Brown Full Ride vs. UCLA (7K/year)

College Search & Selection
1

So up until today, I’ve had my heart set on UCLA; however, I just got accepted into Brown today (totally unexpected) and have been offered a full-ride, so now i’m freaking out because I have no idea what I should choose. I love absolutely everything about UCLA, but the only thing swaying me towards Brown is getting the full ride…

I am majoring in probably psychology or biochemistry (possibly pre-med?), but besides just the academics, I am a STRONG EXTROVERT so looking for a very active social life. (Parties, sororities, games, etc.)

UCLA: seems perfect, I am from Orange County so I live about an hour away. That means, I can go home & hang out with my friends whenever I want too, extremely cheaper transportation, I can bring more of my stuff with me, etc. (Plus, I love my friends & am not sure if i’ll ever meet others like them.) Also, I love how it has the perfect weather, amazing surrounding city, great food, strong party life, and smaller more unified campus/community. The only cons are paying 7k/year, bigger classes, and grade deflation.

BROWN: I haven’t really started looking into this school until today. I know that sounds horrible but Brown is starting to look a lot more appealing due to its more prestigious name, open curriculum, and pass/fail system. I know this school will probably be ALOT better for my education, (Better grades- better chances @ med school?), but in terms of social life and if I will like it there, I have no idea… From researching, it seems to be an alot more laid-back campus. I hate cold weather, will have to pay $$$ for flights over, can’t bring all of my belongings, am scared I won’t fit in (I’ve heard the students are mostly wealthy and extremely ambitious. I am not that ambitious…), and also feel like I wouldn’t have as much fun as I would in LA.

ANY ADVICE WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

I really just want any words of wisdom, sense of direction, because right now, I have no idea what to do.

2

Go to Brown and don’t look back. Although there are pros to being near home, the value of broadening your outlook far outweighs them. UCLA is a great school, but Brown is stronger for undergrad (in general), and full ride is amazing.

I’m from CA and I went back east for college–it was one of the best decisions I ever made. @“y mcfly”

3

When you say that you will be paying $7K a year - what does that look like? Will you be borrowing the money, will your parents pay, will you cover out of pocket? Will your family struggle to pay that $7,000 a year, or will it be easy?

I’m a big advocate of following the money when it makes sense, and Brown for no personal contribution is a pretty awesome deal. But $28K isn’t that much to lay out for an undergrad education (in the grand scheme of things) and you sound like UCLA is where you really, really want to go. Brown is theoretically stronger for undergrad - but I honestly don’t think that matters that much, because UCLA can get you where you want to go. It’s a well-respected university and a place recognized as a good place to do undergrad. On the other hand, $0 is better than $28K! And Brown is a really strong school.

I don’t think living further away from home necessarily broadens your outlook more than living close; I think it kind of depends on what your experiences were before you go. For example, a CA student who lives 3 hours away from LA in a rural part of the state, and who has never been to LA, could have their horizons equally broadened by being at UCLA or at Brown - it’s all the same to them; the simple fact of closer geographic proximity doesn’t make the environment any less new or different. That said, I will say that coming in with the premise that you will go home and hang out with your HS friends a lot does throw a point in favor of going to Brown. Being able to go home is really nice! But you don’t want to go home too often. There’s nothing wrong with maintaining old relationships, but that plus the fear that you won’t meet new people who are as great as your current friends means you run the risk of closing your ecosystem and not branching out. College is as much about branching out as anything else.

That said, you have some time, so I’d sit with it. Imagine for one full week that you’ve made the decision to go to Brown - how do you feel about it? Also, can you visit? I would strongly encourage visiting Brown - it might be different than you think.

4

Brown full ride should be a no-brainer. :slight_smile: I understand why it’s not, but

Here’s what you wrote about UCLA:

So, in short, compared to Brown, it’s more expensive, it won’t be as good an academic experience, and it’ll hinder you in your career path. :slight_smile:
Pretty big cons.
Seriously, UCLA is a great university, but it’s a large university suffering from state budget cuts. The difference in comfort, resources, etc, will be tremendous compared to Brown. For instance, you won’t have a personal adviser at UCLA; at Brown, you will. You won’t have classes you have to take but can’t get into (unless they’re at unfavorable times) and difficulty in taking the classes you want.
And your pros are essentially keeping things like they are in HS: close to home, with HS friends, and a place + weather you know.
I’ll grant you the weather point, but everything else shows that you’re just having cold feet.
College students who enjoy college rarely go home, even if they live nearby. High school friends get to college and move on - or, if it’s really a strong friendship, is stoked through Skype +FB and occasional visits, like for adults. When you’re 20 you’ll probably wish you’d gone and explored a bit, rather than stayed near home.
have you visited Brown? if not, email Admissions and ask for them to fly you in (indicate you were admitted, are thrilled, but it’s very far and your family can’t afford to send you to visit, so might they be able to help you pay for the plane ticket?) They have funds for that and are likely to say yes.

