Brandeis University Top Questions

- not everyone is Jewish. but LOTS of people are. It's cool though. It has it's pros and cons. Being Christian at Brandeis means that our community is pretty small, but it's also very closely knit. - Brandeis goggles...after you've been here for a couple of months, you don't even notice the ugly. There are a decent portion of attractive people, mostly graduate or foreign students. But yah, we've got more than our fair share of ugly here. - Brandeis is awkward. but in a quirky, hilarious way. You'll quickly grow to love it!

Yes and no. A major part of the dominant culture on campus is Jewish culture, but non-Jewish cultural and religious groups, as well as secular culture, are present as well. I don't find Brandeis students to be any more socially awkward than students at other colleges of Brandeis' caliber. Brandeis students do tend to be smart and overachieving (double majors are quite common), but not in a competitive way. Students push themselves; they don't try to undermine others.

Of course none of these stereotypes are accurate. Like any school, you have your weirdos, misfits, social butterflies and awkward turtles. We party just as hard as we study, and if we don't have as many parties a night as some larger state schools, it's because we 're just not that big. In my opinion, attending a school which is predominantly Jewish has been a great experience. I don't feel like it would have been any different than attending a school which is predominantly Christan - it's just a matter of culture. Anywhere you go in the country is going to have a cultural feel distinct from anywhere else. Brandeis is just a nice little pond of Jews in a sea of Christians. And as for being snobbish, yeah we definitely draw some wealthy folks, especially from overseas, but by-and-large we are down-to-earth people with a single house and financial problems.

It is true that there are a lot of Jews at Brandeis, but there are also a lot of non-Jews and people tend to forget that sometimes. Besides, the Jewish communities are diverse and vibrant and also cannot be stereotyped accurately. And the awkwardness is mostly a big inside joke.

Brandeis is not officially a Jewish University, but about fifty percent of the population is Jewish. The school offers every amenity for the Jews, including Kosher dining and Shabbat services every week. Jewish kids come to Brandeis to be around other Jewish kids or to become more in touch with their faith. That being said, the school tries really hard to compensate by being enthusiastic about other beliefs. Let's be honest here: Jewish people have a look about them. There are students who speak their own language, always keep their yarmulkes on, and cannot touch the opposite sex. The girls shouldn't be let off the hook either. Many of them really don't know what to do with their long curly locks! But some of them do. And I have known many beautiful Jewish girls and boys. The best ones have clear blue eyes and are globally conscious. Brandeis is full of people with different beliefs. Lots of kids are culturally Jewish, but on the fence about religion. Lots of kids are not Jewish at all. I'm an Atheist and two of the first people I became friends with at Brandeis are Catholic. It is definitely a school where you can be what you want to be. The Jewish thing is like a running joke: it's always there, it's funny, and you develop a fondness for it.

there are many Jews but we are certainly not all Jewish and those who are are not all orthodox, but the Jewish community is strong on campus. there are certainly some awkward people at Brandeis, but you can definitely find your niche among normal ones.

some of them. The average student really is Jewish and liberal.

Although Brandeis does have a lot more Jewish students than most other colleges, there are plenty of students of other faiths. And while everyone at Brandeis does not look like Jessica Alba or Brad Pitt, I feel like there are plenty of attractive people, but mostly in the "northeastern dark hair/eyes, jewish" kind of way

For the most part. Personally, I am the opposite of the stereotypical Brandeis student. I am not Jewish, I'm a Christian. I come from an upper-middle class family, a conservative one at that.

Brandeis has an above average number of socially awkward people, but that does not mean that Brandeis is a socially awkward school. Most people are friendly, outgoing, and approachable. In fact, having a couple of awkward types makes the social scene more interesting.

it depends on your perspective.. i mean we cannot deny the fact that admitted students are mostly from top ten of their highschools and are hardworking, passionate about studying, dont think of anything else other than classes.. however the great diversity of the students (caused by international people, different cultures, languages, ethnicities, religions) makes the social life enjoyable.. every person has something different to say, something different to offer.

See above.

See above.

There are certainly people who fit all of these stereotypes at Brandeis, but there are all types of people. For example, I'm catholic and very few of my friends are Jewish.

Not entirely. While about half the student body is Jewish, half is not. And much of the half that is Jewish is fairly nonpracticing or reform. That said, the religious community is large and influential, but we also have Protestant, Catholic, Muslim prayer services weekly and I think there are also Hindu and Buddhist groups. As for the liberal part of the stereotype, Brandeis, on a whole, is fairly liberal in terms of social politics. However, there is a vocal conservative movement on campus and political debate is encouraged and appricated. And not everyone is from the northeast--like me!

Pretty much.

For the most part yes.

There are a lot of Jews, but it's about half and half, and many of the Jews are non observant in any way. Some minorities do get the POSSE scholarship, but it's only 10 kids a year, and they're not all minorites - so that's pretty inaccurate. Same goes for TYP. There are some ugly people here, but I've seen a lot of pretty attractive people too - more attractive than my friends' friends at other schools. There is a social life on campus. No, we're not a party school, but there are so many things to do, and you can throw an amazing party if you want to - you just have to take control of your social life. And there are a lot of socially awkward people here, tha's just true. But it's not everyone. And it's kind of fun to learn how to talk to peopl who are awkward, and because everyone assumes you're going to be awkward anyway, you can get away with anything. You can really be yourself here. Because in real life, everyone is a little weird. You're just accepted for it here. My friends at other schools have a lot of drama with their friends and feel pressured to be someone they aren't. That doesn't happen so much here, because people are so accepting of awkwardness.

"Jewish Sponsership" is one of Brandeis's pillars. However, NOT everyone at Brandeis is Jewish. About 45{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students are Jewish, and much fewer are religious. The Jewish presence is pretty obvious--people play Israeli music and give out free candles on Fridays, you'll see a lot of students walking to and from services on Shabbat, Birthright is always advertising--but there are plenty of Jews who completely avoid Hillel altogether. Yes, non-Jews are a minority, but it's almost 50/50...

No; the people and the place are much more complex than that.