Hi! I recently got admitted into Brandeis University, put my deposit down, and was all excited to go. Then I got off the waitlist at Washington University in St. Louis. I have visited both and I liked them both. I am interested in majoring in theatre. I’m a bit quirky artsy intellectual. Both schools are offering strong financial aid. Wash U will end up costing me $5,000/year, and Brandeis will cost $15,000/year. Any thoughts on either school? Any advice on the specific schools versus the other would help.
Since WashU is cheaper, I’d go with that option. However, if you can swing Brandeis and you greatly prefer it over WashU, then stay at Brandeis.
If you’re sure that theater is going to be your major, Brandeis might be the better option. Its theater program has a good reputation . Wash U is a great school with strong academics too, but it is generally not a school that comes to mind when people are asking about strong non-BFA theater programs.
Minor consideration–IMO the Boston area is much more vibrant than St.Louis when it comes to arts offerings. I moved from St. Louis to Boston and still live in the Boston area.
I would not pick a school based on what you think your major will be now. The vast majority of people change their major during their college career. I would pick, if there is a significant difference, the school that is academically better- Wash U. You will find quirky, interesting people at both places. Wash U is significantly cheaper- don’t think of it as Wash U versus Brandeis, think of it as Wash U + 40,000 versus Brandeis. Boston is much more fun/interesting than St. Louis, but getting to Boston from Waltham with the train/shuttle will take a little more time than is super convenient to a college student (about 30 minutes). I would say you might be able to go once a week or once every two weeks; it isn’t like BU where you would be right in the middle of all Boston has to offer.
Thanks for all the advice! Any more thoughts about the schools in general?
Not clear to me that WashU is academically better at all. Brandeis has a lot of talented faculty who wouldn’t be caught dead living in the “artistic wasteland” that is St Louis. (just kidding about the wasteland stuff, but Boston is the better place for an educated person to live).
I think this choice comes down to money and which place that you like better.
Full disclosure: I live in Boston
Totally off topic but I’m loving the DeStijl @Bromfield2
But I’ll just reiterate that I think WashU may be the better choice solely because its cheaper. Brandeis is still an amazing school, though, and you’ll do great things there if you attend.
I would probably go with cost here, but I also am not of the opinion that Brandeis is weaker in academics than Wash U. Different departments at each school will represent different strengths. I would sway toward Brandeis and its proximity to Boston (though Waltham is quiet), rather than St. Louis, but again, location is something to factor in along with costs.
Any more thoughts? (Putting money out of the equation.) What is a typical Wash U student like? What is a typical Brandeis student like?
@Polartec239–if you’re going to major in theater–you’ll find “your people” pretty quickly. For that reason, I wouldn’t think that generalizations about the typical student at either school are going to be very useful.
Thanks for all the advice!
I vote wash u on basis of academic prestige and cost. I know I point to my high schools stats in a lot of posts and I’m getting sick of hearing myself say it, but the kids that go to wash u from our high school are our top students. Brandeis is definitely not a top choice for our cum laude kids while wash u is always on the radar.
Yes, but I think that personally Brandeis will have more creative students, plus students who are less 100% focused on being book smart academics.
I vote for WUSTL. It isn’t as known for theater but it actually offers quite a breadth and depth in all facets – acting, production, directing, playwriting, theater for social change, etc. Take a look at the course offerings for Drama (which is what they call the theater program) for just this spring semester. I think it’s impressive. WUSTL campus is beautiful and it is right next to a huge park (one of the largest urban parks in the country i recall). It also has the Sam Fox School of Art, which adds to your artistic student component
I think that life at both Brandeis and WUSTL are going to be primarily campus-centric – Before choosing Brandeis because of its proximity to Boston, you should consider how often students really go in. Brandeis is in a suburb, not in the city.
@sdoncc I vote WashU too.