I'm not sure why Brown tends to cause some controversy for some people. I knew Brown pretty well (sibling went there, many friends went there and while I was at another Ivy not far away I visited Brown a few times while in college). Most Brown students are indistinguishable from students at other Ivy schools. While Brown offers a more open curriculum the truth is that the vast majority of students take a very structured approach and you still have to declare a major and meet the major's requirements. And Brown students flock off to all the best professional and graduate schools and all the big banks and consulting firms recruit at Brown. Brown probably has the weakest graduate/professional schools compared to the other Ivies but the undergraduate is top notch, and that's what really matters for people applying to undergraduate.

That aside, is Brown "worth" the money? Only you can tell. It's your money. If it was easy for me to pay the additional tuition, I'd be happy to spend it. If money is an issue, then I'd be happy with Michigan (the comparison is true for all colleges save Harvard, Yale, MIT, CalTech and maybe Stanford). A bright kid will do just as well out of life graduating from Michigan.

As for meeting prospective mates....well...this is wading into a pool filled with crocodiles so I'll refrain from commenting.

Anonymous wrote:It's a big difference between a student going into debt for $200k to go to Brown vs a parent deciding it's worth it compared to what else they could spend on. If OP isn't getting any aid they are probably closer to the latter than the former.

+1.

And, if DD or daddy is willing to spend a cool extra $200k, why not try a real world-class university like Harvard or Stanford?

I frankly don't get the obsession with Brown. Not that well known or respected outside the East Coast.

Anonymous wrote:Do you actually know any "finance guys"? They're clean cut dorks who marry clean cut women from college. And I wouldn't really call Brown a mega Wall St feeder. Most grads from Brown do well, in general. Medicine, consulting, policy, law, media, education, etc.

+1. The point is, if DD is artsy, she will be much off marrying a traditionally driven guy. It's not politically correct, but that different is well worth $160K for me over the course of a lifetime. It's not important to marry rich. It's important not to marry poor.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you know who gets into Brown today? Kids that don't get into HYPMS but get in pretty much everywhere else they apply. Which means they have 1550 SATs, and unweighted 4.0s, and have demonstrated some kind of sustained commitment to an academic or extracurricular pursuit that sets them apart from the 1550/4.0 kids that don't get into Brown.

Nailed it. The days of elite colleges having unique "vibes" is so out of date. UChicago used to be quirky and quanty; the only thing quirky about UChicago are their brochures and essay questions trying to cling to the atmosphere of yore. Any differences in the elites these days are marketing and nostalgia.

Have to disagree with this -- I have a nephew at Brown and another at Chicago -- very different kids, very different schools.

Oh neat, an anecdote.

Yes, anecdotal evidence, as opposed to opining without any evidence whatsoever. Nonetheless, to indulge you, additional, further evidence that these schools do have distinctive cultures --

http://www.npr.org/2016/08/26/491531869/university-of-chicago-tells-freshmen-it-does-not-support-trigger-warnings

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/brown-university-president-safe-spaces-dont-threaten-freedom-of-expression-they-protect-

Anonymous wrote:Michigan was named the top public university in the country. Go to Michigan and use the $ for grad school. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/09/06/University-of-Michigan-ranks-as-best-US-public-college-in-worldwide-list/6841473181887/

QS ratings are unreliablea from wik: "The QS subject rankings have been dismissed as unreliable by some critics, including most notably Brian Leiter, who points out that programmes which are known to be high quality, and which rank highly in the Blackwell rankings (e.g., the University of Pittsburgh) fare poorly in the QS ranking for reasons that are not at all clear.[35]:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I believe Brown is worth more than $160k more than Mich over the lifetime of your kid who will have a much better chance of getting a higher paying job and better prep for grad school than at Mich.

+1 esp. when you factor in the sort of husband she's more likely to meet either at Brown or through Brown connections

You folks are scary.

Let's throw $160k down the toilet...in case it helps you find a husband?

Can you please show us the ROI analysis?

Meets husband in college, gets married to a banker making $180K/yr. Takes maybe 3 years of his income to make up for $160K!

That's your imagination at play, not an ROI analysis.

Did you go to Brown?

Haha. I didn't go to Brown, but I did go to another Ivy. Why do you think this is imaginary? Lots of men working in finance want women with good educational pedigrees who can support their home life and work some creative job on the side.

Here's the downside of those finance dreamboats - they rarely stay with that first wife, especially the frumpy Brown one. And they kind of suck as people before they dump you too. So factor that in to your ROI analysis.

Good one

Do you actually know any "finance guys"? They're clean cut dorks who marry clean cut women from college. And I wouldn't really call Brown a mega Wall St feeder. Most grads from Brown do well, in general. Medicine, consulting, policy, law, media, education, etc.

