Brown

[Anonymous]

So we visited Brown and I was all ready to fall in love with it. But came away feeling underwhelmed---so did my junior. Are we missing something? Campus felt run down...was it the wintry day? Tour guide was fun and energetic. Love so many things on paper, I really wanted DC to like it.

[Anonymous]

what were you expecting that you didn't see?

[Anonymous]

I don't know...the buildings were beautiful but looked so rundown. There was a freshman dorm with rusted windows that the tour guide avoided pointing out....I am wondering if we should visit on a sunnier day

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So we visited Brown and I was all ready to fall in love with it. But came away feeling underwhelmed---so did my junior. Are we missing something? Campus felt run down...was it the wintry day? Tour guide was fun and energetic. Love so many things on paper, I really wanted DC to like it.

I don't know - maybe be glad you can knock a hard one off the list?

We had a similar experience with Harvard- although I wasn't there hoping they'd fall in love - just exposing them to various NE schools. After our visit, my DC said no thanks, there's nothing that I like about this place. For me - I was thinking - perfect, there's one less impossible school on DCs list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know...the buildings were beautiful but looked so rundown. There was a freshman dorm with rusted windows that the tour guide avoided pointing out....I am wondering if we should visit on a sunnier day

Why would the tour guide point out a rusty window?

[Anonymous]

Winter in providence isn’t uplifting….. fall and summer are very nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know...the buildings were beautiful but looked so rundown. There was a freshman dorm with rusted windows that the tour guide avoided pointing out....I am wondering if we should visit on a sunnier day

Why bother - there are so many great schools out there. Find the ones they truly love.

And.... make sure you find ones that have much greater acceptance rates - those are the harder sells - but are ESSENTIAL in today's climate of deferrals/rejections of high stats kids.

[Anonymous]

Campus seems drab to me. Dorms are terrible. Food options are limited. Intro STEM classes are large. But DD is happy. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The open curriculum is definitely an important part of it. Most of her classes are for her major and she really enjoys being able to pick anything she wants when it comes to other classes. She has good friends; they're smart but not competitive; and she enjoys a good range of activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know...the buildings were beautiful but looked so rundown. There was a freshman dorm with rusted windows that the tour guide avoided pointing out....I am wondering if we should visit on a sunnier day

Many complaints on the parents boards about dorm quality. And food. 2 fairly universal complaints I see alot.

[Anonymous]

Very tough admit that leads to giving up a better ED1 option. If you have a DD, I wouldn’t try Brown again. Admission is much more difficult for girls at Brown. If you have a DS, I probably still wouldn’t bother but not as strong of a recommendation against.

[Anonymous]

But why work hard to get your kid to like a really hard school to get into when there are so many others?

I understand if it were a state flagship and would save you $$ or even if it were legacy....but why invest the energy in a place where neither of you felt like it resonated?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But why work hard to get your kid to like a really hard school to get into when there are so many others?

I understand if it were a state flagship and would save you $$ or even if it were legacy....but why invest the energy in a place where neither of you felt like it resonated?

I was thinking the same. Nothing wrong with letting a kid fall out of love with a difficult admit!

[Anonymous]

It's very liberal. There are no majors. It's a cafeteria style education, which I hated at my slac. There is no core education.

[Anonymous]

Then don't apply? It was a lot of work.

[Anonymous]

Actually they are building several new dorms and they look to be very nice. Fund manager, Will Danoff, donated the funds. Administration has gotten the message from students and alums that the residential living areas need serious upgrading. It sounds like you did not see the part of the campus with the two new dorms opening Fall 2023 or the health/wellness dorm (Sternlicht Commons) that just opened (it’s beautiful). It’s likely another 4 - 5 dorms will be built in the next 5 years.