Brandeis University Top Questions

Brandeis allows students to be creative and take classes that they are interested in, not ones that they have to take for their major. At Brandeis, I am a part of a caring and exciting community filled with passionate and creative students just like me. I started at Brandeis during the spring semester of 2014, and during my semester off, I was able to explore what interests me, instead of doing classwork all the time.

It is great for academically driven students.

Brandeis is smaller, in terms of student body and campus size, than other schools I considered. More attention is focused on the undergraduate program here than at most other schools. Additionally, there is a much greater emphasis on social justice and change here than at any other school I thought about. Finally, Brandeis works to make every student comfortable, especially in relation to religion and sexual orientation.

Brandeis stood out to me because of it's reputation for the sciences, which is my concentration. However, they also have an outstanding arts program which I picked up as a hobby. It's amazing to see so much going on during the Bernstein Art festival at the end of the year. For someone without a past interest in arts, this school really opened me up to the opportunities. Addiontionally, I've become more culutured after learned about people's different religions and customs that only such an active school could bring out.

It is academically focused and Jewish. It is near Boston, but not in it. It is medium sized so it is not overwhelmingly large but it is not so small that you know every single person.

Brandeis University demonstrates its strength in the physical, natural, and social sciences. It feeds my once insatiable passion for science. My hands are finally able to plunge into action with the rare excitement of experiential learning. Words of renowned faculty members ring in my ears as my mind willingly sends ideas and facts running through each and every nerve in my body. It is affable and ingenious; social and academic; flexible and strong. The paradoxes are enticingly unique in this small liberal arts school.

The story goes that prior to the establishment of Brandeis University in 1948, only a small percentage of minorities were admitted into prestigious universities. A courageous group of individuals founded Brandeis so that all qualified individuals could obtain an education. The university promotes social justice and academic excellence and was fittingly named in honor of Justice Brandeis. It continues to promote the philosophy of inclusion rather than exclusion that is an underlying theme in all aspects of college life. Brandeis has also earned the reputation of successfully preparing students for graduate school and professional careers.

Brandeis's commitment to social justice is extraordinary. People here genuinely care about making the world a better place, finding solutions to world conflicts, and make people happier.

It has a large Jewish community for a small school.

It has a high incidence of depression, alienated students, and little social activities.

At Brandeis, there's not a lot of pressure to party. People make their own fun rather than depend on fraternities or sororities, and people turn instead to clubs that they are involved in. There's a very particular kind of person who goes to Brandeis-- people are very accepting here and open to new things.

Small camus feel, great professors who are very knowledgeable and well educated, friendly people, decent food, close proximity to Boston.

It is small, and has its own campus, but it is still close to a large city. It has unusual breaks. There are a TON of study abroad opportunities.

Brandeis' is like a high school, cliques and what not. Can be good and bad, depending on what group you may fall into. Also the Jewish community is very noticable and dominant.

Accapella groups. Brandeis has about 9000. Not quite. But it's a really big thing here for some reason. If you can't get into one, make your own. That's the motto. And why there are so many!

The weather is good during September, April, and May. Otherwise, it's cold!

I do have some pet peeves about Brandeis. The drinking culture bothers me. It is obviously indicative of a problem among college-age Americans which isn't likely to be resolved anytime soon, but the fact that every party is judged by the quantity (quality is often ignored) of its alcohol says a lot about the way a student body chooses to have fun. Alcohol is usually a prerequisite for 'hooking up' and it is the norm to get liquored up before heading out to dances or parties. I consider myself to be pretty liberal, but it seems like every week there is a new cause being paraded on campus. I have nothing against activists or people who believe in a cause, but after three years of constant exposure to marches, rallies, vigils, sign campaigns, camp-outs and pledge drives, my acceptance of activism turned quickly to tolerance, then apathy, then quiet annoyance. Intolerance is one thing that a liberal campus like Brandeis should not be ready to accept. But every once in a while there is a blip of ignorance that seems to silently slip under the radar. Last year there was an art exhibit at the library which showcased the drawings of Palestinian children, with many (if not all) of the drawings having a negative depiction of Israel. A whole lot of hoopla was raised about the exhibit, and it was promptly taken down. Maybe a library at a mostly-Jewish school isn't a great place for art which showcases anti-Israeli sentiment, but it's also not a great show of scholarship to remove the exhibit based on disagreements in ideology and passionate discourse. Israel is a touchy subject around Brandeis. Disagreeing with Israeli policy (even on minor points) might brand you as anti-Zionist. It is unfortunate that a student body with such a strong Jewish background is unwilling to discuss ALL politics openly, regardless of topic. The food has been getting better recently. Aramark is our dining services company, and this means that our convenience store and dining halls are limited to the selection offered by the mother company. But we recently got an Einstein's Bagels in the Shapiro campus center, (they even have lox!) which is easily my favorite eatery on campus.

