<p>Brandeis is and always has been a secular school, although founded in the tradition of Harvard, Princeton etc by a religious-affiliated group. Currently its Jewish population is actually closer to 40% if you fairly count grad students who are integrated into the campus. And around 25% of the student body is minority and international students. So, it is quite diverse and continues to strive for increasing diversity. Brandeis’ secular culture is not “white bread.” 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 and the nature of its student body 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%). See: [Fall</a> 2007 - Universities with the Largest Jewish Population in North America](<a href=“http://www.hillel.org/about/news/2008/feb/14feb08_topschools.htm]Fall”>http://www.hillel.org/about/news/2008/feb/14feb08_topschools.htm)
These examples suggest that Brandeis is not unique in having a significant Jewish population. However, it is unique in providing a truly small and intellectually stimulating liberal arts college environment within a major research university.</p>