🎓 College profile
Brandeis University
MA · Private nonprofit · Small city · 11,282 applicants 2023
🧭 A parent's read
- Grades and scores convert directly to dollars here. This college publishes an automatic merit grid — hit the GPA/score tiers and the discount is guaranteed, no negotiation. Check the scholarship table below before assuming the sticker.
- Kids finish — on time. 86% graduate in four years. Nationally, barely half do — and a fifth year elsewhere quietly adds $30–70k to the real price. On-time completion is the most underrated ROI number in this decision.
- The campus itself adds earnings power. Opportunity Insights tracks it: only about 4% of students arrive from the bottom income fifth, but those who do reach the top fifth by their 30s at a 51% rate — a strong sign the outcomes here are the campus, not just the intake.
- The 5× payoff headline requires aid. Without aid this runs ~$86,448/yr, and many families above ~$110K income won't qualify for need-based aid here. Families who do receive aid average ~$35,736/yr — against that, ten years of median earnings run ~5× the cost. Run the college's own net-price calculator before anchoring on the multiple.
- Ask the submit question deliberately. This college is test-optional — but at many such colleges, applicants who submit strong scores are admitted at meaningfully higher rates. “Optional” is a strategy decision, not a pass.
Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.
🎯 Parent/student verdict
MatchSolid match for academically prepared students.
✅ Best for
- Strong academic profiles — admitted students cluster in the top test and GPA tiers (bands above)
- Strong test/GPA students chasing merit aid — Justice Brandeis Scholarship on offer (see merit-scholarship tab below)
- Students drawn to Biological & Biomedical Sciences or Social Sciences (the two biggest majors)
- Research-oriented students (R1 — top tier of federal research funding)
- Families wanting a small undergraduate experience
🎯 The reality
- Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 1390, or ACT below 31, or unweighted GPA below ~3.80 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)
- High cost — aid-receiving families above $110K income still average ~$54,885/yr net, and without need aid the full price is ~$86,448/yr — verify the major's earnings track record before committing
Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.
🏛️ Institutional snapshot
What kind of college is this?
Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.
📊 Outcomes & cost
What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.
Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).
💰 The real cost
What families at your income actually pay
Above $110K income — where most Reach families sit — aid-receiving families average $54,885/yr at Brandeis University; families who don't qualify for aid pay the full ~$86,448/yr. Lower brackets pay less — the full ladder is below. One caveat, once: every bracket figure here averages only the families in that bracket who received aid — it says nothing about whether your family will qualify.
🔎 Earning over $110K? You're above the top federal bracket — the median family headed by a 45-to-54-year-old (the prime college-parent years) earned about $134K in 2024, and the federal data lumps everyone from $110K to $1M+ into one row.
Whether you'll get need aidGrant money based on your family's finances (via FAFSA and the college's own forms), not your student's stats. at this income is entirely college-specific: a few heavily-endowed schools meet full need well past $150K, while many others give little above the brackets shown — there, merit scholarships, where offered, become the realistic lever.
Start your Family Decision Report →Your odds + estimated net price across your whole college list — then confirm the exact figure with Brandeis University's own Net Price Calculator ↗ (10–15 min; have your tax return handy).
📈 The payoffTen years of typical earnings divided by four years of cost. A 3× means a decade of median pay covers the cost three times over — check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you., both ways
2.2× at full price 5.4× with aidSource: College Scorecard (NPT41–NPT45; Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates; suppressed brackets = small cohorts; the $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — the brackets haven't been refreshed since the early 2010s). Payoff multiple = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (4-yr cost); full price is the published cost of attendance; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.
📚 What students study here
Most popular majors at Brandeis University
Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Brandeis University actually graduates — not just what it markets.
💼 What those majors earn here
Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Brandeis University's own graduates, not national averages.
| Major (CIP) | 4-yr earnings |
|---|---|
| Computer Science. | $123,460 |
| Business/Commerce, General. | $108,405 |
| Economics. | $95,872 |
| Mathematics. | $85,681 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | $78,746 |
| Public Policy Analysis. | $75,580 |
| Political Science and Government. | $74,018 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | $73,936 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | $73,256 |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences. | $68,179 |
Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only) · College Scorecard program-level outcomes (PP-FOS). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →
⭐ Merit aidScholarship money awarded for grades or test scores, not financial need — at many colleges it's automatic at certain GPA/score levels.
What your test score unlocks at Brandeis University
Score-or-merit-based scholarships published by the institution. Stackable in most cases — confirm with the financial aid office.
| Award | Annual award | Score gate |
|---|---|---|
|
Justice Brandeis Scholarship
Justice Brandeis · any
|
$35,000/yr | 1450+ SAT |
See all merit scholarships across colleges + 13 national awards on /merit-scholarships →
📈 Student body & economic mobility
Who attends here — and what the campus adds.
Opportunity Insights data. Why it matters even if you're full-pay: a high mobility rate means the campus itself confers earnings power — the outcomes aren't just selection effects.
Full leaderboards: /college-mobility →
🤖 AI program signal
AI + computing education at Brandeis University
Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →
Alternatives to Brandeis University
Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.
⚖️ Or compare any college side-by-side
Deciding on Brandeis University?
Get the full picture in one free report — your child's Reach / Match / Likely odds and your real net price, for Brandeis University and every other college on your list.
Get your child's odds at Brandeis University →For Parents
Get alerts when Brandeis University's numbers change
New admit rates, costs, and outcomes — a few alerts a year, no spam. Your email also saves your list across devices.
Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.