Similar schools to Brown and others

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My good friend at work went the Brown and I went to Wesleyan.

We are doctors, so we kept going to school for a long time after college. As a result I rarely think about college since I feel much more “connected” to my residency and fellowship programs.

However, my friend and I reminisce about undergrad all the time because our experiences were so similar - academically and socially. Wes and Brown have a lot of the same little annoyances, too. Both of us are still very very liberal, but some of the things we did and said in the name of political correctness were just funny in hindsight.

One difference is that Brown sounds like it had more wealthy and famous/well-connected students than Wes (as would be expected). For what it’s worth, there’s no real difference in intelligence between us, though

I think you have more to prove than your brown friend. He also had easier time getting to where he is. Brown has the "wow" factor most schools don't have.

My point was that - in my personal experience - Wes is indeed very similar to Brown.

I guess I might have “more to prove” if I were straight out of undergrad. And medicine is a long slog - it’s not “easy” for any of us. However, we ended up in the same place professionally, and no one cares where the heck we went to undergrad anymore.

It’s just great fun to talk to my friend about the really strong similarities between our undergrad experiences (it probably helps that my friend from Brown is really smart and fun with a great sense of humor!) - our coworkers who went to UCLA, UVA, and other private universities (ie Duke) had very different undergrad experiences.

I've heard the same story from a community college grad who eventually became an account working along side with more "prestigious" state university accountants. Wes is a good school. No one thinks it is a Brown peer.

I have no idea what you mean by a “Brown peer” and frankly I doubt that you do either. Both schools have very bright students. Both have excellent academics. Both take a very similar approach to undergraduate education with the open curriculum. There really isn’t a big difference between the two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My good friend at work went the Brown and I went to Wesleyan.

We are doctors, so we kept going to school for a long time after college. As a result I rarely think about college since I feel much more “connected” to my residency and fellowship programs.

However, my friend and I reminisce about undergrad all the time because our experiences were so similar - academically and socially. Wes and Brown have a lot of the same little annoyances, too. Both of us are still very very liberal, but some of the things we did and said in the name of political correctness were just funny in hindsight.

One difference is that Brown sounds like it had more wealthy and famous/well-connected students than Wes (as would be expected). For what it’s worth, there’s no real difference in intelligence between us, though

I think you have more to prove than your brown friend. He also had easier time getting to where he is. Brown has the "wow" factor most schools don't have.

What in the world is the “wow” factor???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My good friend at work went the Brown and I went to Wesleyan.

We are doctors, so we kept going to school for a long time after college. As a result I rarely think about college since I feel much more “connected” to my residency and fellowship programs.

However, my friend and I reminisce about undergrad all the time because our experiences were so similar - academically and socially. Wes and Brown have a lot of the same little annoyances, too. Both of us are still very very liberal, but some of the things we did and said in the name of political correctness were just funny in hindsight.

One difference is that Brown sounds like it had more wealthy and famous/well-connected students than Wes (as would be expected). For what it’s worth, there’s no real difference in intelligence between us, though

I think you have more to prove than your brown friend. He also had easier time getting to where he is. Brown has the "wow" factor most schools don't have.

What in the world is the “wow” factor???

It's that little voice inside your head when you see "Brown", you click.

[Anonymous]

My kid got into Notre Dame for Early Action.

Only school the kid was considering to apply for regular was Brwon, but got lazy and didn't bother in the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Wes is a good school. No one thinks it is a Brown peer.

You literally missed the point of the post and the PP's response.

But, these days, the quality of the students and teaching would probably be pretty similar.

[Anonymous]

I would like to send out a blanket announcement to everyone wringing hands over what school is like Brown or Yale or whatever: You are not getting in, you are wasting your time. Please stop worshiping these schools with tiny classes who court you but have no intention of admitting you UNLESS...

you are legacy and ED
you are recruited athlete
you are URM and an excellent student
you attend an elite private school where your counselor is friends with the AO.
you want to major in something unpopular and are full pay and ALSO have some other hook like female or oboe player that they need really bad.

