Brandeis

Brandeis was founded in 1948 by the American Jewish community to provide a top tier institution for all students including those battling quotas at the ivy league colleges.  Because of their unique beginnings, Brandeis has always had a progressive culture with an eye towards social justice.  Cultural respect and diversity is also a hallmark of the institution as evidenced by the three chapels on campus originally erected to serve Catholic, Jewish and Protestant communities,  The structures were designed so that the shadow of one chapel never crosses the shadow of another, an architectural symbol that articulates the values of the institution.  The jewish community makes up 40% of the student body.  There are also 200 muslim students with their own dedicated prayer space.  The student body is 4% African American, 4% Hispanic and 9% Asian American.  24% of students come from Massachusetts and the population tends to be very bi-costal.

Academically,  Brandeis is a  top tier liberal arts college and respected research institution.  Brandeis is said to be particularly strong in the pre-professional programs, pre-med and pre-law.  Pre-med students get a significant amount of support and guidance through special advisory programs, internships and their own pre-med center.  They also benefit from research opportunities usually reserved for graduate students and have the advantage of participating in some of Brandeis’ strongest programs, Neuroscience and Biology.  Other highly regarded programs include Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, Music, English and American Literature, Theater Arts, Economics and Psychology.  Brandeis maintains a core curriculum, with a focus on writing, quantitative analysis, foreign language and Non-Western and comparative studies. 

With Leonard Bernstein as an original faculty member it is not surprising that the theater arts plays a large role academically and in students social lives with many performance-based clubs.  Students are also very involved in community service, political and social activism, ethnic clubs, political clubs, independent sports clubs and just about anything else one can think of.  Brandeis is located in Waltham, not a particularly exciting town but its only 9 miles outside of Boston and the school runs a free shuttle service Thursday through Sundays.  Brandeis is not a big sports or party school but these is a lot going on.