Across the nation, high school students selected which universities they will attend this fall. With enrollment rates falling over the past few years, this year meant more than most for Brandeis. To compensate, the University is doing everything they can to make the institution more appealing to prospective students. 

At a town hall meeting held on March 31, Interim President Arthur Levine ’70 discussed reducing tuition by 50% and eliminating merit aid, claiming that the “discount approach” would maintain Brandeis’ status without causing financial strains on students. He also noted the influence of the capital campaign Brandeis has been pushing as motivation for the University to make changes. The campaign aims to raise $750,000,000 to one billion dollars.  

In the backdrop of these immense efforts, Amy Morton, Brandeis’ senior vice president of marketing communications, shared that “we are actively admitting students from the waitlist” as enrollment for the class of 2029 is ongoing. In a May 11 interview with The Justice Morton shared, “final enrollment numbers will be available in the fall.” Expectations for the class are high as they will be the first welcomed after Ronald Liebowitz’s time as president of the University. Through the intense selection of these undergraduates, it will be revealed whether Levine’s financial, political and cultural crusade has succeeded. 

However, toward the end of this spring semester much of Levine’s public commentary, especially regarding campus protest and student rights to freedom of speech, mirrored that of his predecessor. This unchanged stance has become difficult for students and faculty who wished to see movement away from Liebowitz’s administrative ideologies. The question looms as to how many prospective students have been persuaded or deterred by current student and administration political activity. 

The development of Brandeis rests in the hands of its incoming class who will have access to new and updated curricula. This includes courses in engineering, with a major becoming available to the class of 2030, and the inclusion of “competency certificates” for students to display their practical skills to employers. Furthermore, University Writing Seminars, now called First Year Seminars, have undergone significant changes. Naturally, the class of 2029 will be the first to experience these opportunities without knowledge of previous curricula challenges or restructuring.  

Class statistics will determine the fate of the midyear program wherein Brandeis accepts a smaller number of students to begin in the spring semester as opposed to the fall. Morton indicated that “while Brandeis did not enroll a midyear class for the 2024-25 academic year, that decision does not reflect a permanent policy change.” This resulted in rumors that the program would be closing to boost Brandeis’ future acceptance rates. Morton did not state whether there will be a midyear class during the 2025-26 academic year, but she did note that “we will be welcoming transfer students for the spring 2026 semester.” 

Morton emphasized, “we evaluate enrollment plans annually,” meaning if there is no midyear program for 2025-26, the same may not be true for 2026-27. Nonetheless, the uncertainty surrounding the state of the program highlights the general uneasiness of the current student population towards the class of 2029. 

With the updating and inception of several programs, alterations to tuition and Brandeis’ capital campaign emerging, the class of 2029 sits at an important position representing the future of the University. As statistics and demographics will be made public in the fall, they will demonstrate whether Brandeis has truly revolutionized itself amid issues of transparency and students’ rights.