Encourage them to trust their gut. Which place will feel like (a new) home to them?

It would be great if they learn young that they should not base their decisions upon impressing other people.

I think they are different socially.

W&M is full of bright kids also, but the community may be more welcoming? The kids less competitive (types of people, meaning more generous). Would Brown have more bro/finance types?

OP's kid may have already had to decide due to short waitlist turnaround times. Please let us know what you decided and why.

Anonymous wrote:Brown, obviously. There's nothing W&M can offer that Brown won't beat.

Cost? Brown is nearly $100K cost of attendance a year, which is just too much.

That said, I don't know the difference in cost here because I believe OP's child is OOS for W&M and we don't know the aid situation.

Brown was kind of the asterisk school of the Ivy League along with Cornell. It was not well comparatively well endowed and had persistent financial issues. JFK Jr. really changed its trajectory. I think he had as much of a role in the change in perception of a school as any except Prince William and Kate Middleton and St. Andrews University. Now Brown has perhaps the reputation as being the most balanced, creative and happiest of the Ivy League schools. Not sure if that is warranted, but that is more of the vibe I get.

Anonymous wrote:Brown is probably the better choice but cost, location, vibe, etc. could tip the scales.

This is the answer. Of course Brown is more highly regarded, but make sure the kid actually likes it and prefers it. They have to live in the community for four years, so don't choose just on name brand or prestige alone. And only you alone can evaluate your finances.

Brown, obviously. There's nothing W&M can offer that Brown won't beat.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t get this. Maybe someone from the dmv can fill in the gaps. Brown is clearly a better college. Of course fit matters and everything, but the cultures between brown and W&M can’t be THAT different. I also just don’t see W&M as that great. The type of student who applies and gets into W&M from DS’s hs typically is several notches below a brown admit academically.

For actual quality of education I'd dispute that. This is really about perceived differences in prestige.

Has OP ever come back to verify that it would / wouldn't be ~$34,000 more per year to go to Brown? Seems like that'd be a pretty big variable to consider.

Unless you're intent on staying in the area, what is the point of going to William and Mary in this discussion?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t get this. Maybe someone from the dmv can fill in the gaps. Brown is clearly a better college. Of course fit matters and everything, but the cultures between brown and W&M can’t be THAT different. I also just don’t see W&M as that great. The type of student who applies and gets into W&M from DS’s hs typically is several notches below a brown admit academically.

W&M Monroe students have scores at or above Brown's median. Cost is a factor too.

Yes many state schools have scholarships for top students, but it’s still W&M vs Brown university….

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t get this. Maybe someone from the dmv can fill in the gaps. Brown is clearly a better college. Of course fit matters and everything, but the cultures between brown and W&M can’t be THAT different. I also just don’t see W&M as that great. The type of student who applies and gets into W&M from DS’s hs typically is several notches below a brown admit academically.

W&M Monroe students have scores at or above Brown's median. Cost is a factor too.

+1. My kid was offered the Monroe scholar and at the presentation they read off the test scores/gpa averages, as well as some of the EC achievements. They were Ivy caliber. My kid did ultimately choose Brown- liked Providence much more than Williamsburg, but we were really impressed with W&M. WM also has great grad/law school/career placement. It’s more like a SLAC than a public state university.

It comes down to fit, cost and whatever else- but both are excellent schools with an undergrad focus.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t get this. Maybe someone from the dmv can fill in the gaps. Brown is clearly a better college. Of course fit matters and everything, but the cultures between brown and W&M can’t be THAT different. I also just don’t see W&M as that great. The type of student who applies and gets into W&M from DS’s hs typically is several notches below a brown admit academically.

W&M Monroe students have scores at or above Brown's median. Cost is a factor too.

I don’t get this. Maybe someone from the dmv can fill in the gaps. Brown is clearly a better college. Of course fit matters and everything, but the cultures between brown and W&M can’t be THAT different. I also just don’t see W&M as that great. The type of student who applies and gets into W&M from DS’s hs typically is several notches below a brown admit academically.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid graduated from Brown 4 years ago, breezed to a 4.0 double concentration (major) in the humanities. Was a little disappointed in how many rich, mediocre students there were but had 4-year access to top scholars in their field, had funded research opportunities, and got great recs that led to a phenomenal graduate program placement

Brown is one of the few Ivy League schools where top faculty engage full time with undergrads. The clout you get from a personalized Letter of Recommendation from a leading scholar combined with the research opportunities results in a very competitive grad school application that might be hard for a student from a public institution to match

Public has nothing to do with it. Is Michigan lesser than Elon? Didn't think so. Watch your mouth next time before spouting off.

Brown’s endowment per student is literally 5 times larger than William & Mary’s which is the relevant issue

If endowment per student is the relevant issue, schools like Washington and Lee and Richmond have substantially larger endowment per student than Brown. If the significant increase in the endowment tax passes, this will also be much less of an advantage going forward. I don't think endowment per student should be a deciding factor, particularly when comparing a private and public school.

If your kid really is set on going to W&M, then they I think should go ahead. I don't think outcomes for law school will be that different because it is so stat (LSAT and GPA) driven. LSAT won't differ depending on where undergraduate work is done. GPA may favor Brown a bit as it has had the greatest grade inflation, but W&M, like all schools, has had grade inflation as well. If your kid also likes Brown and the cost differential isn't that great, then it will provide that "Ivy-educated" boost in prestige.

Someone described Brown as the idealized version of W&M and I guess I get their point from a size and history perspective, but they have different approaches. Brown is open curriculum and W&M has a liberal arts core curriculum. The open curriculum has been a Brown selling point against the other Ivy League schools for 50+ years. I think a core curriculum is a good thing because we need more people who share common reference points and frameworks to address issues and work together. But I know there are many that love the freedom of the open curriculum.

Good luck.