<p>So I didnt expect to get into either of my dream schools, but now that I am in at both I have some tough decisions to make. I know that these schools are polar opposites, but there are aspects of both that are appealing to me and I really see myself at both of them. </p>
<p>In terms of academics, to me, they are both equal. Brown has an open curriculum, its easier to double major (potentially Literary Arts and Modern Culture and Media), I can take some classes at RISD. Columbia has the core, I would be a Kluge scholar so I would get invited to special seminars/cultural activities. </p>
<p>In terms of social life, Ive heard both bad and good of both. Im mostly preoccupied about the lack of school spirit at Columbia and the lack of social scene at Brown. Im from the Dominican Republic, so Im used to living in a place thats pretty relaxed in terms of alcohol, and as much as I like to study I also enjoy partying and socializing. I want a place where I can get the best of both worlds. I also want to have opportunities for internships in media/journalism. </p>
<p>Right now, I might be leaning towards Columbia since I would be a Kluge and because of the opportunities I would have living in NY, but Ive read around and it seems like students arent very happy at Columbia compared with Brown. </p>
<p>Any advice?</p>
<p>Lack of social scene at brown? Have you visited? Columbia has no scene because everyone goes out in manhattan. Not as bad as NYu since at least during the day you can find people on campus but if you want a social scene on campus you want Brown no doubt.</p>
<p>I don’t really mind if the scene is on campus or off, I just want it to be fun and for there to be variety haha. </p>
<p>Any other opinions?</p>
<p>There is definitely a social scene and alcohol enforcement is limited to safety and public presentation considerations. If you’re the partying type, there are always on-campus fraternity events as well as the off-campus and dorm events. That said, alcohol consumption is NOT a requirement to have fun on weekends and Fridays and there are a good number of students who have quite a bit of fun without it. </p>
<p>And I would say Brown’s school spirit (in terms of assembling in large numbers like at a state school football game etc) is also pretty non-existent. Students have more of a school pride thing going on. Individualism and personal enrichment/team collaboration are more encouraged on the whole. </p>
<p>Academically, there are tons of publications and outlets you can involve yourself in (not only Brown-affiliated, but independent and joint Brown-RISD). I’m not as sure on the media portion though.</p>
<p>I get the feeling that people at Columbia want to “get out” into the real world as fast as possible (after all, NYC is like the best place for the person who wants to do that), so this often means that they’re either studying or hanging out in NYC, leaving little time for hanging out with random other people.</p>
<p>Brown is different though - most people seem content to enjoy themselves while they’re at Brown and to actually want to socialize with other ppl at Brown.</p>