A Student's Guide to Brandeis University in Waltham, MA

Brandeis University, founded in 1948, is situated nine and a half miles outside of Boston in the town of Waltham, Massachusetts. Founded on the virtues of truth and community, this medium-sized university is home to undergraduate and graduate students alike. As in any college, your experience at Brandeis University is what you make of it. Your days there will be greatly enriched by joining sports teams, clubs, and community groups, as well as doing well in your classes. Diligence in your studies and a vibrant social life will ensure a great college experience, but it is always helpful to know some of the small details about a college to get the most out of your time there. In my first year as a Brandeis student, I spent much of my time searching for aspects of the college, its programs, and its campus to make college life just a little bit better. I'll go over many aspects of Brandeis, but let's start with something crucial to survival.

Food

There are six distinct dining options on the Brandeis campus, which offer vastly different eating experiences. Aramark, however, provides all the prepared food. Aramark "serves over 200 million meals annually to students, faculty and visitors at over 400 institutions. ARAMARK provides residential dining and retail operations such as convenience stores, coffee kiosks, late-night eateries and branded restaurants" (Aramark). Despite its widespread presence, Aramark food at Brandeis leaves much to be desired.

Stationed in the Usdan building are the cafteteria-style eatery, and the Boulevard, with fast-food-esque options. In both of these locations, all food is priced a la cart. Also in Usdan is the convenience store, affectionately known as the C-store. The C-store sells packaged food, from energy bars to frozen dinners, and accepts Brandeis meal plans "meals" and "points" with several tricky restrictions. The C-store is a crucial part of a student's life at Brandeis, because, on some nights, it is open until 2 AM, peak studying/partying time, depending on the day of the week and point in the semester.

Another unfortunate food option is known as Shapiro. This is an all-you-can-eat cafeteria in which one "meal" from the meal plan will get you as much food as you want. However, the quality leaves so much to be desired. And you might wish you had never eaten it after the fact.

Hidden Gems

There are some amazing hidden gems at Brandeis and in the Waltham area. These range from food to fun, and I'll let you in on a couple of some great things to do and see. If you're hungry, don't resort to Domino's pizza. Instead head to Taqueria Mexico, not far from the intersection of Main and Moody streets. Authentic Mexican food and drinks, friendly service, lots of water for those spicy dishes, a homey atmosphere, and good prices make the taqueria one of my favorite places to eat in town.

If you like exercise, try going for a loop run. Run from Brandeis, down South St. to Main St., then right onto Moody St., then a right before you cross over the Charles River. The return part of the run is in a nature preserve area next to the Charles, so the run is very picturesque. Continue back along the river, run through a graveyard, and you end up at the Brandeis sports complex, just in time for weight-lifting session at the gym.

If you're looking for a place to hang out, you might want to try on the highest part of the castle. That is, if you can get there... Another place you might try is by the water tower. Explore the campus on your own to find more cool places.

These are just a few of the unique aspects to Brandeis and its surrounding area. A world of academics and social opportunities await at Brandeis; you have only to find them.