glassdeis

Drinking and Weed

The drinking scene on Brandeis is maybe 30%, with only 10% being truly hardcore about it. There's a few judgmental people, but overall no one really cares.

The drug scene is limited. Weed is fairly easily available, but relatively few people partake. Anything harder than that, and you're probably looking at under 50 people on the campus total.

Bran-Vans Can Be Your Best Friend

The Bran Van at Brandeis is pretty sweet. You just call ahead and reserve a spot for you and up to three people, and you can go pretty much anywhere in Waltham. It runs until 2 a.m., so late parties can be a problem. The Crystal Shuttle Service to Boston/Cambridge is a free transportation option that shuttles students between Brandeis, Harvard, and MIT, running Thursday-Saturday or Sunday. It runs until 2:15 a.m. some nights, which might be your last option out of Boston since everything else shuts down by 1 a.m.

Mediocre

It's pretty hot in the summer and unbelievably cold in the winter. Snow and rain are more present than back home in Virginia, but the real problem is the frigid air and vicious winds in the winter. But the (brief) fall and spring periods are nice.

You'll Want a Laptop, but Labs Are Fine

The library has several computer labs, and they always seem to be about 3/4 full. Never seen it more crowded than that. The wi-fi connection is solid (although it can be a pain to get it set up in the first place) and virtually everyone has a laptop.

Printing on campus isn't too bad. The library charges you 10 cents a page (which sucks) but the ICC lets you print out up to 20 pages a day free (something most people forget about). There's also a copy center, which may offer better prices than the library. Again, definitely helps to have your own printer, but you could make do without one.

The Student Center Is Good on the Inside

The Student Center is nice on the inside, but looks ridiculously out of place on the outside. Teal and overly modern. Just weird-looking.

The gym is decent. The dining halls are decent. Everything is just sort of average really...nothing shocking and nothing to write home about.

Brandeis Is a Trap, but a Good One

No one comes here for the parties. Almost everyone here was rejected or waitlisted at the Ivy League school they thought was "right for them." So there's a lot of resentment built up in the student body, especially since Harvard and MIT are 10 miles away and Brandeisans have a HUGE inferiority complex.

But the academics here are actually quite good, and as for social life...well, other schools throw parties! Go to them for the weekend! Actually, females at Brandeis have access to virtually all the parties free of charge, and if you're a Greek guy you should have no problem with a social life.

Brandeis is a great school academically, and the fact is that its a Brandeis when a lot of kids learn a hard fact of life: you can't always get what you want.