I have heard some pretty conflicting reviews about Brandeis. Some peopls say it is elitist, privaledged, and that the teachers don’t care, while others rave about the fantastic research opportunities and close professor relationships. What are your thoughts on it? Does anyone know anything about the physics department in particular? Is the workload super heavy, or do students generally have enough free time? How often do people go to Boston? If students don’t like it, why? Is the enviroment more collaborative or competitive?
I am not a student yet but I am planning on going there as I was admitted. I did however do a solid two day visit, and from what I can tell Brandeis is like every other college in that it really depends what you make of it. I cant answer every question but I can answer a few.
Basically during my two days I met some really good people, and had some really possitive experinces. I tend to be a social person but I struggle with it sometimes, and at Brandeis a lot of people were friendly and cool and were always willing to interact or to help out. Iv’e been told that It is very common to run into people you meet a lot, and they tend to always smile and say hi. The strangers there are also willing to help, I remember being lost on my way to my hosts’ dorm and a normal Brandeisian just noticed and offered to walk me to my dorm.
During my visit I also got to sit in on a class and the enviorment was very welcoming. I didn’t feel intimidated to ask questions or to ask a dumb question, and everyone around me was just there to genuinly learn not judge. So i would say the enviorment is not competive just nuetral.
the last question of yours that i can answer is that going to Boston is pretty common, the amount you go really depends on you and your friend group. Also don’t wprry about food and dorms, they are average not overly good or overly bad like some people say.
I hope this helped, and I was there for just two days so some things might be inacurate but overall i would say that Brandeis has a great friendly vibe overall.
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Not a student, parent of a student. I’ve done the rounds of quite a few schools, and Brandeis as well as another school tops the list as probably the most academically challenging and intensive I’ve seen. I think you will receive an excellent education here. My son is really enjoying it, and has no problems with social activities. From what my son has said, it sounds like a very friendly (and helpful) campus.
However, its not party central -kids seem to want to study more than party, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a great time. FWIW, my son says the food is “great” -though admittedly he does tend to consume copious amounts of food at anytime.
Current student at Brandeis. The students are Brandeis are very friendly and definitely want to see each other succeed. The research opportunities are definitely there and are even open to first years. Regarding the physics program, a few of my friends are physics majors and they have a decent amount of free time, so the work load is definitely manageable. The physics research mostly revolves around biology from what I have heard. And yes, I agree with PotatoPiem8, it really depends on your friend group and if you like to travel to Boston. The shuttles to Boston can on the rare occasion be late, but they are available Thursday night-Sunday night, which is great if you are trying to get off campus. The buses are often packed, even in the winter months, as most people try to get off campus, even if it’s just for a quick dinner. The party scene/greek life is definitely there, but I find that a lot of people do prefer to drink/do drugs in the dorms, although the frat parties definitely have good attendance. All in all, the experience is what you make of it and what you want it to be, as it is at almost every school.
Most students will complain about the food. The first few weeks of my freshman year were fine, then I got pretty sick of the food because there are limited options and they rotate them. Some days are better than others, and some days are worse. The food could definitely use a lot of improvement, but isn’t as terrible as some people make it out to be. The dorms are not as bad as people make them out to be as well, but that’s probably another popular complaint. I’ve found that Brandeis students will find anything and everything about the school to complain about. Overall, great school though.
hi! I am also a current student there! I’m a first year and I had the same/similar questions about brandeis when I was deciding between schools. Obviously, Corona didn’t give you the chance to come to admitted student’s day which Brandeis does an amazing job as, but I can answer your some questions. Physics, like most of the STEM classes, is going to be challenging; however it is up to you on how to balance your course load and understand your capabilities of what you can handle. There are definitely days where I have stayed in the library until 2am but there are also a fair amount of days I was chilling. Your course load & time management skills are key to success regardless of what school you go to. I have heard the physics department, like many Brandeis science departments is very strong! So you would be getting a very basis of the subject matter.
On social scene, basically what the person above me said is true. There are parties, at frats, in upperclassmen dorms, hell even in freshman dorms. And I went into Boston quite frequently bc I am from Boston and love the city! And they run Thurs-Sun & also Waltham shuttle runs everyday & it is a wonderful place to go for food! Honestly a lot of people talk about how bad the social scene is, but if you want to go to a party there will some frat throwing a party somewhere. Although I do have to say the BEST parties are thrown by the culture clubs!
As for the people, and I mean this when I say people at Brandeis are what made me fall in love with the school! Reach out to people on the Facebook page! That’s how I found my best friend & we talked the entire summer before freshman year. People at Brandeis are some of the smartest people, but most down to earth people. I have yet to meet a mean person there. The energy you put out is the energy you get. And don’t be afraid to approach the upperclassmen, some of my closest friends ended up being upperclassmen & I’m going to miss the seniors so much! Brandeis’ community is what makes it so special, so join clubs & immerse yourself in the lifestyle there! You won’t regret it.
Also people here are so collaborative and i never found it to be cut throat competitive; if you ask for help, people will help esp upperclassmen who have taken the class before. They’ll literally give you old tests, student guides etc! I’m not even kidding few days ago I reached out to a senior for his schedule to help form mine & he literally helped me form it and gave me advice about professors & what to expect. People at this school genuinely care about the wellbeing of others. And maybe it’s just me, but you won’t regret coming here. I miss it so much now that I’m home. I made amazing memories, met the most amazing people and had the most wonderful first year!
College, regardless of where you go, is what you make of it. And people said that so much and I was like what? But the energy you put out is what you will get. I am a pretty social and outgoing person, so Brandeis was an amazing school for me to go to & I fell in love w/ this school bc of the community & the amazing opportunities I have gotten bc of the school! Just be friendly & nice & people will want to reach out! If you have any other questions, reach out! Also don’t believe everything you read on Niche because everyone is so negative. It’s such a good school & i has the best first year!
Thanks for your replies, @semisomnos on both threads. If brandeis is a final contender, i may have my daughter reach out to you.