Anonymous wrote:^^ Oh neat, girls at Brown are "frumpy." Pretty girls can't be smart, right?!

Brown is THE school the attractive, rich, hipster/preppy girls want to go to. As stated below, it's a crap shoot with the elites - most target a few and go to the one they get into. My niece was just rejected from Princeton, Cornell, Yale ... accepted to UChicago. She's headed to UChicago this weekend.

Anonymous wrote:Do you know who gets into Brown today? Kids that don't get into HYPMS but get in pretty much everywhere else they apply. Which means they have 1550 SATs, and unweighted 4.0s, and have demonstrated some kind of sustained commitment to an academic or extracurricular pursuit that sets them apart from the 1550/4.0 kids that don't get into Brown.

I think you are confusing terms. Pretty girls can be frumpy. Less smart girls can be frumpy too. Your finance guy looking for a trophy wife doesn't want frumpy and probably doesn't care so much about smart. I went to business school (yes, at an Ivy) with these guys and we are far enough out of school that many of them are on at least their second wives.

^^ Oh neat, girls at Brown are "frumpy." Pretty girls can't be smart, right?!

Brown is THE school the attractive, rich, hipster/preppy girls want to go to. As stated below, it's a crap shoot with the elites - most target a few and go to the one they get into. My niece was just rejected from Princeton, Cornell, Yale ... accepted to UChicago. She's headed to UChicago this weekend.

Anonymous wrote:Do you know who gets into Brown today? Kids that don't get into HYPMS but get in pretty much everywhere else they apply. Which means they have 1550 SATs, and unweighted 4.0s, and have demonstrated some kind of sustained commitment to an academic or extracurricular pursuit that sets them apart from the 1550/4.0 kids that don't get into Brown.

It's a big difference between a student going into debt for $200k to go to Brown vs a parent deciding it's worth it compared to what else they could spend on. If OP isn't getting any aid they are probably closer to the latter than the former.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe Brown is worth more than $160k more than Mich over the lifetime of your kid who will have a much better chance of getting a higher paying job and better prep for grad school than at Mich.

+1 esp. when you factor in the sort of husband she's more likely to meet either at Brown or through Brown connections

You folks are scary.

Let's throw $160k down the toilet...in case it helps you find a husband?

Can you please show us the ROI analysis?

Meets husband in college, gets married to a banker making $180K/yr. Takes maybe 3 years of his income to make up for $160K!

That's your imagination at play, not an ROI analysis.

Did you go to Brown?

Haha. I didn't go to Brown, but I did go to another Ivy. Why do you think this is imaginary? Lots of men working in finance want women with good educational pedigrees who can support their home life and work some creative job on the side.

Here's the downside of those finance dreamboats - they rarely stay with that first wife, especially the frumpy Brown one. And they kind of suck as people before they dump you too. So factor that in to your ROI analysis.

Brown boys are rich and/or smart. After college Brown friends are more likely to introduce you to higher status men and social circles on the East Coast and major international cities.

Michigan boys could be rich and/or smart ... or an average-ambition drunk. After college Michigan friends are most likely to introduce you to Metro Detroit or Chicago state-school men.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe Brown is worth more than $160k more than Mich over the lifetime of your kid who will have a much better chance of getting a higher paying job and better prep for grad school than at Mich.

+1 esp. when you factor in the sort of husband she's more likely to meet either at Brown or through Brown connections

You folks are scary.

Let's throw $160k down the toilet...in case it helps you find a husband?

Can you please show us the ROI analysis?

Meets husband in college, gets married to a banker making $180K/yr. Takes maybe 3 years of his income to make up for $160K!

That's your imagination at play, not an ROI analysis.

Did you go to Brown?

Haha. I didn't go to Brown, but I did go to another Ivy. Why do you think this is imaginary? Lots of men working in finance want women with good educational pedigrees who can support their home life and work some creative job on the side.

I love how people in the most "striver" region in America are clutching pearls about a college's impact on your kid's spouse. Yeah where you go to college has NO IMPACT on who you'll marry...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe Brown is worth more than $160k more than Mich over the lifetime of your kid who will have a much better chance of getting a higher paying job and better prep for grad school than at Mich.

+1 esp. when you factor in the sort of husband she's more likely to meet either at Brown or through Brown connections

You folks are scary.

Let's throw $160k down the toilet...in case it helps you find a husband?

Can you please show us the ROI analysis?

Meets husband in college, gets married to a banker making $180K/yr. Takes maybe 3 years of his income to make up for $160K!

That's your imagination at play, not an ROI analysis.

Did you go to Brown?