College · Private nonprofit · Waltham, MA · City
Brandeis University
Waltham, MA
Admit rate41%
6-yr median pay$53k
Net price / yr$36k
Undergrad size3,618
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $36k/yr for a shot at a $53k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 41% means this is selective — grades, essays, and testing matter. Admitted students average SAT 1462 · ACT 33.
If you get in
3,618 undergrads. Small. You will know your cohort.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $86k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $36k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$346k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$143k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$203k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback2.7x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $68.1k
- Room & board
- $19.9k
- Books & supplies
- $1,000
How students pay for it.
Pell grants15%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans28%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$26k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $10k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
Graduation · 6 yr86%
Most finish on time.
6-yr median pay$53k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$77k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out8%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 3,618
- Location
- Waltham, MA
- Region
- New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
- Carnegie class
- Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity (R1)
- Size & setting
- Four-year · medium · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, more selective, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- New England Commission on Higher Education
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White41%
- International19%
- Asian18%
- Hispanic9%
- Black6%
- Two or more races4%
- Unknown2%
First-gen students16%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time0%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$73k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 33
What you can study.