Brown v UChicago?

[Anonymous]

Chicago's administration is very unlike other schools. If your child gets triggered easily by controversial speakers being invited to campus or doesn't like free speech then s/he should go to Brown. At Chicago students are going to be subject to speakers like Bannon and others. Some consider this a plus, others an outrage.

Chicago has the core. You can construct a core at Brown, but the onus is on the student. Chicago's core is flexible but not there is some real structure and depth to the core. Some like this, others hate it. If you like a well rounded education and believe that certain subjects "must" be included in an undergrad curriculum, go to Chicago. If you prefer tremendous flexibility and no constraints/restraints on what courses you can take, go to Brown.

Chicago's quarter system is brutal and fast, you cannot afford to snooze. Midterms will hit you during 3rd or 4th weeks and in STEM classes they don't throw out A's very easily. But then you are done with courses quickly and don't have to suffer through a long semester

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chicago's administration is very unlike other schools. If your child gets triggered easily by controversial speakers being invited to campus or doesn't like free speech then s/he should go to Brown. At Chicago students are going to be subject to speakers like Bannon and others. Some consider this a plus, others an outrage.

Chicago has the core. You can construct a core at Brown, but the onus is on the student. Chicago's core is flexible but not there is some real structure and depth to the core. Some like this, others hate it. If you like a well rounded education and believe that certain subjects "must" be included in an undergrad curriculum, go to Chicago. If you prefer tremendous flexibility and no constraints/restraints on what courses you can take, go to Brown.

Chicago's quarter system is brutal and fast, you cannot afford to snooze. Midterms will hit you during 3rd or 4th weeks and in STEM classes they don't throw out A's very easily. But then you are done with courses quickly and don't have to suffer through a long semester

+1 to everything you said. Frankly, Brown and UChicago feel like the elite schools on the polar end of each other. A student will readily know what they prefer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chicago's administration is very unlike other schools. If your child gets triggered easily by controversial speakers being invited to campus or doesn't like free speech then s/he should go to Brown. At Chicago students are going to be subject to speakers like Bannon and others. Some consider this a plus, others an outrage.

Chicago has the core. You can construct a core at Brown, but the onus is on the student. Chicago's core is flexible but not there is some real structure and depth to the core. Some like this, others hate it. If you like a well rounded education and believe that certain subjects "must" be included in an undergrad curriculum, go to Chicago. If you prefer tremendous flexibility and no constraints/restraints on what courses you can take, go to Brown.

Chicago's quarter system is brutal and fast, you cannot afford to snooze. Midterms will hit you during 3rd or 4th weeks and in STEM classes they don't throw out A's very easily. But then you are done with courses quickly and don't have to suffer through a long semester

Chicago's administration just needs to pander to their old conservative alums more than other schools because of the low endowment. I say this as a proud UofC Ph.D.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chicago's administration is very unlike other schools. If your child gets triggered easily by controversial speakers being invited to campus or doesn't like free speech then s/he should go to Brown. At Chicago students are going to be subject to speakers like Bannon and others. Some consider this a plus, others an outrage.

Chicago has the core. You can construct a core at Brown, but the onus is on the student. Chicago's core is flexible but not there is some real structure and depth to the core. Some like this, others hate it. If you like a well rounded education and believe that certain subjects "must" be included in an undergrad curriculum, go to Chicago. If you prefer tremendous flexibility and no constraints/restraints on what courses you can take, go to Brown.

Chicago's quarter system is brutal and fast, you cannot afford to snooze. Midterms will hit you during 3rd or 4th weeks and in STEM classes they don't throw out A's very easily. But then you are done with courses quickly and don't have to suffer through a long semester

Chicago's administration just needs to pander to their old conservative alums more than other schools because of the low endowment. I say this as a proud UofC Ph.D.

Nah, UChicago just has strong intellectual traditions on both the left (e.g. education, sociology) and the right (e.g. economics and law). I think this is more faculty- than alumni- driven.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chicago's administration is very unlike other schools. If your child gets triggered easily by controversial speakers being invited to campus or doesn't like free speech then s/he should go to Brown. At Chicago students are going to be subject to speakers like Bannon and others. Some consider this a plus, others an outrage.

Chicago has the core. You can construct a core at Brown, but the onus is on the student. Chicago's core is flexible but not there is some real structure and depth to the core. Some like this, others hate it. If you like a well rounded education and believe that certain subjects "must" be included in an undergrad curriculum, go to Chicago. If you prefer tremendous flexibility and no constraints/restraints on what courses you can take, go to Brown.

