Brandeis University Top Questions

Yes, but maybe not more than the rest of the world, actually. I always forget about the tons of painfully uncool kids because you can always find the crowd you're into. Just remember you'll be seeing the same 200/1000 kids at every party/bar/basketball game. And those kids will rule.

Somewhat

Absolutely not. The fun at Brandeis is all about going to a sketch comedy performance at 9 and then maybe drinking at a small party with friends at 11. The mistake comes in when people figure that since there's less of a hard-partying drinking culture, there's no fun on campus. As for the awkward... I came to college looking for interesting people who wouldn't judge each other for being fun, crazy, and maybe a little awkward. I found it at Brandeis, and it's a great thing.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Awkward? Yes. Easy to avoid awkward? Yes. Jewish? Kind of. It depends who you hang out with. If you want to surround yourself with people that all have the same beliefs as you, it's very easy to do that, just go to any of the many events on campus, or walk around Sherman Dining Hall, of which half is certified Kosher. But if you want to avoid all that, it's also very easy. Pot? Yes. But if you don't want to smoke, that's not an issue. Take me for example-- my friends all smoke (some of them smoke a lot), and I've still managed to make it this far without smoking. If people are really your friends, they won't pressure you to do what you don't want to do. The same goes for drinking-- if you don't want to, there's no pressure to.

Some of them are, but my experience has been that you can always find the people you want to find if you look for them. Brandeis may be full of awkward nerds but if you want some stylish outgoing friends they are also there. If you want down-to-earth kids to chill with, they are there. If you really want to find a hip hop scene, it's small but it's there. Students are into their academics and are very smart, which is intimidating but Brandeis isn't quite seeping with the competitive stress of Ivys.

Brandeis is very Jewish, as shown by our logo, our Jewish holidays, the popularity of Hebrew classes, and our active Jewish population. However, currently the Jewish population is less than half of undergraduates, and many Jews here consider themselves only culturally and not religiously Jewish. As far as the Ivy League question goes, there are just about as many people who thought of Brandeis as a first choice as there are those who thought of it as a backup. A good portion of students are awkward, nerdy, and/or unattractive, but clearly not everyone.

I mean these stereotypes are somewhat accurate. I feel that at Brandeis everyone knows that everyone else is a little weird or awkward and so no one feels any need to hide who they really are. So the people you meet are genuine.

Partially. There are plenty of people who like to stay in their rooms and study, but there are also a lot of people who like to party and socialize. It is true that you have to put on Brandeis goggles to find attractive people sometimes, but it's not bad at all. There are plenty of hot people.

To a large extent yes but the student body is just diverse enough for one to only be friends with students that don't meet that stereotype if they want. On intellectualism: You can not go to a party where everyone is wasted and somehow not get involved in an intelligent conversation. This part about Brandeis is absolutely wonderful for people who like to discuss (get this!) Israeli/Palestinian politics, Plato, Aristotle and sex, or what the stupids are doing wrong when handling the economy. On quirky/awkwardness: If you are a "normal" person this might take a while to get used to but in the end, you will be that much more capable of dealing with awkward coworkers. These include people that don't understand that you don't want to talk to them, or people that talk about coming from outerspace. And yes, they actually do exist at Brandeis although most students seem to only be slightly awkward to a level where you might only notice something they do is unusual once every month or so (a very respectable awkward level that is probably where most "normal" people align). On Upper Middle-Classness: Most students are in fact privileged but there are many that are receiving financial aid and working hard to make ends meet as well. Some students don't seem to mind getting $700 worth of parking tickets by parking in the living quads, while others work 20 hours a week. A few students don't realize that each hour of instruction they blow off due to a hang over costs approximately $300 (or more), but again... you have quite a few down-to-earth and in touch students. Most are not arrogant rich kids that take everything for granted (this is just an obnoxious handful that you only meet before knowing better- during orientation). On Jewishness: Tufts University actually apparently has more Jews than Brandeis does which is somewhat surprising to find out. A nice aspect about Brandeis is that you get to learn the different Jewishnesses: religious, ethnic, identity, etc. Beyond that though, the campus is diverse enough where most of your friends could not be Jewish by coincidence. On Parental Involvement: I've heard professors mention receiving parent phone calls and I know that the administration, health services and public safety receives its fair share. Some students speak with their parents everyday, others speak with them once a month. Again, this part probably isn't unique to Brandeis, rather it just depends on who your friends are and how independent they've been raised. On Athletics and Hotness: Brandeis not so much. We do have some teams that are fairly successful (basketball, ultimate, I can't remember because I don't care) but one of the awesome aspects about Brandeis is that if you weren't picked first for games, then you'll be amongst your peers. This means you can actually join the Ski Team (which has the coolest assortment of kids on campus), or something like Rugby (we don't have a football team) or Ice Hockey. Many students don't really pay attention to Brandeis athletics, and the athletes (you can tell who some of them are because they are a foot taller than everyone else) don't seem to make that many appearances in public places other than the gym. The rest of the student body seems to like spandex and Uggs and mismatching colors.