Anonymous?

I don't mean this in any offensive sort of way. I am just curious how large the jewish influence is at Brandeis. I am thinking of applying, (I still need to visit), but would you say that religion is a big part of the campus? I am christian... although I guess I'm more agnostic if anything... I don't practice religion... it's not my thing. Will I be in the minority on campus? I had similar concerns with Boston College.

Can anyone give me any input?

Thanks!

Oh, and academically, do I seem like a good fit? Is Brandeis a reach? good fit?

GPA: 3.83 out of 4 UW

Most rigorous course load at my school... 9 or 10 APs by the time I graduate.

ACT: 31 (35E, 31M, 30R, 28S)

I don't plan to submit my SAT, but my scores were 670CR, 680M, 720W (1350/2070)

Anonymous?

Anyone? I'm visiting schools tomorrow and I can only see so many. If Brandeis is overwhelmingly religious, I want to know before I visit and miss out on seeing another school that I might really like!

Weshallbelikehim

This question comes up a lot, Anonymous, as you'll see if you look through old posts. It is consistently answered the same way: I can't imagine you'll feel marginalized by not being Jewish. Take a look at a thread from last September: "Too much like going to Hebrew School?"

Anonymous?

Thanks. I appreciate it. I should have searched through the thread first.

bonanza

While Brandeis and BC were each founded as a result of discriminatory policies and quotas at Harvard---they have taken different approaches toward religion on campus.

BC is a Catholic affiliated, Jesuit university. While it accepts persons of all faiths--it is not "non-denominational." Faculty do not have to be Catholic, but do have to agree to comport themselves in ways that do not offend Catholic doctrine. Also, a significant number of faculty and administrators are Jesuit priests. Jesuit universities tend to be the most liberal within the Catholic community but, make no mistake, it is a Catholic university.

Brandeis was founded by Jews, and still receives much of its financial support from members of the Jewish community. But it is not a "Jewish" university in the way that BC is a "Catholic" university. It is a non-denominational, non-sectarian university. Yes, about half of the undergraduates are Jewish (at BC, the percentage of Catholics is higher) but many universities have high percentages of Jewish students without being Jewish universities (e.g., Harvard, Penn, Columbia, Tufts, GW, AU, etc.) The primary nod to Brandeis' Jewish roots is the calendar--which does observe the major Jewish Holidays.

Anonymous?

thanks for the input! it helped clear things up

B77

Just ot echo and elaborate on Bonanza's point, Brandeis is and always has been a secular school, although founded in the tradition of Harvard, Princeton etc by a religious-affiliated group. Currently with a Jewish population of less than 50% (closer to 40% if you fairly count grad students who are integrated into the campus) and around 25% minority and international students, it is quite diverse and continues to strive for increasing diversity. While it's true that Brandeis' secular culture is not "white bread," it is truly diverse as earlier described--and much more so than religious schools like Notre Dame or BC. Plus it strives to be accomodating of all cultures and has been very successful at that given its short history. At this stage, its total Jewish population (about 40% overall) and culture is very similar to schools you might not single out as "Jewish" because of their founding--e.g. Barnard ( 43% Jewish), NYU (51% ) and Penn (30%). These examples suggest that Brandeis is not unique in having a significant Jewish population. See:60 Universities with the Largest Jewish Population in North America - Fall 2007