Anonymous wrote:Also underwhelmed. DC got waitlisted last year and did not submit a letter of continued interest. Right after the visit, enrolled in another school. The ideal of Brown didn't match the reality. A shame. What had once been a genuine home for openmindedness seems to have morphed into a perpetually aggrieved community populated by what appeared to be a fairly unhappy student population. Did not seem like a place to enjoy 4 years of exploration.

At least you are not bitter about the waitlist.

My child fell in love with Brown after a visit last year. Loved the academic choices and freedom, the collaboration, the openess. At some point, I had her read the Atlantic article about who gets into Brown ED (hint: those that are recruited). She was planning to apply RD, rather than waste her ED, but got in elsewhere ED and never applied. I kind of wish she had the opportunity to apply, just too see if she would have won the golden ticket, but she's happy to be going where she's going.

My DC used this book when applying: "getting into brown" by R. Montauk. He said it was useful.

Not aggrieved. Idealistic. That’s a good thing.

Brown and Tufts we’re both disappointments to my DD. She was so excited to see them after reading all the literature and visiting their websites etc. In person did not match what she had seen online.

One piece of advice that we got when touring colleges: visit during the least appealing season your student will be there. They need to like it even in that weather. New England can look pretty dismal in the fall (rainy), winter (cold and cloudy) and spring (mud season). If one day turned off your student to Brown, then the school isn't likely to be the right place. My kid also ended up not applying but not because of the dismal day we visited (decided against an urban environment and wanted a smaller school but still ended up in New England). Its ok to think a school is a great fit on paper but turns out to not be. And this seems like a good one to cross off the list since you should love your reach school - and Brown is a reach for everyone.

Anonymous wrote:Also underwhelmed. DC got waitlisted last year and did not submit a letter of continued interest. Right after the visit, enrolled in another school. The ideal of Brown didn't match the reality. A shame. What had once been a genuine home for openmindedness seems to have morphed into a perpetually aggrieved community populated by what appeared to be a fairly unhappy student population. Did not seem like a place to enjoy 4 years of exploration.

I could not disagree with you more. DD is there and loves it. Student population is among the happiest I have seen. Dorms and food are so-so, but the academic experience, student peer group and career/grad school outcomes are top notch. The kids are very happy at this school. I am a bit shocked you did not feel that. Brown has been an upside surprise for DD.

Also underwhelmed. DC got waitlisted last year and did not submit a letter of continued interest. Right after the visit, enrolled in another school. The ideal of Brown didn't match the reality. A shame. What had once been a genuine home for openmindedness seems to have morphed into a perpetually aggrieved community populated by what appeared to be a fairly unhappy student population. Did not seem like a place to enjoy 4 years of exploration.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's very liberal. There are no majors. It's a cafeteria style education, which I hated at my slac. There is no core education.

Not true.

Brown doesn't have majors or minors. https://www.quora.com/Does-Brown-University-offer-any-minors

https://www.brown.edu/undergraduate_concentrations

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's very liberal. There are no majors. It's a cafeteria style education, which I hated at my slac. There is no core education.

Not true.

Brown doesn't have majors or minors. https://www.quora.com/Does-Brown-University-offer-any-minors

Most of the seniors who got in last year’s class (RI school) were faculty kids. And not adjunct professors. World renowned professors in the medical School and hard sciences.

Did you go into any academic buildings? Some of the are very nice. Brown does a good job of preserving the architecture on the outside, while completely renovating to modern on the inside. The engineering center is a good example.

So many of these schools are overhyped in this competitive environment. They all have pros and cons just like they always have. No reason to force yourself to like something when it’s that hard to get into anyway.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's very liberal. There are no majors. It's a cafeteria style education, which I hated at my slac. There is no core education.

Not true.

+1. Why do people clearly ignorant say this stuff? Oh, ok, they call them "concentrations" instead of majors, so technically correct, but still insidiously stupid.

If dorms and dining hall food are important to you don't attend Brown. They are not good. As someone mentioned the new dorms are extremely nice but the old ones are not and there are way more of those.

But if you are seek top academics and are a polymath who is attracted to the open curriculum, then Brown is hard to beat.

As the saying goes, "If you gotta ask..."

Anonymous wrote:It's very liberal. There are no majors. It's a cafeteria style education, which I hated at my slac. There is no core education.

Not true.