<p>Yay. In case anyone forgot. According to the Princeton Review.</p>
<p>Move over Disneyland.</p>
<p>Idk if this is bad, but the fact that Brown students are so happy is one of the reasons I want to go there.</p>
<p>^Naw, you should feel good about where you live. It makes you more productive, and happiness is infective. That’s not to say Brown’s not a stressful place (especially come finals), because people here tend to push themselves, but… being cheery is a good thing, I think.</p>
<p>I was unhappy at Brown for the first semester, and it was frustrating with everyone else running around yelling, “I LOVE BROWN!” No one seemed to get it.</p>
<p>But the more I pushed, kept working, met professors and other classmates, I realized how lucky I was. And now all I wanna do I go back! </p>
<p>It took me a while to realize the real perk of Brown is being able to do anything. To “love Brown”, you first have to have something that you want to do. That’s… what Brown can do for you.</p>
<p>(UPS, please don’t sue me.)</p>
<p>why are students so happy at Brown? is it because of the pass/fail system –> less stress?</p>
<p>I also think it has something to do with the city. Providence gives off this happy vibe to me…it struck me as a lovechild of Boston and San Francisco. It’s also the perfect size and seems like the kind of place that could never seem depressing.</p>
<p>@mickjagger, wildflowerwaltz:</p>
<p>The pass/fail system definitely reduces stress. Most students use it (~1 course/semester S/NC), and doing so allows them to relax. Overwhelmingly, though, the open curriculum really contributes to the happiness of Brown’s student body. Most people aren’t taking vast numbers of courses they really don’t want to take. If you hate English, don’t take it. If you want to study archaeology, you can do it all dayheck, you can do it all FOUR yearsand no one will stop you. That doesn’t mean that all students love every class they take, but most people are pretty happy with their courses.</p>
<p>Providence is a nice city, but it rains a lot. The weather will put a damper on my happiness, but then again, I’m from New England to start, so maybe I’m just tired of the constant downpour.</p>
<p>My daughter will begin her last year in September. S/NC has definitely contributed to her sense of exploration and, I guess, happiness, but it in no way reduced the intensity with which she approached all of her work. I think that the open curriculum played a bigger role. While she did not only take courses in her concentrations (double major), the lack of distribution requirements allowed her to define well-rounded for herself. I believe it takes a very motivated young person to be able to take advantage of this special philosophy without resorting to the notion that s/he can just take all easy courses. This seems to be the source of true educational happiness, which is what Brown students seem to find, in many cases.</p>
<p>I believe happiness and the Open Curriculum are intertwined with a sense of control over one’s path in college. Kids who love the idea that they can pick and choose–even up to several weeks into the course–have more ownership of their path and are thus happier with their lot. </p>
<p>However, there are those for whom the idea of the loosey-goosey, you-make-the-call kind of approach, no standard requirements, etc. is very anxiety-producing. For them, Brown is probably not a good fit. So presumably those kids don’t come to Brown. Those who love that approach and are admitted and attend are happy–hence high marks on the happiness quotient.</p>
<p>I agree that it’s the Open Curriculum. I can take fun classes. The pass/fail system I used as more of a hedge in a challenging class, but I worked equally hard in that class as I did in my other very challenging course (which I took for a grade). </p>
<p>The real perk of Brown is being able to take whatever you want, and if they don’t offer it, being able to construct the class and teach it to yourself for credit.</p>