What is Brown really like?

[Anonymous]

My moderately conservative, non-weird female cousin went there in the early-mid 2000s and graduated into a job on The Street. Unfortunately it was at Lehman, so it only lasted a couple of years. She landed on her feet, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is too hard to get into to be filled with weird students.

-Brown grad

Yup. My kid is there now. Real mix of students. Sure there are some strident voices and most lean left (as at many campuses), but there are also middle and right represented. Lots of super bright kids focused on academics with creative talents to boot -- music, visual arts, theatre. My current kid is a math major with national performing arts and speech awards. Another engineering with international engineering and theatre awards.

If multi-spiked = weird, I guess they are weird.
But, more likely, your DH is ill-informed and biased.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Brown grads I know are exceedingly normal, one is super active in the junior league. It's not a great school academically (lots of grade inflation, very little rigor), but it's difficult to get in so the kids are bright.

No, there is not "lots of grade inflation. " But GPAs tend to be higher because Brown encourages students to take some classes pass/fail (S/NC) to push them out of comfort zones. Also, students can retake a class for new grade, and a failing class drops off. Neither policy affects the actual grading in any given course and both good for learning mindset and mental health.

[Anonymous]

Approximately 40% of students identify as LGBTQ much higher than the general population. That being said their Applied Math and CS programs are pretty strong and CS is in high demand there as well so class sizes can be large.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Approximately 40% of students identify as LGBTQ much higher than the general population. That being said their Applied Math and CS programs are pretty strong and CS is in high demand there as well so class sizes can be large.

Lol!! This is not true. The “poll” was done conducted by a group not i affiliated with the school
And was done as a part of Pride month celebration and targeted pride organizations so the data is skewed at best.

Brown accepted less than 10% of applicants… and even feeer if these enrolled. Think of the probability and how many students at other top schools have to be queer as well or did brown just get lucky and get the 4000 LGBTQ students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Approximately 40% of students identify as LGBTQ much higher than the general population. That being said their Applied Math and CS programs are pretty strong and CS is in high demand there as well so class sizes can be large.

Lol!! This is not true. The “poll” was done conducted by a group not i affiliated with the school
And was done as a part of Pride month celebration and targeted pride organizations so the data is skewed at best.

Brown accepted less than 10% of applicants… and even feeer if these enrolled. Think of the probability and how many students at other top schools have to be queer as well or did brown just get lucky and get the 4000 LGBTQ students.

My two kids were at Brown. Both of them are straight and most of their friends were also straight. My kid told me that many straight students didn’t participate in the survey, so I agree that the data appeared skewed. I didn’t think that my kids and their friends were weird. They studied STEM, enjoyed their college experience and launched their career successfully after graduation. I couldn’t be happier with their college experience. Students in Ivy League universities seem similar in that they are generally smart and driven. What distinguishes Brown from other top schools was it has collaborative environments, encourages students challenging themselves out of their comfort zones and less pre-professional.

[Anonymous]

I know two kids there in the last five years. Blond water polo playing finance bros from NorCal suburbs. So conventional, it’s painful.

But yeah, I’m sure there are some weird kids to balance that boring right out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Brown grads I know are exceedingly normal, one is super active in the junior league. It's not a great school academically (lots of grade inflation, very little rigor), but it's difficult to get in so the kids are bright.

No, there is not "lots of grade inflation. " But GPAs tend to be higher because Brown encourages students to take some classes pass/fail (S/NC) to push them out of comfort zones. Also, students can retake a class for new grade, and a failing class drops off. Neither policy affects the actual grading in any given course and both good for learning mindset and mental health.

This is just grade inflation with more steps, and the only grades anyone is getting are As (https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2022/04/brown-grade-inflation-continues-to-soar-data-shows).

No college with zero general education requirements is interested in pushing anyone outside their comfort zone. It's very selective and the student body is rich, which is what a lot of people want, apparently. Academically, it's a joke. You can get a good education there, you can get a good education anywhere, but there's nothing to guarantee it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Approximately 40% of students identify as LGBTQ much higher than the general population. That being said their Applied Math and CS programs are pretty strong and CS is in high demand there as well so class sizes can be large.

Even if that number is true -- I have no idea -- does LGBTQ equal "weird"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The weird kids are really across the street at RISD.

