Anonymous wrote:I like both Brown and Yale. I have ties to both, though closer ones to Brown.

I do think Brown's location is one reason some students pick it over Yale. I actually like New Haven--lots of good bars and restaurants, but...

If you're a kid who hasn't lived in a city and especially if your parents haven't, Brown's location just seems safer than Yale's. I'm not sure what the data says; it may not be. But it certainly FEELS safer. If you visit by train, it feels safer to get from the train station to Brown than from the train station to Yale. My 17 year old self could not have coped with New Haven. It's a lot better now than it used to be, but still...given a choice between Providence and New Haven, I'd choose Providence in a heart beat. Of course, that doesn't mean lots of people won't choose Yale over Brown for other reasons.

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Anonymous wrote:Brown just seems cooler than most of the other Ivies (my unhooked kid was accepted ED). Penn is huge, full of strivers, and at the admissions visit they described the school as a "mid-sized Ivy League school" 15x. Harvard and Princeton are ultra-elitist, and really play that up; Yale to a lesser extent. Dartmouth is a rural LAC with a huge Greek system, and Cornell is as big as a state school and very pre-professional. Of course half of HYP kids end up at soul-killing lucrative jobs in finance and consulting; there's a ton of peer pressure to do that sort of thing. Brown seems elite but not elitist, and far fewer students feel forced into finance, cs, consulting and so on. Above all, it just seems like a school that knows what it is and is comfortable being what it is: it is not trying to be Harvard or Princeton, and it doesn't play up its status as an Ivy league institution. The kids seem happy and love being there. Only Yale seems to have a little bit of the same feel, though it is more exclusive and elitist.

My DD chose Brown over Yale last year for these reasons. She loves it and knows she made the right choice.

Sounds awfully self-serving since the “reasons” are neither compelling nor well articulated. Few students would turn down Yale for Brown.

About 28% of kids that get into both go to brown.

So 72% go to Yale. That's about what you'd expect. Most see past the "elite but not elitist" rhetoric, which comes across as a vain exercise in trying to have one's cake and eat it too.

No - 72% do not go to Yale, because they also go other places. People do not apply to Brown and Yale and no other schools.

These are preference surveys so by your logic 28% don't go to Brown.

We all know most with a choice, including those whose choice boiled down to those two schools, would pick Yale. It's not even a close call for most.

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Anonymous wrote:Brown is having a moment, and I honestly think it's moving up. Rankings will take a long time to indicate this (things move very slowly on that front), but perception is trending upward now, and that is the predictor. Their choice to eliminate TO first among the Ivies will only help that, because it hurts the old "easy Ivy" reputation. While I know lots of kids shotgun the Ivies, the kid that truly wants and will succeed at Brown is different than those who want and will succeed at the others, and the AOs do look for it.

I don’t know about “moving up,” but Brown is the only Ivy either of my kids was/is interested in. Both found the open curriculum, high-achieving-but-non-competitive culture, and location unique/appealing. I really think the location piece is underrated—a true campus in the middle of a charming city is pretty unusual.

Agree with all of this. Top notch academics with collaborative culture, friendly atmosphere, STEM+arts. I also love Providence, and that the campus is a campus. Wish the Blue Room was open in afternoon or there was a coffee place with comfy seating, but that's about it. Amazing experiences with professors and students. Great FA. Very happy.

Great FA? Then your kid definitely did not get accepted to HPSM. Brown's financial aid is horrible compared to other peer schools. They say they don't consider home equity, but they must use a very different formula than the more generous schools (that also don't consider home equity). My DC really loved Brown, but couldn't turn down HYP. Financial aid at Brown was also terrible. Would've had to pay nearly 20k more.

Anonymous wrote:I like both Brown and Yale. I have ties to both, though closer ones to Brown.

I do think Brown's location is one reason some students pick it over Yale. I actually like New Haven--lots of good bars and restaurants, but...

If you're a kid who hasn't lived in a city and especially if your parents haven't, Brown's location just seems safer than Yale's. I'm not sure what the data says; it may not be. But it certainly FEELS safer. If you visit by train, it feels safer to get from the train station to Brown than from the train station to Yale. My 17 year old self could not have coped with New Haven. It's a lot better now than it used to be, but still...given a choice between Providence and New Haven, I'd choose Providence in a heart beat. Of course, that doesn't mean lots of people won't choose Yale over Brown for other reasons.