Beyond that, I cant see how anyone is getting in. My child graduated with a 4.529 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Top 1% of class. 13 years of straight A's and almost 30 college credits. A thriving LLC, president of 2 clubs, athletics and full pay and got in to none of the ivies. This kid is a marvel. Ivys started sending us brochures in 10th grade when he missed a SINGLE question on the SAT. And want to know where he was admitted? None of them. It's laughable.

You will only be in on the joke that they are after your kid wastes their senior year weekends writing essays and applying and you will see it was just a ploy to get their denial rate higher. It's an inside game. Rigged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would like to send out a blanket announcement to everyone wringing hands over what school is like Brown or Yale or whatever: You are not getting in, you are wasting your time. Please stop worshiping these schools with tiny classes who court you but have no intention of admitting you UNLESS...

you are legacy and ED
you are recruited athlete
you are URM and an excellent student
you attend an elite private school where your counselor is friends with the AO.
you want to major in something unpopular and are full pay and ALSO have some other hook like female or oboe player that they need really bad.

Beyond that, I cant see how anyone is getting in. My child graduated with a 4.529 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Top 1% of class. 13 years of straight A's and almost 30 college credits. A thriving LLC, president of 2 clubs, athletics and full pay and got in to none of the ivies. This kid is a marvel. Ivys started sending us brochures in 10th grade when he missed a SINGLE question on the SAT. And want to know where he was admitted? None of them. It's laughable.

You will only be in on the joke that they are after your kid wastes their senior year weekends writing essays and applying and you will see it was just a ploy to get their denial rate higher. It's an inside game. Rigged.

I am very sorry your kid was rejected. I am sure the AOs had a tough time with that. Certainly was as capable as those who were admitted and the decision was not made on an academically qualitative basis.

However I must respectfully point out a few flaws in your post:

- While there is benefit to the hooks and angles you mention, kids without them are frequently admitted. My kid was one. It happens, it's just there is one seat for every 10 top applicants. There is no harm in trying and no shame if you are not one of the lucky ones.

- Ivy league schools are need blind, so being full pay offers you no admissions benefit there. (At need aware schools it is a MASSIVE benefit).

I am sure your incredible child will thrive regardless of where they attend college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many who apply to Brown also apply to Tufts.

That’s probably true. Those kids need a safety school if they’re rejected by Brown and their other top 2-4 choices…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would like to send out a blanket announcement to everyone wringing hands over what school is like Brown or Yale or whatever: You are not getting in, you are wasting your time. Please stop worshiping these schools with tiny classes who court you but have no intention of admitting you UNLESS...

you are legacy and ED
you are recruited athlete
you are URM and an excellent student
you attend an elite private school where your counselor is friends with the AO.
you want to major in something unpopular and are full pay and ALSO have some other hook like female or oboe player that they need really bad.

Beyond that, I cant see how anyone is getting in. My child graduated with a 4.529 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Top 1% of class. 13 years of straight A's and almost 30 college credits. A thriving LLC, president of 2 clubs, athletics and full pay and got in to none of the ivies. This kid is a marvel. Ivys started sending us brochures in 10th grade when he missed a SINGLE question on the SAT. And want to know where he was admitted? None of them. It's laughable.

You will only be in on the joke that they are after your kid wastes their senior year weekends writing essays and applying and you will see it was just a ploy to get their denial rate higher. It's an inside game. Rigged.

Question: Did your “marvel” of a child overwork and overcommit his high school years away simply because he wanted to attend an Ivy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would like to send out a blanket announcement to everyone wringing hands over what school is like Brown or Yale or whatever: You are not getting in, you are wasting your time. Please stop worshiping these schools with tiny classes who court you but have no intention of admitting you UNLESS...

you are legacy and ED
you are recruited athlete
you are URM and an excellent student
you attend an elite private school where your counselor is friends with the AO.
you want to major in something unpopular and are full pay and ALSO have some other hook like female or oboe player that they need really bad.

Beyond that, I cant see how anyone is getting in. My child graduated with a 4.529 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Top 1% of class. 13 years of straight A's and almost 30 college credits. A thriving LLC, president of 2 clubs, athletics and full pay and got in to none of the ivies. This kid is a marvel. Ivys started sending us brochures in 10th grade when he missed a SINGLE question on the SAT. And want to know where he was admitted? None of them. It's laughable.

