Duke will give your DC more of a "large univ" feeling across the range of fields, while Brown feels more like a large college with a few serious departments attached to it.

I know many, many alums of each and I would say there are two primary differences:

1. Weather
2. Politics

Your kid should have a pretty good sense of what they would prefer on both... and that makes the decision pretty easy in my mind.

Anonymous wrote:These schools are really different in a lot of ways (curriculum, vibe, student body, location). Is your kid hooked? These will be a hard admit from MCPS. Looking at 2023 info, Duke is a better chance if you are looking at somewhere to ED. Since both are so hard to get into, I'd just let your kid choose where to roll the dice.

Yeah, hard to see a kid finding both appealing. Aside from size and prestige, they are very different. My kids were both very into Brown and had no interest in Duke. Also look at your school’s Naviance to see what the admissions history looks like. Brown admits a few from our school every year, while there are no admits to Duke in the last 5+ years.

Brown is > than Duke by far.

These schools are really different in a lot of ways (curriculum, vibe, student body, location). Is your kid hooked? These will be a hard admit from MCPS. Looking at 2023 info, Duke is a better chance if you are looking at somewhere to ED. Since both are so hard to get into, I'd just let your kid choose where to roll the dice.

Duke has more of a sports and party culture. More students there will be interested in finance and business.

Brown has more students who want the responsibility of creating their own academic/intellectual path. There are parties, of course, but also smaller gatherings.

Anonymous wrote:This is OP, and this thread is already a reminder why you must always take things you read here with a grain of salt. They are very similar in size and selectivity, and both are private. I'm looking for differences in culture and thoughts of what type of student thrives at each. White boy from MoCo public if that matters. Possibly pre-med, but generally just looking at majors related to health sciences.

OP again. Thank you to those who have chimed in with relevant information. I wrote this post before I saw those.

This is OP, and this thread is already a reminder why you must always take things you read here with a grain of salt. They are very similar in size and selectivity, and both are private. I'm looking for differences in culture and thoughts of what type of student thrives at each. White boy from MoCo public if that matters. Possibly pre-med, but generally just looking at majors related to health sciences.

Anonymous wrote:Title sums it up. Besides the obvious of weather, I'm curious to hear people's thoughts of comparison pros and cons.

Prestige same
Location similar
Biggest difference: Personalities of student body. A student who is a good fit at Brown might be miserable in Duke and vice versa.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well they are extremely different. Huge public vs small private for starters.

You must be messed up. Both Duke and Brown are private schools with relatively small undergraduate college.

DP. The open curriculum info was accurate, though. I have no experience w/ Duke. Mine is very happy with Brown. Students are driven but not total grinders. Creative, smart. Some very left, most lean left, but definite representation of moderate and right perspectives as well -- I bring this up b/c people often think of Brown as super lefty. My left leaning kid has been fine and has dealt with a few strident voices on both sides. So much is student driven at Brown, not just curriculum -- arts, clubs, etc. Lots of double majors and cross-over interests. I think the open curriculum attracts students who want to explore several fields. On the downside, dorms are pretty old/spartan, and food is OK. People used to say bad, but I think they've made a few changes here in recent years. There is school spirit at Brown for sports (Go, Bruno!) but not the same rah rah level as Duke. Also, more spirit for diverse sports like rugby and for things like music or theatrical performances which often sell out. Some fun traditions like the organist playing at midnight on Halloween.

Tough choice. Good luck deciding!

Anonymous wrote:Well they are extremely different. Huge public vs small private for starters.

You must be messed up. Both Duke and Brown are private schools with relatively small undergraduate college.

Anonymous wrote:Well they are extremely different. Huge public vs small private for starters. Brown has an open curriculum that means things are both much more flexible but also the student is much more responsible for designing their own academic experience, which can be challenging for some who are used or do better with a more prescribed process.

They are both private and similarly sized. The rest is accurate.

Anonymous wrote:Well they are extremely different. Huge public vs small private for starters. Brown has an open curriculum that means things are both much more flexible but also the student is much more responsible for designing their own academic experience, which can be challenging for some who are used or do better with a more prescribed process.

? What?

Well they are extremely different. Huge public vs small private for starters. Brown has an open curriculum that means things are both much more flexible but also the student is much more responsible for designing their own academic experience, which can be challenging for some who are used or do better with a more prescribed process.

Title sums it up. Besides the obvious of weather, I'm curious to hear people's thoughts of comparison pros and cons.