5

Totally agree: go to Brown. If one of your parents is going with you, then like me and my son, we took two big suitcases and two big boxes cut down to the size you are allowed plus 2 carry-ons. Rented a car for 2 days and went to Walmart to stock up on what we didn’t bring. No way, flying a few times a year including bringing a parent to orientation/move-in is not going to be near $7K a year. 3 or 4 flights a year plus one for a parent. Rent a car first trip for a few days plus meals for your parent. Still not $7K a year.
GO TO BROWN. All of the good reasons above!
And if you are creative, you can cross register at RISD, the top or second strongest art program in the US. One block walk to the train station if you have friends at college in Boston to visit. Social life at Brown is very good.
ENJOY Brown, don’t think you’ll regret it. Contact admissions and ask to talk to a student there, especially one from LA.

6

I tend to agree with the others - go to Brown and do not look back.

7

Brown if you want to apply to medical schools later. California does not have that many seats and most Californians end up elsewhere. Brown will open those doors for you elsewhere.

8

Go to Brown. This is a perfect opportunity to explore other parts of USA

9

“I’m not that ambitious…” and planning on going to medical school generally doesn’t jive. The interest in pysch and biochemistry may lead you to Neuroscience and Brown is great for that. If you were my child I would recommended going to Brown even though it meant sending my child 3000+ miles away because it should be a great experience but ultimately it’s your decision.

10

Also does your FA package include any travel money?

11

A good friend attended Brown undergrad, went to med school and had a distinguished career with the gov’t doing research into brain injuries. Got to work with the NFL and NASCAR. He had nothing but good things to say about Brown.

12

Brown is quite grade-inflated, which is good for pre-meds:
http://www.gradeinflation.com/Brown.html

However, that may be partly due to the open curriculum (for non-engineering majors), where there are no general education requirements that could require students to take courses in subjects that they are weak at. Brown also allows dropping a course until just before the final exam (although medical schools may notice and question why you have a light semester due to such a late drop, unless you started with an overload schedule).

Main drawback of Brown with respect to medical school is that getting to interviews at California medical schools is much more hassle than from UCLA. But lower cost and probably more grade inflation are advantages for Brown.

Both schools have on-line class schedules. UCLA’s shows class sizes (pre-med courses are large, except for some honors versions). Brown’s does not show class sizes, although you can make some guesses by the smaller number of lab sections associated with each lecture.

13

First off, thank you so much for all of the thoughtful responses!

@juillet I’d most likely do work study for a portion of it and end up taking a loan of about 5k/year. (And hopefully paying it off when after I graduate.) Plus, I don’t have the $$ to go fly there for a weekend, so it makes the decision that much harder. But I really am starting to rethink this whole, maybe I should get out of my comfort zone… I’m just scared I won’t be happy.

@MYOS1634 That seems really interesting! I didn’t know you could do that; I’ll for sure shoot them an email and see if I can fly over there. Thanks for the great info!

In all, the academics have me sold. I think it really is just the confidence of leaving to a new area and fear of not having a great support system/ friends I connect with. And maybe, I am generalizing the student population… :

14

Definitely Brown, even if the $ advantage was not there. Many from CA at Brown. Two of my Brown friends went to medical school, one to Harvard the other to Vanderbilt. The Harvard one majored in English btw.

15

Seems like a no-brainer - it’s not like you are comparing equal schools.

Go to Brown, you’ll kick yourself if you don’t take the opportunity.

7K * 4 = 28K. 28K you could use for many things. And the time you spend on work study would be better spent on academics.

16

Full-ride accepted students usually get travel expenses to go to an admitted student weekend. At the very least, check that out! Even if you end up choosing UCLA you will be choosing with more information.

17

Brown’s focus on undergraduates, its prestige and its academic flexibility make for a pretty amazing place to go to school. The fact that you get to take advantage of all three without paying (much) is pretty extraordinary. So I join the chorus of those recommending you strongly consider Brown.

I will say, though, that when you arrive on campus at Brown, prepare yourself for a major change of scenery from Orange County. Everything will look and feel different, from the architecture, to the vibe, even to some of the students (East Coast preppies.) The weather will be way different. The surrounding areas (Providence) will be way different.

Don’t let the initial shock put you off. Brown is a prestigious school and a great place to study for a reason. For many reasons! You will get used to the differences, and probably come to appreciate them.

Congratulations. You have an amazing opportunity.

18

@MYOS1634 I’m writing the email right now and am not sure if i should include that I am unsure if I want to attend Brown, so I am hoping for the chance to visit?

yay or nay?

19

Say that you haven’t made your decision yet, but Brown is a strong contender. It’d really help you if you could visit, perhaps sit in on a couple classes with freshmen, but your parents can’t afford to fly you there. Is there a way Brown could help you with the cost of plane tickets? And of course, say thank you for any help they can provide. (They’ll typically cover plane fare + food + accomodation in a dorm, and sometimes they’ll throw in a plane ticket for a parent, although the parent has to pay for their accomodation. But it’d mean a trip to the East Coast for $100, a pretty good deal for the parent too.)

20

Did you check your admission package to see if they are covering your admitted student visit cost? Most schools have this automatically and you don’t even have to ask. Just look at the information on your portal.