Anonymous wrote:I like both Brown and Yale. I have ties to both, though closer ones to Brown.

I do think Brown's location is one reason some students pick it over Yale. I actually like New Haven--lots of good bars and restaurants, but...

If you're a kid who hasn't lived in a city and especially if your parents haven't, Brown's location just seems safer than Yale's. I'm not sure what the data says; it may not be. But it certainly FEELS safer. If you visit by train, it feels safer to get from the train station to Brown than from the train station to Yale. My 17 year old self could not have coped with New Haven. It's a lot better now than it used to be, but still...given a choice between Providence and New Haven, I'd choose Providence in a heart beat. Of course, that doesn't mean lots of people won't choose Yale over Brown for other reasons.

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Anonymous wrote:Brown just seems cooler than most of the other Ivies (my unhooked kid was accepted ED). Penn is huge, full of strivers, and at the admissions visit they described the school as a "mid-sized Ivy League school" 15x. Harvard and Princeton are ultra-elitist, and really play that up; Yale to a lesser extent. Dartmouth is a rural LAC with a huge Greek system, and Cornell is as big as a state school and very pre-professional. Of course half of HYP kids end up at soul-killing lucrative jobs in finance and consulting; there's a ton of peer pressure to do that sort of thing. Brown seems elite but not elitist, and far fewer students feel forced into finance, cs, consulting and so on. Above all, it just seems like a school that knows what it is and is comfortable being what it is: it is not trying to be Harvard or Princeton, and it doesn't play up its status as an Ivy league institution. The kids seem happy and love being there. Only Yale seems to have a little bit of the same feel, though it is more exclusive and elitist.

My DD chose Brown over Yale last year for these reasons. She loves it and knows she made the right choice.

Sounds awfully self-serving since the “reasons” are neither compelling nor well articulated. Few students would turn down Yale for Brown.

About 28% of kids that get into both go to brown.

So 72% go to Yale. That's about what you'd expect. Most see past the "elite but not elitist" rhetoric, which comes across as a vain exercise in trying to have one's cake and eat it too.

No - 72% do not go to Yale, because they also go other places. People do not apply to Brown and Yale and no other schools.

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Anonymous wrote:Brown just seems cooler than most of the other Ivies (my unhooked kid was accepted ED). Penn is huge, full of strivers, and at the admissions visit they described the school as a "mid-sized Ivy League school" 15x. Harvard and Princeton are ultra-elitist, and really play that up; Yale to a lesser extent. Dartmouth is a rural LAC with a huge Greek system, and Cornell is as big as a state school and very pre-professional. Of course half of HYP kids end up at soul-killing lucrative jobs in finance and consulting; there's a ton of peer pressure to do that sort of thing. Brown seems elite but not elitist, and far fewer students feel forced into finance, cs, consulting and so on. Above all, it just seems like a school that knows what it is and is comfortable being what it is: it is not trying to be Harvard or Princeton, and it doesn't play up its status as an Ivy league institution. The kids seem happy and love being there. Only Yale seems to have a little bit of the same feel, though it is more exclusive and elitist.

My DD chose Brown over Yale last year for these reasons. She loves it and knows she made the right choice.

Sounds awfully self-serving since the “reasons” are neither compelling nor well articulated. Few students would turn down Yale for Brown.

About 28% of kids that get into both go to brown.

So 72% go to Yale. That's about what you'd expect. Most see past the "elite but not elitist" rhetoric, which comes across as a vain exercise in trying to have one's cake and eat it too.

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Brown just seems cooler than most of the other Ivies (my unhooked kid was accepted ED). Penn is huge, full of strivers, and at the admissions visit they described the school as a "mid-sized Ivy League school" 15x. Harvard and Princeton are ultra-elitist, and really play that up; Yale to a lesser extent. Dartmouth is a rural LAC with a huge Greek system, and Cornell is as big as a state school and very pre-professional. Of course half of HYP kids end up at soul-killing lucrative jobs in finance and consulting; there's a ton of peer pressure to do that sort of thing. Brown seems elite but not elitist, and far fewer students feel forced into finance, cs, consulting and so on. Above all, it just seems like a school that knows what it is and is comfortable being what it is: it is not trying to be Harvard or Princeton, and it doesn't play up its status as an Ivy league institution. The kids seem happy and love being there. Only Yale seems to have a little bit of the same feel, though it is more exclusive and elitist.

