Anonymous wrote:Campus seems drab to me. Dorms are terrible. Food options are limited. Intro STEM classes are large. But DD is happy. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The open curriculum is definitely an important part of it. Most of her classes are for her major and she really enjoys being able to pick anything she wants when it comes to other classes. She has good friends; they're smart but not competitive; and she enjoys a good range of activities.

NP. At Brown or any other college, this, the bold above, is what matters most: The academic fit and quality; solid and healthy friendships; activities a student loves and finds engaging.

To the OP: Yes, the physical facilities absolutely do matter but "run down" impressions on a short, generic guided tour? Way too little to rule a school in or out, depending on how much you really got to see. The student can research how the academics work, whether the major program and the way it's taught would work well for that particular student, if there are good opportunites for working with professors on research, etc. etc. Then take another look at physical facilities. And think harder about what's shown on the basic walking tour of a campus. Rusted windows? My DC's college has a handful of dorms built in the 1890s and mostly renovated but sure, there are a few issues that always come up with the oldest buildings; those are easily no big deal compared to, for instance, the state-of-the-art facilties in DC's major department.

We definitely did tour some schools where the overall campus was run down! But it's one data point, not something to which I'd give undue weight. Some weight, yes, but if all else is (as the PP above describes) good, then I'd visit again at another time. (Not just referring to Brown, but to any place.)

Anonymous wrote:Least impressive Ivy

Um, “least impressive” in what way. Based on exactly what? It literally is a college for polymaths. That’s kinda what the open curriculum is all about. It’s not for everyone, I agree. Its graduates are happy, get a top notch education and go on to great careers/grad school programs. Brown is now more than half STEM and is attracting really strong and serious STEM students who see the value in other disciplines (humanities/social sciences) and at Brown you can do that in a deep and authentic way. Yeah, yeah it’s not for everyone. In the age of AI I personally think we should want more of our university curriculum to be more like this. I suspect you are lost somewhere in the late 1980s/1990s and need some sort of pedigree validation from HYP so you can slog away at your soul-sucking Big Law firm. Am I right? The reality is there are great schools across the T50 or so and you still seem to be fixated on Ivy League as if that in 2023 still means much. It kinda doesn’t.

Anonymous wrote:I am turned off by brown for this reason - went to top private in Boston and then taught at a big 3 for about 10 years. I only know of one person who got into brown without a hook and they were so brilliant they eventually became a Supreme Court clerk. Everyone else who went there was super hooked, smart and underwhelming after graduating. Lots of non profit middle managers, a Lena Dunham wanna be, blah.

Lena Dunham went to Oberlin

Least impressive Ivy

My son and daughter went to Brown in recent years (unhooked) and they both enjoyed it very much. It's a wonderful university with attentive professors and a real emphasis on undergraduate education. Yes, some of the dorms are in need of updating and the food is nothing special, but the university is working on both of those elements. They are building several new dorms that will come online in a year or two. College Hill in Providence is a special place, and it's not surprising that many alums return annually for reunion.

Anonymous wrote:I am turned off by brown for this reason - went to top private in Boston and then taught at a big 3 for about 10 years. I only know of one person who got into brown without a hook and they were so brilliant they eventually became a Supreme Court clerk. Everyone else who went there was super hooked, smart and underwhelming after graduating. Lots of non profit middle managers, a Lena Dunham wanna be, blah.

I agree, so many losers from that school. Rockefeller, Janet Yellen, Horace Mann, Andre Leon Talley, Meredith Whitney, David Ebersman, Brian Moynihan, Dara Khosrowshahi.

I am turned off by brown for this reason - went to top private in Boston and then taught at a big 3 for about 10 years. I only know of one person who got into brown without a hook and they were so brilliant they eventually became a Supreme Court clerk. Everyone else who went there was super hooked, smart and underwhelming after graduating. Lots of non profit middle managers, a Lena Dunham wanna be, blah.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such a weird thread

Whenever we visited a campus, I considered a strong negative reaction a great outcome - one less place on the list, easier to focus on places my kids liked. But I never considered starting threads to talk about places they weren't interested in

For the record, one of my kids went to Brown and had a great experience. The dorms and food are pretty bad but the educational and social experience was phenomenal. And yes there are majors, called concentrations. Because of the open curriculum, it was easy for me kid to double concentrate, because their schedule wasn't filled with required courses.

It's no different than any other thread in which someone is excited at their ability to say negative things about a school with competitive admissions. It's the bread and butter of this forum, but it just hits you harder because OP is talking about your kid's school.

Read DCUM long enough and you'll find people who denigrate, among other things, your school, your kids' schools, your neighborhood, the style of your house, the number of kids you have, the car you drive, the vacations you take, the food you eat, and the politicians you support. At some point you'll decide the best defense is a good offense, and you'll be off to the races saying negative things about some other school the next time you have a chance.

Op here. Apologies...I did not intend to insult Brown. But it looks like that is how it is coming across. Brown ticked plus on a lot of my junior's criteria--location, weather, the ability to a cross major between a STEM and humanities combo. He is trying to decide where to ED. Of course we are aware it is a super reach but he wanted to try and liking Brown meant adding one possibility. I was just trying to see if we missed anything--perhaps another part of the campus. Sorry. No doubt it is a great school.

Oh my word, you just sent me down a rabbit hole. I want to go to Brown now My kids are in elementary school, so not a concern for them, but this looks lovely

Anonymous wrote: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.

What schools did she like? Curious.

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.

+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..."

This exactly. It’s not for everyone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such a weird thread

Whenever we visited a campus, I considered a strong negative reaction a great outcome - one less place on the list, easier to focus on places my kids liked. But I never considered starting threads to talk about places they weren't interested in

For the record, one of my kids went to Brown and had a great experience. The dorms and food are pretty bad but the educational and social experience was phenomenal. And yes there are majors, called concentrations. Because of the open curriculum, it was easy for me kid to double concentrate, because their schedule wasn't filled with required courses.

It's no different than any other thread in which someone is excited at their ability to say negative things about a school with competitive admissions. It's the bread and butter of this forum, but it just hits you harder because OP is talking about your kid's school.

Read DCUM long enough and you'll find people who denigrate, among other things, your school, your kids' schools, your neighborhood, the style of your house, the number of kids you have, the car you drive, the vacations you take, the food you eat, and the politicians you support. At some point you'll decide the best defense is a good offense, and you'll be off to the races saying negative things about some other school the next time you have a chance.

I'm not the PP you are referring to and don't have a kid at Brown and I agree with PP that this is such a weird post by the OP. I'm not offended by it at all and I don't even feel like OP is dumping on the school - in fact - they seem desperate to love it. And that's what's weird...just move on...your kid will most likely be rejected by Brown anyway so find another really hard school that is worth the application effort to fall in love with and get rejected from.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question to OP - but please explain why you need to do anything other than just "move on"?

You both went in excited about the idea of Brown but found that the reality didn't resonate. That's ok and that's why you visit places. Just move on and keep visiting other potential schools.

There are plenty of schools to love of equal or better caliber and competitiveness than Brown.

Hi, OP here. virtual tours don't take long. Pretty sure not doing ED any more. I hope you sleep peacefully tonight.

Surprised they'd even apply at this point. So strange.

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.

Based on what exactly?

I went in spring and it looked beautiful.