You will only be in on the joke that they are after your kid wastes their senior year weekends writing essays and applying and you will see it was just a ploy to get their denial rate higher. It's an inside game. Rigged.

Asian?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would like to send out a blanket announcement to everyone wringing hands over what school is like Brown or Yale or whatever: You are not getting in, you are wasting your time. Please stop worshiping these schools with tiny classes who court you but have no intention of admitting you UNLESS...

you are legacy and ED
you are recruited athlete
you are URM and an excellent student
you attend an elite private school where your counselor is friends with the AO.
you want to major in something unpopular and are full pay and ALSO have some other hook like female or oboe player that they need really bad.

Beyond that, I cant see how anyone is getting in. My child graduated with a 4.529 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Top 1% of class. 13 years of straight A's and almost 30 college credits. A thriving LLC, president of 2 clubs, athletics and full pay and got in to none of the ivies. This kid is a marvel. Ivys started sending us brochures in 10th grade when he missed a SINGLE question on the SAT. And want to know where he was admitted? None of them. It's laughable.

You will only be in on the joke that they are after your kid wastes their senior year weekends writing essays and applying and you will see it was just a ploy to get their denial rate higher. It's an inside game. Rigged.

My kid doesn't fit any of these and was admitted this year. Also to other Ivy/T10. And, also some rejections.

4 kids from her public magnet were admitted. I don’t think any fit these. 2 were admitted ED. Mine admitted RD.

I am sorry your kid didn't get accepted, but look to what s/he was communicating in the app. If the goal was to get into an Ivy, that's not really what they want, and great stats aren't enoughy. Mine chose colleges that really suited her. Not just Ivies (and only a few of those), but also LACs and safeties. She did a great job expressing why these colleges would be a great fit for her. She worked her tail off as a senior swamped with apps to add awards.

I hope your kid is going to a school s/he is excited about.

[Anonymous]

Wesleyan is closest comparison

[Anonymous]

This is really helpful in that it confirms my impression that Wesleyan is the closest in term of fit.

All the PP harping about what is or isn’t a “peer” of Brown are missing the point of the question. If the only reason your student is applying to Brown is because it is an Ivy then no, Wesleyan isn’t a good replacement because all the student wants is a brand. If the reason that a student is applying to Brown is because they like the open curriculum and other characteristics of how kids get educated there (meaning fit), they should take a look at Wesleyan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is really helpful in that it confirms my impression that Wesleyan is the closest in term of fit.

All the PP harping about what is or isn’t a “peer” of Brown are missing the point of the question. If the only reason your student is applying to Brown is because it is an Ivy then no, Wesleyan isn’t a good replacement because all the student wants is a brand. If the reason that a student is applying to Brown is because they like the open curriculum and other characteristics of how kids get educated there (meaning fit), they should take a look at Wesleyan.

Yes, I posted above that my kid fortunately got into Brown. Also applied to Wes, Middlebury and Vassar. Last 2 considerably smaller, but similar approach to learning experience and commitment to supporting student interests and passions. And for a true safety, Muhlenberg was impressive. Skidmore and Bard might be a good choices as well, though mine ruled these out for major offerings (Skidmore) and campus layout (Bard). Maybe Bennington too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is really helpful in that it confirms my impression that Wesleyan is the closest in term of fit.

All the PP harping about what is or isn’t a “peer” of Brown are missing the point of the question. If the only reason your student is applying to Brown is because it is an Ivy then no, Wesleyan isn’t a good replacement because all the student wants is a brand. If the reason that a student is applying to Brown is because they like the open curriculum and other characteristics of how kids get educated there (meaning fit), they should take a look at Wesleyan.

Yes, I posted above that my kid fortunately got into Brown. Also applied to Wes, Middlebury and Vassar. Last 2 considerably smaller, but similar approach to learning experience and commitment to supporting student interests and passions. And for a true safety, Muhlenberg was impressive. Skidmore and Bard might be a good choices as well, though mine ruled these out for major offerings (Skidmore) and campus layout (Bard). Maybe Bennington too.

30 years ago my first choice was Brown and I wound up at Wesleyan. I was rejected by Brown but got into a different Ivy League school (Columbia). I chose Wesleyan though because it suited me better.