My DD chose Brown over Yale last year for these reasons. She loves it and knows she made the right choice.

Sounds awfully self-serving since the “reasons” are neither compelling nor well articulated. Few students would turn down Yale for Brown.

About 28% of kids that get into both go to brown.

So 72% go to Yale. That's about what you'd expect. Most see past the "elite but not elitist" rhetoric, which comes across as a vain exercise in trying to have one's cake and eat it too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brown just seems cooler than most of the other Ivies (my unhooked kid was accepted ED). Penn is huge, full of strivers, and at the admissions visit they described the school as a "mid-sized Ivy League school" 15x. Harvard and Princeton are ultra-elitist, and really play that up; Yale to a lesser extent. Dartmouth is a rural LAC with a huge Greek system, and Cornell is as big as a state school and very pre-professional. Of course half of HYP kids end up at soul-killing lucrative jobs in finance and consulting; there's a ton of peer pressure to do that sort of thing. Brown seems elite but not elitist, and far fewer students feel forced into finance, cs, consulting and so on. Above all, it just seems like a school that knows what it is and is comfortable being what it is: it is not trying to be Harvard or Princeton, and it doesn't play up its status as an Ivy league institution. The kids seem happy and love being there. Only Yale seems to have a little bit of the same feel, though it is more exclusive and elitist.

My DD chose Brown over Yale last year for these reasons. She loves it and knows she made the right choice.

Sounds awfully self-serving since the “reasons” are neither compelling nor well articulated. Few students would turn down Yale for Brown.

About 28% of kids that get into both go to brown.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brown just seems cooler than most of the other Ivies (my unhooked kid was accepted ED). Penn is huge, full of strivers, and at the admissions visit they described the school as a "mid-sized Ivy League school" 15x. Harvard and Princeton are ultra-elitist, and really play that up; Yale to a lesser extent. Dartmouth is a rural LAC with a huge Greek system, and Cornell is as big as a state school and very pre-professional. Of course half of HYP kids end up at soul-killing lucrative jobs in finance and consulting; there's a ton of peer pressure to do that sort of thing. Brown seems elite but not elitist, and far fewer students feel forced into finance, cs, consulting and so on. Above all, it just seems like a school that knows what it is and is comfortable being what it is: it is not trying to be Harvard or Princeton, and it doesn't play up its status as an Ivy league institution. The kids seem happy and love being there. Only Yale seems to have a little bit of the same feel, though it is more exclusive and elitist.

My DD chose Brown over Yale last year for these reasons. She loves it and knows she made the right choice.

Sounds awfully self-serving since the “reasons” are neither compelling nor well articulated. Few students would turn down Yale for Brown.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brown just seems cooler than most of the other Ivies (my unhooked kid was accepted ED). Penn is huge, full of strivers, and at the admissions visit they described the school as a "mid-sized Ivy League school" 15x. Harvard and Princeton are ultra-elitist, and really play that up; Yale to a lesser extent. Dartmouth is a rural LAC with a huge Greek system, and Cornell is as big as a state school and very pre-professional. Of course half of HYP kids end up at soul-killing lucrative jobs in finance and consulting; there's a ton of peer pressure to do that sort of thing. Brown seems elite but not elitist, and far fewer students feel forced into finance, cs, consulting and so on. Above all, it just seems like a school that knows what it is and is comfortable being what it is: it is not trying to be Harvard or Princeton, and it doesn't play up its status as an Ivy league institution. The kids seem happy and love being there. Only Yale seems to have a little bit of the same feel, though it is more exclusive and elitist.

My DD chose Brown over Yale last year for these reasons. She loves it and knows she made the right choice.

Sounds awfully self-serving since the “reasons” are neither compelling nor well articulated. Few students would turn down Yale for Brown.