Over 1,000 guests descended upon the Brandeis campus on Wednesday and Thursday for the annual Open House for accepted students.According to Director of Enrollment Deena Whitfield, this year's Open House proved to be a success due to a number of factors, including the weather, Bronstein Week and International Week.

"The weather certainly helped us out," Whitfield said.

Those who attended, were part of students accepted to be a part of the new class of 2006 and selected from what Whitfield said was a very competitive pool of applicants. She said that about 6,100 students applied to Brandeis for next fall, making this the third academic year that the admissions pool was above six thousand applicants.

Of those who applied, 41 percent were accepted — an acceptance rate similar to last year's. It is still uncertain as to how many will actually end up at Brandeis: Students have until May 1 to matriculate. Whitfield said admissions is hoping for a class of about 800 students. Still, Whitfield said she is pleased with this year's admissions process due to the strong applicant pool. The average combined SAT score for the accepted class was 1360.

"It's a very strong class … the admissions pool was fabulous, even the wait list is fabulous," Whitfield said.

While students are making their decisions, Whitfield said that the Open House presented Brandeis in the best light possible.
"The students were very warm and inviting," Whitfield said.

Unlike in past years, during this Open House students and parents had the opportunity to interact with faculty in a relaxed manner to show the faculty's general accessibility. In addition, Professor Stephen Whitfield (AMST) and Malcolm Watson (PHIL) ran sample classes for the accepted students and their parents, which S. Whitfield said gave the visitors an opportunity to experience a class first hand.

In addition to the academic facets of the Open House, prospective students got the chance to hear Brandeis' a capella groups — nearly 150 visiting students attended a cappella fest. In addition, the visitors got a chance to take part in International week's street fair and Bronstein week events.

"Open house was spectacular," D. Whitfield said.