d say base your decision more on what you will be studying since I assume cost-wise they are comparable.</p>
<p>If it helps at all, UIUC also has a large international population. I believe almost 15%, so diversity is never an issue.</p>
<p>I intend to major in political science.</p>
<p>BTW-
thanks for the comments!</p>
<p>I know this forum is old, but I came across it when I was asking myself the same question this year. My major is Computer Science, so I will probably choose UIUC, although I will visit Brandeis to see how it is. Also, I just would like to point out that UIUC has many incredible research opportunities, and is consistently ranked as a top university for many subjects. Also, you might like to know that the founding president of Brandeis, Abram L. Sachar, was a History professor at UIUC for 25 years.</p>