Chicago's quarter system is brutal and fast, you cannot afford to snooze. Midterms will hit you during 3rd or 4th weeks and in STEM classes they don't throw out A's very easily. But then you are done with courses quickly and don't have to suffer through a long semester

Chicago's administration just needs to pander to their old conservative alums more than other schools because of the low endowment. I say this as a proud UofC Ph.D.

Nah, UChicago just has strong intellectual traditions on both the left (e.g. education, sociology) and the right (e.g. economics and law). I think this is more faculty- than alumni- driven.

That's not what I've been hearing from the faculty I'm still in touch with at Chicago, but I can't waste much time on Bannon. It would be a much more interesting debate if he was a person of intellectual merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Chicago's administration just needs to pander to their old conservative alums more than other schools because of the low endowment. I say this as a proud UofC Ph.D.

Low endowment?

U of Chicago's endowment is 7 billion. Brown's is only 3 billion.

Sure, I get that it isn't at the level of Yale or Stanford (27/22 billion) but hardly "low"!

[Anonymous]

Didn’t mean to imply faculty as a whole would endorse giving Bannon a platform. But University policy gives individual faculty the power to invite anyone and it was a B-School prof that invited Bannon. All it takes is one.

[Anonymous]

Brown alum here who turned down U Chicago. The differences are so stark it should be fairly obvious to your DC upon a little contemplation or visiting which one is a better fit.

[Anonymous]

^^^ I should add that the decision to choose Brown over Chicago was completely mine and my parents weren’t involved at all — I have no idea what their preference was or whether they even had one. If there’s not a financial factor that requires you to weigh in, I have no idea why you’re trying to figure this one out for your kid. This is one of their first big decisions on what direction to take in their own life. Let DC make it for goodness sake and butt out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are talking about what is probably one of the top 3 most academically rigorous elite colleges (Chicago, Caltech, MIT) and arguably the least rigorous and intense elite college (Brown).
Huge differences in academic philosophy and campus vibe. Since both schools have comparable prestige for undergrad, i would choose solely based on fit.

+1 Completely different schools in terms of everything: rigor, philosophy/ideology, social norms, campus life, atmosphere etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brown alum here who turned down U Chicago. The differences are so stark it should be fairly obvious to your DC upon a little contemplation or visiting which one is a better fit.

Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brown alum here who turned down U Chicago. The differences are so stark it should be fairly obvious to your DC upon a little contemplation or visiting which one is a better fit.

Why?

Long story short, I am very self-directed and didn’t want to do a mandatory core curriculum. (If you’re directionless, you can easily flounder at Brown and it’s not pretty.) Secondarily, Providence is a lovely city and more my speed than Chicago.

[Anonymous]

^^^ One other thing I’ll add is that Brown is focused on its undergrads. They outnumber the grad students and take priority. I’m not sure I appreciated that when I was choosing a college but I do think the undergrad teaching is particularly good at Brown. I have some basis for comparison because I attended grad school elsewhere and saw undergrad classes at those (other Ivy) schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chicago's administration is very unlike other schools. If your child gets triggered easily by controversial speakers being invited to campus or doesn't like free speech then s/he should go to Brown. At Chicago students are going to be subject to speakers like Bannon and others. Some consider this a plus, others an outrage.

Chicago has the core. You can construct a core at Brown, but the onus is on the student. Chicago's core is flexible but not there is some real structure and depth to the core. Some like this, others hate it. If you like a well rounded education and believe that certain subjects "must" be included in an undergrad curriculum, go to Chicago. If you prefer tremendous flexibility and no constraints/restraints on what courses you can take, go to Brown.

Chicago's quarter system is brutal and fast, you cannot afford to snooze. Midterms will hit you during 3rd or 4th weeks and in STEM classes they don't throw out A's very easily. But then you are done with courses quickly and don't have to suffer through a long semester

Chicago's administration just needs to pander to their old conservative alums more than other schools because of the low endowment. I say this as a proud UofC Ph.D.

You are a moron. Chicago didn't ponder to it's alums even when it defended it's students rights to engage in activities that it's alums considered communist. Know your alma maters history

[Anonymous]

OP - I don't think anyone knows what calibre a kid is until they've been tested. See what she thinks after visiting. I suspect that if she has the bravery to walk into a known rigorous environment where one must take some uncomfortable coursework, she will do just fine. Brown of course is also an excellent school but I don't think entry there makes one pause to think about what it implies in terms of work. It's curriculum is highly flexible and suited to the kids who like to remain focused in their wheelhouse. Both she/he and you will know her/him better with that choice. As other posters have said, it's not a question of better between these two choices. They're diametrically opposed.