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| Quite Bright |
I liked Brandeis for the first month or so. I have to give props to the planned orientation activites because it gave me genuine hope about the college experience I was in for. Then the semester began, and everyone fell into their own routines, and the novelty wore off.
Half my friends wanted to transfer after the first semester. Some did, some decided that they would be satisfied with mediocrity.
Here are some cons:
Food services. Sherman will make you ill. Eat there at your own risk. Usdan is generally alright (not good, but satisfactory), but they serve the same things every day. If you are vegan or vegetarian, you will find yourself eating a lot of salad and toast. We eat out as much as we eat on campus, which makes the meal plan even more over-priced and unnecessary than it already is. Some people decided to live off campus just so they can avoid the meal plan.
Dorms. This year I lived in what is universally known as the worst dorm on campus, so I guess my experience is not necessarily the one you would have. It also depends heavily on the people you have in your hall. I hear sophomore options are much better.
Social life. This is the big one. Before I came to this school, I didn't believe what people told me about the complete and utter lack of night life at Brandeis. I thought they were exaggerating. At the beginning of the year, there are some "frat" parties, but 90% of the time you will get there and wonder why you just walked a mile to get to a hot, claustrophobic apartment to have a drunk freshman spill their beer on you. The fact that the frat parties stopped after a while didn't bother me too much.
Unfortunately, if you don't feel like getting drunk on or off campus with a small group of friends every single weekend, there's not much else to do. Besides, of course, doing drugs instead. Many times, you get drunk just because there's nothing else to do. Fun times.
Then of course, there's the Brandeis people themselves. There's a very specific type of person that comes to Brandeis. They're hard to classify at first, but when you meet them, you know them. They are socially awkward to the extreme. I had not met people this socially awkward until I came to Brandeis. I can not stress this point enough. Dropping hints, useless. Subtlety, unrecognized. Sarcasm, a foreign language.
Unfortunetly, more often than not this lack of social development manifests itself as people being absurdly immature and inconsiderate. Though I guess that's something that could be expected of freshmen universally.
Because such a specific type of person comes here, if you recognize yourself as strange and socially awkward, you will love it here. Your people are here.
For anyone else, you will obviously be able to find some people to get drunk with on the weekends, but don't count on being able to relate to the vast majority of the Brandeis population.
Let's talk academics. If you are into biology, chemistry, or you are Pre-med, it will be hard for you to find anywhere as good as Brandeis. Sciences here are top notch.
Personally, being in the social sciences, I was less than thrilled. There are some good classes, and some amazing professors, but I've never felt academically challenged here. That would probably change with classes later on, but I came here largely for the academics and I was disappointed.
If you are looking for a dynamic college campus full of eclectic people, you should not come to Brandeis. If you are looking for a run of the mill college experience or you are a biochem major, you may like it here. If you are expecting dating prospects, you will be disapointed. If you are blind, don't care for personality, or have extremely low standards, Brandeis would be ok for you.
Don't get me wrong, Brandeis works for some people. Some people love it here, and couldn't imagine themselves anywhere else. Personally, it didn't work for me. I'm transferring somewhere where the school and the students have some personality. | Perceived Campus Safety: B+, Social Life: F |  | | |
| | Apr 27 2008 | 1st Year Female --
Class 2011 | | Blog it!Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account:
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| Quite Bright |
Brandeis University had a lot of negatives for me. It is pretty much full of upper middle class white kids, which really shows from the yearly drama as one dumb kid or another makes some racist comment or worse (this was before my time, but apparently some idiot was slurring Asian women on the campus radio station). I found the people I associated with to be nice... but woefully ignorant (one girl asked me if India could be lumped in with China, Japan, and "those other countries" at a cultural event she was planning, because they were basically the same).
As far as social lives go... err, they're almost nonexistent. Parties aren't a big thing around here, and many students are extremely socially awkward, although I have only had one or two experiences where my safety felt threatened -- it was by a student who most likely still attends Brandeis and had a history of stalking/borderline stalking female students. I understand nothing was done about him; rather, my concerns and the concerns of my friend (who was also one of his targets) were mostly dismissed because he had Asperger's.
Everything shuts down on weekends, which is part of a larger problem: the school really skimps on a lot of little things that could make going here a lot better. Transportation to Boston is by shuttle (weekends) or commuter rail (it can be up to two hours between trains), making getting around difficult. The shuttles into Waltham are chronically late. The cafeterias half shut down during Shabbat, leaving non-Jewish students with very limited options for food. The meal plans are mandatory. On the other hand, the entire campus gets a makeover (complete with rented flowers) when the campus tours for high school students start. The people at the Registrar's office can be downright nasty. And as for job propects after graduation... if your major is not one of the big ones (economics, law, etc.), tough cookies. You're pretty much on your own because there are so few events where employers come to campus. Housing is a mess.
As for professors, I have a feeling the liberal arts profs are overall kind, interested in what students have to say, and helpful (although insanely busy). However, many of the Neuro department professors pretty much only stop to give you the time of day if you're one of their favorite students. My opinion? Take Japanese with Prof. Sekino... preferably without grading if you're not good with languages. The workload is INSANE and it is tough (well, not for me), but all the students, even those that drop out in horror, end up being good friends.
There are professors that really shine at this university. But the stupid administration, some of my fellow students, and my own department really took away from my experience. And I DEFINITELY don't think it was worth $20,000 a year (I had a scholarship -- it's really $40,000). | Scholastic Success: A, Education Quality: F | | | |
| | Aug 26 2007 | 4th Year Female --
Class 2007 | | Blog it!Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account:
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| Average | This school is full of the most anal retentive people on earth. It is not well-known outside of Boston or the Jewish community, so if you have a choice between a school like Brandeis or something "lower-ranked" but bigger name (BU, NYU, etc.) definitely don't choose Brandeis. | Starting Job: Program Coordinator, Preparedness: D, Reputation: D | | |
| | Apr 10 2006 | Alumna Female --
Class 2000 | | Blog it!Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account:
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| Average |
i had a really long message typed but the computer deleted it..
the gist tho... too clicky. too many ppl study. burn-out is unavoidable. leaving campus is too troublesome (especially during the evils of winter). ppl are too competitive which boggles my mind. the food is way overpriced (tho i think that can be said for every school.) it's a ridiculously small closed-in environment and u get tired of knowing everyone's business (even ppl u don't technically know.)
the ppl are friendly tho. just too secure in their lil clicks that are practically impossible to break into.
the education is good but way too many ppl take it way too seriously and mess it up for the rest of us.
i used to be a much better jew before i came here, and that burned out too...
i am sooo tired of this place... please save me... | Friendliness: A, Social Life: F | | | |
| | Jan 04 2006 | 2nd Year Female --
Class 2007 | | Blog it!Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account:
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