Actually, they are brilliant too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Approximately 40% of students identify as LGBTQ much higher than the general population. That being said their Applied Math and CS programs are pretty strong and CS is in high demand there as well so class sizes can be large.

Lol!! This is not true. The “poll” was done conducted by a group not i affiliated with the school
And was done as a part of Pride month celebration and targeted pride organizations so the data is skewed at best.

Brown accepted less than 10% of applicants… and even feeer if these enrolled. Think of the probability and how many students at other top schools have to be queer as well or did brown just get lucky and get the 4000 LGBTQ students.

Yale has been referred to as "The Gay Ivy" for years, FWIW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Brown grads I know are exceedingly normal, one is super active in the junior league. It's not a great school academically (lots of grade inflation, very little rigor), but it's difficult to get in so the kids are bright.

No, there is not "lots of grade inflation. " But GPAs tend to be higher because Brown encourages students to take some classes pass/fail (S/NC) to push them out of comfort zones. Also, students can retake a class for new grade, and a failing class drops off. Neither policy affects the actual grading in any given course and both good for learning mindset and mental health.

This is just grade inflation with more steps, and the only grades anyone is getting are As (https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2022/04/brown-grade-inflation-continues-to-soar-data-shows).

No college with zero general education requirements is interested in pushing anyone outside their comfort zone. It's very selective and the student body is rich, which is what a lot of people want, apparently. Academically, it's a joke. You can get a good education there, you can get a good education anywhere, but there's nothing to guarantee it.

There is a huge gap between saying “there is nothing to guarantee you will get a good education” (which frankly I am not even sure I agree with) and “academically it’s a joke”.

If your kid isn’t grown up enough to take responsibility for their education then maybe they don’t belong at Brown.

Honestly the idea that you can you tell the quality of a college education by the average GPA of its graduates is so dumb that probably anyone who thinks that should stay far away from Brown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Brown grads I know are exceedingly normal, one is super active in the junior league. It's not a great school academically (lots of grade inflation, very little rigor), but it's difficult to get in so the kids are bright.

No, there is not "lots of grade inflation. " But GPAs tend to be higher because Brown encourages students to take some classes pass/fail (S/NC) to push them out of comfort zones. Also, students can retake a class for new grade, and a failing class drops off. Neither policy affects the actual grading in any given course and both good for learning mindset and mental health.

This is just grade inflation with more steps, and the only grades anyone is getting are As (https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2022/04/brown-grade-inflation-continues-to-soar-data-shows).

No college with zero general education requirements is interested in pushing anyone outside their comfort zone. It's very selective and the student body is rich, which is what a lot of people want, apparently. Academically, it's a joke. You can get a good education there, you can get a good education anywhere, but there's nothing to guarantee it.

There is a huge gap between saying “there is nothing to guarantee you will get a good education” (which frankly I am not even sure I agree with) and “academically it’s a joke”.

If your kid isn’t grown up enough to take responsibility for their education then maybe they don’t belong at Brown.

Honestly the idea that you can you tell the quality of a college education by the average GPA of its graduates is so dumb that probably anyone who thinks that should stay far away from Brown.

I'm smart enough to have graduated from a college where I had to earn my grades, so there's that. Either way, I've only shared facts. Grade inflation at Brown is rampant even by Ivy League standards. There's no guarantee that any Brown graduate ever had to learn outside of areas where they expected to excel. There's no guarantee that their GPA reflects anything like their abilities over every course they took. If that sounds like academic rigor to you, you're free to encourage your child to attend. I'm free to keep dumping those resumes at the bottom of the pile, because in my experience, Brown grads are highly credentialed but very average and without much mettle.

[Anonymous]

It's lovely and they arent weird. Your DH is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No college with zero general education requirements is interested in pushing anyone outside their comfort zone. It's very selective and the student body is rich, which is what a lot of people want, apparently. Academically, it's a joke. You can get a good education there, you can get a good education anywhere, but there's nothing to guarantee it.

You have no idea what you are talking about and should stop posting.

Brown does have both general requirements (particularly WRT writing), and also, depending on major (concentration), degree based requirements. Look it up.

They are VERY interested in pushing students outside their comfort zone - which as a Brown parent I really did not care for - but it was good for my child.

So, everything you type is incorrect.