<p>financial concerns are a very legitimate issue for prospective students to consider. most parents would be thrilled if students even if had it on their radar screen :)!</p>
<p>but that is true for just about any college – there are some elite schools with huge endowments who have been barely hit by the current economic situation, but many private schools are dealing with money issues and many parents are dealing with greater financial concerns than may have been the case just a year or two ago. applications at state schools are way up for this very reason.</p>
<p>brandeis is being very open about what is going on. in today’s edition of the justice, the campus newspaper, there are several articles about how the school is dealing with some of those strains – including one about how faculty members voluntarily took a pay cut to save a couple of positions that would have faced lay offs – not a full solution to the problem, but evidence of the steps people are willing to take to help.</p>
<p>anyone dependent on financial aid to attend a private college will need to be very careful when the offers come in – and really question what those offers mean in terms of whether they can afford their dream school. but that is true for many other schools besides brandeis.</p>
<p>as for the cost of living off campus – don’t use the cost of a one-bedroom in boston as your basis – waltham has some very affordable housing and most students don’t rent one bedrooms for the very reason that it is cheaper to share an apartment and its expenses. my own child at brandeis has saved us thousands of dollars a year by living off campus – in an apartment that is just as close to campus as some of the campus housing.</p>