Confidential to the girls: If you are not Jewish, don't waste your energy on the dedicated Jew male, even if he does have beautiful blue eyes. Religion is passed on through the mother in Judaism and they won't date someone they can't marry. I mean what if their mothers found out? You could always tell them you're willing to convert, of course.

the food at Brandeis is tolerable, and the options have gotten better year to year. there is a lot of construction going on, which is annoying around 8 am, but most of it should be done in about a year or 2.

I don't want to give an overhwelmingly negative impression of the place. I've had some wonderful experiences here and while it may not be perfect for a big-school party-hearty kind of student it worked out pretty well for me.

The website is impossible, mostly because different parts are reached through different subsections of brandeis.edu

While I really like Brandeis, it was definitely difficult at the beginning of the year to get involved, but I think a lot of that has to do with my roommate (who doesn't talk. ever) and just trying to find friends. However, now I really like it and couldn't imagine myself anywhere else. Also, I was personally very disappointed in the Hillel on campus. I came from a very active Jewish youth group in high school, and found it really difficult to get involved in the Hillel. So I just think that perspective students should know that you do have to work a little to get involved in clubs on campus.

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.

Couple things you've got to watch out for on campus: food, health center, reslife, campus police, and parties. All of the above institutions aren't so good at meeting student's needs, although they are getting better. There are ways to get around them ruining your life, so just take the necessary precautions and go with the flow. If you do that, and find time to party and have fun, you can be more than sucessful at Brandeis.

Triskelion (the GLBT organization on campus) throws the best parties, we have intelligent and politically involved students, and we have a fucking castle on campus. Brandeis is pretty awesome.

If 'deis students love to do anything, it's bitch about the school. After reading over all the stuff I just wrote, I'm surprised how positive it sounds. Maybe I'm just having a good day, but 'deis is a pretty good place. There will be days you hate it, and no doubt you will be happy to leave after four years, but if you are proactive and energetic, you will be able to shape your own experience and make many good friends. There's potential here, and you can either sit back and expect your college experience to be great, in which case you'll be disappointed or you can get off you ass and do something cool. I wasted freshmen year sitting on my ass. Don't repeat my mistake.

Wimpy people need not apply. People with poor time-management need not apply. People unwilling to try new things need not apply. People who want only an academic education need not apply. People afraid of diversity need not apply. People looking for engineering education need not apply. People who avoid conflict and debate at all costs need not apply. People who can't handle stress need not apply. People who want to party all the time need not apply. People who aren't excited about learning need not apply. People looking for a brand-name school and not an experience need not apply. Be sure to bring an open mind to class.

Brandeis is stupid when thinking about housing. There aren't enough rooms for half of the students and it is very likely that you'll get screwed if you don't have a lot of friends with good lottery numbers when you're an upperclassman.

The one major problem I have with Brandeis is the quality of its food. Aramark provides our food, while is problematic. Healthy food can be quite expensive and unsatisfying, while other things easily become bland and tasteless. If you expect fine dining, look elsewhere!

If you are a tall girl and don't like to date shorter guys this may be an issue. If you like to talk about cars this may be an issue. If you need a beautiful campus ... ..need to pay less for school... ..get depressed from cold weather... this may be an issue. Brandeis may be perfect for you if: -you love good conversation and intelligent people -you are involved with your community and you believe you can make the world a better place -you want a school small enough to bump into people and large enough to meet people your last of eight semesters -you are attracted to brunettes with big boobs or short people -you like to debate Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Ender's Game and are proud of it -you don't want to go to school in a city but want to be close to one -want to go to a school that will make your parents feel good about it

Brandeis is a school for students that are looking to become involved in the community. It is very easy to stay in your room and do nothing. But if you explore Brandeis has a million things to offer and I find that almost all students are involved in a lot of clubs - not just one.

There are NO GOOD MEXICAN RESTAURANTS IN BOSTON. There's one in Waltham that's pretty good, though.

I love Brandeis.