<p>I’m a student at Brandeis and my brother graduated last spring from Case.</p>
<p>These are both excellent schools and I would hesitate to say that either one would give your son a “better” education (it’s really whatever he makes of the resources with which he is provided). However, there are definite differences in the non-academic realm.</p>
<p>As far as social justice goes, I don’t know exactly how the social justice “scene” is at Case. At Brandeis, this sentiment permeates the campus and everyone is aware and passionate about social justice issues. I would go as far as to say that at Deis, the student body is obsessed with social justice. It’s even one the four “pillars.” And we take those seriously. So it’s a great environment if your son is concerned with social justice.</p>
<p>In terms of the financial situation at Brandeis, it is true that the school has been hit hard in the past couple of years and is actively cutting back on programs. That said, the school is not necessarily doomed and cuts this far have been minor. It’s definitely a problem and something to think about, but probably not the most important factor in your son’s decision.</p>
<p>Socially, the two environments differ. I know that Case is fairly big on Greek life (about 1/3 pledge), for example. Brandeis does not officially permit Greek organizations because of their inherently exclusive nature, and while there is a noticeable (though small) presence of “underground” frats and sororities, this says a lot about the school in my opinion. Most students are supportive of this idea and might go to a frat party on occasion, but choose not to pledge. Even the students who are in Greek organizations are impressively involved in a huge array of other activities and in no way allow their Greek affiliation to define them. It’s very Brandeisian, by the way, to be involved in several activities and devote as much time and energy to them as to your schoolwork (this could be true at other schools, I’m not sure).</p>
<p>Something else to consider is the curriculum of the school. You can find both schools’ core curricula on their websites. Brandeis does have a lot of “general distribution” requirements but they are extremely easy and usually fun to fulfill. I could be wrong but I think Case has fewer requirements. Case has the SAGES program, which is very interesting and requires a capstone project. On the other hand, Brandeis does not require that students complete any such project. Deis requires courses such as a University Writing Seminar, two classes that are either writing intensive or oral communications-based, a class taught from a non-western perspective, and a certain number of credits in the areas of social science, quantitative reasoning, humanities, and creative arts. There is also the optional First Year Seminar (which is a great option). Your son should explore both of the schools’ curricula and see which is more appealing to him. Also, it is important to note that Case is more of a research university and less liberal artsy than Brandeis. This means that there may be more research opportunities at Case (although more graduate students to prevent undergrads from becoming involved in research), but also possibly more TAs teaching classes (that doesn’t really happen at Brandeis, TAs only lead discussion sections unless the professor is out) and less personal attention. </p>
<p>Finally, consider the location. Case is fairly urban and in Cleveland. Brandeis is almost completely secluded and located in a cute but kind of boring suburb (Waltham) which is a good 40 minutes from Boston with traffic. I won’t argue the merits of Cleveland versus Boston, you can decide for yourself. Obviously Boston is great, but at Case you’re much more likely to spend time in the city anyway so if you’re into that, that could be the way to go. I will say that the fact that Brandeis is not IN a city and not really in a college town either means that there is SO much to do on campus every night and every weekend and the campus community is SO strong. This is one of my favorite aspects of Brandeis, though I can see how one might find that claustrophobic as well.</p>
<p>I hope I was able to illuminate some differences, feel free to ask me for my opinion on anything else. Good luck to your son and no matter where he decides to go, he will have chosen a great school.</p>