Brandeis Academic Life
Academics is one of the best parts of Brandeis. There are almost no "general ed" requirements, which allows students to take what they want, when they want, and still graduate on time. The requirements that do exist, ensure that each students gets a sampling of different types of thought, but even within those requirements, there's so much leeway, you're unlikely to be stuck taking a class you weren't interested in in the first place. Also, we can elect to take a class "pass/fail" which means that if, at the end of the semester, you don't like your grade, you can "cover" it with a P. This means that we can take classes normally most of us wouldn't consider because it is hard, isn't required, and would "ruin our GPA". Classes are interesting, professors (with a few exceptions) are spectacular, and I generally find myself struggling to cut down to the maximum course load of interesting classes I want to take, rather than struggling to find one or two more that wouldn't bore me to tears.
Brandeis's Student Body
"What kind of student would feel out of place at Brandeis?" Some people feel out of place geographically, but everyone finds their niche socially. There are so many clubs or activities and events and different types of people that there's a place for everyone. At the same time, not even an antisocial person would feel out of place at Brandeis - you'd kinda just end up finding one other person that's perfect for you to hang out with and stick with them. People who would be most uncomfortable here I guess are ones that don't like hearing controversial opinions vocalized - Brandeis does have its opposing groups and occasional drama.
Brandeis Student Activities + Social Life
Between club activities, school sponsored events, and personally thrown parties, there are enough things to do in a given weekend that generally you have to prioritize, and sometimes do a "Mrs. Doubtfire" type thing (with the changing in the bathroom stalls) to be everywhere you want to be. This semester they've opened a late-night diner, which means even less sleep, more hanging out (if you want to of course), and actually some pretty nice food options. Russian Club meetings, for example, run from 10pm-1am on Thursdays (not mandatory attendance, and toward the end there are maybe 10 of us left). Previously this meant that at 1am we would begin doing our homework. Now this means that at 1am we go over to the diner, and hang out there until 3am...and then go do our hw. You meet people everywhere, from the shuttle stops, to clubs, to even classes (which is where I met one of my closest friends on campus). And, Brandeis provides free transportation into the local town (Waltham) as well as into Boston. Since we also have our own train stop on the commuter rail, it's pretty easy to get around off-campus, even without a car.
Brandeis Naked Truth
The only frustrating thing about Brandeis is dealing with administrative groups, at times. This is most frustrating as a club leader, so if it's something that is really problematic for any individual, it's also something that is really easy to avoid. Other than that, Brandeis is pretty awesome, and the people both at Brandeis and in Boston form some pretty great communities within themselves.
