You can read my opinion about Brandeis overall, but here is some extra info for people interested in being pre-med at the school: Beware!

Beware of what you might ask. Is it the classes? Are they too hard? Well, suffice to say, they are not easy, and certainly much harder than at other comparable schools. I'll start with chemistry and lab - the science you take in your first year. It is tough! A good portion of the entering class take these chem classes, hoping to be pre-med, but the number dwindles to a much smaller amount by second semester. The chemistry staff is pretty good, there are some notably excellent and caring ones (HINT HINT - Take basic chem with Dudek!) and some not-so-good ones.
Chem lab is the best - it is a lot of work, but it isn't hard to get a good grade if you do the work. You also learn much more in lab than in lecture.

Then it's off to take bio and orgo. Unlike 95% of other pre-med curriculums, there is no such thing as a year of general biology - you take a semester of genetics and a semester of cell structure. These courses are okay, but the professors are usually too interested in research to care about teaching you well. Luckily, I had a visiting professor for cell bio, and she was stellar. My Genetics professor could care less about the class, and was nasty and rude to us all. The best thing about bio is the lab course. It is TONS of hard work for only half a credit, but you learn some great stuff!

Now onto orgo - much like other general science classes. This one is much harder than at other schools. My words of advice - take these classes at other schools, or at Brandeis during the summer. You will then be much much more likely to get a good grade. However, Brandeis is very selective about where orgo credit counts towards a bio major. So if you are a bio major, look into "approved schools."

The orgo profs are pretty good at Brandeis, but students are routinely tested on obscure topics, and the classes go into way too much detail. Lab is a breeze - easy experiments and short write-ups.

Pre-meds usually take physics last, and have a choice between physics with calculus or without it. Most experiences are negative. I don't want to slam any profs on here (e-mail me in you want names), but everyone I have spoken to says their physics lab professor sucked. My own experience - he didn't teach. All he did was bull about African-made chalk and disarming nuclear weapons. Lab is very easy, and the profs there are pretty good. There's also a nice variety of upper-level science courses to take, but the school lacks a lot of medical science classes (like anatomy and histology). Nevertheless, offerings like Human Physiology and Fundamentals of Neuroscience, are indeed excellent.

So, what should an entering pre-med really be aware of if it isn't the courses? Well, the answer is the pre-med students. Never before have you seen such a group of back-stabbers and twisted liars. I know I know, you say this is present for all pre-meds, but here are just some examples. In bio lab, there are CONSTANT cases of students sabotaging experiments. Our fruit fly lab, lasting a few months in duration, was a waste of time for some students when I took it - people not only etherized random batches of flies, but actually went into the fly room and smashed vials. All of this so students won't be able to get "good" or "accurate" data. Hence the reason why we had to label our test tubes with our own codes and esoteric symbols. We were told by our professor and TAs: "don't trust your vial identity with anyone - even your best friend."

Students also steal photocopied answers to homework assignments and test questions from reserved library items. Despite numerous please for students to return the out of print bio book for us, it was permanently stolen. Oh, I shouldn't forget the story of my orgo prof. He wrote a book many years ago, and our library had 6 copies of it. He told us to use them, for he follows the scheme of the book in his lectures and exams. So, one girl took OUT ALL 6 COPIES on different days, just so her classmates (like me) couldn't even take a look at the book.

There is also cheating abound. I had the opportunity to TA general chemistry lab. Never before have I noticed the sheer amount of cheating present. I know that when I took the class, some student programmed his graphing calculator with all the chemistry formulae, but I noticed it more when teaching than ever before. Tons of cheating on tests and quizzes
- even more copying of lab reports, and even worse, constantly lying about doing it even when you are caught.

Brandeis' average MCATs are pretty good - but don't let this fool you. The reason - well, every year only one or two people study on their own and don't take a course. Although I am not saying everyone who takes a course does well (or everyone who studies on their own does poorly) it certainly helps the average. Such is the "advantage" of going to a school with so many rich people.

The advising process is "mediocre." - The lady who has been there for many years was good, but she left. They are currently in a "period of transition" for the head medical advisor.

I took a year off after graduating to recover from my traumatic pre-med experience. I will be entering one of three med schools I got accepted to next year, but I worked very hard (including enduring much stress and competitiveness) for it. While going to these interviews, and speaking to other pre-meds, I see how different Brandeis pre-meds are from other schools.




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