<p>Folks, the “many people” that know BC, know about its Div 1 basketball and football teams. These are the same people that know about 'Ole Miss and other schools with big-time sports programs that may or may not have elite educational programs. And I bet these folks don’t know about Amherst, Williams or Swarthmore either-- or U Chicago or Wash U, each of which is a specific peer institution of Brandeis and in its athletic conference (Div. II but very strong). </p>
<p>The folks who know about prestigious academic programs, are well aware of Brandeis. The remarkable acceptance rates of Brandeis students into the best med schools, law schools and other graduate program confirms this. Also, FYI in a recent Forbes national college rankings survey, Brandeis was ranked 15th among research universities and 30th overall among all private univerities and LAC’s–a testament to its focus on undergraduate education. Larger schools, including some Ivies, were ranked much lower. BTW, I believe BC’s undergraduate enrollment is about three times that of Brandeis’. Brandeis is a combination of small liberal arts college and world-class research university-with the smallest student body I believe (less than 800 in a class) of any top tier national research university matched with high-powered professors who actually teach in small classes. So, the research opportunities are tremendous. But, sorry, no football team.</p>