Brandeis University Top Questions

Brandeis students are by and large to the left. My views may be skewed because I am on the track team and as a result my friends are comprised of recruited athletes mostly from the Boston area. However, in a seminar of 18 people 5 countries are represented besides the U.S. I really can't think of anybody who would feel out of place at Brandeis. There is a large population of politically active students. Being on a sports team I know that if you are on a team your social life will probably revolve around that team, however, I have made friends with many different people from all types of backgrounds. Class is pretty informal. Because Brandeis gives a lot of merit money, there are a lot of middle class kids who are a bit overqualified for Brandeis admissions standards who make enough to not get significant need based aid but not enough to afford full tuition. I fit into that mold.

Brandeis is incredibly open and caring about different groups be it in terms of ethnicity, race, religion or sexual orientation. I think ever minority group on campus has a vocal outlit for their opinion. What;s really great is often times these groups or other activist or social groups team up for join programing and mixers. Recently the Brandeis Black Student Organization and the Orthodox group under the Hillel umbrella held an event featuring kosher soul food. The students for environmental action and the LBGT group on campus also just hosted a campus wide, environmentally sustainable dance. I really have no idea what sort of student might feel out of place at Brandeis, because the great thing about Brandeis is everyone can make their own space. Clubs are a very important part of the community and all sorts of clubs hold open and educational events that expose other cultures to the general student body. Brandeis student are pretty laid back. This is not the sort of school where girls get all dressed up for classes- we're very much a jeans and hooded sweatshirt type of school. And pretty much everyone gets along. Brandeis is perceived to not have a diverse student body, but we do and the different groups interact all the time. While there is a sort of self segregation at Brandeis, is more about the type of clubs students are active in rather than their ethnicity or race. While we do have active ethnic clubs, other students find their place with an academic or theater group, so it's not ethnically or racially self segregated as much as other places can be. A large part of the student body is from the northeast- like the New York/New Jersey area and Massachusetts. But there are many of us, myself included, from further away. Someone at work told me last week that Brandeis currently has students from all the states except Mississippi, Alabama and Idaho, but that could always change next year. We also have a great international student population from Western Europe, China, India, Latin America, Israel and many other places. I love learning about other cultures from a lot of these students. Most Brandeis students come from an upper-middle class background- but I feel like that has a lot to do with the fact that we're a pretty expensive school and there are only so many scholarships that can be given. That said, 70{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students are on some sort of either need or merit based aid, and money's not often a topic people talk about. At least the people I know.

The average Brandeis student is a middle-class Conservative Jew from New York or New Jersey. He or she loves Andrew Lloyd Webber, thinks 'Garden State' is agreat movie, and has been on Birthright. As such there's not a whole lot of racial or ethnic diversity, and it can be especially difficult for the small African-American and Arab contingents. As with many organizations, the best people are Brandeis are the dissenters. The more religious a person is generally the more clicky they are, partly for ritualistic reasons (they're all at services together) and partly because the Orthodox Jewish community looks on the rest of humanity as subhuman garbage. Best not to deal with them. And the Israle thing gets really creepy. There is a kind of weak-willed 'liberal' atmosphere reigning on campus, but my time with the Brandeis Democrats taught me how hard it is to motivate people to action.

People are ugly and socially awkward.. the party scene is lacking.. many are crunchy liberal protesters. most people come from middle-class backgrounds who don't qualify for financial aid but would not be able to afford Brandeis without academic scholarships. The majority of said people hate Brandeis and wish they could afford somewhere else. They feel stuck.

There are a lot of race/minority issues right now, that they are discriminated against, etc. But the community is coming together to find a solution. That's what's great about this school - there's a real community.

Brandeis is a very liberal college. There are currently 61 service, activist, and political clubs on campus, and there's almost always some group standing on the Rabb Steps passing out fliers for one thing or another. Although the school is 45{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} Jewish, there are also plenty of students of different backgrounds including MANY international students. There aren't really cliques at Brandeis, either. Students tend to join so many clubs that they'll know student from all over campus just from that. We're not really that big a school.

People are incredibly tolerant here. As a gay student, I feel more at home here than I probably ever will in the "real" world. Politically, the student body is definitely left of center, on average, but there are vocal minorities on the right and on the far left, as well.

How is it possible that some students come here not knowing that over 55{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the school's population is Jewish? It's almost as if the administration uses two sets of recruiting materials: one set for Jewish students and the other for goyim. Bare feet rock! Lots of New York, but thank god a good Chicago representation as well.

Diversity is decent but because it's somewhat forced, groups tend to hang out. Some of the dances and TYP-related events are attended mostly minorities, which is sad, but they're fun so people are really missing out.... The only people that would feel out of place at Brandeis would be unintelligent people. Everyone fits in somehow. International students tend to be loaded but also some of the most down-to-earth rich people you will ever meet. While there are a decent number of Jewish people, these people are Jewish by religion or culture....versus the usual BU Jewish girls, which seem to be Jewish only by the excessive Tiffanys jewelry that they wear and their "JAP"iness (jewish-american princess).

Stereotypically, most students on campus are from Jewish white middle-upper class homes. However, there is much diversity on campus and I really think that anyone would feel comfortable at Brandeis. There are so many different types of interesting people to get to know from all different backgrounds.